Testimony Sunday

With Easter this past Sunday, Lent is over and, with it, our Lenten prayer challenge. But, you may be wondering: we've been praying; has God been doing stuff? After a conversation with folks in our homegroup on Tuesday night, I can most definitely say: Yes, God is at work--in our lives, in our church, in the lives of the folks we've been praying for. It was so encouraging to hear the stories people shared: both of faithfulness in prayer and then seeing God work and also the stories of hearing God move in surprising ways--sometimes despite a lack of faithfulness in prayer on our part. Regardless, reflecting on how the last few weeks have gone, we were able to see God's work and give Him thanks. It was awesome.

So, this Sunday, in place of a teaching, we're going to have a time for folks to share testimonies of what God's been doing over the last few weeks--whether specifically related to something you've been praying for as part of the prayer challenge or otherwise. Pray about it; come prepared to share just a quick 1-2 minute story about some way you've seen God work during this Lenten season.

See you Sunday.

Church and City Full of Strong Families

The Lenten Season may be over... but the Prayers for the Dreams of ECV continue!

This week, we'll be focusing our prayers on building a Church and a City full of strong families. Let's dream together for the ECV community to be a place that is welcoming and nurturing to all members of the family, Men, Women, Teens, and Children. Not only do we want to encourage individual growth, but also to encourage and strengthen bonds within the family - between couples and between parents & children. Also, please pray that our efforts are not only for stronger families already within ECV, but also for stronger families throughout New Haven, bringing the Kingdom of God and Transformation into more homes in our city!

In particular, please pray for the following:

1. Praise God for the work that he is already doing in the Mom's Group! They have been meeting for a few months now and it has been a great place for mothers of young children to share, laugh, and encourage one another! Pray that we can continue and sustain this valuable asset to moms. Also pray that a similar group that will be started for Dads/Men as well. In addition - please pray for a place and opportunities where adults in general can dig deeper into topics, both spiritual and practical, that effect them and their families.

2. Pray for our current Sunday School & Childcare Coordinators, Teachers and Helpers, especially as they encourage children to learn about Jesus and to grow in their own faith (even the babies)!

3. Praise God for the work that God is already doing with Teens in New Haven through our partnerships with Your Place Youth Center and Young Life and pray that the work of their staffs and volunteers will not only bring about healthier teens, but also healthier families surrounding those teens as well. Also, pray that God will raise up leaders within ECV who are excited about working with teens both within our church as well as drawing those from the broader New Haven community.

Culture-Making ECV Community

Somewhat following up on Elisa's teaching from Sunday, I thought this might be a good time, for us to pray into one of our ECV dreams, "A Culture-Making ECV Community." We want to be a community that spurs one another on towards using the gifts that God has given us for His purposes in the world. We want to be a community that creates culture rather than parrotting it. That's a big, abstract, idea, but I think there are some practical things to pray for:

1) Vocational discernment: In a city like ours, this is always a huge question. Let's pray that God would make our community one in which people are able to find clarity regarding who God has made them to be, what God has asked them to do, and how God has gifted them and is developing them along the way. Along those lines, let's pray for the four ECV folks involved in the "Make Believe" discernment program (Maureen, Asha, Michelle, and Shelly).

2) Let's pray for various culture-making sub-communities, like artists, scholars, scientists, doctors,  musicians, etc. Let's pray that God would make ECV a place where professional connections, credentials, and skills are leveraged for the Kingdom. 

3) Big Ideas: Let's pray for God's guidance in selecting and investing in some of the bigger ideas that we've been tossing around: ECV peer review networks (music, arts, scholarship), ECV Summer School, ECV Scholar-in-Residence, publish a Magazine/Journal/Books, etc.

4) "Let all things be done for building up." Let's pray that, in everything, God would orient our hearts towards His glory, the service of one another, and the service of others, rather than towards our own awesomeness.

Good Friday Service

Date: Friday, April 10 (Good Friday)
Time: 7:30 - 8:30pm
Place: Dwight Hall Chapel (67 High Street - between Elm & Chapel Streets)

“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord… to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it.”
(Lamentations 3:26, 28)

Please join us for our ECV Good Friday service in Dwight Hall's Chapel (right on Yale's Old Campus). There will be scripture and poetry readings and reflection on the significance of Jesus' death.

Childcare will be provided.

In case you need them - Directions to Dwight Hall at Yale:

Dwight Hall is located on the Yale University Old Campus, which may be entered via Phelps Gate, on College Street between Elm and Chapel Streets. Dwight Hall is directly across the courtyard from Phelps Gate and our offices are in the wing of the building that features an accessible wheelchair ramp entrance.

If you need a detailed map Yale Campus, click here and search for "Dwight Hall"

Following Jesus More and More Deeply

As we pray that more and more people would experience God's love and consider following Jesus, let's also be praying that "following Jesus" would be something we approach as a church with all the depth and seriousness that it demands.

Let's pray that we would see:

1) Deep discipleship in intimate community. Through homegroups, through smaller prayer groups, or just through friendships, our hope is that everyone in ECV is always looking to follow Jesus more deeply, to yield our lives more and more fully; and our conviction is that the location for that is in honest, loving community with one another.

2) People becoming known and valued, their gifts discovered and released. As we grow as a church, let's pray that God would indeed make us the kind of community that Paul describes in 1Cor, where each member of the body is valued and freed to play their role in the larger community. Pray for some folks in your homegroup, some of your friends in ECV, or someone you just met at church; ask that God would show you—show us—what gifts He's given them and how they're intended to build up the church.

3) Men's and women's groups that provide safe places in which we can challenge one another to follow Jesus more deeply.

4) Practical, deep, inspiring teaching. Pray for those who teach in any context in ECV, that we'd grow in being able to hear God's words and communicate them effectively to the church.

More and More People Following Jesus

This week, as we're praying, let's lift up two really central dreams in one: "More and More People Following Jesus More and More Deeply."

First, "More and More People Following Jesus." I've really been encouraged recently that God's love is good news for us and for the people around us; it's something that transforms us in tangible ways; it's something people are seeking.

Let's pray that we would see:

1) A culture of invitation established at ECV—both on Sundays and in our lives in general.

2) God's work in the lives of the people around us. Primarily, we just want to see the people in our lives experiencing God's best and God's blessing. Pray that as we invite people to risk in faith, that God would move and act in tangible ways in their lives.

3) Students at Yale (and hopefully other nearby college campuses) transformed through spiritual conversations, student ministries (like ECV partners with InterVarsity), and informal prayer groups that focus on sharing God's love and experiencing His presence among already existing communities such as sports teams, dormitories, or classes (like those ECV intern Josh Williams is helping facilitate). Please pray for God's power and His grace to reach these students and for these students to become a positive force in their campuses, this city, and this world through lives of following Jesus.

4) At least one new group established this year specifically for helping folks consider what it might look like to follow Jesus.