September
2015
Hello, Our Wonderful Friends and Family,
The Ministry Adventures of Alaina and myself have taken some
crazy twists and turns. I can’t believe
it’s September already! It’s been awhile
and I wanted to fill you in on what is happening in our lives and our
ministry.
First off, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of
our hearts for your wonderful support, both through prayer and generosity! Without you, there is no way we would have
survived, let alone done ministry. We
are humbled by your love and are so grateful that you have continued to pour
into us. It is bearing good fruit and
will continue to do so.
Our Encounter Church plant has been vibrant and growing
these past few months. We have recently
moved our children’s ministry into our own building and renovating the other
side of it so we can move our services into it starting in November. God has moved mightily on our behalf and has
given us favor with the city of Clovis and several people who have found
creative ways to renovate the church for next to nothing.
 |
| Father's Day |
I had the privilege of preaching on Father’s Day while
holding my two-week old son, Kai Rey. It
was an experience I’ll never forget!
It’s so great being a dad! Many
of you have read what I shared that day on my blog. And for those of you who haven’t, you can
read about it here. http://whowithunveiledfaces.blogspot.com/2015/06/whats-up-with-my-sons-tumor-or-how-to.html
This past weekend, we had our first Encounter Men’s Ministry
Weekend and I was the main speaker. I
had the opportunity to share with the men that each of them is a word out of
the mouth of God and that as men made in God’s image, we have the ability to
speak life into our marriages, families and workplaces. It was a powerful weekend and I’m excited
about what God is going to continue to do in the men of our church.
God has also blessed our church plant where we are literally
having the opportunity to influence millions of people through our broadcast on
the CW that leads up to the NFL pre-game on Sunday mornings. What an amazing opportunity!
Though
God has been doing amazing things in this church, it has not been without its
challenges. You may or may not know, but
most church plants are planned out at least a year or so in advance so the
Staff can raise support for their salaries so as not to tax the fledgling
church’s finances. We had exactly 3
weeks to launch this church plant so we didn’t exactly have the lead-up time
most church plants have. What has been
amazing is that Pastor Joe, his wife and I were able to be paid for the last
several months, which is remarkable for a church so young. Currently, the reality of being a church
plant has caught up to us and though the church has been thriving, we have been
experiencing lean times this summer.
Now, most churches understand that summer is a lean time and an established
church usually stores up reserves to combat this difficult time of year. As a church plant, we have no such
luxury.
 |
|
Preaching at Encounter Men's Ministry
Weekend
|
In July, our church was not able to pay me for half of the
month. And that was repeated in August
as well. And due to that reality, I was
laid off this past Monday. I am still
the Senior Associate Pastor, but they can no longer afford to pay me anything
right now. But there is a plan in place
as well as some hope around the corner.
Once we move into the new building in November, our church will save
anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 a month.
That is a huge amount! Also as
school starts and people come back from vacation, church giving goes up. So there’s a lot to be excited about moving
forward. And as I feel at this moment,
that this is where God continues to call me, I feel Alaina and I are being led
to do our best to get through the next couple of months until the church is
viable enough to pay me again. Whether
that means, getting another job and pastoring on the side, or whatever it
takes, I am willing to continue to do what God has called me to do. Obviously, just having a baby and also with
having to find another place to live come October, we have a lot of stressors
on our life. But we are confident that
God will provide and that He cares immensely for us. We are excited to see the salvation of our
God when it comes to our finances! Here
are a few things you can do to help us in this trying time:
1.
Continue
to pray for us. This is the biggest
thing. We covet your prayers and we so
appreciate you being mindful of us. We
believe our God is a God of miracles, so nothing is too hard for Him.
2. Prayerfully consider
supporting us financially if you haven’t before.
The practical side of all this is that we are facing a
deficit and we never want to owe people, companies, etc. I want to maintain my
testimony as a person who pays their debts. I genuinely don't know how to do
that right now. We’ve done the work, but our baby church doesn’t have the money
to pay us, so I am asking for prayer and any support that you might feel led to
bless us with.
Above all, we want you to know that there is no pressure. We
are not worried, we are just making our need known to people who have loved and
blessed us through prayer and support so faithfully for so long. Again, thank
you for all you have done for us! We
love you so much! Thank you for praying
for us and loving us and supporting us in ways that empower us to share Jesus
with millions of children and adults around the world! I’m excited to be able to share with you next
time how God showed up and did a miracle.
Thank you for being a part of that miracle.
Humbled and
Grateful,
Dan &
Alaina
To
send support to us directly, please make your checks out to Alaina or Daniel
Lowman:
Alaina and
Daniel Lowman
1994 Rialto
Ct.
Clovis, Ca.
93611
If
you would like a tax deduction for your donations, please make your checks out
to
Encounter
Church with “Ministry Support” in the memo line and mail it to
Encounter Church
1175 Shaw Ave #104
PMB 316
Clovis, CA 93612-3932
If
you would prefer to give online you can donate by paypal: www.tinyurl.com/kkkbfgg
Use a browser other than Chrome as it seems to not be loading
properly.
In the “Special Instructions to Seller” put “Ministry Support”. This can be made reoccurring.
P.S.
We only have a Facebook Page up right now, but here is the link to Encounter
Church. Like us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/encounterchurchusa
Introducing Our pride and joy, Kai Rey
Andre Lowman
