If you missed it, it was a powerful evening! Harry Bias (who helps to organize Operation Kindness here at the Loudoun campus) spoke about all the ways Operation Kindness is blessing our soldiers and encouraged us on the things we can be doing to continue to bless them as they serve. Blank cards and postcards were provided and we all wrote notes and prayers to servicemen and women. It was great to hear stories about those serving and a great reminder of the sacrifice those serving our country are making by being away from their families and in harm’s way.

If you missed the event and want to know more about Operation Kindness, email operationkindness@mcleanbible.org. There is a packing night on Tuesday, August 10th at 7pm at the Tysons campus where you can help back 30-50 care packages that will be sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mark your calendars for our next 2nd Saturday event at 5:00pm on August 14th. We will be hearing from students and volunteers who will have just returned from the ROCK’s mission trip to the Dominican Republic. You won’t want to miss it!

One of Loudoun’s new families has experienced something that other couples take for granted. This family has two 3 year old children – one of them has severe seizure disorders. The family has been coming to MBC Loudoun campus for only a couple months. They were encouraged to try our Friday night respite care called Break Out. This is an evening for children with special needs and their siblings to come enjoy fun activities and a movie. Thanks to our dedicated volunteers and some Nicaragua missions trip buddies; we could take all 19 children, 2 of whom belong to this family. Upon the parents’ return, mom was very anxious to see how her daughters were. When our volunteers reassured her that the children had a great time, mom’s eyes began to get teary. See, this was their first time going out on a date in 3 years! Thank you Break Out volunteers for showing God’s love to these parents and their children.

Good morning! I’m so excited to personally know God’s faithfulness and to see where he leads us in our efforts to establish a service-focused singles ministry at MBC Loudoun. To know that Pastor Jim Supp and the leadership are excited about seeing this ministry launch and move ahead invigorates us to put our best effort forward. After a candid information exchange over dinner last night as a leadership team, I awoke with a renewed enthusiasm to launch this ministry. We still have a few areas we need to apply some focus and planning, but overall things are coming together very well. We are looking to start in early June.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” – Hebrews 11:6

I just wanted to encourage the congregation about what God is doing in and through His people.

A very big thank you to all that donated supplies to the shelters. This is such a wonderful blessing to us and to all the we help. I was just thinking that we were running out of some items and thinking of how to buy them and then you came and filled up the cupboards and pantry. All we can say is WOW, Thank you very much.

Sincerely in Christ,

Terri Lightle
Director of Administration
and Community Relations

The Good Shepherd Alliance, Inc.
20684 Ashburn Rd.
Ashburn, VA 20147
703-724-1555

As people plan their vacations and summer plans, thoughts of lounging around the pool and picnicking with friends start to push their way forward in our minds. The sad reality is there are people right here in our area that don’t have these options. Their thoughts are consumed with “Where is our next meal going to come from?” and “Where are we going to sleep?” In a county as wealthy as Loudoun, needs do exist. While we don’t see the homeless man on a street corner necessarily, the needs are there.

Good Shepherd Alliance (GSA) tries to assist families in answering those “where” questions. They are a Christ centered organization that tries to help families struggling with those very needs. However, they can’t do this alone; donations and contributions have to come in from the community.

On May 2, MBC Loudoun concluded a month long GSA needs drive. THANK YOU to all those who participated. The economy is tough on a lot of people right now, but it never seems to dampen the response from the folks at Loudoun. The aid you provided goes directly towards helping single mothers living in the shelters where they are given the opportunity to try to get back on their feet. As you can imagine, these days the needs are greater, and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you gave generously.

Thanks also to everyone who helped cart the supplies to the storage area after the services and to Keith for helping me deliver the items today.

I’ve attached a couple of pictures to show you how much stuff you guys collectively gathered. When one of the volunteers at GSA came by the kitchen and saw the donations, she stated, “Wow! The folks at MBC really give!” I don’t say that to make you proud or to boast in the works that we do but to say that God is glorified through your good deeds and your generosity. You consistently amaze me at how you are so willing to give … and often times to folks you’ve never met.

