The Good News in Cleveland

     Thank you to all of you who are praying and supporting from beyond Cleveland. We are in an encouraging season here. As many as 45 people have attended the Thursday Bible study at one time, and we have seen as many as 75 join us in the parking lot next to our house where we play basketball. We are thankful for the adults from CityView who help facilitate this lively ministry. God has brought together young adults and families who are asking excellent questions about God, the gospel, and life. Last week, some of our kids invited other kids from the parking lot to come to our house for Bible study. The new kids came and asked, “Is it okay if we come even though we've never opened a Bible before?” As a theme in Bible study, we pray this response to Psalm 1:2-3a:      Teach us to love Your instruction,      so that we meditate on it day and night.      Make us like trees      planted beside flowing streams      that bear fruit in the right season.      Sometimes we have gotten bogg

Hello friends, supporters, and prayer warriors. Happy New Year from Cleveland. It has been a great fall and early winter in terms of our local ministries. The Thursday night gathering for teens and families has been bursting at the seams. This is the weekly activity we host at our house, a Bible study followed by a meal, sports, and crafts. Most who attend live in our near-west-side neighborhood and walk to Bible study. We are still going through the Bible one book at a time, and this Thursday we will be in Nahum:  “ The Lord is good,  a stronghold in a day of distress;  he cares for those who take refuge in him ” (Nahum 1:7). Things are going well downtown, though we did lose another window to vandalism. The local news station did a nice piece on it and included words on the grace and forgiveness of God. One of the most exciting things happening downtown is the connection with students from India. Thousands of international students have been coming to study at Cleveland State Univers

Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. Hello from Cleveland. These summer days are going fast, but we wanted to update our family in Christ and acknowledge the good and meaningful things happening here. Sunday morning continues to be a special time of worship and fellowship at CityView. Pastor Ken, Pastor Jesse, and I [Caleb] are taking turns preaching through the book of Ecclesiastes. We are reminded that life can be short and difficult, but the eternal God has demonstrated love for us in Christ. He is still calling people and changing lives. This summer, we are also back at Perk Plaza on Tuesday nights. While we are there to reach and bless new people, especially people in need of connection with Christ and community, we are also thankful for the number of people from the church family coming out, excited to participate in the fellowship and outreach. With the teens at Thursday Bible study, we are working

My soul, praise the Lord. Psalm 146:1 It has been a hard year, but looking back on 2021, we praise the God who is still reigning over the universe and working in and through people. We praise Him for His compassion, creativity, and faithfulness here in Cleveland. New Space Our church has settled into a new space, an excellent location downtown at East 13th Street and Superior Avenue. While being a mobile church for our first ten years was advantageous as we made our home in the downtown community, having our own space has facilitated new activities starting in 2021: mid-week Bible studies, prayer meetings, community bingo, tutoring, music events, fellowship meals, and international student nights. Other highlights of having our own space included hosting our first-ever Christmas Eve service this year with glow-stick candles and a cookie fellowship afterward, Browns watch parties, and hosting community-building events for the surrounding buildings. Each week, we are also seeing new visi

To our supporters, We are grateful. Thank you for being used of God to make our 2020 ministries possible.  Update: It was a wild summer. With all of the parks and gyms in the city closing, there was an unprecedented amount of activity in the parking lot next to our house. COVID restrictions necessitated creativity in how we engaged with our neighborhood. Some highlights included apple picking, art projects, baking, playing cards, and reading together. We’ve also been able to do food distributions multiple times a week. Caleb has worked on several worship arts projects this year with people from the church community. These songs can be viewed in previous posts on this blog. In other news, the church is fully moved into our new space at East 13 th and Superior Ave. This location is central for our people right downtown. It’s 5,000 square feet, and our lease is for 5 years. While the building allows us to centralize our ministries, COVID has had a decentralizing effect. Whereas

I spent a portion of the last 24 hours sorting, wrapping, and delivering gifts to kids we know around the city, many of whom will receive little to nothing else this Christmas season. This work, made possible by so many friends’ and strangers’ generosity, leaves me humbled. The extra time allows me to reflect and pray. The heaviness of life, the pervasiveness of poverty compounded by the pandemic, and general hopelessness they experience brings me close to despair. This year has been wearisome, but I believe I would pen these words even if COVID-19, lockdowns, political division, etc. did not exist.   Our community has seen more hurt and despair than imaginable this year. Young children, gone “before their time.” Houses turned to silent funeral homes; grief intensified by social isolation. A local teen and key community member declared guilty before ever seeing trial. His life devalued by those who cowardly type hate from the safety of their own homes. Disruption, violence, abuse, trau

This is a project that I have been working on with Bernice from church. She is a powerful testimony!