After about a year, the church began to feel God's calling to minister to the poor in downtown Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina (a few miles away). We also had a strong word from the Lord to become portable. For several months now, we have been renting a space in a downtown restaurant called Gravy which we are already outgrowing. It's incredible to see God moving in the lives of the poor and homeless. These are people who have been living without hope, looking only toward their day-to-day needs of food, shelter, and clothing. Now you can visibly see the change in people's faces when they come through the doors on Sunday mornings. Many have come to realize the hope they have in Christ and they are beginning to feel His love through the body of believers! People are being healed from diseases and addictions and lives are being changed! Most importantly, they are realizing their need for a savior and putting their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
During this time by God's provision and through our own sacrifices as a church we have acquired a van, trailer, and generator - three major steps to becoming more portable. Fresh on this journey, we are very pleased to see that God has been preparing and using other churches in this very type of ministry. There are even businesses that have sprung up out of this movement to help churches become equipped for portable ministry.
It's very exciting to see what God is doing in His church today and I can't wait to see where He takes us next! If you have the opportunity or means to help our ministry, please contact me at sutton.email@gmail.com or contact the church via the information on our web site. Our current needs are meal donations (for feeding Sunday lunches) and inexpensive rental space in the downtown Raleigh area. Of course any financial contributions would be great as well and are fully tax deductible. Continue to pray for us as we continue on this journey!
