Challenges and Discernment
- Ben Canfield
- Sep 18
- 4 min read
I've entitled this update a little more negatively. This is not because there isn't anything to celebrate. Just keep reading and you'll see the things we have been able to start and the ministry that continues to grow. Yet, we have hit a point in this church planting journey where we are facing some challenges and asking important questions. I've labeled them "challenges" because from a church planter's perspective I see them as such. A challenge is not impenetrable. I'm using the word to mean an invitation to a battle or to overcome something. I believe we've hit some challenges and by God's grace he will empower us with the strength and discernment to overcome!
Challenge #1:
Our first challenge is that we are still meeting in our home. Our home has been an enormous blessing and the fact that we could even start in our home was a gift from God that we didn't even know to foresee. We love the space we have to meet, but in order for us to establish sustainability as a church and grow we truly need to find a space to rent or purchase. One of our values is "We Make Room at the Table" and our home is not quite cutting it for the community we are desiring to gather.
Prayer Point: Please pray that we find a place to rent for a time or even purchase for the long run.
Challenge #2:
The Lord has brought in a total of about 45 people into our community here. We are praising God for this! However, life on the island is very transient in the short term and long term. Basically, there is a lot of coming and going. We probably average about 25 people on a Sunday, half of which are our wonderful children. If everyone showed up on the same Sunday we would almost double our average!! Building consistency here is difficult. Military men often have duty, and travel to the states is a common occurrence for people. All this to say, there's a lot of ebb and flow so it can be difficult to really get a beat on how families and people are doing in their spiritual formation.
Prayer Point: Please pray that we can think creatively and strategically on how to minister to the people the Lord has brought to us and also pray that the Lord brings families to the church that can be a consistent presence.
Challenge #3:
We have some giving families but for the most part we are still very dependent on external revenue to continue on as a church. Thank you to everyone of you who is a part of this generous partnership with us in church planting! We are praying that we get some more families who feel welcomed and called to join mission of Table Church. We are still receiving donations which is a huge part of our being able to do what we do right now. Our specific prayer is that the Lord provides some more families over the next 8 months so that we can be working toward greater internal sustainability.
Prayer Point: Please pray the Lord brings more families to participate in the life and mission of Table Church. Also, ask the Lord to provide for our needs in this season of needing external donations.
WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO THIS FALL
We've picked up the Soccer Clinic again on the U.S. Coast Guard Ramey Base. We've got up to 30 kids coming out to play with us! After each practice I share a truth about Jesus with the kids. This year I'm walking through Jesus' "I Am" statements.
Maria has put in tons of hours to begin a Homeschool Co-op. It's called Strong Oaks Homeschool Co-op. The group meets at our house on Thursdays. They are currently taking music/guitar classes, drama class, sewing class, art class and Spanish class. The participation has been great and some more families have recently shown interest to join.
If you'd like to listen to any of the sermons I preach on sunday then feel free to click on the picture. As you can see I'm currently preaching through the Book of Philippians!
WOULD YOU CONSIDER SUPPORTING US?
If you want to partner with us as we work and labor for the gospel, then you most definitely can! There's two ways to support what we are doing:
You can give directly to Table Church Puerto Rico. These funds are currently being used for hospitality and ministry needs (chairs, ministry resources, sound equipment, food, event planning, etc.)
You can also give directly to our family. Come this December, we are taking a vacation to visit family back home in Michigan. It will have been a year and half since we've been stateside. Our family is really looking forward to this trip and any gifts to us will help us cover the expenses of travel and some family activities.
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