Mission East Delco

2011-12-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

A couple pictures from our Fall Festival Outreach. We had pumpkin painting, face painting, games, prizes, etc.
We had a Praise Service last Thursday that brought us one visitor. Our Financial Peace University class has had a couple people this Fall. This is ministry in this environment... lots of work for small morsels of fruit. We shall keep on.

Joint Services / Celebration Service

2011-09-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

We have had 3 joint services as a merged church and the fourth is just a few days away. Also this Sunday in the evening, we will have a special service to celebrate our merger. We are inviting all our local churches and friends to help get the word out as well as sending 1000 postcards in the mail. The official side of merging with the Presbytery is a done deal, except the government aspects will continue to take many months. Please keep us in prayer.

New Location

2011-08-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

Here is our new building we are leasing from the 7th Day Adventists who worship there on Saturdays. We have the building Sunday mornings and Thursday nights. It is a great facility with a fellowship hall, class rooms, nursery/cry-room, etc. Another great advancement is that we are now allowed to put up a permanent sign. It is further away, but a great middle ground between us and Christ Liberation fellowship, whom will likely be joining us in this building if we merge. Thank you Lord!

Discussing a Merger

2011-08-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

We had a huge cook-out this summer with Christ Liberation Fellowship and Redemption Fellowship to discuss merging into one church body for the sake of reaching a critical mass in order to grow more effectively and quickly. This would launch our original multi-ethnic vision to new heights. There were many questions and good candid discussion.

Old Location

2011-08-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to our old location, the banquet hall on Baltimore Pike. It was a spacious, close and inexpensive provision from God for us to do our preview services, launch service and almost a whole year of week to week services. It served us well, but alas it is being sold and is banquet hall after all.

B-ball Champs!

2011-05-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

After winning the soccer league last fall with three very intense playoff games on one Saturday, we immediately began the Basketball season. After another long season and a couple high-stress victory games, we won the league! This time our team celebrated at Dave N Busters. Baseball started the very next day and though many parents wanted me to try for a hat-trick I had to take a break! So no Boys Club until next fall. Congrats team!

Easter Breakfast

2011-05-09T09:42:00.001-07:00

Very enjoyable and not too difficult to pull off!

Spring Outreach

2011-04-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

As the winter thaws, we are looking to start hitting outreach hard. The biggest buzz so far is our Dave Ramsey class at Cocco's Pizza. I can gratefully say that I do NOT have to run the class, but one of our regulars has run two classes before and is volunteering to do this class as well. While the Ramsey material has some spiritual holes, the concepts and training on how to manage money is a HUGE need in our community, and nation for that matter. We are already getting a bigger response than any other ministry or campaign we have tried thus far.
We are also planning an Easter service outreach, multiple flier drops, another summer kids camp, and several grandparents are offering free babysitting once a month to help invite young couples with kids to join our community. Please continue to pray for an increase and worthwhile discipleship. Thanks.

Church Planting Community

2011-02-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

One of the many things I try to do is attend monthly meetings on church planting. There are many church planters and coaches present from all over the region, all with various experiences in starting churches. We usually have a guest speaker, time for prayer, and then an interactive discussion about questions, issues, or concerns. It is a bit of a hike to these meetings with all the traffic, so I usually try to set up a lunch appointment with some guys after the meeting.

Sunday Night Fellowship

2011-01-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

This is an older picture of some folks from our home Bible study on Sunday nights. We continue to have this study as well as men's and women's groups each Tuesday at another house.

Pictures from 12-12-10 service

2010-12-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

Ready... Set... Launch!

2010-09-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, I wish we were ready! Not that we are grossly unprepared, but ready or not, here we go. Redemption Fellowship launches this Sunday! I am in a somewhat surreal state of mind, since this has been years in the making, and has so many years to go. We first started with going to the assessment center back in January of 2003! We spent several more years getting ministry experience, searched long and hard for a strong call, raised support, all the while tent-making, and moved to Philadelphia 2 years ago. Then, we learned the area, adapted, got involved, got ordained, and gradually grew a core-group. We filed Articles of Incorporation, secured insurance, non-profit status, etc. as we started casting more vision and introducing songs to our core-group. We partnered with CEF and ran two summer clubs for kids, put ads in papers, invited people, dropped fliers, ran two Bible studies per week, did outreach events at local stores, advertised on Craigslist, sent out 30,000 mailers, etc. etc. Now, the house of cards must stand against more wind. I am excited to see what God is going to do! This has been a hard process, not merely starting from scratch, but starting from scratch in this location. I have for a long time now felt that we are absolutely waiting on God and completely dependent upon His own desire to build His church. Though beaten down at various times with doubts and concerns, I feel confident in God's providential care over this project and look with hope and expectation that we will not only have a launch service but many anniversaries as well. Many times I have been comforted by looking at our long list of supporters and growing in faith, being encouraged that God was in this, and many of His people were behind it. I thank each of you for your support!
The needs and potential in this area for the Kingdom of God are great! To Him be the glory!

