In Love with Church

Thank you for taking the time to read an update from Restore Church. Sunday was a special gathering to give thanks. We had an emphasis on giving thanks for PEOPLE. Since the word church means a group of people we can truly say we are thankful for church.  People are what make life special. People are what make Restore Church. Today we enjoyed hearing from various people using their gifts to lead us in music, prayer and responsive readings. We were reminded of practical ways to grow in being thankful. One way Perry Radford shared was to end each day by writing down three things that went well that day. This is a great way to go against our natural inclination to be critical. Adam McKenna read a passage from Psalms and helped us learn how to be thankful even for difficult people. Landon shared with us that when we read an obituary it never says that they were surrounded in their final days by their money or cars or collections. They are surrounded by family and friends, because people are what really matters. We enjoyed a slideshow with many photos and memories of people in Restore Church over the last two years. It was a joy to worship and remember God’s faithfulness in building this group of believers in Goffstown. To God be the Glory!

People are created in the image of God and are valuable beyond any comparison. Yet as we talk to people in our community, many people are turned off by church or don’t attend church because of….you guessed it, people. While people can bring us reason for great joy they can also be a source of great pain or frustration. People come with problems. We all have our own personalities and preferences and if we’re honest we can all be pretty selfish. We would probably rather choose to be around people who are a lot like ourselves. But God had something much better in plan for us as he called us to gather together regularly. He wants to grow using others to help sharpen and teach us. Others who are different than us. Others who can be rude, lazy or forgetful.  But before you give up on others, remember, they also are called to put up with you! As we continue to choose to love and walk through life together, we all benefit. We are strengthened and encouraged and the world sees genuine love and forgiveness that it is desperately seeking. 

Our hope is that Restore church is a place where people of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds and problems can come and be loved. We recognize that we are all the same and our greatest problem is sin. But thankfully we all can be united in the common solution, our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Next time you attend a church service forget the building, the lights, the seats, look around at those people, each of them loved by God and put in your life for a reason. Aren’t you glad to be part of something so beautiful? I know I am. It’s not a perfect church but no church is. We have to wait for heaven for that. But when we commit to loving one another and overlooking and forgiving faults for the sake of love we can see a picture of what heaven will be like. 

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We praise God for answering so many prayers and continuing to grow His church here on Goffstown. We are seeing how long it can take to build relationships, reach hearts and plant gospel seeds. By God’s grace we continue to be faithful and do the work he has called us to. I recently heard a pastor on a church planting podcast say that his first few years there were a lot of ups and downs. The highs felt extremely high and the lows felt extremely low. We can certainly agree with his comment and have experienced the ups and downs and all arounds. Through it all we have seen God’s faithful hand continue to lead us. And we are more convinced that Goffstown is the place for us to be!

Please pray for more gospel seed to be planted

For a new place to meet, we need more room

For us to be a people of the word and prayer. 

That we will love one another with grace and truth

Thankful, Sarah Clouse

The Church A Home By Sarah Clouse

After being out of the house for the day, my kids will come in the door, kick off their shoes, and crash on the couch. It just feels good to be home. Sometimes they will go put on their PJs and get seriously relaxed and cozy. There really is no place like home. The essence of a home isn’t really in the structure or building or the furnishings. Its the people in the home that make it a home. Home is more than just a house. It’s the place you belong.

One of the things that has surprised Landon as he talks to people about church is that they really don’t understand what church even is. Most people think church is a building. Other people consider it just a one hour a week service to attend. The fact is that church simply means a group of people. A group of people called out by God. It’s really something very special. Many times people wonder why anyone would want to leave home, give up a Sunday morning to sit in an uncomfortable pew with a bunch of strangers, hear an outdated sermon and sing strange songs. You're right who would want to do that? I think we’d all agree we’d rather just stay home if that’s all church was about. But have you ever considered that gathering with the church could actually be like coming home?

Home is special because it’s the place where you feel welcome, relaxed, loved, and accepted just as you are. When you’re home you don't put on your nice clothes. You stay comfortable. You might not do your hair or even brush your teeth if you stay home. Why? Because you aren’t trying to impress anyone. You know deep down that the people in your home love you even in your messy hair and pajamas. They’re your family.

