Keep praying…..

No news yet. On Sunday we were holding a Celebration of Life for one of our long time members who now has an address in heaven when a large group of people came on a second visit to our property. This is not the only church group interested in our property. No other news really. Keep praying the Lord’s will be done in this matter.

Pray also for our upcoming second “preview” service. There is so much to complete before then! I am thankful for a good welcome team in place to serve for that day. Pray that we will receive guests with open hearts and open arms grateful God has entrusted us with those who are seeking Him and that they may be lovingly taken another step on their journey, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Pray also for the many other “details” that need to be in place before Sunday, November 8.

Thank you prayer partners!

“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.” 1 Timothy 2 : 1 (the Message)

Pray for the sale of the Concordia Oxford site!

We did a major clean up and our property is clean, green and inviting for the potential buyers for the Concordia Oxford site.  Yesterday we sent out an urgent — “please pray now” — email for prayer.  We have had lots of interest and yesterday there was a big group touring the site.

Thank you for praying.  Continue to pray please!

Your journeying with us and pleading God’s guidance with us and for us in this mission launch in the thousands of details…….is of such comfort. It was so wonderful to get emails back saying: “I’m praying!!!!”

First “Preview” worship experience SURVEY – Thank you!

Thank you for being a part of this first “PREVIEW” worship experience!  Thank you for taking the time to respond to this survey. Your honest feedback helps us improve!

Click HERE and it will take you to the survey!

Great things to pray for this week!

1.  It is exciting to pray for our first “preview” worship service this Sunday at 10:45.  I can’t believe it is October!  Where did the time go?  It was extremely helpful having the focus group run through on September 27.  Our welcome team had a lot of tweeking to do.  We are doing many things differently on Sunday and hopefully it will create a more welcoming environment and help others navigate some new surroundings more easily.  Pastor and the team working on the Sunday morning experience did a great job on the focus group run through weaving drama, music and message throughout for an interactive experience…..one that had something for people of all ages. Pray especially that our efforts to spread the word and invite people from this new community are successful…..that God brings those He has been preparing since eternity those who will know Him through this ministry.

2.  We have been working HARD cleaning our property for a potential buyer for our Oxford site who will visit us early this week.  I hardly recognize the place.  Not only have 3 trash containers been filled with STUFF that had really lost its usefulness, but we painted, spruced up, planted lovely flowers, laid down some red bark that unified the look of the place.  We gave out property a total makeover! Please pray that this property might be just the property this buyer needs for their ministry.  We are delighted at the prospect that the buyer is seeking a church site. Join us in praying mightily for God’s will in this matter!

3.  While you are at it…..pray for our preschool program and our director, Mary Mason.  Pray also for an upcoming community event that began its action team planning meetings today.  On December 12 we are hosting a LIVE NATIVITY presentation at Windingwalk.  Wow!  We have discovered it is expensive to rent animals like a simple donkey and sheep.  Do you know anyone who could let us borrow their donkey and 2 sheep for one night  (anyone you know have a camel?)  Perhaps you would like to make a special gift to make this happen for this community.  The preschool children will participate in the program as their Christmas program and it will be a wonderful event for this new community……not to mention getting the opportunity to tell the story of Christ’s birth and what it means for us today!  If you or your congregation would like to help us in any way, please contact me:  Melissa Salomon at mgsalomon@gmail.com

Help in a Mission Launch Effort….come on Saturday!

I lived along the Mississippi River in the “GREAT FLOOD of ’93.” As the waters were rising, whole communities joined together to put up walls of sandbags. More than that, people from communities in close proximity, but not in immediate danger, also came together to help, because the task was just so huge.

I’ve often wondered what the Church would be like if we pitched in together like that to launch missions; if we joined together where we could, both for things we saw coming and for urgent, immediate, unanticipated things that somehow are part of the mission planting process.

I’ve dreamed, for example, that launch of our newest Lutheran mission in Otay Ranch (southeast Chula Vista) wouldn’t just a mission launch of Concordia, but of the whole region. I’ve pictured short term mission support teams from other area churches who could come together, for a limited time, to help with specific needs for the launch, both for things we saw coming and for urgent and unanticipated needs that somehow are also part of the mission planting process.

We have one of those immediate needs right now, and I’d like to ask you to help. As some of you know, we had sold the Oxford property to help finance a portion of the mission start in Otay Ranch. But when the real estate market, collapsed, the sale fell through. We went ahead anyway, knowing that God had called us to play the major part in planting this new church. We took a leap of faith and took on a $6 million loan, even though we average only 100 people in worship.

