Thursday, October 27, 2011

Mid-Atlantic Trip






October is a great time to visit the mid-atlantic part of our country. The weather is nice and the leaves are beautiful. Sandy and I recently drove through this area visiting church planters. Living out of a suitcase isn't always glamorous, but it is great seeing friends.



Our first stop was Glenville, West Virginia to see Kenneth and Shirley Cooper. Of course, we went out to eat together. Their daughter, Molly, went with us.



The Coopers have been busy fixing up their church building and showed us the renovations. We got a picture of them in a SS room.




They own a farm with some horses. It is beautiful country there!




We drove on up to Greensburg, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) to see Tom and Pam Jones and Nate and Jenna Altom. After much work, the building they renovated is looking nice. They have been seeing God move in people's lives lately.


Here is Pam Jones and her 3 daughters singing. They are good!




Nate Altom has been preaching a sermon series on Heaven and Hell. He had the stage backdrop decorated for his series. I liked a question he had there - "Do you know what the Bible says or are you just guessing?" I admire Nate for even tackling the subject of Hell when so many avoid it. He did a great job!




On Sunday afternoon, everyone gathered for a baptism in a swimming pool. I always love to see baptisms.



Later on, Tom relaxed and played in the floor with his grandson, Paxton.






A couple of hours drive took us up to Erie, PA. Daryl Grimes is starting a church there. The family has moved to Erie and Daryl almost has all his support raised. The Grimes have 3 children - Charity, Luke, and Isaiah (all 3 are nice and respectful)


Here is a picture of Daryl and Michelle on Presque Isle with the city of Erie on the opposite shore.




This is Daryl and me in front of the Commodore Perry monument. He is the one who said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."





Michelle and Sandy in front of a lighthouse.



Daryl plans on monthly services starting on November 20 and a launch of weekly services in the spring.



Driving from Erie to York, PA, we saw so much beautiful fall foliage.






In York, we got to see Allen and Jenny Hall (and Allison) and Tim and Jessica Hodges. Renovation on their church is about complete and they are making progress. We always have a great time with these folks.

I forgot to take pictures at church, but I did remember at the restaurant. I really like eating together and this is my favorite restaurant ever - Shady Maple.




The New Castle, Delaware church celebrated its 35th anniversary and we got to be there for it.




Right before I preached, I took a picture of the congregation.




3 former pastors and the present one - Jay Baines, me, Vergel Maness, and Wayne Hale.




The New Castle church was a Home Missions project. It mothered a church in Townsend, DE. That church in now mothering a church in Dover, DE. So New Castle is now a grandparent. I would love to see this happen more often.


On Sunday evening, we went to the Journey Church in Dover. Jay Baines is still pastoring Townsend while starting this new church. He preaches on Sunday morning in Townsend and then in Dover in the evening.

Here is a picture of Jay during the service.




They have a Journey Cafe before service. The chocolate chip cookies are delicious!





While driving from Delaware to Virginia, we stopped by my home church in Aberdeen, Maryland and saw the new pastor - Travis Shuck. Travis and Holly were a part of home mission churches in Wyoming and Colorado.

One more stop before heading home - to see Jason and Holly Weaver in Winchester, Virginia. Jason is still raising support, but we wanted to visit and say hi. I got the tour of the area including the high school where they hope to have Sunday services. They are a nice young couple and I'm excited about what God is going to do through them.




What a great trip we had! Thank you, God!