OCTOBER 2023
Happy Thanksgiving!
I know this is Octobers’s updates, but I wanted to start this one off wishing you all a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving highlighting here just how thankful I am for all of you who have been following along with us on this jounrney and supporting us in the various ways you do. We appreciate you all so much!
CHURCH UPDATES
This was probably the most eventful or at least meaningful month for Liberti Bristol thus far. On Sunday October 1st, we celebrated the beginning of our 1 year countdown to launch. As of October, Liberti Bristol is exactly 1 year away from weekly Sunday services! That evening we heard wisdom and encouragement from others who have gone before us, and testimonies from those who are on our team. We spent time in prayer for this new church, and we did all of this in the context of a communion meal; beginning with the breaking of bread and ending with the cup. It was a milestone event for us. As I explain to people what stage we are in now, it sort of feels like we announced that God’s family is having a baby; “It’s a church!” A new Church that is not yet here, but in the womb; growing and getting ready to enter the world. There is still a great deal of planning and work to be done, but we are so excited to see this church come into existance!
Follwing this gathering, we had our first launch team meeting, and over the next few weeks we began to work and pray together over what kind of church community God is asking us to be and who he is asking us to create it for. You can be in prayer for that process.
As we continue to network and develop deeper ties to Bristol, Laura and I were honored to be invited to take part in Calvary Baptist’s Trunk or Treat event. I dont know the exact numbers, but we saw well over 1000 community memebers come through and it was great getting to speak to parents and meet familes in the neighborhood. It was even better to make some new connections with organizations and people already working hard to make Bristol an even greater community than it already is.
PERSONAL UPDATES
After months of battling Brynn’s discomfort, its hard to believe how different a kid she is when everything is working right. Brynn is gaining weight and quickly becoming a chunky monkey and its great to see. - Thanks again for all the prayers and support that came from many of you.
Another transition that occured for us this month was that Laura reentered the work force with a new position at CHOP getting ready to help launch their newst NICU in King of Prussia. This new balance of work and partenthood is not unique, but it is to us. Your prayers for us as we try to figure out the new balance are appreciated.
With how busy our lives can be, it was great to squeeze in a quick weekend away this month. Laura and I took a lighting trip down to the Chesapeake Bay and while we were there we got to introduce Brynn to her great grandfather, and some extended family. While we were there she even got to take her (and my) very frist ride on a sail boat.
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Partner With Us
Liberti is a church in the heart of Bristol with a heart for Bristol — who seeks to live, speak and serve as the very presence of Jesus to our neighbors there.
PRAYER
Would you commit to including Liberti Bristol in your prayers? Would you pray for softened hearts? Would you pray that God would open doors and opportunities for us to be ambassadors for His kingdom? That we would have eyes to see opportunity and the willingness to pursue it — even when it’s difficult?
THIS MONTH
Be in prayer that supporters like you would partner with us to support what God is doing here. Be in prayer for Laura and her new Job. For Brynn, continued health and development. For me, wisdom in how to strike the right balance between work, church, and home. PRESENCE
We desperately need your prayers, but we also need your presence! Liberti Bristol needs mission-minded people like you; willing to do the work and take the risks to participate with God in the expansion of His kingdom! If you'd like to consider joining our launch team, then I invite you to stop by our house on a Wednesday night. Every Wednesday from 6:30 - 8:30PM, our team comes together as a family — adults and children — for a time of fellowship and prayer. Come meet us and see if this is where you belong!
PROVISION
And finally, provision. Listen, we believe that God will provide for that which He has ordained. Liberti Bristol isn't a project of our own, but rather it's our effort to be obedient to God's call on our lives and to be his ambassadors and priests, declaring the good news of God's Kingdom; inviting others to repentance and to come and see that He is good. And so, we believe that God will provide for us. But we believe He'll do it through people like you! Would you consider being a part of God's provision to us? Be it a monthly, annual or even a one-time donation? We need your help to make Liberti Bristol the church that this neighborhood needs it to be!