The end of the preview services

2010-08-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, 5 months have come and gone and our once a month preview services are all over. The launch service is Sept 12 and we are looking forward to it with faith and fear. Faith that God is doing something, as we have been encouraged by the last 2 preview services. Fear since the week to week demands will be overwhelming for our family.
We continue to see great potential in this region and keep pressing on knowing it is God who builds His church. Today I sat out in front of Wal-mart handing out fliers and raising money for charity. It was a hot but beautiful day and I was joined by the ever faithful Brian who plays guitar for us too. Tomorrow it is off to a local church to tell them about our vision and ask for prayer support. There is always something to do when church planting from scratch.

July 4th Parade in Aldan

2010-07-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few shots of our Independence Day parade. It is always good to get out and see some people and talk about what we are doing. There are short-term invitations and then there are long-term, relationship-building invitations. We are working on both. Events like the 4th help with the latter category.

Kid's Summer 5-Day Club

2010-07-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the promised pics of the summer club. The kids had a blast and CEF did a great job running the show.

Update

2010-07-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been over three weeks since preview service #3 and we are gearing up for the fourth next Sunday, July 11th. I have a new drummer who played with us last time and will play this time as well. I really like him and he is very talented and spiritually sensitive. Our friend Suzanne Alobeyo is also helping out with worship by singing. We are about to buy some sound equipment this weekend and keep pressing on to the goal of having great worship. Our children's summer 5-day club is going on right now (pictures coming soon) and so far it has had a small response. We had more response from our fliers last year and this year we dropped 250% more and they were higher quality. Advertising in the paper has yet to show any fruit either. The Bible study at Cocco's is slowly growing and that is an area of encouragement. We are done with Christianity Explored and Discipleship Explored for awhile and chose rather to begin an investigative Bible study in the Gospel of John. We start in a couple weeks. Please keep praying as we approach the launch service in September.

Aldan Fun-Day

2010-05-17T13:08:00.001-07:00

We attended our annual Fun-Day here in Aldan along with the local Boy Scouts' Car-Show this last Saturday. This is our second time attending these events and we find them very useful in meeting people in our neighborhood. Here are the kids and some friends in the rumble seat of a winning Model A. The Fun-Day had arts n crafts, moon-bounce, batting competition, and a dunk-tank (which was a big hit, and a little too cold if you ask me.)

Preview Service #2

2010-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Our second service went better than the Easter service, despite having fewer people. The turnout was not discouraging and we are hopeful for the June service. We simplified some things and tried to do less of a production, which helped both with sound quality and work-load. Sorry but we have failed to take any pictures from these first two services! I am not surprised considering all we need to remember to do. Now I am back in the office trying to square away all business matters before the next service. Next on the list: sales tax exemption. Thanks for keeping up with us.

"Preview" Service # 1

2010-04-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Easter has come and gone and after a week of crazy work we had our first "preview" service. There were about 40 adults and 12 children in attendance, which is a large turn-out except that many visitors are just showing support and are already involved elsewhere. The next preview service, May 2nd, might be a better indicator of potential interested parties? We had many minor problems, and a few complaints, but overall the service went quite well, much better than I expected a first service to be. Soon after the next service, we will be starting Discipleship Explored on May 5th, and hopefully we will have many new participants and several from the last Christianity Explored class. We will continue to run these classes in the local pizza joint. I am trying to keep it all together, but I am beginning to have a healthy fear of the week to week grind after the Launch service in September. With no staff and no extra funding, I must be everything the church needs: worship leader, preacher, administrator, marketeer, community developer, counselor, etc. It will be a crazy rest of the year!

Website

2010-03-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, after much hard work around here my in-house graphic designer has completed the first phase of the website and I must say it looks pretty good! Thanks dear!

www.redemptionpca.com

Check it out! and please see our new prayer requests!

