The latest from Cascade Hills

Wow, something got uncorked this week, God’s been spilling out all over the place…

Praises:
· Several great conversations with unchurched folks all over our leadership team. We prayed for the opportunities, and there they were. Praise God for the people whom we bump into in our everyday lives!
· For guys getting ready to serve as preachers for the people of Cascade Hills. They’ll begin preaching in about five weeks, praise God! It’ll be great to broaden and deepen this practice at Cascade Hills, and for me to get a break from preaching more often to spend on the more visionary side of things.
· Robert Weston making commitments about connecting more deeply with church in spite of some tough transitions. Big step for him, shows some serious growth.
· Stacie Swinford and family reach a breakthrough with court situation and her family. Praise God for some justice finally moving forward.
· Financial stabilization for Melissa and I. Weren’t sure how 2008 looked financially, but had some good conversations with supporting congregation. Not all ironed out yet, but on its way.
· Other random contacts. Got some emails this week from people who caught sight of us on the internet and are asking questions. I’m waiting to talk to one about some really zany outreach ideas he’s got.

Prayers:
· For the harvest of these good conversations. Pray that God would work in their hearts, preparing them to move closer to Him. Pray that our conversations would be Holy Spirit empowered to speak grace and gospel as we invite them to join us.
· For Tom/Fawnia to be baptized, for a seasoning of grace as we continue to work with God to invite them into their next step of faith.
· For wisdom in evaluating new opportunities to serve Salem (perhaps even as growth engines for our church), that we would see where/how/if God is at work in them and how we might join Him in the harvest.
· For wisdom as we seek to make some significant changes to our worship on Sunday morning in order to lead our people more fully into the presence of God.

Latest Soma Update

Among the various things happening within the Soma community, this story struck me most this past week. Our Service LiFE group has been doing an amazing job at planning various ways to “be Jesus in the local community” over the past month. Their planning has definitely paid off, but they decided to do something a bit different the past few weeks. Rather than list out a multitude of service opportunities, they decided to make their planning a spiritual exercise and simply listen and look for God’s leading. The idea was simply to wait on God and allow him to move first...even if that meant waiting until the last minute for those opportunities. The outcome? The city of Salem called and asked Soma to adopt not just one street, but the entire Edgewater Neighborhood for clean-up. Our neighbors, Nate and Melissa, asked us if we wanted to help them clean-up the entire neighborhood (hmm…coincidence?). And the Salem Little League contacted us to see if we would volunteer at their concession stand on picture day to support parents who were going to be with their kids.

Don’t you love it when God answers prayers and creates opportunities?

And this has only been one dimension of how God has been working. Last night as our launch team gathered to worship, there was a sense of God’s Spirit and by the end of the night I think reached new depths of authentic community and spiritual formation in our group. Without going into all the detail, I got to thinking about a few of the things taking shape this past week…
· We received an “out of the blue” gift of $760 to go towards our work funds…we’re closer to our goal of $45K (although pray for us as we are reconsidering that goal in light of our desire for 200+ people at launch; $60K is beginning to seem more realistic).
· We now have 4 LiFE groups going (“doing life together”) that encompass a ladies group, worship & creative arts, service, and Soma kidz.
· We will have our first Soma Intern this coming July (ACU student Bethany Suppes) and she is particularly interested in the creative arts.

Obviously, we’re not without our challenges. Would you please continue to pray for the work funds that we need to raise in order to develop a healthy, energetic launch as well as for our future location (we began mapping out our preview worship gatherings this past week). Also, as our launch team prayerfully looks toward October, would you please pray that God would grant us all a passionate desire to reach the “missing” among us as well as a healthy, intentional plan of spiritual formation.

Many thanks to you for your constant prayers and for making this ministry a priority in your lives. You gotta know that I find great joy in writing you these short (yes, I did say short) emails each week and knowing that you are taking them to God in prayer. Thanks!

Seeking the Sought,

New Prayers for Soma!!

First, let me say thank you for your prayer support and for lifting up this past week to God. From Saturday to Friday, we had 10 ACU students with us doing a variety of things in the community and we feel like it was a huge success! The culmination came on Wednesday afternoon/evening when we worked on a kid’s playground at a local park and hosted nearly 100 people for a community BBQ (this was amazing considering the temperature was below 40 degrees). Our work on the playground has earned some recognition from the city and Carl (who oversees the West Salem Parks) even mentioned his desire to introduce me to the City Council and tell them about what Soma is doing! Our upcoming newsletter will have more details.

