Journey of Shawn Peoples' Walk in Grace!

This will be quick. 1. We have been officially informed that our assessment in Las Vegas with Launch Network will be shared with the North American Mission board. What does this mean? It means that we might only need to go through one assessment to be approved by both agencies for funding and accountability. However, this also means that we could be turned down by both agencies in one shot, so I praying that God would let me relax and not try to impress people. 2. Still looks like we are at the $7100 range out of $8900 needed monthly. Praying that God would lead 72 families to give $25 a month for two years to help being this church. 3. We have scheduled our yard sale for June 25th from 8am to 1pm. We will be selling couches, media centers, kitchen gadgets, electronics, queen size bedding, end tables, chairs, a desk, books, dvd's, toys, clothing, snow blower, some Christmas stuff, lawn mower, vcr/dvd player, speakers, trains, sports equipment, some tools, kids bikes, kitchen

For whatever reason that God decided to, He has called believers to be the heralds of the Gospel. As I have been studying the church in Corinth, I am becoming more aware that God has put believers together to strengthen the efforts of the Gospel. Paul, in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, talks about the importance of the body. That God has put the body together and that parts of the body are different for a reason. Parts have different functions and that those functions in the whole are for the complete work of Christ. So what is the complete work of Christ. Acts 1:8 tells the church that IT WILL be His representatives throughout the world. In Matthew 28, Christ implores His followers to go throughout the world and MAKE DISCIPLES teaching them to follow the teachings of Christ. In Luke 19:10, Jesus tells everyone that He has come for the purpose of Salvation, in that there are those who are perishing and that He has come to save them from their eternal destiny. The church cannot deny this

  This morning I moved my study to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Realizing the person who was writing this letter, it is amazing that Paul was exhorting the church. Remember the work that Paul did before coming to Christ. My Pastor called him the Usama Bin Laden of the Christian church. He once hunted down Christians and approved of their demise. It is amazing to see that God will use anyone for His glory. I count it a joy that the Lord would call Paul to Himself and that I have been called to Jesus also. God will use anyone to bring about His work. Paul speaks into the the church's life about the work of the cross. It is foolishness for those who are perishing. What we do as Christians is absurd to the outside world. It does not make sense to leave Ohio for a land filled with so much plurality and sin. It does not make sense to sell everything to have to purchase used items in Hawaii. It does not make sense to uproot my family for no promised salary and that we have to rely

As I sit and listen the Ascend The Hill's "Take the World, but give me Jesus" I am reminded of the hope that Christ has given us. This morning in Acts 25-27, I read the boldness of Paul as he used his circumstances to preach the Gospel in hopes to persuade all who listened that they would turn to Jesus. What incredible joy that Paul displays in Jesus, sharing how he was once a killer of Christians, yet through Jesus has been redeemed and his purpose is now fulfilled in Christ. How many times do we see the circumstance we are in as a avenue to share Jesus? I am reminded of the way I was brought into sexual immorality and how our Lord has forever changed others through me and my circumstances. I see hope in my trials that Christ would not only make my joy complete but others that I am brought around by the Spirit of God. Some of you are hurting right now over decisions made by others. Will you waste it and pack it away or will you use it to show others the joy you have in

Today Michelle and I have been invited to the Launch Strong network of church planters assessment retreat. This organization trains and supports church planters. Vance Pitman and his church Hope Baptist in Las Vegas have become the Western US hub for this network. I was praying the past few days that we might be able to join this organization and learn from Vance and his staff. I am deeply honored that the Lord would allow us to go through their assessment process and see if we are doing things correctly. I have to admit that I have no clue what I am doing, but I am having a lot of fun being in this place. God has given me such a great excitement for this work and I know that He knows what He is doing! Please pray that we would be able to pay for the retreat and the plane tickets to get there. We already have a baby sitter(or two) who will stay with our kids while we are gone. We just have to come up with the $199 retreat cost and the plane tickets. If we are accepted into their organi

This is the time that some of my friends that have planted churches told me to beware of. It is a time where Michelle and I fill out every piece of paperwork that church planters must fill out. Some of this is to assess if we will be successful in church planting and some of it is for funding. I could feel myself becoming overwhelmed yesterday after a day of typing and talking about church planting. However, the Lord is good to remind me that it is His plan that I am part of and that I am to be faithful to what He asking us to do. This morning I awoke with a joyful heart toward the work that needs to be done. The cool thing I have seen is that there is absolutely no guarantee that Michelle and I will go through this process without trials and troubles, but it is worth it. That is the thought I have come to this morning, all of this is worth Jesus! I hate admin stuff and would rather just go interview with people and get this over with, however Jesus is worth every bit of paperwork and

I am overwhelmed at the blessings that people shared with us yesterday. I pray that as we now begin to shift toward Hawaii, that my eyes would continue to search for the work of God and that I would run from sin. Thank you to everyone who blessed us and shared the work of God in your life through us. Here are some things for all of us to pray over as our attention begins to focus on Hawaii. Hawaii is consider 95% lost. This means that most of the people in Hawaii are destined for eternal separation from God the Father unless they turn from their sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ. 50% of Chuukese students drop out of school by the age of 14. The education system is hard for these children as they try to adjust to Hawaii. 20% is the poverty rate in Hawaii. Pray for the church to see this and be able to minister to those without. 55,000 is the number of people in Kaneohe, Hawaii where we will be planting the church. 4/12 is the month and year we hope to begin the work in