Praise
We are grateful to God for all that is happening at Imago Dei Church. When we first began meeting this summer in my house, we were hoping for 50 people to show up for our first official meeting. By God’s grace we are averaging over 150 people per week. Among those 150, we have 30 people going through our 4-week covenant member class. Once they finish, we will have about 70 covenant members. We praise God for these family members.
Beyond the numbers, an obvious evidence of God’s grace is the depth of relationships that are forming at IDC. Our growth groups are averaging over 100 people per week, and are one primary way that we are seeing community happen. Friendships are being formed, the Word is being applied, care is being extended, and mission is taking place.
Corporate worship is also going tremendously well. Donnie and the band are doing a marvelous job of selecting and singing Christ-honoring songs. The Lord’s Supper time is also powerful each week. What a powerful gift Jesus gave us with the Supper. It allows us to reflect on the gospel, examine our lives, and fix our hope on the day in which we eat it anew with him.
I am especially grateful for the other elders, Matt and Nate, without whom none of this would happen. It is refreshing to work alongside of brothers who are together theologically, philosophically, and relationally, and brothers who get work accomplished (most of it late at night!). We have worked through bi-laws, doctrinal statements, growth group strategies, first time guest info, offering envelopes, and much more – and it has been fun actually. Our elders meetings are more like three friends talking about the church over a meal, in a spirit of prayer, than a formal business meeting.
Our core team has also been All-stars. What a group of servants, we have at IDC. From set up to tear down, to their constant inviting of people to IDC, and service in the community, they have served amazingly.
Challenges
Even though things are going great, we have a few challenges. We covet your prayers for the following:
- Reaching Our Community – We have worked really hard at developing good systems and infrastructure at IDC, and still are, but now we really need to execute the PEACE Plan. We are meeting this Sunday to talk about how to best spread the gospel, care for the orphan and the oppressed, and aid the poor and the sick. While we want our members to live on mission everyday, we want to develop some practical strategies for engagement as a church as a whole.
- Diversifying – Right now, we have a number of students from various places, and we rejoice with this reality. But we would love to see some older adults join us. We also have a number of seminary students, and while we love them all, we really want to see that percentage be very small compared to the rest of the body. In addition, we long for diversity in other ways, including race, background, etc.
- Finding a Facility – We love where we are meeting for worship on Sundays, but we know that we need a space that we can use all week long. A permanent space would help us in many ways, including the previous two bullet points. We envision using this space to not only worship but also serve the city, host events, and train leaders. We are eager to find something soon, even though our space for worship works very well. My friend Tyler Jones told me yesterday that he encourages church planters to find a space as soon as possible, and once you find a space, you will see attendance jump by at least 15%. I can see why that happens. While we are not going to spend a lot of money on a space (nor could we!), I do see the value of having something of our own. Please pray for us as we look for space, and if you know of opportunities in Raleigh, please let us know.
To all who are supporting IDC, we want to say thank you for allowing us to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ in this city.