Hello Discovery Family,

I write to you in the midst of troubling times (covid spikes, unending divisions, wildfires, churches and ministries crumbling around us), and yet also in the midst of hopeful and exciting times.

I want to speak to the hopeful and exciting for a moment. Go back with me to January of this year, and our Vision 2021 conversation. We said then that this is a year of building (moving out of a long transition phase) and a year where we grow in offering presence (the presence of Jesus) to our community.

And that is exactly what is happening!

We are building: through the creation of new teams (Deacons, Children’s Ministry, etc), through expanding leadership to include women at all levels, and especially through our experiment with MidSized Communities. New ways of doing and being the church are growing and being built all around us.

And we are offering presence: through our service to the city, our partnerships with Davis and the school district, through our Gatherings in the Park (and Parks) around Davis, we are seeing the fruit of that presence demonstrated in Baptisms, in the development of new leaders, and in stories of transformation as God works in our lives.

The next couple of months present a tremendous opportunity to keep building!

First, two new classes will be arriving at UC Davis in September. An unprecedented number of new students will be introduced to our community in the coming weeks. Let’s make it our personal mission to be as welcoming and inviting as possible!

Second, we are tentatively scheduled to get back into the Brunelle Theater for Sunday Gatherings on September 12th (almost exactly 18 months since the last time we met there!). 

Third, after a six-month period of discernment, we have decided to put our modest surplus of resources to work (quoting Matthew 25:16 here) by hiring a new staff member. 

We are looking for a leader who will develop leaders and help us build on the foundation we’ve laid over the past three years. Our elders and deacons are deep in the process of vetting and interviewing (40 applicants whittled down to a few top candidates), and we are hopeful in the next couple weeks it will be revealed who this leader will be!

Please join in praying for these opportunities: the wave of students coming to Davis, the work of getting back into the Theater, and the search for a great leader to add to our team!

Finally, there is plenty else going on as well: Our annual Backpack Drive for Montgomery Elementary students, Men’s Retreat, MidSized Community launch, Fall Short Term Groups, and Women’s and Young Adult Events!

I love you all so much and I am so grateful we get to go on this adventure together as we reimagine church for our time and place so that we can help people discover the good news of Jesus.

Grace and Peace,
Steve