Ella Reese Strickland

On Thursday, August 13, Ella Reese Strickland came into our lives. The first addition to our youngest daughters family, she became our fourth grandchild. Matthew and Katie will make great parents. Although they have much to learn Ella will put them on the fast track in short time. Phyllis and I have watched as technology makes it possible to communicate one's arrival. Moments after Ella's birth word spread to Monroe, Winder, Cumming, Americus, Albany and Camilla. It made it's way to Springfield, MO, Louisville, KY and Reston, VA. Katie's sisters in Springfield and Louisville, have met Ella through Skype. You can't hold her but see her. Her cousins have got to see her from a distance and she has had a constant flow of visitors.
I know that just like Elijah, Sam and Asher she will bring much joy to Mimi and Pops and all that she comes in contact with. Here are a few pictures from her first days.

San Francisco - Epic Church

I just returned from San Francisco. My son-in-law, Ben Pilgreen, along with our oldest daughter (and our three grandsons) will be moving to SF June 2010 to plant Epic Church in the Mission Bay/South Beach area of the city. Around 20 minstry leaders from across the country that are (or are considering partnering with them spent three days touring, praying and dialoging about what God would do in this wide open US city.
Only about 2% of the population attend any church. NAMB and other local church planters from the area joined us on occasion to offer encouragement and strategy input.
On Tuesday afternoon we prayer walked the area around AT&T Park. This is the home to the MLB Baseball Giants. It stands in the center of the focus area. As I walked around the area I could not get Chris Tomlin's song "The God of this City" out of my mind. I believe that God is going to do incredible things there.


God has blessed Epic church with a great leader and a great team. At least 4 other families are packing up next June to move to the Bay Area with Ben and Shauna to provide leadership. Stay tuned for some great stories in years to come.