At Restore Church we have a banner we hang up where we meet together on Sundays It says “Family Gathers Here” This sign is a great reminder to us that we are Family. This is why gathering together should feel like coming Home! You  get to come together with a group of people who love God and love you! Our hope is that everyone who comes to one of our gatherings is greeted warmly and feels accepted. Not because they are perfect or pretty or are popular but simply because they are a person. Created in the image of God, and loved just as they are. We seek to love others the same way and also live out the one another passages commanded in scripture. This can only be done by spending time together with our family. Quality time to love family takes more than just sitting in a service together for one hour a week. Relationships are built and strengthened through sharing life together.

This week some of the ways this was played out were: one group got together to help a family stack their wood. We heard of  families who invited other families over for Sunday lunch. Another way was visiting a new neighbor with a homemade treat. Another couple is learning how to communicate and have a plan for their finances. We also had an opportunity this week to serve lunch to the teachers at the local preschool/ kindergarten.

Church families and biological families are God’s plan to help grow us to be more like Him. Since all families are made up of people who don’t always agree or get along or have the same opinion, there are many opportunities to forgive, overlook faults, and give grace. Its definitely not easy. It takes lots of love, prayer and obedience to God’s Word. When you see a group of people loving one another in this way you know God is the one who gets the glory!

The last few months in Sunday morning gatherings we have been learning about family. We spent a few weeks discussing what the Bible says about marriage. Then we learned about honoring God with our finances. Recently we have been studying God’s plan for parenting. We have many young families in our church and we have all been challenged to be open and honest with our struggles and mistakes. Knowing that God’s Word has the answers gives hope  to raise Godly families in an ungodly world.

We are so thankful for all the great people in our church family and all the ways God is working in hearts. Please keep praying for us as our family grows, that we will stay faithful in reading our bibles, praying, and loving others.

We are also looking forward to a wedding this month for a couple in our church. Also pray for our Kids Bible Camp happening in August. We will be teaming up with another local church. We are excited about this opportunity to get the gospel out to children in and around Goffstown.

Finally pray where God might lead us if there is another rental building that would give us more room for our growing children’s ministry.

An Ordinary Update

As I sat down to write this post I began thinking how I was going to write an exciting post explaining the many “things” Restore church has been up to when it occurred to me, we really do not have a ton going on. From the beginning of this church we committed to keeping things simple so that our best energy is spent on the non-negotiables that Jesus our authority calls us to be about. What follows are a few thoughts on the excitement of a church that is finding and following Jesus together.

We have four small gatherings meeting throughout the week, the purpose of these times is to enjoy a meal together, read the bible together, and pray together. I repeat the word “together” because we long to be a people that love each other like the family God calls us to be.Pray that all the people who attend the Sunday gathering would make these midweek groups, we see these times as vital to healthy church life. Pray that we would guard against growing complacent and missing the privilege we have to be “members of one another.” (Rom. 12:5)  

Our large gathering on Sunday has been growing numerically and we have been looking at different locations to gather around town in the future. It is partly the kids classes nearing capacity that has prompted us to evaluate our meeting space and consider what God has for us in the future. As the teachers expressed the challenges of having a room full of kids we asked the husbands to join the wives that are teachers and from what we have heard things are going much smoother for everyone! Pray for the kids who are part of Restore church, we long to see them follow Jesus with sincere hearts.

We are reading the Old Testament together as a church this year, it is so encouraging to hear people getting together during the week and doing their bible reading with one another. Pray that Restore church would be faithful to spending time with God each day. Personal worship is vital to spiritual life and we have all ages of the church reading and learning from the Old Testament.

We want to share the gospel daily with the people we interact with. Pray that every person of Restore church takes seriously their role of spiritual planting and watering in the lives of people that are far from God. Pray Ephesians 6:19 for our whole church, we need the boldness and clarity of speech to share the amazing love of Jesus.

A Boy and his Bible

As the dark cold days of winter grip New Hampshire, the people who make up Restore Church are enjoying the warm family that God is calling together here in G-town. We are so thankful we are part of the body of Christ here in this community and are so excited about seeing more lives changed by the finished work of Jesus. A brief story that happened this week in the children’s class illustrates well the work of God in lives.

As class was wrapping up, the teacher asked the children what they should do in a situation when they might be scared, doubtful, angry, etc. A young boy, who had been given a bible when they first started meeting with the church this past year, raised his hand. He explained to the class that when he is afraid, he opens his bible to the back where there is a section that has verses against fear, he turns to the page and reads it. He then told the class how he even helps his mom if she is anxious during the day, he will turn back to his bible and find a verse to read with her. He advised his friends in class to do the same thing when they feel afraid. The teacher knew she couldn’t have taught the lesson any better. What a blessing to see God teaching and changing young lives to trust him and look to His Word for answers.