We anticipated selling the Oxford property to a developer of residential housing, but just last week, “out of the blue,” a potential buyer emerged to purchase the Oxford property as a church. That’s why the urgent call for help. We need to have the property ready to show the potential buyer by Monday, October 5th. That’s just a little over a week away.

We need to clean it, green it, weed it, organize it, and make it look spacious and inviting, so that someone else can see our space as their space. We have people working hard to get the work done; but we don’t have enough people to get it done quickly enough.

1. If you are willing to pray daily, for the next 60 days, for the sale of this Oxford property, please RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com

2. If you can help for an hour or more next Saturday October 3 at Concordia Lutheran Church, 267 E. Oxford Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911 (see map here) beginning at 8a.m. to 3p.m, please RSVP to this email:  melissa@concordiachurch.com  so we can organize tasks efficiently and plan for lunch.

3. If you are not able to come on Saturday, October 3, but could come to help during the week, starting September 28th, RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com   and let us know what day and time works or you. 

4. If you would like a tour of the new mission in Otay Ranch next Saturday after you come to work, RSVP to this email:  melissa@concordiachurch.com                       

Will you be part of the dream of helping launch this mission TOGETHER as a REGION? We need you. God needs you. And, I think the region needs you. Because what might happen in our region if our churches started working together in mission?

Thanks for your help and support.

-Pastor Richard Schmidt

Thank you for your prayers

Thank you for praying for our first Concordia Community Music Festival.  What fun we had!

Please pray as we get ready for a focus group to evaluate our FAMJAM worship service next Sunday, the 27th and especially for our upcoming FIRST PREVIEW worship service on October 11!

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Dedication and new video!

We dedicated the new worship center today.  We are so humbled by what God has done here in this place and among us.

Thank you for your prayers.  We still need your prayers for staffing.  Pray also for our upcoming community music festival which will take place Saturday, September 19.

Enjoy this 10 minute video unveiled this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/concordiachurch#play/uploads/0/YMgz6hkYUT4

Chili’s Otay Ranch Town Center Give Back Day

Chili’s has unveiled its new menu and they have invited Concordia families and fans to try the new dishes.  A percentage of your bill will be donated back to the Concordia Preschool!  What a great excuse to get together with friends or to get out of cooking and have lunch or dinner at Chili’s.  This offer is good all day (from 11am to 8pm) on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

You can read the review of the new menu I wrote when we were invited to sample the new offerings.  That is found HERE.

To participate in the give back event, you must go in with a special flyer.  You can download it HERE and print out and go!

Prayer Update

142 children enrolled at Concordia Preschool this week as we begin the fall semester!

Thank you prayer partners who joined us in the prayer vigil this last weekend. Pray for the prayer walking that will take place next week.  Pray that we continue to keep prayer and dependence on God as our top priority and focus. It is our privilege to pray a blessing on the community we are serving and for His guidance in all things.

Pray:  Dedication of Worship Space Service next Sunday.  Next week we will post a special video of the Concordia journey we will be unveiling this Sunday.  We are thankful for so many gifted volunteers that contribute and strive for excellence in everything they do! Our volunteers shine  because they know that God called, gifted and equipped them for such a time as this!

Pray for the Focus Group on September 27 and the first “preview” worship service on Sunday, October 11.

Pray: The Preschool’s New Fall Semester begins tomorrow and for Mrs. D. Smith, our new two year old class teacher. (update: pray that Mrs. D. find someone  perfect to pick up her kindergartner from school!) Pray for additional staff that still needs to be hired.  Pray for new students who begin classes this week.

Pray thanksgiving for the MyHometown magazine which in their last two consecutive issues has highlighted two community families who also happen to be Concordia families very committed to the mission launch.  We are also thankful for  their partnership and promotion of our community events.

Partners in mission – Funding partner LCEF – Community partner – My Hometown Magazine

LCEF our partner in the funding of the mission wrote this article in their newsletter.

Wonderful partner in the community – MyHometown magazine publishes a Otay Ranch-Windingwalk neighbor highlight, Concordia members Ron and Rebecca Kelley.

Prayer Updates:

We need to hire a teacher and assistant teachers. Please pray the Lord brings us excellent candidates.

Pray for our weekend community event……Community Family Sports Day……..this Saturday from 10am to noon.  Games, relays, snowcones, popcorn (and cake walk) and facepainting will make it a fun day for families with young children. It’s another opportunity to serve and meet our community and show our new preschool to interested parents.

We rejoice launching our new website this week. Check it out. www.concordiachurch.com