Redemption Fellowship, Inc.

2010-03-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

I have recently filed the Articles of Incorporation with the state of PA that will make us a corporation. We will have exclusive rights to our name in this state and will soon Trademark our logo. We are ramping up the marketing in several ways. We continue to place ads in the newspaper, drop flyers, and invite contacts. Soon we will have a new website and Facebook page. Unfortunately we had a computer failure a short while ago that has slowed us down and we are still waiting for new software to continue with the website, but so far it is looking pretty good! A few new faces are popping up here and there and we are hopeful that this is our year. Please keep praying.

Holy Snow, Batman

2010-02-18T18:52:00.001-08:00

The most snow I've ever seen. The kids have had a blast. We have had over 6 feet of snow this winter and more expected next week. Several things were canceled including Christianity Explored class last Wednesday and my Church Planter Community meeting. Thankfully I have plenty of work to do right here in the house.

Crammed

2010-02-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I look around parts of our local community and I am repeatedly taken back by the shear mass of humanity living on top of each other. I think such tight housing could be fine if you really knew your neighbors well, but sounds fairly challenging considering fewer and fewer people know their own neighbors at all. These communities are increasingly transient when they were once highly stable. With so much change comes opportunity for the gospel to shine. Make no mistake, if we are successful in starting a church community up here it is the work of God and be careful to give Him all the glory! Please keep praying as we continue making plans towards our launch and preview services. Also, check out our prayer updates.

Quick Update / Overveiw

2010-01-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

The new year of 2010 is the sink or swim year for the East Delco church plant. We are aggressively marketing the area for our "preview" services that begin on Easter and run once a month until the big launch service on September 12th. We are also campaigning for another Christianity Explored class once again being offered at Cocco's Pizza. We will likewise do another Summer Camp for kids through Child Evangelism Fellowship, hopefully in June. Our Sunday Night Fellowship has started back up for the semester and we are slowly growing a worship team and learning songs. There are many pieces that must come together over the approaching months for this project to be successful. Please pray that God will glorify himself through our efforts and do a mighty work. We are getting excited about the potential for another Bible teaching church espousing the glorious doctrines of grace to this community and impacting people's lives with the Kingdom of God.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

As the year winds down and we pause to consider the incarnation I am reminded of the fact that Mary and Joseph had no place to stay in Bethlehem. Sometimes we forget the impact of certain details of a familiar story. Mary was pregnant and gave birth in a stable! The natural, yet phenomenal process of bringing the Son of God into the world was not an easy event. Why would Mary have hardship in bearing Jesus if she was in God's favor? Didn't the angel say she was "blessed among women?"

I think anything worth having is worth struggling for, and I think that is often the way of God. Mary was blessed to be the mother of the incarnate Almighty God, which also meant she suffered! She had to endure: scorn and rejection as a pregnant virgin; pregnancy and labor pains; uncomfortable, humble circumstances for birthing; and then fear for her child's life as they fled to Egypt to escape Herod's decree to kill all male babies that year.

It is worth noting that anytime the Kingdom of God is expanded it is done through suffering. Consider the Israelites entering the promised land--what blessing to be those who take possession of centuries-old promises to the patriarchs! However, to take the land they must face their fears of the "giants" who live there and wage war. People suffer horrid wounds and die in warfare. Blessing and turmoil go hand-in-hand and I could site countless examples (read Hebrews 11.)

I am encouraged to know that the most pivotal people in history who played major roles in God's agenda, who are considered the most blessed people ever, had to take the suffering with the blessing. Be not afraid of the pain, rejection, uncertainty, and risk! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! As I plan to launch a church I must keep this perspective. I do not throw wisdom to the wind and I try to live a balanced life, but I also know that if we never risk going "all in" we can expect little reward.

Jesus was "all in" as he left his Father's side to become a helpless babe; to grow up as a hard-working laborer while keeping every aspect of God's law. He endured the curse of God on the cross and lay down his life for the lost sheep. There was no half-stepping or short cuts for Jesus even as he anxiously awaited the wrath of God in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is the the greatest victor of all time and the most blessed man in history. Great gain at great risk and great suffering.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and remember that it is not about elves, cookies, consumerism, or even merely family, but the beginning of the most important life of all time... the celebration of the point in history when God would venture into the fallen world as a man and redeem it with his own pain. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ!

