Week of Thanksgiving 2006
2006 was an action packed year for HBF. We started the year with our usual all nighter at the armory. The family of God was continuing to grow as we trusted God to build his church. The cost of our new building project was locked in at around 1.2 million and it looked like we would be underway with construction of our new building by summer 2006.
The Heaths and Fuerts joined HBF along with many others from both near an far. Tracy & Michelle had a large graduating class that May, which in some ways, symbolic of the fruit of their faithful labor in the STORM ministry. The Passpoint class was formed and Steve Fleshman took over the responsibilities for what has now become the Lightwalkers ministry fellowship. The congregation as a whole continued to make disciples and I was determined to keep our eyes on the main thing and not to be distracted too much by our building project.
The Lord did a great job of getting us off to a good start with our 2006 Vision Conference. In many ways the 2006 Vision Conference became a pattern of things yet to come for HBF. The Lord laid Brian & Mindy Clark on my heart. We used to minister together at KCBT and I knew God had placed him as a key man in one of the most strategic cities in the world. He was just getting started and so were we, what a great combination. 2006 was the first year we had a "primary" speaker and it proved to be powerful! Our people were stirred and we knew that God had been in our midst that week. Along with Brian we also had Sam Stricklin with us, who himself, was just beginning his ministry with Edgar Fighali among the Arabic peoples of the middle east and Africa. Along with these special guests who offered solid challenges to me and our congregation, we were blessed by other encouraging guests like Mike Blake, Gene Purtle and Dave Shelby. This conference motivated Roger Heath to start the London Prayer Team later the following year.
While spiritual business as usual was the order of the day, the facilities team worked overtime to get our new building project kicked off while keeping it within budget. They all did a great job of getting things kicked off! The facilities team would meet at least once per week if not more for more than a year to ensure the new building would come in on time at budget. Much of the body's health can be attributed to the fine job these men did during that process. It freed me and the congregation to focus on equipping saints to accomplish God's mission. God was so good to the body through these faithful men. A special thanks to Bob Bohlken who really sacrificed until it hurt to see the project accomplished.
By June we were ready for our ground breaking ceremony. Among all the pomp were some really awesome memories. Harold giving the dedicatory prayer a few days before leaving for Brazil for over two years was very special. That as much as anything set the tone for what HBF is all about. The event itself was absolutely fabulous as Ms. Kitty (Kathrine Curtis) participated not only with the first scoop of dirt, but the now famous four wheeler ride with John Daugherty around the property. Who would have guessed how special that picture of John and (eighty plus) Ms. Kitty would become to our church family. It was simply a wonderful and poignant moment for our church family and friends as we celebrated both what God had done and what he was yet to do.
On a personal note, I was actually grieved a bit, as I thought during the very moments we were celebrating the ground breaking how I would probably be losing my father soon to cancer. Little did I know that just a little more than one month from that day, July 5th, I would say my last goodbye to my earthly father. I really do thank God for those difficult days, as I knew as I was experiencing them, that the Lord was allowing the good with the bad so I would be able to maintain my eternal perspective during those exhilarating days. In so many ways, God just provided that year in ways that are often just inexplicable.
We had a great turn out for our 4th of July celebration at the park. As a church we kept plugging right along even though our construction project was delayed by months due to county code review, the Lord blessed as every month we continued to increase the savings account to get into our new facility. By the time we started the project in earnest it was fall and we saw quick progress! We were excited as a church as we completed 2006 with a zeal and excitement of what God was doing in our midst.
I should add one of the great blessings for us personally was the birth of our dear daughter Elisabeth Grace Hedges! She was born happy and healthy into the world October 5, 2006 somewhere between 10:30-10:40 A.M. at Shawnee Mission Medical. We owe God and her birth parents a tremendous thank you for the blessing who is Elisabeth.
