Will you pray with us?

As Easter approaches we are asking our church, family and friends to pray together for the next 21 days. Will you join us?

Click here to download or view the prayer guide.

Thanks for joining us as we continue to ask God to work in our lives and in SF-

Lindsey :)

Southern Comfort

So I took a trip to Gainesville, FL a couple of weeks ago. I was representing Epic at a conference at Westside Baptist Church, one of our partner churches. It was a great chance for me to share the vision of Epic Church and stories of what's been happpening since we launched on February 13th. I stayed with a gracious family that took hospitality to a whole new level! While I was in the south, I soaked up the sun and Chick Fil A every chance I got :) Here are some pictures from the week!

*My first stop in the ATL airport during my layover :)

*Opening Celebration for all the Missionary Partners

*Welcome basket in my room - my host home knew me well!

*My set-up at the Expo

*Afternoon snack :)

*I did spend some time on the UF Campus

*Bat Houses - At dusk they all fly out...and one peed on my head - gross!

*Cracker Barrel for my last night

*I had a tight connection in ATL on my way back but somehow found time for this :)

I am grateful I got the chance to represent Epic and share our story with many people - I was also thrilled to have some my favorite foods along the way!

Mardi Gras in San Fran

So last minute Ben and I decided we should have a Mardi Gras party at our apartment! I was born and raised in New Orleans and Fat Tuesday has always been a day of celebration!

Ben cooked gumbo and Adrien made an AMAZING king cake from scratch. Friends came over and it turned into such a fun night! Here are the pics...

King Cake

Fun masks and decorations

Some how we ended up playing Call of Duty: Black Ops - you had to wear a mask to play :)

Here's the group

I am already looking forward to planning something for next year!

Oh Happy Day :)

So this is for everyone who prayed so long for Ben to get an amazing job and for those who continue to pray for us...

Ben and I were recently talking about his job. It continues to be confirmed that God provided the perfect job for Ben at this time in our lives. Here are just a couple of stories and fun things I wanted to share with you!

• Ben loves the work he is getting to do right now. He is working hard and busy all the time with projects. He gets the opportunity to manage creative projects and design promotional campaigns.
• Ben really enjoys the people he works with too which is great! It was fun for me to meet many of his co-workers recently
• The Credit Union did really well last year and wanted to reward the employees with a big party. There was a filet mignon dinner, pictures, party dresses and LOTS of dancing!

• At a quarterly meeting Ben received a $20 bill because he had perfect attendance the last three months!
• When Ben received a grocery gift card for Christmas, we were grateful.
• BUT then the Credit Union said they would pay for movie tickets for anyone who went for Valentine's Day weekend...we didn't know what to think...what a great place to work?!

The fun gifts are definitely great but what is even greater is the principle from which they come. Ben works for an organization that cares about him (and me) holistically, not just about the work he can do for them. A couple of weeks ago Ben ate breakfast with the CEO and it was refreshing to know that he wants the best for his employees. The CEO gave Ben, and others, the freedom to share the highs and lows of working and commuting. He also gave them time to share their dreams and hopes for the Credit Union.

Some of you prayed for months, even close to two years for the job Ben would get in San Francisco. We lived in San Fran for four months before he received this job. It was a tough time of waiting and trusting that God would provide. While I hate to admit this, at some points we stopped praying for an amazing job and just prayed for ANY job. We're grateful that God not only provided for our needs, but He also provided an amazing opportunity for Ben to learn and grow and work and pursue his passions for marketing in a quality environment. We are so thankful for your prayers and I hope you will rejoice and celebrate with us!

With love - Lindsey

Epic Launch!

Epic Church successfully launched last Sunday and we are feeling a combination of the following: grateful, thrilled, overwhelmed, inspired, encouraged, humbled and a little bit tired - if I'm honest :) So here are some things I wanted to share about February 13th:

• 196 San Franciscans showed up! We could not have been more excited about this!
• Over 45 local adults served before, during and after the service! We also had 2 mission teams from TX and FL as well as help from two churches in the bay area.
• There were 65 first time guest who shared their information with us on the communication card.
• 7 people indicated they would like to become a followers of Jesus!! And 10 people indicated they would like to volunteer during the next service!

The response was truly overwhelming. Needless to say we have been following up with people since early Monday morning. Here are some of my favorite moments from Sunday:

• About 45 minutes before the service started we had a 5 minute meeting with all of our volunteers. It was so neat to see this HUGE circle of people who have decided to be a part of Epic.
• I met with all my Epic Kids workers and was moved to tears by their sacrifice and service. You see, when someone serves in Epic Kids, they miss the entire worship service. I looked around the table to see 10 people willing to miss the Grand Opening so that kids can experience God's love and hear his truth in an age appropriate setting - their example of selflessness was inspiring.
• To actually be able to hear the crowd singing "Our God is Greater" was something I will never forget. It's the first time I've heard our crowd overwhelming sing in any of the services. For a moment, I realized where we were and what God was doing and again overwhelmed, tears..:)
• Ben Pilgreen challenged people to spend the next four weeks seeking God with us on Sunday mornings and throughout the week to see what they find. I know of several people who said they would take this challenge. Praying for God to continue to reveal himself to us and these people.
• After the service I got to briefly speak with a woman. She held my hand and with tears in her eyes, she told me that she had a story. I told her I would love to hear it. She told me that it's time for a new beginning in her life and since Epic is just beginning too maybe she could start her new beginning with Epic. I told her I would love for her to. We are getting lunch later this week. I can't wait to hear more.

I could go on for days :) Each of you are a significant part of this journey with us. Thank you for your endless prayers and support. We could not be doing this in the way we are without you. It's so weird because we have waited and prayed for this day for over two years. Now that this day has come and gone, we realize this is only the beginning. We continue to pray for God to create a movement in San Francisco - that his love might be known among people here and that many would spend the rest of their lives following Jesus.

Here are a couple pictures from the day :)

*Part of the Launch Team that helped make Sunday possible

*Ben Pilgreen teaching

*The crowd being dismissed

*Can you sense our excitement from the day?!

With so much love,
Lindsey