By the time you guys read this we will have had 8 services under our belt. Two weeks ago our Easter weekend was our highlight. We had a total of just over 250 people show up this last weekend (253 to be exact). Two people prayed to receive Christ and we had 16 new households visit us. All in all a great Easter weekend. That weekend also allowed us to help out with a community event put on by the Beaumont Parks and Recreation District. Each year they hold an Egg Hunt and Spring Fling Bazaar. We were asked to run a children’s craft fair and help with some kids games. This was a great opportunity for us to interact with members of the community. Several of the people who visited us were from contacts we made at this event. We were able to see them the next day at our services and that was a very rewarding thing for our people to experience. We also held a Family Festival after each of the services and used this as an opportunity to connect further with families. We had food, bouncers and A LOT of kids running around.
Right now our biggest push is to get people connected in Community Groups. We will be starting these this next week and hopefully as a result people will build even more relationships. This past Sunday I was so blessed to talk to one of the new people attending our campus and he commented on our Spiritual Growth process and how he can really tell that Sunrise Church is dedicated to helping him grow. It was a great conversation and I think it sums up many of the ones I have had thus far and it shows that the people in Beaumont really appreciate the ministries of Sunrise Church and what we have to offer. I think this will be a trend for the future as more and more people hear about us and come check us out
Eight weeks ago (February 21, 2010) we met at the school for prayer. We had about 40 people show up that day for prayer. Before that we met in a hotel conference rooms, a community center, and room 161 at Sunrise in Rialto for information meetings. Never once did we have more than 50 people. Just seven weeks ago there really was no campus of Sunrise Church meeting in Beaumont. And now look at what God has done thus far. He has blessed us in ways that I could not imagine and God has shown us that He has a place and a purpose for Sunrise in the East Valley and He will use us to transform lives and to save the lost. God has been so faithful to us.
