LEFC’s building plan includes building the spiritual body as well as the brick and mortar one. Hiram and Annie Garcia have proposed a Spanish church plant right within the LEFC’s walls.

“We were approached by Hiram and Annie Garcia, both Hispanic members at LEFC about the idea of a Spanish-speaking church plant,” says Pastor Winne. “They are convinced that there are enough Hispanics in the Greater Warwick area to make such a venture viable.”

According to Pastor Winne, the church will not be affiliated with Iglesia El Faro, a Spanish speaking Evangelical Free church, in Lebanon. But the mission will be the same as El Faro when it comes to reaching out to local Hispanic people within our community.

Although the Garcias have been the driving force behind this church plant, there have been others within our congregation expressing the same desire to reach out to the local Hispanics. “Pastor Winne says that others folks, such as Ray and Norma Lucas, Marty and Jeanette Windle, Dan and Lynne Hollingsworth, Rudy and Sarah Niessen, Sebastian Hurley, among others who speak fluent Spanish, have approached him about starting a Spanish-speaking church.

What has been the biggest challenge in birthing this new church? Pastor Winne says, “The biggest challenge is just getting going. We have met, discussed, prayed, met discussed, prayed, etc. Sooner or later, you finally take the plunge and just go ahead with it. Initially, we thought it might start in February. Then, it was March. Now, it is April or later.”

Pastor Winne says that the most rewarding aspect of this new project is getting to know Hiram and Annie. He says, “They’re great people!”

The next step in this new church plant is setting a date to start; printing the promotional materials; get an ad in the newspaper, and other logistics to getting the word out about this baby church. The services will be held on Sunday mornings at LEFC; specifically meeting in the B-Wing. That way, children will be able to attend one of the children’s services that meet at the same time. The preaching would be done by Ray Lucas, Marty Windle, and Dan Hollingsworth, who are all fluent in Spanish. And Hiram would be leading the praise and worship time.

LEFC’ers can get involved in the Hispanic church by praying for the needs of this new church plant. Pastor Winne says that the Hispanic church’s current need is “that Hispanic speaking people might come, and that we might see people come to faith in Jesus!”

I remember like it was yesterday, being a brand new convert full of zeal for Jesus and not a hint of shame in what He did for me.  The church I was saved in had a very small congregation and sanctuary with people willing and ready to share the gospel with anyone in town.  In fact, our pastor often challenged us to live intentionally as missionaries.  With that mindset and example, our church began to grow rapidly, consistently maxing out the extra seating area.

Back in those days there was no feasibility study or research that was necessary; it was simply a matter of adding space to suit the larger crowds and growing number of disciples.  One morning, I gathered with my pastor and a few deacons to pray about the plans before us and, although I can’t quote that prayer directly, I can account for the general idea on all our hearts that frosty morning.  It went something like this: Oh God, you are working in our church and people are being saved almost daily.  We need more space so we can reach more people with the gospel.  We are asking you to provide for our needs and grant us wisdom.  After the last amen, my pastor did his customary clapping and rubbing his hands together, almost like he was trying to start a fire by pure friction, and he said, “Excitement is in the air”.

Indeed, exciting times were ahead.  Looking back on how it all went reminds me that God is still in the business of doing huge things in our midst.  You see, this was the first time I ever saw the body of Christ work with an unselfish and unified purpose to accomplish something bigger than all of us.  The fact that I was part of that amazing project remains a highlight in my life.  Last May, I traveled back to that church and was shocked and saddened to see it up for sale.  Entering the sanctuary, I ran my hands across the rough cut beams and stared at the pulpit and you know what…I remembered the comment made by an Elder on the morning we dedicated the new wing, “What we have witnessed here has been an act of God and He does not tire out so there’s more to come”.  With those words, we continued to go and make more disciples.

Here I am, two and a half decades later, and part of another church building project.  I can sense for LEFC that excitement is in the air!  I write this as an encouragement to all who read it: strive for unity, believe God to do the amazing, hold fast in faith and remember it’s about the people who will enter the building and not the structure itself.

Each week teachers, group leaders and event coordinators come to LEFC ready to serve and prepared to lead. Many of these leaders prepare communications using illustrations on PowerPoint, video, still pix and online media.

As a participant in many events at LEFC, I see the technical needs of the people who serve here. Just this week I met with members of three different LEFC groups and one outside group (a group planning to rent our facilities). All of these individuals and groups were planning for the sound, projection and platform needs for their upcoming events here at LEFC. These technical needs are the “tools of the trade” for those who are leading worship, directing activities and teaching in our facilities.

