Mercy Street Reformed Update

Bible Studies: Before Carole and I moved to the Denver area, Rev. J.P. Mosely and Rev. Jimmy Hall were tag-teaming a Bible study with our core group. Since our arrival I have been leading that same group each Tuesday evening and we have now made it more than half-way through Rev. Paul T. Murphy’s booklet titled, “A Humble Effort to Promote Local Evangelism.” (You can find that booklet for free at the following web address – http://www.urcnamissions.org/uploads/7/9/8/6/79863340/ahumbleefforttopromotelocalevangelismbooklet.pdf).
Besides the above mentioned study we have also been busy promoting another Bible study here at Windsor Gardens (a 55+ community of around 4,000 residents where we rent a condo). The study is titled ‘Living Life Backward – a study through the book of Ecclesiastes’ and we are opening our home (condo) for all who are interested both on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30, and again on Thursday mornings from 10:00-11:00.
So far we have had approximately 10 people tell us that they’re interested in attending but we’ve yet to have any of them show up. That being said, it’s only been promoted for two weeks via personal contacts and through a few information sheets posted on laundry room bulletin boards, plus this past week was the 4th of July and many folks were out of town or had other plans. The good news concerning this study is that the monthly Windsor Gardens newspaper just came out yesterday and it has the Bible study info printed in the “Faith Activities” section. In fact, just as I was writing this post I received an email from a woman who said that she would like to attend – praise the Lord!
Please pray that those that have expressed interest will attend, and that others who will be hearing about it for the first time will come as well.

Outreach: Sometime in the next week or two we will be inviting the other residents of our building to an open house in our condo. There are 24 units in our building with quite a few couples residing in those units and we are hopeful that this ‘meet and greet’ will prove successful in terms of building new relationships that God might then use in leading others to Christ.
Our landlords are a married couple and for the past few years the wife has been involved with a mentoring program at a local high school. After finding out that I was a teacher in the past, she asked me if I would be interested in joining the same program and so beginning in August, Lord willing, I will be part of it. Again, I am prayerful that this will provide opportunities for building relationships which might, if the Lord so wills, lead to His building the church.
We have already taken a widow from Windsor Gardens out to dinner, and I continue to meet on a regular basis with the man across the hall, both of which have expressed interest in coming to our Bible studies and/or in continuing to meet together.
Last Saturday a man standing outside of the restaurant which we have here at Windsor Gardens, asked me (as I too stood outside of the restaurant) if I would like to have lunch with him. I answered that “I would” and through the course of our lunch conversation I told him that I was a mission pastor in the RCUS and that I was leading a Bible study that he might be interested in attending. He had a fairly competent knowledge of certain biblical topics and near the end of our lunch he told me that he would talk to his brother about attending the Bible study and get back to me.
Two days later I saw him out walking and asked if he had spoken to his brother. He rather abruptly told me that he had spoken to him and, “We will not be coming!” was his response. I’m not sure what it was that made him (and his brother) so negative towards attending, but the Lord knows and I can rest in knowing that He is sovereign over all.

Miscellaneous: Since we arrived in Denver I have had the blessed privilege of preaching at Providence Reformed Church in Rock Springs, WY and at Trinity Covenant Reformed Church in Colorado Springs, CO. This coming Lord’s Day I am scheduled to preach at Providence Reformed Church in Limon, CO, and the following Lord’s Day I am scheduled to preach at Grace Reformed Church in Greeley, CO.
Carole and I have already attended all three of the Colorado RCUS churches and we have enjoyed worshipping the Lord and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ at each location.
We are grateful to our Lord for His continued provision, and we look forward to seeing what He will do as we seek to be His humble servants in starting Mercy Street Reformed Church in the Denver area. We are also grateful for your prayers on our behalf and please continue to bring this church-plant work before the throne of God’s grace.

In Christ,
Pastor Chris Moulton

He has shown thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

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