Hey Church Family,

I hope you’ve had a good week! While I had every intention of being with you all on Sunday morning, our second child Attie-Jo had other plans! Saturday night I laid down thinking I was going to get up in the morning and preach. Sunday morning a little after 12:00am I was driving Audra to the hospital.

I can’t say I was disappointed! As much as I love preaching, I love being a daddy even more. Sunday was like the world’s LONGEST day. It was also one of our family’s GREATEST days.

Special thanks for Pastor David for covering the pulpit. I called him a little after 2:00 in the morning to update him on our situation. Once we were sure that we weren’t going home, I called David to let him know the good news. I don’t know when the last time was that YOU preached a sermon with 6 hours to prepare, but it’s not easy.

Technically, it wasn’t even a solid 6 hours. It was maybe more like 2 or 3. I went back and listened to his sermon the following day and was really impressed by how good a sermon he preached considering the circumstances. There’s a link below in case you missed it.

So far, Attie-Jo has been a perfect little baby. Raising girls is different than raising boys. I can already tell just a few days in. I notice myself always watching her to make sure she’s not in a compromised position or about to feel any sort of discomfort.

They say you’re supposed to be a little more laid back with your second child. I guess that’s not true if you’re a man and your second child is a girl. I’ve already got the overprotective daddy thing going on. I feel sorry for this girl already.

I’m not going to go on and on how beautiful she is or how perfect she is in every way. I mean, those things are certainly true but that’s not why you’re reading this update. You came here to hear about what’s going on at Broadview. So – let me give you a few important updates.

These two things are actually pretty recent developments and we could use your immediate feedback/engagement with both.

The first is a need for volunteers to help us paint the inside of one of our rental properties next to the church.

As you know, our church is “landlocked.” Because of that, we’ve been buying up the homes adjacent to the church for the purpose of expansion later on. We own a two-story house directly West of the church that is in need of some tender loving care.

Our last renters have relocated and we need to get this house in renting condition as soon as we can. Here are a few ways you can help.

1) Show up next Tuesday or Wednesday (October 24th or 25th).

We will meet at the church in the Gathering Place at 8:00am. You could also just head to the rent house anytime after that at 2618 South 27th St.

2) Give financially so that it will offset the costs of needed repairs and replacements. 

Even if you can’t come physically, we could use the help financially. This year we’ve had several expenses associated with our rental properties. As a result, we’ve had to spend considerably more than what the properties provide income wise.

These properties are investments into the future expansion of Broadview. If you believe in the wisdom of that investment and are able to help with this current need, please consider giving financially.

You can give online. We set up a landing page on our website. You can also give on Sunday morning or by mailing in a check. Just make sure you put “Properties” on the memo so that we know where the money is being designated.

The second big need is recruiting some volunteers for our hospitality ministry.

First off, special thanks to Alan and Heidi Bridgestock for their MANY years of faithful service heading up this ministry in our church. Also, special thanks to the volunteers who serve week in and week out. However, Michelle Hessler is now stepping in as the new Hospitality Team Director and she’ll be having a team meeting on November 5th from 3:00-4:00pm in the Gathering Place.

We are trying to recruit as many new Hospitality Team workers as we can before this next team meeting. You’ll see an insert about this on Sunday morning but let me give you some of the basics.

The Hospitality Team exists to create a comfortable environment to help people worship and connect. There are different roles that people play on the team. Some serve as greeters while others serve as hosts for the welcome center or worship services. We already have a great group of people on this team but we are in need of many more.

If you’d be interested in serving please contact Michelle Hessler and let her know. Also, please make plans to attend the upcoming meeting on November 5th from 3:00-4:00pm. This event is for those currently serving on the Hospitality Team AND for those who are interested in learning more about getting involved.

So there you go! No strings attached. It’s a REALLY important ministry in our church. A guest will usually make up his or her mind about a church during the first SEVEN minutes of their visits. Help us make those seven minutes amazing by using your gift in this ministry environment.

That’s all from me for now. I hope you have a great rest of your week! Thanks again for your prayers and support during this new season for our family. If there’s any way I can pray for you, please let me know!

Blessings,

Pastor Wes