Please pray for all of those affected by the recent water. There are 2 groups of people to keep in mind right now. After the recent rains and flooding, pray for those who have lost homes, businesses, and possibly their jobs as they have been affected by this torrent of rain we have had. Our hearts go out to them. If there is anything we as a church can do, drop me a line.

The second group had water affect them in a much different way. We held our 5th public baptism this past weekend. Despite the crazy weather (monsoon like weather), we stayed dried as we moved indoors (725+ people according to some counts) and were able to dodge the rain as we baptized 91 people this past weekend in the lake. That brings the total for the month to almost 100 people from both our campuses. If you were not there, it was an amazing night…hope to see you next year!

Hundreds of people worshipping God, fellowshipping with an amazing meal and to see all of the changed lives…words cannot express. Really, they can’t.

Oh by the way, we were told by a few people that when we finished the last person and were heading into the shore, lighting struck for the first time. Isn’t our God great? The pic is just a small sampling of the crowd that gathered at Round Lake…and taken from across the lake.

I love being a part of this thing…

I guess the rumor is out of the bag. Pastor Matt officially announced that the Wooster Campus would be occupying their new space at the former Westwood Baptist Church by late Fall, Lord-willing. “Building New Hope” (Wooster Style) is the same theme name that was given to our building expansion in Loudonville, and will keep the presence with the same name. To truly build NEW HOPE through Christ and a facility in the lives of the people in Wayne County and beyond! Check out the progress here: WOOSTER CAMPUS NEWS

I can’t imagine going back to our tiny little room where we couldn’t even cool the place in the Winter it was so hot! People all over the place, etc., etc…some of you remember. I bet they can’t imagine going back to not having 3 hours of tear-down and set-up here in the near future! What a dedicated team we have in Wooster.

Building New Hope will be done in 3-4 phases with the first phase beginning…ohhhh, last week when Matt and I put some holes in the wall to examine the place. We decided, we were not suited for that as we wanted the thing to stay standing, so we called in the pros, who were so excited, that they have begun the demolition on the place…really, demolition is one of my gifts, kind-of, no really, they took away my hard hat in Loudonville due to safety reasons.

Phase 1 will be a basic re-model of the auditorium to make it express the style that we are; breaking down walls for a large gathering space (lobby) with Next Steps Bookstore and Gathering Grounds Cafe; re-modeling the Hopeland and X-Kidz spaces, and also re-modeling the office complex. Other work includes clearing out the basement for future phases (Youth Ministry Space) and renovating the exterior of the building, including new signage. (oh yeah, and a huge thanks to the team that re-modled Pastor Matt’s new place there @ our future site and helped them move!)

We have $30,000 in start-up funds, and the rest will come in through the congregation in Wooster launching a 2 year capital campaign this Fall. Total costs? We don’t know yet, but are trusting God to do the same miracle He provided @ the Loudonville campus when we were brand new, growing and in need of a miracle!

Look for more details to follow, but in the meantime if you want to join the demolition or re-modeling teams, contact Pastor Matt (matt@newhopewired.tv). Please also be in prayer. Please also be in prayer. Did I mention, that we need to pray?

Who would have thought that our 2nd campus would be nearing 200 in attendance already? (187 last week…and it’s Summer!) Who would have known that the great family at Westwood would have the courage to join forces to reach a community for Christ? Only a God like we serve…it’s no surprise to Him.

I like surprises like that. God is great.