Needless to say, this week is sort of a recovery week (Julie, the boys, and I are heading to the beach for the night), but we feel very positive about the many things God did this past week and where Soma is going.

And if you would…please pray for:
· Rest and Regrouping. Tonight and tomorrow are providing us the perfect opportunity to get out of town just a bit and enjoy some good family time at the beach.
· Service Sunday. The last Sunday of each month we designate as “service Sunday” at Soma. Although we want to develop a culture where serving others is a part of life, up until launch we want to adopt something in the community each month that we can do as Soma. Pray that God would use this as an excellent follow-up to the excitement of this past week.
· Mel, Shane, Bill, and Liane. Mel and Shane came to Wallace Marine Park independently by an invitation (Mel is our next-door neighbor) and a flyer. Bill and Liane came last night to our Launch Team gathering because they received a kindness card and checked out our website. Please pray that God would work powerfully in their lives and that they could get connected to the Soma community.
· Vision Clarity. We’re trying to hold in the forefront of our minds how best to build momentum as well as our ministry systems as we prepare for Soma’s launch into the community in October. Please pray for God to give us direction and guidance as we evaluate and reevaluate lessons we’ve already learned in the first month of starting Soma.

I appreciate all you do for the Kingdom and please, keep those prayers coming! They make a HUGE difference in the development and growth of this new church.

Partners in the Journey,

Dwayne Hilty
Soma: A Church of the Christ
www.somasalem.org
www.somachurch.blogspot.com
503.580.4118

The latest from Cascade hills...

What a week. Thanks to the work of God all around us, lots of people at our church have gotten into great conversations with their friends, neighbors, and coworkers about joining us this Easter. We’ve got some great things planned and we’re praying fervently for God to grow the seed we’ve been sowing. Thanks for praying!

Praise:
· For a great food drive. With short notice and with some of our plans falling through, we were still able to collect just under 600 lbs of food (that’s a Jeep-full) and meet a ton of our neighbors within a mile or two of the church. Great conversations, great receptivity. Lots of invites to Easter.
· For great inviting. Our people are on the ball inviting people this year and we keep hearing reports of good conversations.
· For Tom taking prayer seriously. After a good conversation with one of our leaders last week, Tom has taken some big steps forward about getting serious about his prayer life and where he knows that will lead him with God. Awesome!

Prayers:
· For more opportunities for successful invites. We’re doing well on this front already, but pray for the last few days for Holy encounters!
· For people to respond to our Easter invites. We’ve done a lot of inviting, pray that the seed takes root and people will connect with Cascade Hills and begin a new or renewed spiritual journey with us starting this weekend!
· For energy to get all the stuff done for this weekend. We’ve still got a lot to do to get ready, pray for all our people who are serving in many ways.
· For God’s Word to work wonders this Sunday. This is our big prayer, we want to see the story of the resurrection meet fertile soil this Sunday. Pray for my preaching, others leading worship, conversations that will happen, the Bibles sitting in people’s laps, and the hearts of the people that will hold them. Pray for Holy Spirit impact!

3-4 Prayers for Soma

Thanks to each of you for keeping my dad and family in your prayers. He had a bone marrow test on Friday, got another two units of blood on Saturday, and went home Saturday night. He’s actually feeling very well (thanks to the boost of blood). Later this morning he has an appointment to find out the results of the bone marrow test. Please keep praying for him and my mom. I continue to be amazed at the way that my dad exemplifies faithfulness in Christ, even in the midst of uncertainty. Yes, I still have lots to learn from my dad.

About Soma…February was really a month of transition as we got settled into our new house and began the process of networking/gathering people onto our launch team. We feel like we got a good start out of the gates, but want to keep our “newness” momentum as we charge into March. As you pray this week, would you please…
o Praise God for the various new people connecting with Soma (Craig Paulson, Amanda Zentz, and possibly 5 other people in the coming weeks)
o Pray for the various service touches we will begin having in the local community (Dream Center and ACU students coming March 15-22)
o Pray for working funds (although Julie and I are fully funded, there are still thousands of work fund dollars to be raised; specifically, $45,000)

Thanks, again, for your prayers for my dad and for the church that is God is forming here in West Salem.