Our church also had an opportunity this week to provide baskets full of pantry items to a family in Goffstown whose home was destroyed by a fire days before Christmas. We hope to be a blessing to them and share God’s love with them as they face this difficult time.

Please take a few minutes to pray for this family as they receive the food and also that the children that are part of Restore church would grow in their love of Jesus and for one another.

A Great Season of Giving Thanks

We have had a great past couple of weeks with our church family and the surrounding community. On a breezy, chilly Saturday afternoon 100 plus people dropped what they were doing to attend the first annual Radford Apple fest. It was a great event with tables full of apple goodies and fresh pressed apple cider to wash it all down.

For Thanksgiving Sunday our theme focused us on being thankful for the work God is doing around the world. We had the Kirby family visit with us as they shared about their mission in South Africa and how God has used them in caring for many children in their area. For lunch after the service we continued the theme and had a Syrian meal cooked by a local Syrian family, it was great connecting with them and giving thanks with a different meal than typically expected.

As you read this update, please be encouraged to pray anytime or with us Mondays at 9:00. We are looking forward to using the season of Christmas to engage with the community in special ways. We are planning to carol in three Goffstown neighborhoods and share information about the church. Pray that hearts will be open and we would make some good contacts.

Pray as we plan neighborhood cookie parties, these are cookie swaps designed to bring people together and enjoy relationships.

Pray that the people who make up Restore Church would be gracious towards one another and do what is best for each other. We know our relationships are an important part of making the gospel visible in this community.

Lets Get Caught Up

Hello again from Goffstown! Recently we have had people ask us why they don’t get our email updates anymore! It was good to know people want to know what’s new and how to pray for us.  In our last update, Landon mentioned he would soon begin coaching the Goffstown High School JV soccer team. That may be one reason you haven’t heard from us in awhile. Landon was thankful for the opportunity to get involved the school and meet more of the local teens. It made for a busy few months balancing church, coaching, and the coffee shop job he still works 2 days a week. We also were involved in coaching the local Tri -Town rec soccer for our younger kids. We love these chances to meet new families and deepen relationships with those we have already made. It’s amazing what opportunities God gives when we open our hearts and mouths to the people around us.

In all the busyness of life and people and conversations, Landon and I find we need to remind ourselves often of the reason why we are doing what we do. Why are we starting converstions with random strangers? Why are we inviting neighbors over for dinner? Why keep initiating through barriers and awkward moments when somedays to be honest, it feels pointless. Some days it feels like rejection. It’s so much easier to keep to myself, to ignore my neighbors, and focus on my own to do list.  So, what’s the point? Good question. The point is (well there may be more than 1) But I believe one point is love. We are called called to love. Love initiates, love sacrifices, love does what is best for the other person. I read a quote in a book “The Call to love” that said “The Point is to love, no matter the outcome” How true! I am not guaranteed any success or formulated outcome when I reach out in love. But if I loved others well in the name of Jesus, that’s the point.

Another point is to obey. God commands us to live a life beyond ourselves by focusing on others. To go and find others to follow Jesus with us. That’s what he trained his disciple to do, become fishers of men. (Matt. 4:19) So why not try it tomorrow. Start fishing. It feels really odd and vulnerable at first. They might think you’re weird. They might ignore you and stay far away from you. Or they might surprise you. They might open and and tell you how their little girl just asked them how she can get to heaven? She thinks its a stairway or a road but how does she find it? This happened to me at a soccer game. And I knew God had given the opportunity to share with this father the truth of the Bible and how he and his daughter can know they have eternal life through Jesus. There are hungry people all around you wanting to know truth and love. Jesus is the only answer. We must tell them. (John 3:17) Just like fishing there are many times you try and catch nothing. Unlike fishing when someone is “caught” by the grace of God they are set free from sin!

A third and final reason to inititate relationships to others is to share in the sufferings of Christ. A major reason I don’t like to reach out is that I fear rejection. Landon recently reminded me that when I am feeling rejected its an opportunity to know more of how Jesus feels. He continually offers himself to a world that rejects him. But that doesn’t stop Him, His love is stronger than that. God please strengthen us to be bold to carry your truth and open our eyes to the opportunities we have everyday with people who need you!

