Hope for All…
On Sunday, April 28, Pastor Fuzzy began worship by letting some people share prayer concerns. One by one people just kept standing up and sharing requests. Concerns included families grieving over recent deaths, brain cancer, homelessness, brain surgery, other cancers, and lost friends and family. Twenty minutes later he invited people to the front to be prayed for.  We surrounded them and covered them with prayer.  Would you join us in praying for these folks…

On Monday, April 29, we celebrated the life of Diana Proctor.  She was a wonderful servant at Bridge of Hope and will be dearly missed.  At 77, she continued to quietly help serve and love others.  Cancer took her, but her hope in Christ never faded as she held on to Jesus’ words in Matthew 11… “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

WHO ARE WE?
Our leadership has been discussing and pondering who we are and what God is calling us to be.  In our discussions with Breath of Life Church about sending people out to mission fields, we found renewed insight into our calling as a mission.  Our leaders feel strongly that we are a mission.  Our community has many needs, including financial, relational, educational, but most importantly, spiritual. Our congregation reflects the needs of the community and yet is mobilizing to meet those needs.  The hope of the world is Jesus Christ, and we see Him at work in us and through us.  That is the Church!

Pray4us…
Outreach:  Pray for God to use our servant events to connect with the lost and share His love. May God give us courage and boldness.

Healthy Living: Pray that we are able to instill healthy habits into the lives of our people through our summer series, which will involve multiple teachers each weak.

Love Cedar Valley: Pray that many churches join this community-wide service event in Waterloo. May many people be blessed as they are served.

Finances: Pray giving continues to increase as we move into a season of outreach to the community. Please, consider giving online using our new “Dwolla” service.

Community Enrichment Center… We want to help teens, young adults, and low to mid-income families make wise choices. Pray for our discussions with Breath of Life as we work together to serve our community.

If you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

2 Truly Supportive Ministries…

I love creativity. Bridget was thinking outside the box when she started our single mom’s group up again. The first time they met, they did pedicures. The second gathering surprised me a bit…beginning with a Bible study right in Dillard’s lingerie section, they met on a Friday evening to learn about proper bra fitting. I love that they included some preteen girls in the event. Now, that is being supportive and thinking outside the box!

We have also just kicked off a new support group: Emotions Anonymous. A couple months ago Misty called me out of the blue wondering if I knew of a place where she could facilitate an EA group.  We’ve connected several times since then and worked with Breath of Life to open their facility for this group. The first week there were nine adults, and I continue to hear from people who are interesed in attending.  For those of you who are curious, it is a 12 step program which has been known to work miracles in the lives of many who suffer from problems as diverse as depression, anger, broken or strained relationships, grief, anxiety, low self-esteem, panic, abnormal fears, resentment, jealousy, guilt, despair, fatigue, tension, boredom, loneliness, withdrawal, obsessive and negative thinking, worry, compulsive behavior and a variety of other emotional issues. Pray that this group helps bring healing to many in our community.


EASTER…  Above you can see we had a great celebration. It reflected our diversity well. It included “Praise Kids”, our elementary aged kids, with 3 guitars, keyboard, 2 drummers, and several singers; “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” with 5 trumpets and organ; “Were You There” by our resident cowboy, Dale; and our Alpha Praise Team with Armond.  It’s truly inspiring to see the kingdom of heaven here on earth!

PRAY…
I can’t end this letter without mentioning three of our family in the midst of difficult battles. Diana was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer in January.  She is currently in the hospital because she is so weak. She receives chemo twice a week and dialysis 2-3 times a week.  Aster has been battling cancer for awhile, and it has recently returned.  He will be having surgery at Mayo in May. Shelly has been battling cancer for years. She has outlived the doctors prediction by over a year now. Recently, she was removed from a trial chemo that did appear to at least slow the tumor growth.  Please pray for these three and their families.

