religiousaffections

Today, the Perry family and us are off to Tampa, Fl (Tuesday – Saturday).  As we have thought through the type of city that we desire to plant in – Tampa has come to the forefront.  Tampa is a large, growing city with large amounts of college students, cultural diversity, and a general lack of a good church planting movement and network.  This is the type of city we desire to church plant in!

As we go to scope out the city of Tampa pray that our hearts would be united as spouses and together as families for the city of Tampa.  Also, we are staying in the heart of downtown as our desire is to plant close to the heart of the city – so pray that the Holy Spirit would grant us great wisdom and discernment as we dwell in the city this week.  The purpose of this trip is mostly for that purpose – to dwell.  We hope to narrow down the possible “neighborhoods” (general geographic areas) that we might plant in (if we end up in Tampa).  Pray that we would engage locals well and be able to discern major cultural trends in the city.  Here are a few bullets for those of you who like a schedule:

• Tuesday – safe travel and we are meeting with the Tampa director of church planting
• Wednesday – time with our families in the city.  Today we will spend time in parks, restaurants, shopping centers, and other places that draw crowds with hopes of better understanding what is going on in the city. 
• Thursday – meeting with a friend of a friend that works at a church in the city with hopes of just learning more about the city.
• Friday – more time with our families in the city.  Pray that God give us grace to engage locals in gospel conversations.  Also pray that God would continually be growing our families closer together for the sake of the gospel. 
• Saturday – safe travel back to Raleigh, NC
• Throughout the week – pray for Abigail Perry (1 yr old).  She will be adjusting to quite a different schedule this week, as we will be out and about a lot.  Pray that the naps that she does get will sustain her through the day. 

Thank you for your prayers and we will update you guys soon!