As we announced last Sunday, we’re going to be experimenting with some different aspects of our setup for a bit. There were some things that we believed could be tweaked or changed to make it better. The work has been progressing at an amazing pace thanks to many talented and willing volunteers. Jay and his expertise and his arsenal of “stuff” have been an essential and fun part of the process.

This experiment is the result of many questions and conversations and dreams (mostly daydreams!) of how things could be made better in our current situation to accomplish what God has called us to accomplish in this place at this time. I keep stressing it’s an experiment because it’s a process of finding out what will work best and we’ll be changing and tweaking as we go. It’s also temporary, as much of it (the stage for example) belongs to Jay and he’s just being gracious and allowing us to use it until it gets placed in another production. When we have evaluated everything, we’ll discuss what we need to do next to incorporate the best things into our setup to enhance what we’re doing here as best we can. This current phase has been done so far, for the most part, at little or no cost thanks to Jay and all that he has at his disposal. When we look at taking this down and putting up the best ideas from what we’ve learned, that will also be done as inexpensively as possible using good stewardship principles… remember that God has something incredible for us to accomplish at our property also… this building is just a step along the way!

Thanks so much to Jay and to the whole gang for all of your hard work. I’m excited to see what’s in store!

It’s time again to clean up the 2-mile stretch of highway that runs by Journey North’s property. The plan is to meet at 9:00am Saturday, June 2, at Journey North Church. It can take a couple hours (often less)… so the more people who show up to help, the faster it will go… and the more fun it will be! Thanks so much to Brad and Barb Turgeon for heading this up.

Happy Mother’s Day Everyone!! What a meaningful celebration we had as parents presented their children back to the Lord for His blessing and dedicated themselves to the task of raising their children in a home where they will come to know Christ at an early age. Please keep these families in your prayers. What an amazing gift our children are!!

Our 7twelve Student Ministry recently traveled to Rochester, MN for the annual Evangelical Free Church of America North Central District Student Conference (that’s a mouthful!). Not only did we have a great time together, but God accomplished some amazing things in the hearts of many who attended. Several of our students made a first time commitment to Christ!! And although that’s exciting, it was equally exciting to see many students realize the importance of staying connected to Jesus and then begin to dream dreams about how that could totally transform their lives and the lives of the people that they come in contact with. God has been and continues to change our students from the inside out. We are so grateful for the amazing work that He is doing.

Julie

(Click the picture above to see a bigger view of it)

What a great job all the Adventure Kids did this past Sunday. Thanks so much to the kids… and to the leaders for bringing it all together and making it work. You showed us again how God is the “God of this City” and that He wants to do great things here… through US!

This Sunday, May 6, Adventure Kids is having a food drive for the Pine City Food Shelf. We are encouraging everyone to bring a few non-perishable food items with them to church. Join us in being a light for Jesus in our city.

Wendy

Feeling isolated. Feeling alone. Feeling outcast. Feeling unworthy. Feeling beyond help. Sunday is part 3 in our “Scars” series and if any of those feelings strike a little too close to home for you or someone you know, then you’re going to want to be at Journey North Church this Sunday! If what it brought to mind for you was someone else’s situation, then you need to be there… and bring them with you! This isn’t just an old AT&T/Bell slogan… you may need to reach out and touch someone. With the 36 from our 7twelve ministry gone (see post below), you need to be there to make up the difference… I’ll see you there!

(Click the picture above to see a bigger view of it)

With leaders and students, 36 just left for Rochester, MN for the EFCA District Blitz youth conference. They’ll be joining a ton of kids who’ll gather there for a great time of building relationships with each other and with God. Pray for them as they travel and then remember to pray throughout the weekend for them as God brings it to mind. I can’t wait to hear the great stories when they return on Sunday!

This past Sunday we began a series called Scars. We all have scars… and all scars tell a story. Last week we talked about how wounds, when cared for correctly, can heal over into scars that can remind us… scars that can be stronger than the spot was originally… that can be used to help heal other people’s wounds.

This week I want to talk about scars that, even when they are allowed to heal correctly with the antiseptic of “the Lord is with you”, that some scars can remain in a very painful way. Sometimes a bandaid just isn’t enough. Be there this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 and bring a friend… there’s healing here!

It’s crazy to already be thinking of 2013. It seems like just yesterday that the new year started. However I just want to give you a heads up about next year’s ladies retreat. We will be moving our traditional March date to April. April 5-7 to be exact. So ladies… mark your calendars now so that you don’t miss out!

Julie