August Update

Dear Friends,
Wow, what a great summer this has been! We have been incredibly busy with a variety of things, and it has been fun watching the Lord’s hand in all of it. Here are some of the highlights:


Praise the Lord!
• Jamie, Andy and I spent a few days at Camp Shamineau’s staff training in June. We prayed with the staff, Jamie taught a seminar on mentoring relationships, I got to build relationships with some amazing young women that are coming to the city in the fall and possibly joining us. Pray they would follow the Lord wherever He leads them.

• BUMP week (Bridging Urban Mission Project) was fantastic! It is a week where rural church kids come into the city and do ministry with local urban churches. Local churches made some amazing reaches into their communities because of the students that led VBS, prayer walked, handed out flyers, and played with kids. Pray that some of these students would catch a vision for the city!

• Antioch Community Church (ACC) is growing! Our first public service is October 19th, but we have small groups and are meeting just for fun already! It is really great to see those relationships developing. Please pray for the endless list of details that need to be taken care of before October 19th, and for more people from the community to join us.

• 25 people from ACC took the S.H.A.P.E. class. This is a class that looks at each person’s Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. Then we take that information and talk about how we as a church body fit together. It was a long day, but a fantastic exercise for many of the people there, and it really shed light on ways we can value and utilize each individual in the church. Pray that it would be a launch pad for people to get a vision of how they can be actively involved in ACC.

• I got to be a speaker! The jr. high youth pastor from Berean Baptist in Burnsville got my name from a mutual friend who recommended me. So, I spoke for the last night of their jr. high VBS-like event they do every summer. They are doing great ministry down there, and it was fun to be a part of it. You can read more about this on my blog, if you’re interested. Please pray for more opportunities like this for me to get into churches.

The Greatest Need?
There is no denying the fact that we all need money. And the current economy is an incessant reminder of how little it seems there is to go around. Unfortunately, that has become the case with my support-raising fund. The generosity of many one-time gifts has been an incredible blessing, but I do not have enough monthly gifts to sustain the hours I have been working for Antioch. I really do no like saying that money is my greatest need right now; the greatest need in ministry is always prayer. However, at this point I cannot continue until I have enough financial support.

One wonderful new development is that we now have Direct Deposit available! This is a giant answer to prayer, as it makes a lot of peoples’ jobs much easier and it’s easier for individuals to give. If you are interested in utilizing that service, information is enclosed with this letter.
Please be in prayer about how you can be a financial partner in this ministry. If you know of anyone you think would be interested in what I am doing, let me know or pass this letter on to them! I am still confident this is what the Lord has called me to, and I trust He will provide.

What an adventure, to live a life of trust,

Coley Bloomquist
P.S. My cell phone number has changed. Email me or check facebook if you don't have it!