Franklin Institute

2009-12-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Last week I was blessed to attend a home-schooling enrichment field-trip with the YMCA to the Franklin Institute. The Boys and I had a great time together with the "hands-on" exhibits. Fatherhood is rewarding. Please keep us in prayers as we discuss future education options for our kids.

Fall coming to a close

2009-11-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from October. I continue to coach in the Boys Club, we just started Basketball and wrapped up a very successful soccer season. The kids are getting better all the time and it is rewarding to watch them grow. Looking at this picture of Halloween pumpkins shows me how fast time is moving since Thanksgiving has come and gone already. Advent is here and before we know it the New Year will be upon us.

Exporers? Anyone?

2009-10-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Well, after 1500 fliers have gone out on pizza boxes, two postings in local stores, an ad in the newspaper, a couple ads on Craigslist, and many personal invites, we have had very few attendees to Christianity Explored. Free pizza has not shown to be powerful enough a draw! Last Monday night fell on a Phillies playoff game, this Monday night was during the Eagles game, and next Monday night might be game 5 of the world series (Phillies again.) Thankfully, by God's grace, we have met 2 people who haven't already come to our Sunday night fellowship in this Christianity Explored class... only one of whom was a "cold call." Who knows how God might use this class throughout the rest of the fall. Please pray for a few more fish in the net! I am excited about the few we have met and the class material has been impressive. I think it would be quite effective if we could get people in to see it. Several people from our fellowship have mentioned what a good "brush-up" it is proving to be. God is in control!

Christianity Explored

2009-10-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the flier we are using to advertise this evangelistic outreach. The description of the class is right off of the Christianity Explored website. You can do a similar class as well, just go to the website and order materials. I hope this has a mighty impact. To see the flier up close, just click on it.

We have decided on the name!

2009-10-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, after several sessions of deliberating as a group and thinking through some criteria in picking a church name, we have decided on... Redemption Fellowship. Thank you Briton, for suggesting this name be considered. We wanted to be somewhat unique, but not weird... a quick Google search indicates that it is not a widespread church name, but not unheard of either. Now the graphic designer (Chip) has lots of work to do creating a logo, website, etc.
Keep her in your prayers! Also check out our updated prayer and praise section.

Scratching dry ground

2009-08-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

"I'm Irish, I'm Catholic, that's the end of it!" This was the response of a man I spoke with about church after building a relationship over the course of several months. I was sure I had earned the right to be heard, but the church traditions and family heritage of my neighbors are proving to be a powerful force. Most of the people I have met in East Delco do not read their Bibles, do not like their church enough to attend regularly and otherwise do not know what they believe. I would say the Catholic faith of my neighbors is not so much a faith as it is an identity. Despite being disenfranchised, a fierce loyalty that seems to exist at the center of their person will not allow them to consider church options that might provide greater abundance than what they currently experience. Jesus wants us to know him, not just know about him. He desires a relationship, not merely an association. Our identity needs to be wrapped up in the gospel and not so much our church traditions, styles, ethnicity, nationality, philosophy of ministry, etc. God places us in a new family and an ancient tradition when we trust in Christ and that must inform the very core of our person. Will you pray that hundreds of people who think they are right with God, but do not know the gospel of grace would be transformed by God working through our efforts? Do you have the courage to pray for even more than that? I am not capable of scratching dry ground forever, nor do I have any power to save; I am only a beggar trying to show other beggars where to find food, but God will answer your prayers for the sake of his name and his kingdom. Please remember this ministry in your times of intercession. May God be glorified and let us thank him for all he will do even before we ask!

In need of a diet

2009-08-04T06:30:00.001-07:00

There is a reason why Philly was rated as one of the worst cities for diet and health related issues. There are cheesesteak, pizza, and burger joints everywhere and a Duncan Donuts on every corner. However, there are also excellent ethnic restaurants of any flavor, and that also gives me a problem. I need to go on a diet! I continue to slam freezer pops (high fructose corn syrup) left over from last weeks Kid's Summer Club. BTW, the Club was rained-out twice and dwindled after a very successful opening day. Perhaps some of the people we met will come out to Bible study. Anyway, back to the diet... I have taken several short trips recently and seen many visitors and friends and that always lends itself to eating too much. I just bought some new running shoes and hope to see some improvement soon. The only problem is after you buy the shoes you have to use them. Be sure to see our ever changing prayer list on the side. Thanks to all you supporters!

