Forgive me for my delay in sending this report. I wanted to take a moment to give God glory for all that He accomplished Sunday night in Snohomish. 
God is good and I delighted in watching Him work. By grace, he planted a new church in an old town. He filled it with his presence and began to gather what I hope becomes a family of families in Snohomish. By His Spirit, he employed the time and talents of his children to lead worship, clean glasses, set up chairs, hang signs, watch children, greet newcomers, and preach the word. I can recall a hundred ways he blessed us, and I can imagine a hundred more things He protected us from.
Thank you all for being a part of this new work. For me, there are very few things more energizing than being on mission with a group of fellow-gospel workers. Thank you for your sacrifice, your leadership, and your faithfulness to respond to the call of Jesus and follow him into what can feel like craziness.
Without doubt, it was exciting to have a full house to worship with. Thank you Ron and Liz for leading that (Steve and Kevin too). It brought me great peace to have Jason and Erin Johnson leading Kid’s Road, and great joy to see other members of Marysville serving. It was deeply rewarding to arrive at 4pm with a huge team of volunteers ready to set up. The mission is real and the gospel is being proclaimed a little bit more (not necessarily better) than it was on the first day of the year in Snohomish.
For the record, there were nearly 150 people gathered in Snohomish last Sunday night. What an awesome launch! This includes everyone, children and adults, visitors and committed members. Among those in attendance were well-wishers from Damascus Road | Marysville, members of the core team, and probably a few from CTK Snohomish. It is doubtful that those numbers will be the same this week, but we know God is mysterious and can always surprise us! Our prayer is that the unreached and unchurched will find a new home in this new family of families. Invite them.
For me personally, I found that the experience was much like a wedding. Though there is a lot of excitement, there is also a tremendous amount of relief to finally be done and married. For anyone who is married, however, you know that the hard work begins…but so does the tremendous joy.
I love you Damascus Road, and look forward to many years of ministry together in Marysville, Snohomish, and beyond. Grace.