Thank you for living out what Christ has called us all to do – to help “the least of these.”

Thanks for being Jesus with skin on!

In Him,

Greg Lilly

On Saturday, March 13, one of our Ashburn – Leesburg couples groups (Levin, Venegas, Anthony, George, Ferrara, Turner plus 3 infants!) constructed homes to help re-build the lives of homeless Haitians and to show Christ’s love in practical ways. The small group partnered with Christ in Action who is building 1,000 homes which cost only $600, last 7-10 years and sleep up to eight people. Once the walls are constructed, they are stacked, banded, trucked to the Port of Miami and then shipped on the Friend Ships fleet. Upon arrival in Haiti, they are erected on site within two hours. This small group plans to continue building. If you feel you or your small group may be interested in donating your time or money to this effort please visit – https://www.christinaction.com/index.cfm/pageid/823/index.html.

Our teams… in no particular order

• Parking {led by Eric}
• Welcome Center {led by David & Cindy}
• Ushers {led by Jack & Melissa, Dux & Ramona, Jack & Teresa, Frew, and Joe}
• Communion {led by Carlton}
• Greeters {led by Melinda and Bill}
• Newcomers Meeting {led by Jim & Ruth}
• Newcomers Events {led by Scott & Candice}
• Name Tag Team {led by Ken & Sharon}

Thank you for all you do to serve Christ with such excellence!

This past Sunday, Access Ministry was ready for a normal, smooth running Beautiful Blessing classes. The volunteers and nurse were scheduled and confirmed for the two services. My plans were coming together and I was not sweating a thing that morning. However, God had His own plans. See, God has been whispering in a person’s ear about volunteering for Beautiful Blessings for the past couple of months. This person just was waiting for the right time or opportunity to go upstairs and offer to help. My plans started to go down a small hill around 8:45am when the nurse did not show up. Then the hill got steeper. At the 10:45 service, I was the only volunteer with two children. Now, I am starting to sweat. Then, one of my volunteers showed up. I start breathing a little bit better but, the other two children just showed up. I asked the parents to hang out for a little bit while I go and find one of our faithful volunteers. Quickly, I went down the steps to the auditorium and looked around. No volunteer! I really wanted the parents to be able to enjoy the service. I immediately went to the Welcome Center and asked Susie Battle if she knew of any volunteers that could help us out. She pointed over in a direction where some people were and said to try them. I figured, what could I lose, my plans were snowballing out of control. When I approached the group and started to explain that I needed help upstairs. One person said they could help even before I finished my sentence. I was shocked and said follow me. The rest of the Beautiful Blessings class went great. At the end of class is when I found that this crazy day was all in God’s plan. This is when the person shared with me about God prompting them to serve. It is so AWESOME to see God’s glorious plans come together in the mitts of our chaos.

It is a blessing to be a part of a church body who is willing to pitch in and do whatever it takes to enable others to worship the Lord. THANK YOU!

Shoe boxes, shoe boxes and shoe boxes — were all over the Loudoun Campus. What fun it was to gather 72 boxes, go through their contents and get them ready for Operation Christmas Child. Last Wednesday, November 18th there were five of us gathered together in the preschool area with our Christmas music blaring preparing these wonderful gifts for precious children whose parents are not able to afford their daily necessities. Little Jacob Regan was so enthralled with the process as his parents, Chris and Lara, explained to him who all these boxes filled with goodies were for. Jill Atchinson came to the rescue as she realized how overwhelmed we were with the generosity of our Loudoun Campus. Harry Bias patiently waited to make the 30-mile drive to the OCC dropoff church – and though we were late, God had prepared adults and children at the church to help us carry all the boxes in. What a blessing! Please continue to pray for the children who will receive the gift boxes along with the gospel message. Praise God for what He’s doing around the world through Samaritan’s Purse. For more information visit: http://www.samaritanspurse.org