Dear Family,
• The preschool building is done – on budget ($900,000) and on time! Want to know something wonderful? The MORE giving has been so consistent and generous that we’ve paid 80% of the cost of construction and have yet to borrow any money! Church and school giving have been really healthy, too. Please don’t forget to keep it up during the summer – June & July are typically our financial drought season!
• Want to help with the last leg of the preschool building? Can’t go on an out-of-town mission trip, but would love to serve? We are building the preschool playground on Saturday, June 28. Contact Dana James to join the fun!
• Would you consider praying for three things: 1) Our high school ministry students left for their summer conference in South Carolina yesterday. About 45 students and adults went. Would you pray for Jesus to grab the hearts of our children. 2) My son-in-law, Eric Stites, has taken 13 high school boys from the Parramore neighborhood (where he is church-planting in Orlando) to a Kids Across America sports camp in Missouri for inner city kids. It was a herculean effort to pull this off. Here’s an excerpt from Eric’s email from camp. “Please, please, please pray for the guys. Some of them are homesick. For about half of them, this is the first time they’ve left Florida. Some of them are frustrated that they don’t have their phones, or that there is structure to the day and don’t want to “give in” to fully being a part of everything that is going on. So pray that the ones feeling that way would turn the corner, experience something different from what Parramore has to offer, and would meet Jesus in such a way that they don’t leave the same way they came. I’ve found myself in tears a few times leading up to this trip and even now as I write this, really hoping that dead hearts would be awakened, hard hearts would be softened, and eyes would be opened.” 3) Next Tuesday night I speak to our denomination's national meeting in Houston (it’s called the General Assembly). I’m scared spitless about it, so would you ask God to help me not be abrasive but to proclaim the sweetness of the gospel and the beauty of Jesus.
• The book I’m looking forward to reading the most this summer is Chuck DeGroat’s, Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead and Love the Difficult People in your Life – Including Yourself. Chuck’s previous book, Leaving Egypt – Finding God in the Wilderness Places was very helpful to me!
• For the third straight year, SRPC will host the Global Leadership Summit from Willow Creek Church in Chicago. Speakers include Bill Hybels, Louie Giglio, Patrick Lencioni and other leaders of business, church, education and non-profits. Why not come and bring your coworkers with you? The cost is $79; use password PV2014 to register. To get the best rate, sign up by July 15. Registration and details
• Did you know SRPC has been blessed to have Adam and Anne Jones serving here for over 15 years! In appreciation for Adam’s timeless leadership, the session has granted him a 6-week sabbatical that will begin in a week and run through July. The Jones’s will be hunkered down in a cabin in Maine, and in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for most of their escape. As Adam, Anne, and Sashi leave – why not take time to remind them how much they and their labors have meant to you: 2630 W Antioch Lane Lecanto, Florida 34461.
• Last month in the week of high school graduations, I sent out an article from Jean Larroux with five notes of wise counsel for graduates. Jean has written five more and they are sagacious! Uncommon Sense (the sequel...)
• This weekend we’ll celebrate Father’s Day together in worship with 13 baptisms! I’ll be preaching on being created in the image of our Father. I guess every weekend is Father’s Day at SRPC! Looking forward to celebrating with you.
Ray