May God get the glory.

Cascade Hills Prayer needs!!

Praises
For answered prayer, this last week one of our unchurched folks was able to share with the congregation an answer to our prayers, that a friend of hers diagnosed with cancer had begun procedures for its aggressive treatment, and the doctors couldn't find the cancer at all. Gone. I wonder if your prayers had anything to do with that joyous news? We celebrated together last Sunday!
For a productive and fruitful strategy session. We were able to move forward with our plans for implementing new practices and systems at Cascade Hills, as well as talk about what we'll be doing for Easter. We all came away feeling like things are coming together and that God is giving us what we need when we need it. Awesome!
For conversations about baptism with Tom+Fawnia. I had a chance to talk with Tom and we'll be getting together soon to talk in more depth about where they are at with regard to their faith. Looking forward to that one!Prayers
For speed and success in delegation for Melissa and I; if one thing was clear from the strategy session, there is a lot I need to be doing, which will require serious plate-clearing and further training of willing church folks. Pray for wisdom for when and how; for willing people to step up; and for blessings from such renewed focus.
For Easter plans. Things are moving forward; we've decided not to do the high-investment, low-payoff Easter Eggstravaganza this year, and instead focus on our service. Pray that we'll be able to get the congregation excited about inviting their friends, and that God will shape the service itself for His honor and glory.
For those baptism conversations coming up, that God goes before me and that positive decisions will be made.
For Robert, a man in our home community that is going through a rotten (but healthy for him) breakup after 11 years. Pray for continued spiritual growth and for his ex-girlfriend to ease up on the mudslinging.

Prayer needed for Soma

Prayer Team…I hope you’ve had a blessed week and that you’ve been able to see God working in and around you. Rather than list a variety of things this morning, I want to ask that you please join us in praying for people; specific people that we would like to see come to Christ and/or be a part of Soma.

We need more people! We know that people are vastly important to God (he is seeking them out as we speak) and they are important to us too. So…please pray for the following people we’re beginning to connect with…

§ Craig Paulson – Very talented musician (he’s on tour this week) & a creative, Godly leader
§ Amanda Zentz – 21 year-old WOU student, barista at Starbucks, & also a talented musician
§ Andrew & Kara Copeland – Very solid, Christian couple; amazing “gatherers of people”
§ Rick & Nichole – Considering being a part of Soma however with some reservations
§ Carmel Thomas – Is looking to come back to God after some bad experiences
§ Sara Soderstrom – Not exactly sure where Sara is at yet, but she is definitely looking for a spiritual community of Christ-Followers
§ David & Kellie Leavenworth – A young Christian couple with two boys, but haven’t really connected to a church yet
§ Jolyn (& husband) Franke – They have expressed interest in a church that has people closer to their age (25 & 27)
§ Kimber Pack – Recently moved to W. Salem, a Christian, who is looking to serve God while her husband is overseas
§ Rachel Spooner – Is a little turned off by church (had some bad experiences), but is definitely open to Soma
§ Nate & Melissa – Dwayne & Julie’s next door neighbors
§ Ty Everson – Not yet a Christ-Follower, but mildly open to it
§ Marni Doerfler – YMCA volunteer coordinator who lives in W. Salem who will hopefully be working with Julie at the Y
§ Rodney Smith (& Shannon) – Rodney met Dwayne at the bank and is looking for a place to serve; Shannon is a musician
§ Sarah DeLoe (& Shawn) – No Christian background, but two seriously amazing people
§ Shawn & Jodie Blackwell – Dwayne & Julie’s former neighbors; Christ-Followers who haven’t really plugged into a church yet
§ Michael Peloquin – A junior at WOU, a barista at Starbucks, & recently started leading a college Bible study at his place
§ Beth Dougherty – She helps watch the kiddos on Sunday nights and is a junior at North Salem High
§ Our Present Launch Team (Dwayne, Julie, Trevor, Jacque, Trish, Tasha, Matt, & Tami)

Would you please specifically pray that God would move in their lives to create a teachable and available spirit in each one of these people, and that He would give our Launch the words to say as we invite them to pursue Jesus with us.

Grace & Peace,

Dwayne Hilty