Calvary Fellowship of Tulsa

	Just a thought or two -- Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you know by now, Cindy and I are laboring to plant a new fellowship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Planting a church is not unlike planting a new garden. The process begins as early as February when you go to the garden and clear the ground of debris to prepare the ground for the spring planting. Now, all of you with a green thumb know that a successful garden requires a great deal of love, affection and manual labor to produce something pleasant and beautiful. I suppose, you will note, that God Himself has a green thumb -- as the first housing edition that He placed Adam and Eve into was a garden. Even though this whole garden thing is a cool metaphor, the truth within the idea has run strong through many generations of church development and growth. The very first step in spring, after you have carefully and prayerfully removed debris, is to prepare the ground for the planting and early blooms. This is possibly the hardest most labor intense process in gardening -- when faith is required to see into the future. It is during this part of the season that new soil is added, fertilizer and insecticide is applied, seeds are planted, watering occurs and there is always the yanking of pesky weeds. For us, God has reminded us not to despise small beginnings. To hold true to that which He has planted within our own hearts, to fervently love those who cross our path, to take hold of the plow and to faithfully pray for one another. I remember when I was 10 or 11 years old, living in Southern California, and there in our home in Huntington Beach, Mom and Dad gave me the a corner of the back yard to plant marigolds. I really was committed to that little garden and everyday broke up fallow ground, faithfully watered, removed weeds and did whatever was necessary to insure success. I only wish that I had a photograph to share with you of that marigold garden. Not only was it a beautiful patch in the backyard, but by early fall, the marigolds seemed to have initiated a mission of their own -- and were looking for ways to take over the entire back yard. No, kidding, some of the marigolds were 3 feet tall! My prayer for you is that as God works the garden within your own heart, that it too, will produce a beautiful fragrance, soothing to the Lord and will touch the lives with whom you come into contact. Also, that He will bless our labor of love as we tend to the garden which will be known as Calvary Fellowship.	Our meeting location is at Agora The MarketPlace 4959 S. 79th E. Ave In the Fontana Shopping Center at 51st and Memorial Tulsa, Ok 74146