First Update and Church Profiles

Hello again,
This has been an exciting week. Things are moving along with the Bible Distribution Project. We've added another church and the management software is on it's way!

This is the first weekly update and, as promised, the general profiles of the participating churches.

Lindale Assembly is located on the near north side of Houston. The church has been in existence since 1933. The demographic breakdown of the community has shifted drastically over time. When the church began, the church was in a fairly rural, logging community. Over the years, the city of Houston has grown to the 4th largest city in the nation. The church is now located in a community which is primarily Hispanic, low income, and has quite a bit of gang and drug activity. They have gone from rural to inner city. In the 1970's, the church had quite a bit of activity. The sanctuary was remodeled to seat approx. 1000 people. By the 1990's, because of the shifting population, the church had declined considerably. The church is now pastored by Rev. Randy Meeks, who has dedicated himself to staying in the inner city, to minister to the diverse culture and families of this community. With consistent outreach efforts, the church now has approx. 200 attendees in the English speaking service on Sunday morning, and has begun a Spanish speaking congregation which numbers about 110. You can check out their website at www.lindaleassembly.org

Emerge is a brand new church planting project, located on the south side of Houston. The Bible Distribution Project, along with other systematic community outreach will be used to plant the church. They are currently meeting in a rented conference room at a local motel. The church is pastored by Rev. Jeff Fox. There are at least 6 apartment complexes within walking distance of their meeting location. The area borders low income areas, but is also adjacent to the Medical Center, which is a growing area of upscale condos, etc. This one will be interesting to watch as we begin to interact with the community.

Imperial Valley Assembly is another church that has been around for a while. I was invited to the church a couple of weeks ago, to share the vision for evangelism and Bible Distribution. Pastor Kolbe is very excited about becoming involved in reaching their community on the north side of Houston as well. Their congregation is very small, approximately 20 - 40, and mostly composed of elderly people. I will be preaching at the church on May 18, in order to begin the training process. We are hoping to be able to bring in some extra workers from the other churches involved in the project, to help them revitalize their church and reach their community. This one will be quite a challenge, but God has brought us together for a reason.

This past Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at Alvin First Assembly, with Pastor Dwayne Manes. I don't know a lot of the history of the church, but again, this is a church that has been around for a while. Their current attendance is approximately 80 on Sunday morning. The Pastor's concern is that they are not really reaching out to the community right now. The congregation responded really well on Sunday night to the vision sharing and evangelism challenge that was placed before them. We are now planning to begin training, and implementing the Bible Distribution Project in Alvin, Texas. Alvin is located approximately 30 miles south of Houston.

As I told you in the previous post, this is a diverse group of churches with different needs, located in a variety of cultural situations. There are other churches praying and thinking about the possibilities of becoming involved as well.

This is a long term project, with the goal of getting a Bible into every household, in every zip code, with an opportunity to pray with each family. Please pray with us for favor and finances as we begin this awesome task that God has given us.

There is a plaque hanging on the wall of my office that says:
"Step Out In Faith. If You Have The Faith To Do It... God Will Accomplish It!!"

Amen

Rev. Teddy Levron