Prayer Update

2009-07-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Please check out our new prayer requests!!

Street Hockey

2009-07-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

A while ago, before we got the flu, we went to the birthday party of one of the kids in our Bible study group. I took on the lot of kids at a game of street hockey. Boy did I turn into a sweaty mess; I am way too out of shape! The good news is that I still have a serious slap shot after all these years. We had a blast and I made sure each of the kids got to score. Then it was off to stuff cake, ice-cream and more soda into my fat face.

Healthy Again

2009-07-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

We are back to feeling normal now, except for a remnant cough. My wife said that was the sickest she has been in a very long time. Thank you to those who prayed for us! The kids are feeling good and we are ready for the summer. We have our Kid's Summer Club 2009 next week at a local park. It is put on by Child Evangelism Fellowship and hopefully will be a way for us to meet lots of new people. I printed a flier and me and a buddy dropped 200 of them this evening. I will post after it is over and upload some photos.

Sickness

2009-07-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Please pray for us, as we have the flu. The twins seems to be done with it, but it can also strike back with pneumonia. Chip is down right now and I have been fighting it for 8 days with few symptoms other than moments of extreme fatigue. Elena seems to be a holdout...we shall see. We have had to cancel our group and we are tired. Thanks for your support and prayers!

Updated Prayer and Praise

2009-07-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

A huge thanks to all of you who regularly check this blog in order to pray for us! The thought of many people praying encourages me to keep going, trusting that God will bring fruit.

Wedding

2009-07-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I did my third wedding back in Virginia for a guy who grew up on my street. He was one of the youngest kids on the block and I teased him a lot. Then he grew up to be bigger than me! It was an honor to do the wedding and I made sure everybody heard the gospel. I did however, forget to tell everyone to sit down, so eventually the congregation just sat down on their own. Whoops! can't win them all.

Prayer & Praise

2009-06-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Our prayer list on the upper right side of this page has been updated!

Momentum

2009-06-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been awhile! Here's what has been going on lately.
I am trying to gather a launch team so that we can begin to prep for a potential first service next year. I will likely have several pre-launch services to try and generate interest in the new church. This may happen as early as this fall depending on how much momentum we can gain. I have gone to several local churches looking for willing helpers, but so far it has been slow gathering folks. However, a buzz is beginning, and perhaps this fall we will be gaining speed and back on schedule to start some pre-launch services. Our Sunday night fellowships have been relatively small but strong. I am really enjoying the people who are "regulars" and we are binding our hearts together more and more. So far, we have been studying Colossians and enjoying our fellowship with one another. We are beginning another prayer meeting too. The children are loving their devotion time and do not want to stop singing and keep making requests until dinner is ready. Very cute. In other news, I have secured a place to have some public discussions (that do not require rent or food purchases) and I am looking into an Evangelistic curriculum. I am still involved in several local Bible studies trying to meet new converts, and bouncing around town, coffee shops, stores, YMCA, etc. I've been reading a few helpful books too. I'll try to upload the covers.

Coffee Shops

2009-04-17T06:32:00.001-07:00

I have been hanging out in several different locations trying to meet people out in the public. Here is the local Borders were I have had some lengthy and interesting conversations. This is largely possible due to a great supporting church providing me with my very first laptop computer so I can do office work out of my house. I got the low-end macbook (which is now below 1k) and so far so good. I am still low on the learning curve, but I feel like a coffee shop person (even though I publicly hate coffee! It is the most bitter non-sense I've ever tried!) So, what do I drink in these coffee shops? Green tea or bottled sugary products. Mmmmm, sugar, now that is something worth drinking. Now I just need this supporting church to help pay my dentist.

Guatemala HD Documentary Teaser

2009-04-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Do you remember my trip to Guatemala a few months ago? Well, the film teaser is now posted on the internet for your viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1OQwR1_Krk

I cannot wait to see the whole film and still feel very privileged to have participated in the filming process.

Prayer and Praise

2009-03-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

Please see our updated prayer list on the side!

Ordination

2009-02-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

I was finally Ordained last Saturday to the call of church planting in the Philadelphia region. Here is the "laying on of hands" part of the service. 7 Commissioners from my Presbytery drove down to Fredericksburg in order to perform this Ordination. Bagudekia and Suzanne Alobeyo helped my wife sing a special song during the service. One of my former pastors, Bob Becker, (New City Fellowship) preached the sermon.