Now that soccer is over we are looking forward to the Holiday Season, and times of fellowship we will share with our church family.  Some upcoming events to be praying about, This Saturday the Radford family will host our first annual Applefest! This will be a great way to invite friends and neighbors out for food and fun. We are thankful to have the Kirby family, missionaries to South Africa, visit our service November 18.  We will also celebrate a meal of Thanks that day for what God is doing around the world.

We praise God for the work He is doing in Goffstown and surrounding area and so glad to be a part! We thank you for your prayers, love, and support.

Sarah Clouse

Around Town and Baptism

We are excited with the opportunities we have had to be a people that G-town wonders how they ever got along without us (that’s one of our vision statements). We were able to give away two hundred bags of cotton candy at the National Night Out event that was designed to foster relationships between first responders and their communities. We have been collecting items for an area food bank and will be delivering those supplies this week. Towards the end of August, we will be giving away bags that are filled with practical items for adults in need. I am looking forward to helping in the community by assistant coaching the JV soccer team at Goffstown High School beginning this week. Along with these great opportunities that the church has had, we had two families host neighborhood ice cream parties to build relationships.

In just a few weeks we are having our first baptism, we are excited for the few people that will take this important step of obedience in following Jesus. We will be borrowing a large portable tank and include the baptisms during the Sunday service time. Please pray that those who are planning to be baptized will have friends and family come with open hearts to follow Jesus in deeper ways or put their faith in Jesus suffering for their sin and conquering death through his resurrection.

The Restore church family is growing numerically but more importantly in love! Thanks for praying and caring about your brothers and sisters in the G-town area. 

Summer Happenings

Happy summer! This is Sarah, I’d like to get you caught up on what is new here in Goffstown, NH at Restore Church.  A month ago, on Father’s Day at our morning gathering, we were challenged about the Biblical roles of fathers being the leaders of their homes. After that a group of us hiked up one of the Uncanoonuc mountains. We had a great time together and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the top. 

Another highlight was a cookout we had as one of our church family members opened their home to the whole church. We ate together and then as the kids played some fun group games, the adults had a time of teaching on financial stewardship. We were challenged to be generous and joy filled givers. Since this experience we have had really encouraging feedback as people have shared how God has laid on their hearts areas where they want to give more and takes steps of faith in that area. Praise God for the sensitivity God has given to our church! 

We were also blessed on a recent Sunday morning by Landon’s brother, Lonnie Clouse. Lonnie and his family were visiting from North Carolina.  He shared with us about how to trust God in the midst of crisis. He used the biblical example of Daniel and his three friends to show how they responded to their trials and how God was faithful to never leave them alone. Lonnie shared how God has worked in his own life through trials of job transition and starting a new ministry called First responders 1st. Even though it was very challenging he has seen God bless and provide every step of the way! After that we had a church picnic on a very hot Sunday afternoon. 

Another blessing is that we have a regular Sunday morning children’s program set up and running for babies through 6th grade. We are so thankful for the volunteers who have stepped up to teach our kids. The teachers and kids are having a great time and learning a lot together! We have had new families coming with small children so having volunteers fill these important roles has been so encouraging. 

This month we are taking an “official” break from our small group gathering. The plan is to try to make time for other ministry opportunities to engage with the community. One way we did this was by having a backyard movie night. We had a group of church friends and neighbors over to watch “I Can Only Imagine” It was a fun to be together and make new connections. The other small group has decided to continue their gatherings this month and they are gathering food for the Goffstown food pantry. We are also gathering supplies to make backpacks to hand out to homeless people in the city of Manchester. We are so thankful for the ways we have seen this family of believers help each other, love each other and encourage one another and extend that love beyond to their friends, neighbors and coworkers. We plan to multiply and have a new small gathering start up in August.

 As you can see God has answered many prayers and is growing His church in Goffstown. We know He is able to do more than we could ask or think.  Landon and I were beyond surprised a few weeks ago at an unexpected gift the church presented to us so that we could go out for dinner and a getaway overnight without our kids. We felt so loved and appreciated that they would take care of us in such a thoughtful way.

Please pray for more gospel opportunities, for unity and patience with one another in our body. We know the church is a people that have been called to be in close loving relationships, but we need Gods help. Thanks for praying!

New Birth, PD Breakfast, Small Gatherings

It has been a few weeks since the last update and want to share what God has been doing with the people who make up Restore Church.

