My blogging has been just about non-existent these last couple of weeks.  We’ve had over 60 volunteers come through the North Hills to be a part of the Iron City experience and bless us since June 16.  This week was especially busy.

There were nearly 200 teenage students in Pittsburgh this week with a program called PowerPlant.  The idea is that all these students converge on a city (this year there are 10 different cities) and spend a week helping out various church plants in the city.  Its designed to serve as a boost of help and an encouragement to the church planters and expose all the participants to what church planting is all about.

I had two groups with me this week (about 20 in all) - one from Athens, TN and one from Easton, MD – and both were great.  I called them my “delta force”.  A lot of our original plans were shut down so they got to do a lot of the special forces work of church planting (prayer-walking and prayer-driving).  All in all, we did about 6 hours worth of praying over our target area in the last 5 days.

On Tuesday we held two simultaneous FREE car washes and were able to serve 44 families over the course of a few hours by washing their car (no charge, no donations accepted) in Jesus’ name.  Then Thursday we held a community block party.  In spite of pretty nasty, wet weather, we were able to connect with 16 new families.

All in all it was a really good week.   When added to the normal ebb and flow of a week it was pretty draining, but totally worth it.  These groups have helped ICC out more than we may ever fully realize and I believe God will use this week to spark a passion for starting new churches in the hearts of these young people and their group leaders.