The Church of LIFE
Serving You as You Serve Others…
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12
Monday, June 09, 2008
Dear Family Members, Friends, Colleagues, and Acquaintances:
Greetings!!! I must first apologize for the delay in this update. I know most of you have been checking your email daily, waiting for it (just kidding). So much has happened, and is continuing to happen, that it would take too many pages to tell, so I will keep it brief and to the point…
We are only 12 days away until we have the first officially – unofficial, mini-service of our pre-launch phase. We are doing our best to keep up with God’s will. It has been so busy lately just doing all the ground work as we execute the plans we have established over the past two months. Interestingly enough God has been reminding me, through friends and pastors, of Jeremiah 29:11, in which He states that He knows the plans/thoughts He has for us…and then God continues saying in my spirit… “You keep working your plans out, but don’t forget I know ‘The Plans’ I have for you!” This has sort of been scaring me because I wonder “How close are my plans to His plans?”, because I thought I was working His plans that he had given me. But I quickly realize that He is talking about the “Big Picture” plans and that I have no true idea of how they are going to turn out. So with all this in mind, we keep walking and talking with Him and wait with a peaceful and expectant heart.
Here are a few recaps of where we have been and where we continue planning on being…
Current Accomplishments & Processes…
Pastor David Uth, from First Orlando, has agreed to “Partner up” with us by becoming the primary “Sponsor Church” and has pledged a commitment for a three year period. We praise God for their commitment and we thank them for their allegiance and pledge to the cause!
WestPoint Fellowship Church has also decided to be a “Co-Sponsor Church” and will be working side by side with First Orlando, helping us through this “Church Plant” process. We are very grateful for their willingness to help!
The Florida Baptist Convention has pre-qualified Glynda and me to receive church plant support for a period of two years.
Greater Orlando Baptist Association has been so crucial in all of this process, especially Mark Weible and Suzette Woods. Just this past week we had Suzette organize a team of High School missionaries from a church in Jefferson City, Missouri, and they helped us kick off the progressive movement and presence of the church on International Drive this past Monday and Tuesday (June 2nd and 3rd). In order to help us determine the needs and church reception on I-Drive, we conducted a simple 3-5 question survey directly to the hospitality industry. These were the estimated results;
Contacts Made: 177 Do not currently attend church: 55% Currently Attend Church: 45%
Have never regularly attended church: 26% Have regularly attended church: 74%
Would consider attending a church on I-Drive: 61% Would not consider attending: 39%
We collected 65 email addresses and 28 telephone numbers in order to keep the people who were sort of interested posted on the finalized times for gathering at the YM CA on Fridays…
The Church of LIFE P.O. Box 249 Ocoee, Fl 34761 www.thechurchoflife.com P: 407-616-0963 F: 407-656-5119
We have concluded, for the time being, based on the results of the survey, that we will be gathering at the YMCA on Fridays at | 8:00am – 8:55am | 2:00pm – 2:55pm | 5:30pm – 6:25pm | 6:30pm – 7:25pm |
26% preferred meeting at 8:00am
11% preferred meeting at 2:00pm
45% preferred meeting in the late afternoon hours…
30 Day Outlook…
ON June 16th another group of 45 Missionary Youths will be participating in the distribution of 250 – 350 break-room flyers. We will be asking all businesses on I-Drive to kindly place the flyer next to the time clocks, or on the announcement boards in their break-rooms.
ON June 20th we will begin hosting the Friday gatherings at the YMCA – Aquatic Center
We will begin to formally introduce ourselves to larger chains of restaurants and hotels. We will be executing more in depth surveys going through the proper channels of their Human Resource Departments, also announcing their “Spiritual Lift” options on Friday’s at the “YMCA”.
Obtain Chaplaincy Certification
Begin a New Ministry called “I-Drive Chaplain.com”. John Brackman is spearheading this ministry. Please be in prayer for the development and blessing for this new ministry. It is designed to work in tandem with the church of LIFE in order to help provide for the overall budget.
60 Day Outlook…
Begin looking for partner churches who have a heart for ‘Local” Missions and placing them on our list of recommended churches in the surrounding areas.
Begin looking for people who have a heart for “Local” Missions who would decide to partner up with us.
Begin planning “Events” on International Drive that would “Attract” the visitors to hear the Gospel of Peace…
Raise a team
For praise and worship, Volunteers, Technical Support, and Leadership
Begin planning for the 1st Sunday morning Full-Service launch
Now that I have brought you all up to speed on our progress I can see that our 60 Day Outlook is almost identically the same as it was back in February. I can understand God’s reminder that He KNOWS the PLANS He has for us and therefore, I will put my trust in HIM. On a long a solitary walk with God the other day, He told me to be ready for slim beginnings, but to also be prepared for great abundance. Basically, “expect anything from the Lord and no matter what He brings I will always praise His Holy Name!!!” So all I will to do is to keep up with Him as best I can, and to continue showing up even if no one else does. What an awesome God we serve!!!
Sincerely,
Robert A. Gordon
I-Drive Pastor
How to Support:
1: First & Foremost – PRAYER
2: Pray about your involvement with this church plant
3: Pray about your possible Kingdom investment in this church plant
4: Talk to others about this ministry and let them know that we need people to help lead this thing, and to grow it, by helping others grow in their knowledge of Christ…
The Church of LIFE P.O. Box 249 Ocoee, Fl 34761 www.thechurchoflife.com P: 407-616-0963 F: 407-656-5119