Our church has grown! We had a beautiful baby girl born to Mom and Dad who are doing great and enjoying this beautiful new life. The church also grew as a middle-aged man expressed his faith in Jesus recently and is enjoying his new life in Christ! Pray for both of the families to grow in their love for God as they reflect on this new gift of life.

We were able to partner with the local police chaplain to provide breakfast for the area department. We had a couple men go to the station and cook waffles and serve the officers for two mornings. It was a great privilege to be able to serve the community!

Our small gatherings are coming to the point where they need to multiply, we need wisdom as we decide on when and where the new location will be. We see these small gatherings as the key tool in creating space for relationships to grow! Pray that we would all be of the same mind as we work on getting this new gathering started.

Your prayers for this local body of Christ are being answered, thank you for bringing us before our great God! 

A Surprising Comment

A recent lunch with a friend provided the opportunity for a long conversation on the meaning of life. From the start of the meal where he said a “word” according to his faith tradition, I prayed to the God of heaven thanking him for his grace made evident through the meal.  In between bites of food we shared our  beliefs ranging in topics from, does God exist, what does it mean to be human, who is Jesus, the reliability of the Bible, what happens after death, and if there are other living things in the billions of galaxies. When we concluded, we hugged and thanked each other for the great conversation and promised to do it again soon.

The hours following the meal I thought much about his worldview and wondered if anything I shared with him had caused him to think too. Well Saturday we crossed paths in town and right away he said, “I have been thinking a lot about our lunch conversation, one thing really stood out in your explanation of how a person’s status changes before God when they believe in Jesus. What that means is that everyone who doesn’t believe is in a desperate condition.”

I share that story because here is a middle-aged American who is just now beginning to understand the basics of God’s truth about life, death, and eternity. His comment was a good reminder about how important it is that followers of Jesus are faithful to engage in simple gospel conversation with everyone we can! Paul asked a question to the church at Rome that still applies to the church today, “how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

Please pray for the many relationships that our church is building with our friends and neighbors. We want to share the truth and love well as we long to see many of them find and follow Jesus.

My Circle

Recently we spent two evenings gaining tools on how to be part of God’s redemptive mission in our daily lives. Through My Circle Training Restore church was set on mission to pray daily, engage weekly, and share the gospel monthly. It was a great time of learning from seasoned church planters Ken Davis and Dan Nichols, who made the drive out from Pennsylvania. It’s a six-hour ride but they know that new churches are effective at meeting the spiritual needs of a community.

The true test for our church was not to attend two nights of training but what we did with the information we learned. From what has been shared over the last week it sounds like the training was effective as a car salesman, neighbors, a couple in a restaurant, a nurse, and other people have been prayed for and engaged with the good news that Jesus loves them and is their savior!

Pray that we would continue to reach out in love to our network of relationships. We want to be faithful to pray daily for those people God has placed in our lives, creatively engage weekly, and courageously share monthly the good news of Jesus. Your prayer before the throne of God is what we need! As you pray, thank God for the musicians he has provided, we are really enjoying some new songs as we make a joyful noise!

Keeping it REALational*

About a month ago the people who make up Restore Church began giving out invites for our Easter celebration. It was a great few weeks as we shared stories of engaging people about their faith and asking them to visit with us on Easter. The invites were the primary tool we used to connect with people but we also had an advertisement in the paper and promotion on social media.

Well  Easter morning was exciting, we had a steady stream of people coming through the door as we scrambled for more chairs. We had a wonderful breakfast with tons of food, a good worship service reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus, and an egg hunt that satisfied the sweet tooth of all the kids.

During the morning as I met people and heard their stories of how they ended up with us for Easter I started noticing a trend, everyone was connected to someone who was part of Restore church. It could have been work, family, or friendship but no one came as a result of the invites, social media, and advertisements. There is an important lesson to be learned here, relationships are where the church must focus our energy! Sure, a glossy invite, a cool logo, amazing music, a nice building (I could go on but you get the point) are prioritized in the church today, but please remember that a meal with a coworker, neighbor, friend, or family member can be the most effective way to reach them with Jesus.

So, be intentional about relationships that God allows you to have this week, buy a coffee, eat a snack, play a game, whip up your favorite meal, just make sure to have someone enjoy it with you! Relationships are hard to measure and maybe even messy, but be encouraged; you serve a risen savior!  

