This Sunday Ryan McCullah will be preaching for the purpose of getting to know him and his family.  The reason for this is that we are considering bringing Ryan on staff as associate pastor at MERCYhouse.  Ryan was the pastor of Valley Church which is one of the church plants that went out from MERCYhouse about 3 years ago.  Through discussion and prayer the leaders of both churches have decided that it is time to close the doors of Valley Church because of a dwindling of numbers which has led to financial hardship.  While this is disappointing, it has also opened up the possibility of Ryan coming to be our associate pastor (see job description here).    

This is a huge step of faith for both the McCullahs and for MERCYhouse.  The McCullahs will be required to fundraise the majority of their salary and the leadership of MH is going to recommend that we kick in $1000/mo toward that salary.  This is a small amount but still a stretch for our church.  This is something that we want to handle with great care.  We have a family that has financial needs and a church that lives on the edge of going off the fiscal cliff every month.  It is very important that we all approach this with prayer, seeking God's will for the McCullahs and for our church.  

Please begin praying now for this process and make sure that you come on Sunday to hear Ryan preach.  Then return on Sunday evening at 6:30pm for a Question and Answer time with the McCullahs.  After Sunday you are also encouraged to speak with Ryan or contact any of the leadership team about this as well before we vote as a church on Sunday December 9th.  

Many in our congregation are students or single adults, generally away from home and with limited resources.  But we don't see any need for them to be alone for the holidays or to miss out on a delicious feast.  As one community in Christ, some of our members will be opening their doors to those among us who would otherwise be unable to properly celebrate Thanksgiving.  The church will be helping to bring these people together, so if you would like to open your home, or if you need somewhere to go, please let This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it know as soon as possible so we can begin making those connections.

I wanted to share a link to a donation page for disaster relief that is coordinated by the Southern Baptist Convention (the denomination that we are affiliated with).  These funds support 100's of volunteers that are part of disaster relief teams that are deployed all over the US when disaster strikes.  Right now teams from several states have deployed to New York and New Jersey and will be camping out there in RVs for weeks manning feeding trailers that will provide free hot meals for victims and volunteers.  They do this to meet the physical needs but do so in the name of Jesus and are always ready to pray with people and share the gospel with those who are interested.  This is an incredible opportunity to partner with some fellow Christians who are getting it done in the middle of a crisis where people are in desperate need.  Please consider giving to this effort.  Thanks

Pastor Robert