Please consider partnering with us to connect others with God.  We greatly appreciate your support. Just send a check to the address below or go to www.bridgeofhopechurch.com/give.html

If you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

Operation Christmas Blessing
A couple days before Christmas, I had the privilege of delivering gifts to some
families in need. Our folks specifically identified these families for us.
-There was one family of 6 with small children living in a very weathered trailer. Their little tree had nothing under it until we arrived.
-We also brought stuff to an older single woman that rarely goes out of her one room apartment. Her apartment hall way was lacking sheetrock on
most of the walls and had a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling.
-The most memorable delivery for me was to the home of a single mother. She had at least 4 kids at her home that day and nothing under their tree. The highlight for me was when her 5 year-old daughter, with all the joy she could muster, raised her hands and called out, “GIVE ME A HUUUUG!” It was
priceless!
We helped 13 families with gifts and food. We also brought a Christmas dinner to another 5 families.

We owe a big Thank You to…
-Connie & family for the money to buy each family a ham
-Fareway for reducing our cost of the hams
-Dora Beth Christie for bringing several boxes of gifts in November
-Jennifer Sommerfelt for coordinating everything
-Many from BOH who donated food, gifts, and time!
We are now developing a ministry to follow-up with these families and help them in more significant ways. Pray for these families as we build bridges in Christ.

God’s Been on the Move…
We are blessed to see God working in a variety of ways  over the past month.
1. Answered Prayers… After Lorry shared her great concern of possible cancer on Sunday, the church gathered around her to pray. Since then, she has received all positive (I mean negative) test results. (There is no cancer.)
2. Christmas Eve Service… We had 110 people at the service, in which kids and a few adults presented the story of Jesus’ birth with talking animals, including 3 rapping camels.
3. Boy’s Movie night… We recently gathered several preteen boys to watch and reflect on “The Secrets of Jonathan Speery.” This was a great tool for preparing these boys to follow Christ in the coming years.
4. Leadership Visioning Gatherings… Our leadership began a great discussion in December about our vision and focus. In January, we met twice with the leadership of Breath of Life to help them begin to process their future.
5. Mick’s new place… Mick is thrilled to be in a newly renovated cabin at Riverview Conference Center where he maintains the grounds. As well, someone is funding his new grill (teeth). Pray for him. He does not like the dentist.

If you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

You can invest your time, money, and talents into a lot of things, but only one thing really matters. In the past week I’ve been to the hospital more than normal.  One visit involved a family grieving the loss of grandpa; he had not spoken for years and passed away early Sunday morning.  The other visits were to a mom/grandma who recently found out she has stage 4 cancer.   When facing tough situations, what really matters?

The answer: Pisteuo.  Pisteuo is the Greek word often translated as believe. It comes from pistis, which is the noun form most often translated faith. Both contain the idea of surrender and trust.  What I love is that these words are not about a one-time decision, but an ongoing relationship of trust. It is the heart of our connection with God that leads to abundant life now (John 10), and a joyful life in heaven when God calls us home. 

This is Bridge of Hope’s calling: to connect people with God into a relationship, which brings hope and meaning to life. We do it every Sunday morning. We do it every week with small groups. We do it periodically with our outreach events.  Everything we do is about Connecting People to God.  Here are two more ways Bridge of Hope has been led to connect people to God…

Praise Kids: This Fall, we began to gather some elementary students to learn to play instruments and lead worship. We have 11 kids, most of them sing, a few play percussion, three play guitar, 1 plays bass, and 1 plays keyboards. What’s the point? These kids are learning to connect with God through music, prayer and Scripture; and they are learning to lead others into the presence of God.  They debuted in November with “God’s not Dead/Like a Lion”.

Pray4us

Awakening:  Pray that lives are transformed through fasting and the revival.

Outreach: Pray for the resources to bless the families we’ve identified for Operation Christmas Blessing. Pray also for all the people we have connected with through Halloween and Thanksgiving. Pray they draw closer to God and a church.

Christmas Eve: Pray that we connect many with Jesus though our Christmas Eve service.

Finances: Pray that we are able to meet our expenses and continue connecting people with God.

Community Enrichment Center… Ask God to provide accessible, safe places to serve our community. We want to help teens, young adults, and low to mid-income families make wise choices. Pray for fruitful relationships with other churches and ministries who can help us. Eventually, we hope to have a facility of our own for these ministries.  PRAY THAT GOD WOULD OPEN DOORS AND PROVIDE RESOURCES.

f you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

3 Holiday Blessings + a Shed
We’ve found that the holidays are a great time to mobilize the church to bless the community. I hope this inspires you to mobilize your own church.