“When he [Jesus] was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.” Luke 24:30-31

* I know how to spell relational, thanks! 

Easter and Relationships

Easter is less than two weeks away and we are looking forward to celebrating Jesus, who conquered sin through his death and resurrection for all who believe. Its going to be a great day as we enjoy breakfast, a worship service, and a kid's egg hunt hopefully without snow!  The people of Restore Church have been inviting friends and neighbors to this special day hoping to see many of them on Easter morning. But what if we had no new people attend, would it be a failure? No way! We are not putting all our eggs in one basket (pardon the pun)! There are great things happening already. This week we had stories shared of someone reading the bible for the first time ever, a family going over a neighbor's house for dinner, handing out Easter invites to store clerks, leaving the invites at offices, engaging family members who are far from God to come out and visit.  

I say all that to encourage Christians to remember that each day we have been called to live on mission, to engage everyone that we are surrounded by with the amazing news that Jesus suffered and died in our place and rose from the dead securing our forgiveness before God. That message needs to be lived out and talked about daily so that people who will never attend an Easter service will hear the good news from the one who cares about them the most- you!

Please pray:

We have 500 Easter service invitations to give out over the next two weeks, we are working hard as a group to give them all away. Pray for boldness as we go to neighbors, friends and coworkers.

One of the men in our church needs a job, pray that God would provide a job for him soon and his family would grow in faith through this time of waiting.

We are planning to have our Easter service translated through sign language for some deaf friends we hope will attend. Pray that all those details would come together as we look forward to this exciting opportunity.

Red Sea Year

Someone shared recently in our small gathering, that we more often need to be reminded of truths we already know rather than be taught new things. With that in mind, I’ve been spending some time remembering what God has done over this past year since we moved to Goffstown. It amazes me that even after going through something so significantly life changing such as having a baby or moving  I can easily forget the pain and intensity of the moment once life gets back to normal and routine. This is one reason why its so important to take time to remember what God has done. So that I don’t forget. So that I have greater trust in His guidance. I can see even more clearly that it was and is Him who goes before me and makes a way.

One year ago, we were standing on one side of what felt like the Red Sea. Wondering how we were ever going to get across. The waves were high and the waters deep. How will we sell our house? How will we be able to do all the repairs our new house? How are we going to be able support our family? How do you start a new church? These and many other questions ran over in my mind and robbed me of peace. The enemies of doubt and fear threatened to overtake me. I thought I would drown.

But I didn’t. He didn’t Let me drown. He parted the seas. He led us through safely. Just like he promised.

There are many ways to cross a river. Most commonly we would think to ride across in a boat or build a bridge or even swim. Nothing is wrong with those ways and they accomplish the task. But they are all so ordinary and human. They are also impossible when you have no resources available to buy a boat or build a bridge and you definitely don’t have the strength to swim. Thats when we must trust in God to get us across. When God does a work. He just parts the whole river. This way there’s no question as to who did it. He alone gets the glory.

I heard a quote in a missionary documentary we were watching last winter that said “We may not have all the answers, But we do have THE Answer and that is Jesus.”  I can give you no other explanation as to how we are standing on dry ground and walking through the sea other than that God has done miracle after miracle. He is a faithful provider.

More questions with the church such as Where will we meet? Who will lead the music? How do we meet more people in the community? The answer came at just the right time. There are still many questions and unknowns. And sometimes an answer doesn’t come right away or isn’t what I expected. He knows what is best way better than I do.  I hope over the last year I’ve learned how to trust Him more and be even more amazed at his ways.

In the book of Joshua (chapter 4) after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River they set up stones of remembrance so they wouldn’t forget what God had done for them. If you ever come to Goffstown stop in so we can show you our stone of remembrance. More like a huge, strange and beautiful boulder right in our backyard.

Would you take a moment today and thank him for all the ways he has faithfully led our family and the other families who are part of our church here in Goffstown. How could we ever have planned to have this amazing group of people to love and learn together.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."

This blog post was inspired by the song “ Red Sea Road” By Ellie Holcomb

Praying the Truth

These updates are an important lifeline to those of you who pray regularly for us. The last few weeks these blogs have taken a bi-weekly format but that does not mean we need less prayer, please stay committed to bringing Restore Church before our great God!