My friend and fellow PCA pastor Jack Howell gave the charge and it was very personal and pertinent. This was probably my favorite part of the service.

We had a reception immediately afterward that was thrown by the people of New City Fellowship...complete with chocolate fountain, Deejay, finger foods and a huge cake seen here.

Everything went well and I enjoyed seeing people from different areas of my life gathered together. It was almost surreal. Thanks everybody for all your work and support!!

Prayer and Praise

2009-01-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

Please note that I have updated the Prayer and Praise section of the blog on the upper right side.
Thanks to all those who pray for us and support us!

Guatemala Trip

2009-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

After the Holidays I took a nine day trip to Guatemala to help some friends on a short term missions trip in which we began filming a documentary. The film is called Athentikos Guatemala

http://www.athentikos.com/

and will tell several stories about what God is doing in some of the poorest areas of Central America. Despite difficult circumstances there are people following Jesus into hard-core ghettos, gangs, prisons, garbage dumps, and drug-infested streets in order to love hurting people. I was very privileged to be a part of this group and hear some of the incredible stories of redemption! God is full of mercy and compassion and those who have spearheaded these ministries know that better than anybody else. I was blessed to hear them describe the goodness of God in their own personal stories. You can see some of the pictures of this trip here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/athentikos/

My responsibilities on the trip were to help in any way I could...I carried equipment, set up lights and screens, interviewed people, directed some interviews, and led a discussion group about our trip. (I think my chief responsibility was to beat everybody at the card game "Nertz" and continue to carry the JMU banner of aggressive card-playing excellence...HA!) It was a great change of pace and opportunity to work with a young fun-loving crew. The weather was to die for--sunny and warm everyday with clear skies and smoking volcanoes for a skyline. I am sure I will return one day, Lord willing.

Cold and Gray

2008-12-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

The sun broke through the clouds yesterday for awhile, but today it is back to cold, windy and rainy. The last few months have been miserable. The constant cold rain has added several inches of water to our once nice basement floor. Everybody tends to get sick in this kind of weather too. However, another moment of light breaking through the gray was that yesterday I finished all my written exams for ordination and soon will face my oral trials. Now it is time to relax for a few days for Christmas. The birth of Jesus--the incarnation of God himself, of course, being the greatest light shining into the darkness...check out Isaiah 9:2-7, and John 1:1-14. Merry Christmas everyone!

Student Once Again

2008-12-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

I've been studying church history for weeks now to take another Ordination test this afternoon. Then I will only have 1 written exam left (Greek). Can you identify these important men from the Reformation?

Back Home

2008-11-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I am preaching at Christ Liberation Fellowship whose pastor (Lance Lewis) is a friend from many years ago. We served/attended this church seen above (New City Fellowship of Fredericksburg, VA) and carpooled to seminary classes together. Although, back then we did not have this lovely building. The Sunday after next I will be back at New City to give friends and supporters an update about our efforts here in East Delco. It is always a privilege to be back in my home-town and visiting the church that helped me so very much in discovering and developing my calling as well as help me flesh-out a fuller understanding of the gospel.

Great Location

2008-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Boy, what a great potential building for a church right on Baltimore Pike...only 1 mile from my house and right between Springfield and Clifton Heights. It has an iconic tower for the area that would catch all kinds of attention if painted. Perhaps in many years, when I hope to have a thriving group of saints, Burlington will have moved out. I can dream can't I? Don't be afraid to ask God for big things...one never knows.

Soccer Team

2008-11-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the pee-wee Aldan Boys Club "red team." We played our last game of the season this morning. I enjoyed coaching and met lots of people in Aldan this way. Soon I will have the team (and their families) over to our house for marshmallows over the fire or something like that.

Fall Days

2008-10-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Now here are pictures of our favorite park during the best time of year. It is called Crowell Park and it is only a mile or two away. It has a soccer/football field, baseball diamond, tennis courts, basketball courts, hockey rink, playground, walking/jogging path, a hill for winter sledding, and many beautiful views. Now all I need are some friends who will play disc golf with me after I make up a course! I study here often and also try to meet people in the community. Our Jack Russel Terrier, Linus, particularly loves it here since you will see 5-6 squirrels at one time :)

Quiet Places

2008-10-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

These are the last green pics I took before Fall hit and the leaves changed color. The creek is not too far from our home and is a beautiful place where you can forget that you are in such an urban environment. Many people fish in the various creeks and rivers around here...and I have even heard of some large falls within a few miles...but that will be a post for a later date. The parks are great places to refresh yourself and the children. We've been going to a park I find particularly beautiful (this ain't it) that has a hockey rink. The boys are enjoying some floor hockey while I study and Elena swings with Mama. More pics coming soon.