Shining Light in the Darkness
There is a lot of debate over whether Christians should have anything to do with Halloween; some churches have boycotted events, others have held “harvest Celebrations” in their parking lot.  Believing we are called to be a light in the darkness, we have gone to the most active trick-or-treat neighborhood for the past 4 years.  This year we expanded and went into 2 busy neighborhoods.  We gave away 1,300 hotdogs, 60 gallons of hot Chocolate, and an awful lot of candy.  As well, we involved 2 other churches in our second site. What was clear on that very dark night was that God’s light still shines bright! Check out the video…

Pray4us
Outreach: Pray for the resources to bless the families we’ve identified for Operation Christmas Blessing. Pray also for all the people we have connected with through Halloween and Thanksgiving. Pray they draw closer to God and a church.

Christmas Eve: Pray that we connect many with Jesus though our Christmas Eve service.

Finances: Pray that we are able to meet our expenses and continue connecting people with God.

Community Enrichment Center… Ask God to provide accessible, safe places to serve our community. We want to help teens, young adults, and low to mid-income families make wise choices. Pray for fruitful relationships with other churches and ministries who can help us. Eventually, we hope to have a facility of our own for these ministries.  PRAY THAT GOD WOULD OPEN DOORS AND PROVIDE RESOURCES.

If you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

Recently, my family took a trip to my grandpa’s farm near Pella. As I drove and others fell asleep or silently dug into a book, I was struck again by the stark difference in landscapes between Waterloo and the countryside.  The farmhouses sit amidst an expanse of open land.  Kids can run and play without fear.  When darkness falls, there is a quiet peace.  As our kids played with cousins at the farm, the only fear was that allergies from climbing on hay bales in the barn would cause puffy red eyes.  Waterloo seems worlds away…  where shootings are common; murder is not a shock; children are abducted in broad daylight; and poverty, drugs, and alcohol are easier found than jobs. 

Believe it or not, I am grateful to be able to bring light into the darkness.  Bridge of Hope is a mission.  We are helping men take responsibility, coaching parents to love their kids, mentoring young adults to make wise choices, developing believers to know the Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit, and training kids to follow Jesus.  Please, pray for our small groups listed on the right.

I want to say thank you!

Every month we receive gifts from those of you who receive this update. Some of you give every month, while others give as you are lead by God.  Each of these gifts is received with grateful praise to God who has sustained us for the past 7 years. The giving from within the church is up and giving us hope to expand our impact on our community.  Thank you to all who are supporting Bridge of Hope! We would not be here if it were not for your generosity.

Update on Eva: Sadly, on Thursday morning, September 20, 2012, Eva passed away at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo. While we miss her greatly, we rejoice in the hope we have in heaven.  On the 25th, we celebrated with a packed house at Grace Reformed Church. First, our praise team filled the building (neighborhood) with praise. Then Rich (brother), Dale (husband), and I shared how desperately Eva longed for her family to trust in Jesus. Dale invited any of the family to come and read Eva’s Bible and notes whenever they long to hear from God.  Please continue to pray for her family.

We are grateful to the family and all who contributed to the memorial fund, which went to support Compassion Kitchen and our Sports Camp/VBS. The Compassion Kitchen has blessed several families with frozen dinners and is prepared to help many more. Our Sports Camp now has about half the funds needed for the coming year. 

You can make a real difference in the Waterloo by sending
a gift to the address below or give online at
www.bridgeofhopechurch.com/give.html

PRAYER4US…

Waterloo…
Pray for a decrease in violence, for Elizabeth and Lyric who have been missing for 3 months, for addicts to find freedom, for children to feel safe, and for job opportunities.

Small Groups…
Pray for lives to be transformed in our Men’s Group (Tue.), Parenting Group, “Reading the Whole Bible” Group, Youth Group (Wed.), Life Together Group, Praise Kids Group (Thur.), Young Adults Group (Sun.).

Halloween Outreach…
The past few years we have given away candy, hotdogs, and hot chocolate from the front yard of Kim Kemp. Last year we gave away over 900 hotdogs and 25 gallons of hot chocolate. This year we are adding a second location.  Pray that we connect others with God!!!

Community Enrichment Center…
Ask God to provide accessible, safe places to serve our community. We want to help teens, young adults, and low to mid-income families make wise choices. Pray for fruitful relationships with other churches and ministries who can help us.

