In the Fall of 2007 I received an invitation for which I had no idea of the joy and celebration it would bring. I was invited to join with my great friend Jay Strack and serve as Teaching Pastors of a new congregation in the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. area. The first time I spoke at the church was in the summer of 2007 when it was meeting in a Women’s Shelter in Ft. Lauderdale and there were 44 in attendance that Sunday. When we began the relationship in the early Fall of 2007 they were running in the mid 60s. The group were going by Ft. Lauderdale Community Church at that time.
In this calendar year of 2008 we have continued the journey with a great a loving group of people that has grown significantly and become a joy of which to be a part. Last year a church that had been significantly declining and running only a handful, Wilton Manors Bapist, gave Ft. Lauderdale Community their facilities on 24th Street in Wilton Manors. At that time we changed the name to North Star Church. Since the we have seen some remarkable things happen. Just a few of the exciting results this year (2008)have been…
1. NorthStar has grown 300%, with 173 new members
2. 61 professions of faith, with 33 being baptized
3. Because of a grandmother’s prayers for over 20 years, her 13 yr. old grandson came to know Christ as Savior, then his Jewish mother received Christ and his dad rededicated his life to Christ. Now all three are in small group Bible study each week. LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED!
4. Average of 350 meet in small groups weekly
5. New ministries God has blessed us with this year:
Celebrate Recovery, Worthy Creations, Urban Village, Wilton Manors Elementary School, Immanuel Baptist Food & Clothing Ministry, Foundations 101, Truth Project, Vacation Bible School, & more.
This past Sunday we had groups in two maximum security sites in South Florida taking a Christmas Celebration to incarcetrated prisoners and next Sunday, Dec. 20, we will be feeding hundreds of homeless and economically struggling folks through our Christmas in the City ministry. This has indeed been a key part of making this year such a great year for Cheryl and me. God is alive and well and still changing lives, one person at a time.