Autumn in Germany Part 1

I realize that I have fallen behind in keeping my blog for the past month or so, but that does not mean that there have been no happenings here. With the change of the seasons there is much change in my life, that of my friends and family, and in the church here in Neuenburg.

Here is a picture of our basically four-man team in the NIC from left to right:

My boy Jake is over the tech and media team;  The man in the suit is my longtime friend Stephen who also serves as the head and pastor of this church; I lead the worship (for now); and the far right stands the other pillar of this team as head of the translation, Alex. All three of these men are amazing servants and I am honored to work alongside and under them.This was our final Sunday in the old church building.

 Of course this would be my post- as you can see, the front row is right under my nose so those days when my Deutsch pronunciations are wavering a bit..... ehhhh

As I mentioned, this was our final day in the "old" church building. For the past 6 years since its founding the Neuenburg International Church has been meeting in this small room above another business. Our body has grown to about 50 people on some Sundays and many prayers have been sent up over the past few years for a new place that has potential for growth and comfort of space. With a small church and a small budget it is difficult to find a space that is affordable and also meets the needs of the church. Earlier in the summer we found a building with many empty spaces and a large meeting room going up for sale and through blessed meetings and price negotiations we were able to move into this new space a little over two weeks ago! It was a leap of faith for our small congregation to be faithful in their giving and also have the courage and faith to break the tradition of 6 years, but on October 16th we held our first worship service of Thanksgiving and prayer for blessing- and Sunday October 20th we held our first service in this new space! It is wonderful to see a larger room filled with our families, children, and visitors. We have the blessing of more space for comfort in worship, space for the children to have their time during worship without disturbing the service, and just the anticipation of new life and possibility here in Neuenburg. We sang these words during our time of prayer and blessing on the 16th and I think they are so appropriate for our everyday lives and especially that of a growing church in a spiritually dark area. I pray them often:

"Lord, I Need You"

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

**As soon as my pictures from the new church have uploaded I will post them for you all!**