From the October-December 2007 Issue
The joy of the Lord is our strength
Jorg and Heike Muller
New buildingIt is exactly one year ago that I reported about “the gracious hand of our God upon us” and how our God had intervened so wonderfully that the church was able to purchase her own building in the heart of Warburg – and we are there to serve our gracious God with a heart for Warburg.
Just a quick reminder: At the beginning of September 2006 we signed the contract; in the middle of September we filed the necessary applications for building with the local authorities, and at the end of September we moved all “our belongings” out of the old building into the new building – and started reconstruction work straight away. In November new fire exits were put in and the required fire escape was put up. At the end of the year we were able to rent out the top-floor apartment and I was able to move into my study.
A major job was converting the adjacent garage and work-place into a meeting place. Since January this year we have been meeting in our “small hall”, which will eventually become the foyer of a main hall to be built in due course. For our first service I chose a verse from Lamentations: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him.” The Lord has been very good to us. As a small church of only 30 members we had to put all our hope in our Lord and trust him to “fight for us”. He has kept his promises.
Within the next months two further rooms were finished for the Sunday school and children’s work, which means that the first-floor is now renovated and a kitchen will be put in very soon. In May, when the weather was getting better, we started on the outside of the building, giving it a totally different look. As a result many townspeople stopped and talked to us, commenting on how inviting the building now looks and how harmoniously it integrates into the surroundings. May the building continue to be a point of contact and draw people to a special event in the autumn: “Open Doors” when we want to invite the public. We hope to finish the sanitary facilities and staircase by September. We will then start working on the other three remaining rooms, which will certainly occupy us for the rest of the year.
All the work is being done ‘D.I.Y’ which means that we are able to cut the costs immensely. Money is still needed, but so far the Lord has been very good and money always came in when needed. We want to continue looking to the Lord to provide, but at the same time be ourselves faithful servants of what the Lord has entrusted to us.
The spiritual work
Parallel to the construction work of the material church building, construction work on the spiritual church building continues, demanding time and wisdom as new visitors come on Sundays (more than occasionally the hall is full to the brim), and as new contacts are being made through personal evangelism and other avenues of contact – all needing follow-up and visitation. We have started a special early morning prayer meeting on Tuesdays to pray for revival and mission. But as so often is the case, Satan too is on the move. However, we know that this work is of the Lord and with the help of our God it will continue to grow. Our God will intervene and fight for us. The joy of the Lord is our strength!