Here’s a recent update from Grow New England, the Grace Brethren church planting organization in the New England states. Jack Brown, executive director, sent this report:
We are very excited to welcome Phil and Emily Shearer to our team in New England. Phil and Emily have been married for six years and have three adorable daughters; Elayna and Cadence, age 4 and Molly age, 2. Phil will be serving as the associate pastor of North Shore Bible Church in Essex. Phil holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Lancaster Bible College and is currently working on his Master of Ministry through the Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development. (Editor’s note: Phil is the son of Keith and Laura Shearer. He is the pastor at New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church, Myerstown, Pa. Emily is the daughter of Dan and Rachel Jackson. He was formerly on staff at Myerstown and recently joined the staff of the Grace Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio, as assistant pastor of missions.)
We had a successful Friend Day in Essex yesterday with more than 110 people in attendance. Some old friends who we haven’t seen in a long time were among those in attendance, as well as some first time visitors. It was great time of worship followed by some great fellowship.
Our next big event is Endicott Park Day in Danvers. This is an extremely important event as we introduce ourselves to the community of Danvers. Our target date to launch our Danvers church is October 11. Please be in prayer as we meet this community. Pray that we will be salt and light to the glory of God.
Our core group for the Danvers church is coming together quite nicely. Be praying for a couple of families from outside of the area who are praying about relocating to the area to assist with this new work. We are currently looking for space in the downtown area that will allow us as much exposure to the community as possible. We’ve come up with an estimate of our start-up costs for launching the Danvers ministry to be $45,000-$50,000.
We are looking forward to a couple of mission teams joining us this summer to assist us with ministry. Pray for great opportunities as these teams join us. One team will be here for a few days around the time of Endicott Park Day and a second team will be with us for a few weeks in late July and early August and will be helping with ministry in both Danvers and Essex.
We need your help. Would you consider a one-time gift toward the start-up cost for the Danvers church? Or perhaps you could make Grow New England a part of your regular monthly giving. I would ask you to prayerfully consider how you might be involved.
- Pray for us
- Tell people about Grow New England
- Organize a short-term mission team to come and serve with us.
All checks should be made payable to Grow New England and sent to Grow New England, c/o North Shore Bible Church at 65 Eastern Avenue Essex MA 01929.