Transitions

2008-10-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

And the wheels keep on turning. I'm thinking about getting some new rims for my beat-up grand caravan and cruisin around with the windows down saying, "hey, you like my minivan? (My wife thinks that's a bad idea.) Seriously though, I could use a new hubcap. It is slow getting to know people here...mostly since we are so busy trying to make our own transitions. Thankfully we have begun to invite people over to the house and show some hospitality. I am pushing to be fully settled by the end of the year and ready to dedicate mass amounts of time to evangelism and hospitality. Please pray for this with us.

Southwest Philly

2008-09-19T10:45:00.001-07:00

We live 2 miles from the city line of Southwest Philadelphia. Most of the entire city is very dense row-housing. There are over 50 thousand African immigrants and refugees living in SW Philly. More and more people are overflowing into east Delco as the entire region continues to diversify.

We Love Pizza

2008-09-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is a pizza place just a few blocks from our house. It has a model train and ferris wheel which are hits with the children.

Family Adjustment

2008-09-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

My family is doing pretty well with our transition. The children have neighborhood friends and are now beginning to play soccer with the Aldan Boy's Club. We have been careful to spend adequate time with them investigating our new world. We have gone to playgrounds, churches, stores, the zoo, the neighborhood pool, and Valley Forge National Park. They are saying less and less about missing their old house, but still miss Lynchburg friends--which I entirely understand and relate. They are starting back to home-schooling preschool and might join a cyber preschool soon. They love to learn...(especially since after certain milestones they are rewarded with making cookies!) Come to think of it...I really like it when they learn too!!

Public Transportation

2008-09-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

There are all kinds of public transportation options here. My house is 1 block from the trolley car and only 3-4 blocks from the train station. Chip and I love to go to center city Philly, and soon we will need to test the tracks!

Catholic Presence

2008-09-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Much of the North-East has a heavy Catholic presence, East Delco is no exception. Although steeples are all around, the need for deep relationship with God and belief in the gospel presides.
My 11 year old neighbor has discovered that I am a "priest" in a different church. (She better not start calling me "Father Dave!" I feel old enough already.)

Diversity of Homes

2008-08-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Row-houses.
Duplex (above), town-homes (below)
Here are examples of the majority of the housing options in East-Delco, including apartment complexes. Remember there are 300 thousand people in this part of Delaware County.

Diversity of Homes

2008-08-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

There is a true diversity of living arrangements in East Delco. Here are some nice houses mixed in and around apartment complexes, row-houses, and duplex homes. The sizes and yard space vary everywhere in-between. Some are fixed up to perfection and others are in disrepair--right next to each other. Some lots are up to 2 acres, but most are less than .2 and tons are even as small as .08 acre.

Baltimore Pike

2008-08-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at Baltimore Pike facing away from the city. It has the vast majority of shopping, restaurants and entertainment for the bulk of our surrounding community (including areas inside the city limits.) It is sometimes referred to as the "golden mile" since it has such a wide variety of stores (despite the fact that the commercially developed section is actually longer than a mile.) As you can see it is a heavily traveled road and serves as a major artery from downtown, through West Philly and East Delco, through the "hip" little town of Media, and out into the more expensive burbs.

City view

2008-08-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a glimpse of downtown Philadelphia from our local pizza hut parking lot along Baltimore Pike (a major road for East Delco and an ideal location for a future church.)

Big Picture

2008-08-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Baggetts have been called by the Philadelphia Metro West Presbytery to plant a multi-ethnic church just outside of West Philadelphia in Eastern Delaware County, AKA, "East Delco." This is an increasingly diverse area with dense populations, many physical needs, and few reformed churches. Please read the vision of the church at the top of the blog. This vision and aspects of the location will be further addressed as new posts about the progress of this church plant are added. Only by God's grace and the support of his people will any of these things be accomplished. Thank you for partnering with us and remember to book-mark this page if you have interest in our progress.