(random photo: myself and Mr. Jim McBride, Executive Pastor of Sherwood Church)
Great Partner Churches:
We have been able to do what we're doing in part to some great partner churches. One of them is Sherwood Church in Albany, GA. Sherwood is a church that is changing the world from Albany, GA. Do you know where Albany, GA is? No? It's okay, most people don't. Many of you probably don't even know who Sherwood Church is. It's your loss. They are best known for being the makers of "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof". They have a forthcoming movie about fatherhood coming in 2011 called "Courageous".
Their Pastor, Dr. Michael Catt is a great leader who is passionate about Jesus, the local church and revival in the hearts of God's people. The true test of a leader however is several levels down from the church office. Dr. Catt leads a church that is one of the most passionate group of Jesus-followers I've ever seen in my life. They have been beyond generous to us in Baltimore and I can't thank God enough for the impact their church is having in my hometown. God is using Sherwood in ways they may never know in order to advance the Gospel.
Some of the 'Great People' who make Captivate Church happen have never even been to a service and most will never travel to Maryland. The great people of Sherwood Church in Albany, GA are not unlike the great people of a dozen other churches who contribute to make Captivate happen. Individuals who give their tithes and offerings to their church to advance the gospel and then their Pastors send some of those resources to places like Baltimore where we need the supply line to keep going to battle every day over souls. These are some of the great people who make Captivate happen.
Thank you Dr. Michael Catt, Mr. Jim McBride and Mr. Jim Jewell for investing in Baltimore through the ministry of Captivate Church.
Great Captivate Attendees:
Last night my wife and I sat down with eight recent additions to Captivate. Seven of them (to my knowledge) are believers and one accepted Christ this past Sunday.
This group is a breath of fresh air. They all didn't know one another prior to last night but they all were connected through one of the couples who started coming to the church. As I talked to them about their stories and as they responded to the vision of Captivate Church I can tell that these are solid people who just want to see God move in their lives and through the life of their church.
A few quotes from last night that caught my ear:
"I appreciate when you give high standards because it lets me know you're serious and you value the church."
"I expect to serve, service in the church is a built in part of being a member."
"Our son is going through a hard time and he watched Captivate online. He wants to get things together and after seeing the sermons online he's moved down here to come to the church and get things right in his life."
As we got to talk to these families I got the sense that God was doing something I prayed for many months ago. I started to pray that God would send us missionaries. I asked God to send us people who were NOT connected to a local church but who would come in attracted to our mission of reaching Baltimore with the gospel, not come in to try to make us something different. As I heard story after story last night I couldn't help but to feel like God is bringing us some great people to build a great church. I'm so excited for where we are and where God is leading us.
We've been able to add some believers to our mix who love Jesus and love His Church without losing sight of our mission to reach people with the gospel. We baptized two on Sunday and saw one come forward to receive Christ. We have several more baptisms lined up for September 12th. God is doing a great work and we're honored to be part of this church.
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