leadership change for the AG

Of huge concern in my prayers these days, has to do with the recent resignation of our national executive. In August we will vote on a new leader. Our system so desperately needs change and I am hopeful that we just may be humble enough to receive it now.

I believe we need to transition to a leaner, more eager system, where our national leaders do not get promoted out of the local church into some kind of national office. Therefore, I am asking God for a miracle where we find a way to do just that- promote a Senior Pastor to the job, without asking him to leave his local church!

Please pray with me that we find real vitality here and around the world.

Gerry

exciting ideas

Vision day produced some exciting ideas yesterday. Maybe an additional service on Sunday morning. Help for kids in the nursury. A possible addition to our sanctuary... one day, if we cannot find more ways to get people into more services.

We need 3 more guys in the Freedom House. We need more believers to own businesses and create jobs for people. We need to find more ways to get people to exciting life change.

still seeking

So many things are being blessed of God that it seems wrong to mention the ones that are not. Yet we still need some things to work out so that great Kingdom good can result:

1. More residents for the Freedom House
2. Resolution for leadership issues and tensions there
3. New sites/churches to emerge
4. New leaders to be raised up
5. A children's pastor/family pastor

A great summer is shaping up, with much fruit. I am very excited about the open Heaven God is giving us!

leadership issues

We are on the cusp of some great new Kingdom expansion items again. In the past week, a new site that has potential to reach a lot of people became available, like a gift out of heaven! Justin and Suzi Mazlanka from Pittsburgh City Outreach, feel like they have received a call from God to come to Hanover and start a church as well as help with our Freedom House!

God has really set us up here with a great position to start something exciting and new, a somewhat different from our usual fare. The usual part it that it is risky, and out there on the edge, but it feels like a God thing! Please pray for wisdom as I travel to Pittsburgh today to work through it a bit more.

On a personal note, I am asking God for personal financial blessing again to be able to give far more and continue to live a generous life. God is good to me, but He told me to ask!

I am also asking for my daughter Shawna's oral surgery to be healed up (she in recovery pain today) from the wisdom tooth extraction that occurred Monday, and for Evan's basketball skills to be blessed. For Luke to get a good Summer job, and Candace and Aaron to heal from some personal wounding due to efforts to make a difference in a friend's life.

wedding pics

Here's some pics of Candace and Aaron's wedding if you care to see them!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gerrystoltzfoospics/20070512CandaceAaron

great choices to make

Today I feel so in need of grace to decide what I should do next. I have so many great options, so many important things to do, that I often feel very frozen in figuring out which ones should be done NOW.

I'm sure I'm not alone in that. You probably struggle with it too.

And I'm glad that I do have this struggle. It's a good challenge to have. I like being busy and feeling productive.

But if you should choose to spend your valuable time praying for me, I would appreciate prayer for guidance that I would do the most important things, and let the rest go.

Other needs: a van/car for Freedom House, clients for Freedom House, a Children's Pastor for Freedom Valley, and souls- many new disciples being made for the glory of God.

Freedom House, discipleship, book

Some current prayer items;

I seem to be getting a lot of response to this sermon series.
Stuff about people starting on a road to healing. I'm praying that
they find it, and never hurt like this again.

I need time to think through and hear the Holy Spirit on a couple
of pressing challenges. Over the next three days I am taking a
short trip to pray through on these items. God help me hear!

Freedom House is on schedule to open this weekend! Leadership
is coming into place, funds are coming in, and lots of household
items have been collected. Now we need clients, work for them
to do, andlife change to happen.

I want to re-write our school of the Word curriculum to make
it more about open Bible study. I need God's help with that.

Thanks everybody for your prayers!

Freedom House challenges and tranforming leaders

We asked God for $5000 for Freedom House by May 1. We have about $1300.

I am holding on by faith. Meanwhile, our plan for leadership of that
house needs adjustment. In fact we need a new leader for at least the
first 6 months. Everything rises and falls on leadership.

Also, I just became aware of how certain risks I took on the character
of key leaders exploded in my face recently. Which is to say they fell
again. Ouch. I cannot even explain why that hurts, but it does.

Leadership takes courage, and tonight I need an extra dose of it.

Gerry

check out the Hanover paper today... and pray, will you, please?

Team,
The Hanover Evening Sun today has a great article on our upcoming
"Holy Spirit" night today. Go to:

http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_5703200 (paste this into your
browser) to see it. God is really doing something with this. I would
also encourage you to send this on to your friends so that they can come
or bring whomever they wish to our one-night event next week. Already we
seem to be getting quite a few calls about it, and a lot of interest,
partly because of the Nightline thing.
Reminder: Next Wednesday April 25 we are doing a one night teaching
on the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. It starts at 7pm. We will
show the Nighline thing again, after which I will teach line upon line
what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit. We will close the service,
after which persons who wish to receive it for themselves will be
welcomed to stay and receive.
Because of the numbers of people expressing interest about this, we
will be joining UnCut in the Sanctuary (Pastor Jay graciously invited us
in) so that they too can appreciate and enjoy this teaching.
I need you to pray! Would you fast with me at least one day between
now and next Wednesday? As you know a Holy Spirit filled person is a
powerful thing. I wonder what 20 or 30 newly filled people would be like
around here! If after next Wednesday we have several dozen newly filled
people who are reaching their friends, caring about the pain of the
people around them, and generally acting like Jesus, we will have a
powerful new move of God among us.

Gerry

this weekend

It's easy to elevate ourselves, and see ourselves better than other people. But this weeknd we are looking at God's call to us to actually see others better than ourselves!

Please pray with me that lights will go on and people will grow in understanding of how to relate to others well.

Please especailly pray with me for saturday night service at 6, which has been tough going lately. Ask God to bind the spirits of darkness, and to help us walk powerfully in the Holy SPirit!

Gerry