Eventually, we hope to have a facility of our own for these ministries. 
PRAY THAT GOD WOULD OPEN DOORS AND PROVIDE RESOURCES.

If you'd like to print a copy you can download the file below.

We are celebrating our VBS sports camp.  It was an inspiring 4 days of loving kids along-side a local Hispanic church.  We walked in with a $0 budget and simply said we'll make it happen.  Eva managed to get help from Hy-Vee and Casey's for food.  Other companies donated graphic artwork, a banner, picture printing, and t-shirts. Other churches and individuals threw in over $700 to cover crafts and additional food.  God provided when we stepped out in faith. 

It was an amazing time of seeing God's Kingdom here on earth.  Denominations did not matter.  Skin color did not matter. Language barriers weren't so easy to put aside, but fortunately many of the Spanish/English speakers graciously helped translate.  There was unity and love as we worked together to coach kids to excel in sports and life.

Please pray for Eva. She organized the camp, worked on grants, and recruited volunteers. However, the week before the camp she was told her breast cancer had returned and spread to her lungs, liver, and bones.  She was experiencing great shoulder pain, yet did her best to make sure the program went well. Since then, she has gone to Mayo and received only bad news.  She is selling her travel agency and accepted hospice care.  In spite of the heart breaking news, Eva remains strong in her faith, trusting that God will heal her either on earth or in heaven.  Pray that she and Dale remain strong in their faith and that her family turns to Jesus too.

PRAYER4US…

Health… Eva is not alone in this battle against cancer.  Please also pray for Shelley, Aster, and Katie May.

Small Groups… Our groups continue to be a crucial connecting point for people. Pray for attendees to connect into a group.

Leadership and Project Planning… We are calling our folks to step up. Our local Steering team is meeting regularly to oversee care of people and project leaders.

Finances…  Pray for additional income.  We’ve trimmed our spending as much as we can.  We challenge our attendees every week with a brief devotional before the offering. Our giving is up $3k over last year, but we are still about $6k behind budget. Pray for generous hearts to flood our church.

Community Enrichment Center… Ask God to provide accessible, safe places to serve our community. We want to help teens, young adults, and low to mid-income families make wise choices. Pray for fruitful relationships with other churches and ministries who can help us.

Eventually, we hope to have a facility of our own for these ministries.

I believe we are doing more this summer than we have ever done. Why? We desperately want to connect more people with God! It’s that motivation that has us connecting, serving, growing, and reaching out in all kinds of ways.

Growing Kids for Christ: Several of us are serving with Young Community to provide activities,
biblical teaching, and food to kids at Cedar Crest Apartments each Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon. This group is also fundraising with a car wash, bake sale, and bussing tables at Pizza Ranch to enable then to do a camp at EWALU.

Friday Woo: Every other Friday, we gather at someone’s home or a park to eat a meal the host provides. This is a significant investment our hosts make in feeding 25+ people. It is well worth it as relationships are being built each time.

Home Improvement Project: We have our first project in the works… We will be tearing down an old shed and replacing it with a new one for a 75 year old, disabled man. Pray for him, as he is currently in the hospital with an infection in his leg.

Prayer on the Bridges: We participated with several churches, praying for unity in Waterloo. 2-3 churches were at each bridge. A moving experience indeed.

Bike Rides: We’ve found a number of our attendees enjoy biking, and with so many great
trails near us, we’ve scheduled a couple of rides. Of course, there will be food at the end.

Picnics: Again, with fellowship in mind, we’ve started doing monthly picnics after church. People bring their lunch and have some fun at a park.

New Website: Thanks to Jennifer Sommerfelt we are saving a bundle of money on a complete remake of our website. Our site was becoming excessively complex and out dated. We are still moving things over, but it is already much easier to navigate and edit.

Sport Camp: We are hard at work creating a unique VBS to equip kids to excel in sports and life. The event is not until Aug. 13, but we are preparing lessons, crafts, and activities now. We have a “needs” list on our website, if you
would like to donate items or come and serve.

Bible Studies: One group is continuing to read the entire Bible while another group is studying a book called “Crazy Love.” Both are inspiring people to grow! The Financial Peace University class will be wrapping up soon.