I thank God for his good hand upon us. As we began our rise up and build series we certainly saw the body of Christ grow both spiritually and numerically like never before. I can not thank God enough for his goodness to his saints.
Psalms 26:7-8
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
The Heaths and Fuerts joined HBF along with many others from both near an far. Tracy & Michelle had a large graduating class that May, which in some ways, symbolic of the fruit of their faithful labor in the STORM ministry. The Passpoint class was formed and Steve Fleshman took over the responsibilities for what has now become the Lightwalkers ministry fellowship. The congregation as a whole continued to make disciples and I was determined to keep our eyes on the main thing and not to be distracted too much by our building project.
The Lord did a great job of getting us off to a good start with our 2006 Vision Conference. In many ways the 2006 Vision Conference became a pattern of things yet to come for HBF. The Lord laid Brian & Mindy Clark on my heart. We used to minister together at KCBT and I knew God had placed him as a key man in one of the most strategic cities in the world. He was just getting started and so were we, what a great combination. 2006 was the first year we had a "primary" speaker and it proved to be powerful! Our people were stirred and we knew that God had been in our midst that week. Along with Brian we also had Sam Stricklin with us, who himself, was just beginning his ministry with Edgar Fighali among the Arabic peoples of the middle east and Africa. Along with these special guests who offered solid challenges to me and our congregation, we were blessed by other encouraging guests like Mike Blake, Gene Purtle and Dave Shelby. This conference motivated Roger Heath to start the London Prayer Team later the following year.
While spiritual business as usual was the order of the day, the facilities team worked overtime to get our new building project kicked off while keeping it within budget. They all did a great job of getting things kicked off! The facilities team would meet at least once per week if not more for more than a year to ensure the new building would come in on time at budget. Much of the body's health can be attributed to the fine job these men did during that process. It freed me and the congregation to focus on equipping saints to accomplish God's mission. God was so good to the body through these faithful men. A special thanks to Bob Bohlken who really sacrificed until it hurt to see the project accomplished.
By June we were ready for our ground breaking ceremony. Among all the pomp were some really awesome memories. Harold giving the dedicatory prayer a few days before leaving for Brazil for over two years was very special. That as much as anything set the tone for what HBF is all about. The event itself was absolutely fabulous as Ms. Kitty (Kathrine Curtis) participated not only with the first scoop of dirt, but the now famous four wheeler ride with John Daugherty around the property. Who would have guessed how special that picture of John and (eighty plus) Ms. Kitty would become to our church family. It was simply a wonderful and poignant moment for our church family and friends as we celebrated both what God had done and what he was yet to do.
On a personal note, I was actually grieved a bit, as I thought during the very moments we were celebrating the ground breaking how I would probably be losing my father soon to cancer. Little did I know that just a little more than one month from that day, July 5th, I would say my last goodbye to my earthly father. I really do thank God for those difficult days, as I knew as I was experiencing them, that the Lord was allowing the good with the bad so I would be able to maintain my eternal perspective during those exhilarating days. In so many ways, God just provided that year in ways that are often just inexplicable.
We had a great turn out for our 4th of July celebration at the park. As a church we kept plugging right along even though our construction project was delayed by months due to county code review, the Lord blessed as every month we continued to increase the savings account to get into our new facility. By the time we started the project in earnest it was fall and we saw quick progress! We were excited as a church as we completed 2006 with a zeal and excitement of what God was doing in our midst.
I should add one of the great blessings for us personally was the birth of our dear daughter Elisabeth Grace Hedges! She was born happy and healthy into the world October 5, 2006 somewhere between 10:30-10:40 A.M. at Shawnee Mission Medical. We owe God and her birth parents a tremendous thank you for the blessing who is Elisabeth.
I thank God for his good hand upon us. As we began our rise up and build series we certainly saw the body of Christ grow both spiritually and numerically like never before. I can not thank God enough for his goodness to his saints.
Psalms 26:7-8
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
posted by HBF at 4:46 PM
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