Let me tell you a little bit about a place located in Allentown, PA. It actually sits in Upper Macungie Township. One of the fastest growing townships in PA. Allentown is the fastest growing city in PA. This place has been doing ministry for 102 years in Allentown. In the late 1970’s, 1977 to be exact (the year I was born), it moved from downtown Allentown to its current location. This place I want to tell you about is Trinity Wesleyan Church.
God called me to minister here almost two years ago. When I started, the church was needing some hope and rebuilding. The congregation was a solid core of about 70 people. They were hungry for God to move and do something new in our midst. They believed that the best had not been, but was yet to come. As I started my ministry here, I began to pray, “Lord, what is your will here? What do you want to do through Trinity’s obedience to follow you.” And it became clear he was calling us to reach One Percent of the Lehigh Valley with the love of Jesus Christ. He was calling us to leave our comfort zones, reach beyond our four walls. He wanted us to reach our community regardless of race and social and economic status.
We began to clean up the inside to make it a place where all kids and families would want to be. We transformed the inside to be warm and welcoming. We began to be intentional in looking for opportunities to serve our community. We partnered with Allentown Iglesia, an Hispanic Wesleyan Church. We continued to build partnerships with local ministries. We understood that to reach people it would take creativity. Offering Zumba classes, hosting a benefit jazz concert for a local Wounded Warriors organization – we focused on people and relationships. We are seeing people come to know the Lord! We are seeing the “unchurched” and “dechurched” walk through our doors on a regular basis and find Jesus, find hope, find the joy they have been missing in their lives.
We are crossing over the 200 mark now. We are seeing 50+ kids a weekend experience Jesus and grow in their faith. Our youth department is growing and teens are inviting their friends. They are planning a mission trip this summer as they seek to reach beyond themselves to be used by God.
We believe that God has called us. We believe that God is working and moving. We believe that the Lehigh Valley is going to be transformed by Jesus Christ!
On February 25, we came to the church to discover that a foundation wall had collapsed, leaving the educational wing of our building unsafe – the place where our kids and youth gather. We praised God that no one was in the building at the time. We look at the hole in the wall as yet another opportunity to reach the Valley. We prayed for favor from the insurance company. We took this opportunity to strength our prayer life, and rejoice that God is still working. The insurance company denied our claim, and now we look to raise $100,000 to fix the wall. I believe that God is going to show us His power through this. We believe that God will provide for us as we continue to do His will, for His Kingdom, for His Glory!
Please join me in praying for this miracle. You can be part of what God is doing in the Lehigh Valley! You can join us in praying! You can be part of the miracle. On Sunday, April 10, we are having Miracle Sunday, where I know God will be glorified, for the One Percent!
Serving Him is all that matters, nothing surprises our Jesus. The best is yet to come!