Here's a preview of Melanie Dill's 2014 in South Africa:
CURRENTLY: 40 Days of Purpose
Capricorn Community Church is in the midst of our Purpose Driven Life Series (9 Feb - 13 Apr, 2014). Our congregation is on a journey to find our mission in the Body of Christ! Our congregation have committed to reading the Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life book, attending a Wednesday Small Group, and participating in Sunday Worship during this campaign. We've had over 100 people on Sunday mornings and 60+ people involved in Small Groups! I'm blown away by the growth and community God is putting together.
NEW STRATEGY:
All our weekly ministries at Capricorn Community Church have been put on pause for 8 weeks. During our Purpose Driven Life Series, we've wiped our calendar clean and only focusing on "community-based" ministry. There's no separate weekly youth ministry, young adult discipleship, dance practice, etc. We're concentrating on bringing our age-groups together for worship (Sundays), discipleship (Wednesdays and Sunday School), fellowship and mission (Visiting Team events).
I've also shaken up our Sunday School (ages 5-11). We've implemented a new structure and strategy for Children's Ministry - dividing our children into age-groups, recruiting and training new teachers and developing curriculum for each age-group (for the 40 Days of Purpose). This has taken tons of energy, but God has given us this direction and we're doing Teacher Leadership Development while also giving our children a better environment for personal attention and age-appropriate spiritual foundations! We have around 60-75 children ages 5-11 each Sunday. Pray for these little ones and their new teachers!
I'm still teaching and leading Jr. Youth on Sunday mornings (ages 11-13). We have 20-30 Jr. Youth each week. I'm a bit overwhelmed with the task of discipling this group - I'm limited by time, resources, and SPACE. We meet in a room that's 10 ft x 20 ft. We're sitting on top of each other and can't move during teaching-time. Pray for our need for committed teachers and more room.
Pray for our staff as we try to discern what God wants us to do with His fruit from our Purpose Driven Life experiment. We're open to doing ministry differently after we see what God is doing and leading. But, changing direction might not be popular or easy for this congregation; pray for wisdom and courage to follow wherever God is leading.
TEAMS:
We have 2 teams from Shades Mountain Baptist Church that are coming to serve our church: March (Student Ministry team) and June/July (University Ministries Team). More details on teams later. Pray for this partnership with SMBC.
MY TIME:
I'm stretched to the max this year. Not only am I doing church-planting with Capricorn Community Church, but I'm also involved in After School Tutoring, Art Therapy Courses, Personal/Ministry Fundraising and other details of being on the field. Pray as I discern what I need to focus on, set aside and re-evaluate.
I'm also desperate for a deeper level of Biblical teaching and a community to support me; I often feel alone and exhausted in this mission. I'd love to attend a Bible Study where I didn't have to teach or lead; I'd love to have like-minded friends to do life with. I ask you to lift up this request as well.
NEEDS AND FUNDRAISING:
Many of you have asked me how you can get involved in this mission. I'm making a menu of items that need assistance and support here in South Africa. Our needs range from ministry expenses, school supplies/uniforms, school scholarships, building funds, staff development, transportation, and more! Stay tuned or contact me personally if you're interested in being more involved with church-planting in South Africa. This mission wouldn't happen without you! Thank you for your continued support.
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