Be A Warrior

By Steve Chamblee:

Greetings from beautiful Vail, AZ!  

I hope this email finds you completely satisfied in Christ!  God continues to bless us out here in the desert.  Just a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary as a church plant!  It just seems like yesterday that we pulled into Vail with no more than two families and a heart full of a vision from God.  We praise God for all He has done thus far...is doing...and will accomplish in His time for His great name.

In just over 2.5 yrs, we have seen God bring over 100 people to faith in Christ....we have baptized around 70 of those... we have seen many discipled and become potential leaders in His kingdom... we have experienced 2 international mission journeys...and seen many plug into community transformation in Vail, AZ!  We have also seen God provide us with a piece of property that will accommodate what we believe to be His vision of building a community center for Vail.   Speaking of which... one way you can continue to pray for us is that we would be able to pay off the remainder of our debt on the land - approx  $380K... our desire is to pay for this land and begin construction on the community / worship center. 

Several of our men just returned from our 2nd annual men's retreat where the theme was to be a Warrior.  We had 17 of us from Grace join up with 12 from Thompson Station Church  for a men's retreat just north of Tucson, AZ.  Boy did God move!  Below is a brief testimony from one of our guys.  Please continue to pray for us!  And thank you!  We rejoice with you b/c you are part of what God has done and is doing in Vail!  

Testimony: 

It’s amazing how God works. Just a few months ago I thought my marriage was over, my carrier was in shambles, my relationship with my children was anything but good and my walk with God was no where to be found.  He led my wife to Grace Fellowship. A few months after that God changed my work schedule (which I fought).  I no longer had the excuse that I had to work to keep me from going to church.  The moment I walked into the service I was convicted.  I knew that my life was in tatters and that I needed to call out to him.  I spent several of the services holding back tears or fighting with the Holy Spirit, knowing full well I would not win that fight. I knew that I had to make things right with God but I didn’t think I was worthy. I thought that I had strayed to far too ever be able to come back to him.   After a few more weeks I called out to God. He worked through Pastor Steve and Grace Fellowship which led me to repent and begin walking with him again. I didn’t tell anyone at first, pride was and is a monster I continue to battle.  A short time later, 2 weeks to be exact, God put me in a situation where I thought my life, as I knew it, was over. I had confessed my sins to God and to those needed and work things out (a miracle for sure).  God has given me peace and even at work things have gotten a lot better.  He is leading my children to follow God and involving them more and more in Godly functions. He has begun to open doors to other believers in my place of work and given me the opportunity to share with non believers. During this weekend I discovered that I was not giving God his due attention.  My quiet time with God was during my drive to work. While that was better than nothing, (my thinking) it was not what the God of the Universe deserves.  He deserves my full attention and in turn I will be able to receive his will for me with clarity.