HERE’S THE SAD PART…
None of these ministries have much, if anything coming from our budget. We’re committed to making them happen whether there is money available or not, but we could do much more with your help. You can send a gift to the address below or give online at http://bridgeofhopechurch.weebly.com/give.html

Are you broken?
You’ve probably heard the song “Broken and Beautiful,” but broken sure doesn’t seem beautiful when you are broken. Nor do we really want it as we sometimes sing “Brokenness, Brokenness is what I long for. Brokenness… is what I need. Brokenness… is what you want for me” (Take my Life) This is really hard to swallow sometimes. God can want this for me, but I really don’t want it for myself. But, could it really be good for us? Could it be what we really need?

Yet the church has often become a place where brokenness is unacceptable.  We wear our masks and pretend all is well; yet when things are not good, we stay home.  We at Bridge of Hope often have the privilege of showing compassion to those who are truly broken.  In the past couple weeks, I’ve talked with a pregnant teen, an x-prisoner, and 3 guys facing divorce.

One visitor shared, “I like the church. It’s very laid back and accepting…” Accepting! Maybe hugs at the front door and our interactive break really do make a difference?  I think so. You may want to utilize a “prayer board” as well. This allows people to share concerns on a white board before the service. We then pray for these concerns before the message. It is concise and yet creates an atmosphere of openness and love. [What’s an interactive break? After about 30 minutes of worship we send everyone to the lobby to grab coffee, popcorn, and donut holes. We spend 10-15 connecting before we return for the message. The primary goal is to connect with new]

Somehow, we’ve managed to avoid the judgementalism that plagues so many churches and create an environment of acceptance.  I recently heard one of the most profound comments about Bridge of Hope I have ever heard.  He said… “What I like most about Bridge of Hope is that it is dark. Yet, we look into the light and you give us a clear path out of the dark.”

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING…

On May 27, we baptized Brandon.  Just a few weeks earlier his mother-in-law connected him with me. We talked on the phone and he visited BOH. Now he is starting down a new path and looking forward to growing in faith and love.

We enjoyed two great celebrations in the Ultrascreen in April. We followed up our Easter service with a “Big Worship Sunday.” This included special music from 3 rappers, a human video, a gospel kids choir from a local church, and worship with “A New Rejoice” (a group lead by Armond which includes people from BOH and the community.)

On April 21, we again participated in Love Cedar Valley.  A New Rejoice let the worship with over 1,000 people in attendance.  BOH also hosted several projects… a water give away with music in the park, a craft and cookie give-a-way at a nursing home, and yard work at 3 homes.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN PRAYER & Helping us connect others with God!!!

We are always trying to figure out how to do more in our community. This winter we made a bold and rather strange move; in an effort to involve more
people in effective ministry we’re experimenting with a structure and
process based on leadership styles.
Many churches have been moving to a gift based structure, which we were
working with from our beginning. This is very helpful, but it did not seem to
fit with where we are now. Thus, we identified four leadership styles with
the help of www.assessme.org. We used the process of building a house
to illustrate this.
1. The Concept Designer comes up with a rough sketch of the building and
what purposes it will serve. (AKA: Dreamer or Pioneer)
2. The Architect gets the details on paper, solidifying the plan. (AKA:
Administrator or Strategist)
3. The Foreman then recruits and coordinates the building process. (AKA:
Implementer or Project Team Leader)
4. The Construction Workers focus on doing specific tasks. (AKA: Doers,
Servants)

It sounds simple and effective, but, reality is, it requires a great deal of grace. We’ve found that we’ve really expected one person to do it all, and that it can be difficult for them/us to give things over to the architect. Architects get frustrated with the lack of detail from the concept designers. Foremen and construction workers get tired of the whole process and just want to get something done. So much for being simple and effective!

In spite of the challenges, we are pushing forward with this strategy. I believe this is a vital step for our growth; we are learning to work together and utilize our unique wiring to be more effective in our mission to connect people with God. Our hope is to see more ministries for/with the community.

As we look to a future Community Enrichment Center, we want to create life-coaching communities now that address broken relationships, destructive habits, financial mismanagement, and visionless futures.

With that vision in mind, we recently held a class on marriage in my home. We are now walking with 4 couples because of this class. In late April, we will launch Financial Peace University. This is a rather costly ministry, but we hope to see great fruit from it. I am grateful that Mark Priest will be leading the class.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to help others connect with God.
Thank you for your support!