Many of LEFC’s current facilities are not equipped with the technical system needed by today’s teachers and leaders. Over the years we have added “portable” systems that provide very basic sound and projection systems in some meeting spaces. Often these portable systems are difficult to manage, present operational challenges and are inadequate for the needs and rooms in which they are being used.

Recently I served as a member the LEFC Building Technology Focus Group to look at the needs in planning for our new facilities. We recognize the importance of providing good “tools” for those who will be using our facilities to lead and teach. As we finalize designs for our building campaign, we hope to enlist the assistance of a reputable company that can provide design, installation, training and service for our acoustic, sound, lighting and projection need. By working with one provider for all of these systems, we can achieve integrated systems that are uniform and user friendly, systems that will serve the needs of teachers and leader in our facilities for many years as we gather to grow and go to serve!

Please pray with me for God’s leading and provision to equip our facilities to serve His Kingdom!

Today I am standing on the second floor of a barn in Leola looking at something that’s hard to believe. Lying in neat rows and covering the entire floor of this large barn are five or six hundred expensive track lights, complete with mounting hardware and 12 foot tracks. I am literally looking at tens of thousands of dollars worth of two year old, slightly used track lights.

And it’s all for sale. “Make us an offer,” says the owner, who wants it gone. And as he speaks, I hear in my ears the voices from a conversation we had recently at a Building Committee meeting: “We don’t just want to illuminate every room with fluorescent lights: we want to use alternative lighting and track lighting wherever it makes sense to do that.”

Later that day, I am standing in another place and I am looking at boxes and boxes of beautiful ceramic tile—the kind that sells for $4 or $5 per square foot—and the owner is asking if it would be worth “a hundred bucks” to me? And I remember the conversation at our last décor focus group session about using real tile inside the foyer of the new entrance. The colors in the tile I am being offered are the same ones in our chosen color palette.

As I get in my car to leave, I am very aware that my day has been led by the Spirit, and I am reminded of another scene from a Building Committee meeting. It went something like this: we were all gathered to hear which builder had been chosen and why. The winning firm was announced, then the story that had led to their being the winner was told.
After four firms had been interviewed, two were given second interviews; a final decision had to be made. What had tilted the scale toward the company we had chosen? Their work was on par with the others, their leaders were good to work with, their former clients were pleased with them. But, to our amazement, in a last round of negotiations, they had offered to cut their professional markup in half. That move would save the church a huge amount of money and put the project more within our reach than before.

Could all of these have been coincidence? No. These were God-incidents. I have seen God present in the Focus Group meetings, the Building Committee Meetings, the Capital Campaign committee meetings, in the Finance Committee meetings and everywhere else I look. God is already helping us to build this next LEFC addition! I can’t wait to see what He does next!

So it is with the capital campaign. The Communications Committee has a very specific goal: spread the word in digestible pieces that make sense to everyone. We don’t want to overwhelm anybody, yet there is a lot of information to share. That is why we’ve established various “streams” of information whereby you can stay informed about what is going on. Over the next few months you will not only receive printed material, you will see videos in the service, banners and posters around the building, and—if you’re so inclined—tweets and status updates through the latest social networking tools.

Whatever your preferred method of receiving information, you’ll find that our website will be a central repository of all the various types of communication. If you’ve missed an announcement, lost that thing we stuck in your mailbox, or simply forgot to check your mailbox before packing up the kids and going home, you’ll have access to all of this from the website.

Sincerely,

Doug Stuart

Co-Chair, Communications Committee

After LEFC members voted to support this two-pronged enhancement of our ministry on  November 8, 2009, a small group began to meet, to talk about the church plant, explore options and communities where the plant might occur and to do other preliminary work that is critical to such an effort.  This included and continues to include individually and corporately seeking God’s direction regarding where and who to minister to.

To date, the small team that is led by Dave and Barb Eisenberg and Sherry and Tim Green has: done prayer walking and service projects in Lancaster City; met with or explored areas of the City with persons who are performing various Christian ministries or who are knowledgeable about the socio-economic and spiritual climate in various parts of the City; met with church planting staff from the Eastern District of the EFCA (the EFCA may contribute financially and in other ways to this effort); met locally with others who either seeking or planning to reach the unchurched with the Gospel; and, investigated innovative ways that other churches have reached out to the unchurched in locations throughout the U.S.

While Lancaster City appears to be the area where the Lord seems to be leading the team to plant a church, those involved in this effort are still seeking the Lord’s direction as to what the target group or groups should be and what the primary means will be to effectively communicate the Gospel to these people.