This past Sunday, we gathered for a Family Meeting to talk about what God is doing in our midst as well as a number of things that are coming up in the life of our church. Below is a brief outline of some of what we discussed.

All-Church Retreat

I announced our all-church retreat to be held this coming October in Falling Waters, WV! This will be a time for us as a church to step away from the busy-ness of life, the distractions of the day-to-day, and spend a couple of days being together, building together, encouraging one another, and having fun as a church community. The retreat will start on Friday, October 13, starting at 3pm and go through lunch on Sunday, October 15. More details will be communicated in the months to come, but don’t hesitate to contact Nora (nora@gracechurchmd.org) or Elise (elise@gracechurchmd.org) with any questions or if you would like to review the cost-breakdown for the retreat. If the cost of the retreat is in any way prohibitive for you, we have benevolence available to help you. If this is the case, please either speak to one of our deacons or contact them by email at deacons@gracechurchmd.org.

Financial Update

Our treasurer, Joey, provided a financial update on the church budget.

Update on the Deacons

Chris, our pastor (and former deacon), took time to highlight the work of Rancho3M, an orphanage in Mexico that we support, as well as how we have been able to serve a single mom in our area. If you would like to contribute towards support for this single mom you can do so by making a contribution to our benevolence fund. Chris also put forth Danny Sutton as someone we would like to install as a deacon at Grace Church. Please let one of the pastors know if you have any feedback on this over the next two weeks.

Partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches

I took a few minutes to highlight our denomination, Sovereign Grace Churches, and to talk about the many ways that God is at work in what we are doing with Sovereign Grace. I also showed this video, highlighting the work of Sovereign Grace Music which I help lead.

Church Planting Update

Fengyu, our church planting resident, then took time to provide an update on what God is doing in their ministry and how we can support and pray for them as a church. 

New Member Process

John provided an overview of our new membership process that will begin in April.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

I introduced an initiative to encourage hospitality and relationships in Grace Church called, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” For the months of March, April, and May we will have the opportunity to host members of our church family in our homes and reflect the love God has lavished on each of us. Hospitality is more than a good idea; it is a gift from God as we walk out our life together. Additional information will be sent out this week with details and a link for hosts to sign-up.

Thank you for making this time a priority this past Sunday. I was blessed by the participation and grateful for the encouragement we received. God has been very good to us.

With gratefulness, 

Devon