April Newsletter – Coram Deo

Hey friends!

Thank you for your interest in our church planting journey. For those of you recently joining us, we welcome you to our community! We treasure your prayers and support, believing each of you play a valuable role in our lives and ministry.

Here’s an update for this April. 

Easter Sunday, April 20

In just a few days Christian’s across the globe will celebrate with intense focus the resurrection of Jesus. For us at Coram Deo we’ll gather at Jack Marley Park for our first promoted public service, under a white tent on #field 2 at 10:00am.

Here is a prayer guide that we invite you to use alongside us. We know that since the book of Acts, the church has grown and multiplied by the prayers of its people. So as we anticipate Easter Sunday, use these prayer prompts to invite the Spirit’s aid upon our ministry. Link to Prayer Guide

Website Is Live!

Check it out online at coramdeobaptist.com. 

Hats off to core team member Bryan Sanders for his excellent website design. More content will be added soon, but please share with others as you connect around church, the gospel and our Easter service.

Second Service | Sunday, June 1

We coordinated with the town of Angier to hold a second service at Jack Marley on Sunday, June 1. We like the idea of having a “next step” for those attending Easter, and the hope of building momentum. We look to hold a very similar service, or course after working out the kinks from Easter! Join us if you can!

NAMB Coaching 

Last month I began a formal coaching relationship with Mike Healan, lay elder at Fairview Baptist. Mike has recently been endorsed by the North American Mission Board as a Send Network coach. He will be a great service to me in the latter months of my residency to prepare both the ‘man and the ministry.’ I’m thankful for NAMB’s training, and their strong recommendation to assign coaches to planters. Pray for us as we meet bi-weekly. Next up is Tuesday, April 29.

Preaching Opportunities
The Lord has been kind to provide opportunities for me to preach in various churches around the Raleigh area this spring. Please pray for these preaching appointments. My Sunday schedule is:

• April 27 | Piney Grove Chapel in Angier

• May 18 | Redeemer Community in Fuquay-Varina

• July 13 | Shelter Church in Cary 

Giving
Thank you for your continued financial support. If you or someone you know would like to make a contribution, please use our online giving link via Church Center or send your gift directly to:

Coram Deo Baptist Church
PO Box 308
Angier, NC 27501

Our church account is now at $40,586. These funds are mission critical to provide the financial base we need to launch later this year. Thank you in advance. In addition, our residency account at Fairview is holding steady around $90k. Contributions continue to cover our expenses.

Praying

These continue to be our prayer requests, each month. Your prayers strengthen our efforts and move us along in this journey. Thank you. I’ve updated the content from last month. 

Property Search | Pray for grace and direction as we search for a meeting location. I have two significant facility site visits this week: Carolina Charter and Willow Spring High School. Pray for the Lord’s favor, and clarity of next steps. We are looking for land. Pray the Lord guides our search.

Supporting Churches | You prayed for more churches, and we have a new three! 

• Piney Grove Chapel in Angier pastored by Brad Lee. They are giving quarterly gifts this year, with an invitation to preach April 27.

• Shelter Church in Cary pastored by David Mobley. They have been so gracious to encourage and support, hosting us twice with another date July 13, and now contributing financially to our needs. 

We praise the Lord for this local partnership. Our budget still looks to be roughly 300k. It’s our desire that one third of those funds will come from generous local churches. If you know of a church that would be interested in partnering with us, let’s set up a meeting!

Document Formation | Pray for wisdom as I continue to craft key documentation with the help of Fairview and supporting church leadership. Bylaws, policies, website and our prospectus will be key documents among the many created. Having our website line is a big help. That was a group effort for sure. 

Core Team Meetings | We’re now three meetings underway, with our fourth scheduled April 27. Our team has grown to 17 couples! We trust a few more will join before we close additions at the end of this month. Things are going great as we learn, discuss, pray and plan. Please do intercede for us as we’ll be meeting weekly starting May 1.

Eat Local!

Living on mission requires that we do life in our community. We build relationships not to just make friends, but to share the gospel and make disciples. One easy way to meet people is to eat at local restaurants. Each month, we’ll highlight a different place to eat. This month: Ed’s Family Restaurant 43 E. Depot St. Angier, NC 27501 

If you’re up for an omelet the size of a football, or the best biscuits and gravy around, this is your place! Take time this month to stop by and say hello. Introduce yourself, then talk about Jesus and church planting. Invite folks to the Easter service. I believe some of the servers plan to attend. 

Resource of the Month
At the close of each newsletter, I promote a resource to help us prepare to plant. This month: The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. This book speaks to the necessary structures of ministry to foster spiritual fruit. Enjoy!

Blessings to you. Coram Deo.