allenarnn December 29th, 2007
Dear ministry supporters,
Wow! What a big year this has been for Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and for our family. Thank you all so very much for your financial gifts and prayer support this year.
OUR MINISTRY
Personally, I had two goals for this year. One goal was to learn about multi-ethnic ministry so that I can more effectively lead and minister in multi-ethnic churches. The other goal was that God would use me to help bring health and strength to whatever areas of ministry He placed onto my plate. Both of these goals have been and continue to be realized in big ways.
On the first goal… what a learning experience this year has been! It’s a much harder work than I ever imagined to help diverse people thrive together in unity in the church. It is the work of God, not man. Not only are racial differences a part of these trials, but also generational, economic, technological, educational, and family cultural differences. It’s intensely difficult but at the same time beautiful to do the hard work of understanding where others are coming from. It’s doesn’t always work out nice and tidy. Sometimes it’s a mess. But we keep working and praying. We stay committed to each other and to the vision of seeing a heavenly throng of diverse worshippers together here on earth in the local church.
My second hope was that God would use me to build the health and strength of some ministry areas. By God’s grace and power, I believe that we’ve seen strengthening in several areas:
• Provided infrastructure for our transition in September to two worship services
• Led a team in mobilizing LifeGroups for the 07/08 ministry year. I introduced a new component to LifeGroups to ensure that while LifeGroups are studying typical LifeGroup material on specialized topics like parenting, marriage, finances, etc they are also experiencing coaching (discipleship) on the basic building blocks of a great life with Christ (things like prayer, time with God, memorizing Scripture, evangelism, etc). Plans are being made for further LifeGroup ministry strengthening in the new year.
• In October, I also took on a role developing the operations of our children’s ministry. I never thought I’d be reviewing preschool curriculum or buying a yard of felt at the fabric counter at Walmart as a blanket for baby Jesus! I like to dive in deep to learn what’s going on in an organization and then pull way up to work on the structure of the organization. So far, I’ve implemented a resource arm to stabilize the flow of printed material and supplies to the teachers. Also, we have almost completed a reorganization of the children’s leaders. Instead of leaders just coordinating efforts for an age group of children under them, we are unleashing these leaders to serve in their giftedness and passion for the benefit of the entire children’s ministry. The first big “win” will be in late January when our newly unleashed “training” leader will create and coordinate an awesome training event for all MoKids volunteers.
CHURCH HIGHLIGHTS
• By the end of January we’ll have (in cash) about half of the money needed to buy the old K-mart across the street as our permanent home, a “Center of Life” in this community.
• During late summer and early fall we saw over 60 people put their faith in Jesus through our ministries both here and overseas.
• On Sunday mornings for several months we’ve been digging into the book of 1 Peter. Try memorizing 1 Peter 1:3-9 and use it to encourage your loved ones. Powerful stuff!
• On Thanksgiving Day we fed turkey and dressing to over 350 people from the community. One previously homeless guy whom I know was there. He was excited to tell me that “he found a place”. He had walked 3 hours from his new home to attend Mosaic’s Thanksgiving meal. He went home with a full stomach and bags full of clothes from the clothes closet.
SUPPORT-RAISING
In order to keep you informed of our support-raising status, I’d like to share with you how our family is currently operating financially:
The design currently is as follows:
• 50% of my time is covered by supporters
• 25% of my time is paid now by Mosaic Church
• 25% of my time is spent on freelance video projects
My wife, Debbie, has returned to work this fall as a teacher in order to provide good group health insurance and also to work on paying off debt incurred prior to moving to Arkansas. She is teaching 2nd grade in a very at-risk public school, and she’s learning much herself about interaction with diverse people.
Well… That about wraps it up! Thanks for reading and for caring about us. Thanks again for your generous support and for your friendship. You should receive in January a statement of giving for your records. As we enter our second year of this two-year “residency” we’ll continue to thrive via your support and your prayers. Remember that online giving is available. Simply visit www.mosaicchurch.net, and click on “donations” at the bottom of the page. Once in the online giving system, use the “auto-tithe” tab and choose “Allen Arnn support team”. Please contact me if you have questions.
If you’d like to pray specifically for us, please consider these prayer requests:
Allen – For wisdom to juggle several professional activities at once. For increased passion and commitment among the people I lead. For the MoKids training in January to be a huge boost of energy and excellence in the ministry. For me to keep the right balance between work and being a father and husband.
Debbie – For strength and patience as she continues to grow as a teacher.
Emmaleigh – Big praise! Em has been experiencing stress this year from several causes. Lately, I believe God has been working in her and helping her to cope. Please pray she continues to grow in her dependence on Jesus.
Alex – Please pray he can be diligent to work on his vision therapy and that he’ll desire to grow closer to Jesus.
Susannah – Please pray that as our youngest she won’t be neglected or feel neglected as our family gets increasingly busy.
We pray God’s richest blessings on you and yours in the new year.
