Eagle Brook Church - Spring Lake Park Campus Part II

I received the following in my inbox today from Eagle Brook Church's Senior Pastor Bob Merritt:

It isn’t often that I send two E-News letters in the span of two weeks – and I promise not to make a habit of it – but what’s happened these last two weeks has shocked and humbled me. Some of you have been wondering about our December series and whether our prayers to reach people are being answered. Well, two weeks ago we saw an all-time non-holiday record of 11,289 people attend our three campuses, many of whom are new to our church.

Then, I spent last weekend at our new campus in Spring Lake Park, where we opened up a third service on Saturday night… and 350 people came! Then I watched the two Sunday morning services fill up, and my jaw dropped. We had a total weekend attendance at SLP of 1306. This is unheard of by anyone’s standards. I don’t know of any other church that has that kind of immediate growth at a new multi-site campus.

But what thrills us more than anything are the stories we’re starting to hear about people who weren’t thinking about God or faith a month or two ago, but are now taking steps toward a new life because the people of Eagle Brook were obedient to Jesus’ directive to sow seeds. My young car salesman and his wife have come all three weekends and he said, “It was the first time I’ve ever been in a church where I didn’t want it to end.” As I stood in the lobby at SLP last week I talked with dozens of people who thanked our church over and over for opening up in their area. So, way to go church, thank you for believing, praying and inviting; thanks for taking some risks, for sowing seeds and for making room for God to do something amazing among us.

A word about Christmas Eve: We’ve been working on Christmas Eve for two months now and it’s going to be powerful! It’s not too late to invite someone, and if they come I promise that it will be a highlight for them and for you. Thanks to everyone that’s picked up tickets at church or online. Based on the trends, we anticipate that the 4 pm service on Monday in Lino Lakes and the 4 pm service on Monday in Spring Lake Park could get full. If you haven’t gotten tickets yet, and have the flexibility, please consider attending a service other than those two services. Again, if you haven’t gotten tickets, please reserve them online by going to www.eaglebrookchurch.com/etc/christmaseve/tickets.html.

A word about year-end giving: I wish I didn’t have to mention this, but December is a critical month for most churches in America and Eagle Brook is no exception. Everything we do is funded by the generous contributions of thousands of people like you, and it’s vital that everyone does their part. We’ve stayed under budget in most areas for 2007, but it’s been a year of expansion and increasing influence for our church. Frankly, it’s put a strain on our resources that will affect future initiatives and badly needed hires. So, if Eagle Brook has been important to you in 2007 and you believe in what we’re doing now and for the future, please consider making Eagle Brook a priority in your giving. Many of you give faithfully and sacrificially, and for that we are deeply grateful – but it’s vital that all of us participate.

Thanks for what you are doing at whatever level. Every contribution matters, no matter how big or small, and these last eight days are key. We appreciate your support!

Bob

It is great to see so many good things happening at the Spring Lake Park campus. It is in a prime location, and I pray that God will continue to use that location to do great things!

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