 Amy Carmichael missionary to India at the turn of the 20th century wrote updates to supporters that were known as Scrap letters. One of her main objectives in writing the updates was to communicate how “it is important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but we have only the few hours before sunset in which to win them. We are not winning them as we should, because the fact of the reverses is so little realized, and the needed, reinforcements are not forthcoming, as they would be if the position were thoroughly understood… so we have tried to tell you the truth-the uninteresting, unromantic truth.”

Like Amy I could make a list of the many “true circumstances” facing this group of believers who are regularly engaging people with the truth. But if you are attempting to make disciples in the relationships of  life, you know the rejection, lack of interest, mockery, hardness, and  many other responses that can be experienced when the gospel is shared.  

When you pray this week, reflect on a recent conversation you have had with someone who had no interest in hearing about Jesus. Pray for victory in your situation and while you do, include those who make up Restore church who are undoubtedly experiencing much of the same thing.

“For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,”                                      1 Thessalonians 2:14

Looking Back Over the Last Couple Weeks

Thanks for checking in with Restore Church so faithfully! It's been a couple weeks since our last update so here's a video on what God is doing in and through us lately. 

Continue to pray for us Mondays at 9 o'clock with believers across the world. Pray for courage, strength, opportunity, and our community! 

Into the New Year!

We are a week into 2018 and excited to see how God will work as we are read the New Testament together this year. Doing this as a church has provided some great discussions and opportunity for relationships to deepen as we hold each other accountable.

This Sunday we began a study through 1 Thessalonians, we want to see Restore church grow like the Thessalonians did as they lived on daily mission seen in 1 Thessalonians 1:8 “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.” 

As we have been growing in our desire to reach out to people in love there has been a ton of challenges in the lives of almost everyone in our church. Like we learned today from 1 Thessalonians, the grace that God has given to his children is where peace is found but we would love to see an extra out pouring of grace in our church. Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we think through some challenging situations and that we as a church would support one another and grow in grace together!

We are so thankful for your praying with us everyMonday at 9:00pm. As you pray know that God is answering your prayers!

Cookies, Carols, and a Caring Community

This Sunday we neared our rental facility when we noticed a blanket of glistening snow covering the parking lot. With a little bit of encouragement and a few stray snowballs thrown at each other the kids and some adults did a great job carving out footpaths for people to follow to the entrance.

Inside for our service we wrapped up our study on core values that will guide us as we seek to be a people that show God’s glory in the community. With the last value being Daily Mission we considered how the people of God have the joy of proclaiming the word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. To pursue that goal of being faithful missionaries we noticed how we will need to 1) love the church 2) love those outside the church 3) keep the Gospel central.

One of the ways we are excited about loving those outside the church is by the kids and adults going to the local nursing home to sing carols and share about the meaning of Christmas. We are looking forward to encouraging these sweet people and loving them.

Another fun way we are connecting with those outside of the church is through neighborhood cookie parties. These are really simple evenings where we invite neighbors to bring some cookies to our homes, hang out, and take some cookies as they leave.

Please pray for us that we would be a group that grows in our love for each other and the community. Our desire is to be a church that the community will one day wonder how they ever got along without us being around. Singing at the nursing home and eating some cookies with friends doesn’t sound like much but neither did five loaves and two fish before Jesus met the needs of thousands!

God With Us

The Christmas season is here! For Christians it’s when we remember how God stepped out of heaven, descended to this tiny planet to live as a simple human. He chose to humble himself and live in this messy world of brokenness to bring wholeness and life to all who believe in him. If we are not careful its easy to think that Jesus came two thousand years ago, lived his life and went back to heaven; end of story.

For our Sunday service this morning we reflected on how Jesus came to earth as “God with us” and went to heaven leaving a promise of his continued presence. The point that we needed to understand this morning is that the promise of his presence was directly related to making disciples. As a new church, the more we are committed to making disciples the more assured we will be that we are near Jesus through the Spirit. Please specifically pray that the people of Restore Church would see the beauty of “Daily Mission” living, where giving people an opportunity to hear about Jesus, believe Jesus, and submit to Jesus is a chance for them personally to grow closer to Jesus!

We are so excited to have the Ditty family join us in starting Restore Church. John has been a huge encouragement as he has picked up the guitar and led us in singing the last few weeks. Lisa had a birthday today and is always around to help with anything. Their son is one of the few teenagers we have and is a reliable tech guy when called upon. Please pray for John, he had a fall while at work this week and broke a rib. Pray for quick healing so he can get back to playing music, working, and laughing without pain!