This past Sunday we began the renovation of the worship center.
Volunteers from our church family and friends joined volunteers from the church family in St. Stephens. We moved out all of the church pews and they were loaded onto the trucks…just seconds before the rains came down. Perfect timing of the Lord. The joy of the men that helped us move them was tremendous. A terrible storm had destroyed their church and the donation of pews will go a long way in helping them to rebuild. They were scheduled to get the lights on Tuesday, August 4. The pews were a donation from JIBC. Their church made a $3,000 donation for the lights. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Sorry, but that was fantastic compared to the price we were quoted for used church lights. Now, keep your ears open. We are trying to set a date when our two church families could join together in St. Stephens for a praise service. Oh, what a joy that will be!
Today, we have the painters who are sanding and caulking. They are doing all the prep work to prepare for the last stage…painting. It is a busy bee hive in there. Lights have come down, the old stained and wrinkled carpet is up and wonderful progress is being made. Please pray for all of the workers that they will be safe and blessed in their work here at JIBC.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY A CHAIR? Here is the fabulous news about the chairs. Each chair cost around $50, not including shipping, handling, taxes, etc. We need about 420 chairs. We have had an offer of matching funds for the chairs. If the JIBC family gives the funds to buy 200 chairs, the donor will match that amount. If we raise funds for all 420 chairs, the donor will still match that amount in a gift to the renovation! God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Let’s see if we can match the blessing of this gift. We are asking each Connection Group to have 100% participation in buying chairs. The friendly competition is not about which Connection Group has the largest amount given, but rather who has the greatest participation. What an opportunity.
By the way, can you guess what the number one question is about the chairs? It is not what color. The number one question is how big are they? So, let me put it this way. They are the largest that the church industry makes. The only thing larger would be love seats! They are back supporting, bottom comforting, interlocking with a place for hymnals and other items. We believe they are the best in the church chair industry. I can preach for hours before you will get uncomfortable…ok, that was a little over the top.
See you Sunday, good Lord willing,
Pastor Tom
