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GervaisNews October 2011>
Newsletter July 2007
July 1, 2007
Dear Friends,
We send you greetings from sunny Florida. I have attempted
to write this newsletter several times, but have not been
given the “green light” from the Lord to send it. I have
recently been given that “go ahead” and have finalized some
difficult decisions. Now I am ready to bring everyone up to
speed. There are changes and transitions that will be
taking place in my ministry, which will have a far reaching
impact in every area or my life. However, before I get into
that, let me bring you up to date on some of the family
news:
Family News
Barb and I celebrated 25 years of marriage with a cruise.
It was nice being served hand and foot but I was glad to
get back home where everything and everyone was familiar.
Barb has been teaching 5th grade this past school year and
she will be moving on with her class to teach 6th grade
this coming fall. She just finished teaching summer school,
and now she is at church helping to get things ready for
Vacation Bible School (VBS). Both she and Mikala will be
volunteering for that week. Then Barb will have about three
or four weeks of actual summer vacation before returning to
work in August.
Micah is now on his second enlistment in the Coast Guard.
He just made rank again (E-5) and he is now stationed in
Miami, Florida instead of Key West. At least he is only a 3
hour drive rather than a 6 hour drive from home. We might
see him more often now that he is stationed on a land base
rather than on a boat. He is hoping to stay there for the
next four or five years. He called us after his first day
of work and he told us that he loves his new assignment.
The Coast Guard will be sending him to California, then
Virginia and then to Texas for different schools. I can’t
believe he is all grown up and mature.
Mikala just finished taking classes this summer. She is
going to start her senior year of college this fall, which
will include her student teaching. She has maintained a 3.8
GPA so far. She had to work hard for that, but her
diligence is paying off. She is also working part time at
our church. They are paying her to work with the youth
group. She serves as a good roll model for many of the
young teens who look up to her. The spending money she
earns takes the burden off of Barb and me to finance her
social life, along with her schooling. She is presently in
West Palm Beach with about two dozen teens from our church.
They are all on a one week missions trip to help needy
families in a run down area of town. They do projects for
needy families, visit old folks homes and minister in a
variety of ways.
Ministry News
For the time being I continue to wear several hats;
Recovery Pastor at Zion Christian Church, Director of
Zion’s Christ-centered support group ministry called
Pressing Onward, Addictions Counselor and Trainer/educator
at Hope Ministries. I will soon be giving up two of those
hats, Recovery Pastor, and Director of Zion’s recovery
ministry. When I first went to Zion some 11 years ago, I
agreed to train up a team of facilitators and to start up
and tweak Zion’s recovery ministry then turn it over to
someone from that team to continue to run the ministry. My
plan was to use Zion’s recovery ministry as a model so that
I could help other churches in Florida and around the
United States to start similar Christ-centered Recovery
ministries aimed at helping the wounded, the downtrodden,
the addicted, and anyone else who might not be able to be
helped in a typical church program. Well, I did everything
but groom and train my replacement. Duane and Cheryl Newell
has been part of my leadership team for many years at Zion,
and they have agreed to step up to the plate and into my
shoes as the directors of Zion’s Pressing Onward recovery
ministry.
I have had several false starts in the past few years, but
now I am confident that the baton will actually change
hands from me to the Newell’s. Zion church has gone through
many changes in staff and structure in the past few years,
but in spite of the unrest caused by change, Zion’s
Pressing Onward ministry has continued to grow and
stabilize. Because of the changes I was asked to put this
transition on hold for a year, but now that things have
settled down I feel it is time to move ahead and pass this
baton to the next runner.
You might be asking, “What does this transition mean for
you, Lew?” Well I am glad you asked that question. Here is
how it flushes out for me. I will remain an active member
at Zion, I will continue to occupy an office at the church,
and I will continue in the roll of an advisor to Cheryl and
Duane as they lead Zion’s recovery ministry to the next
level. I will also continue to supply ongoing training for
Zion’s facilitator team as well as the rest of the church.
I will maintain an ongoing presence at Zion but be freed up
to help other churches develop recovery ministries as I
reproduce what God has built at Zion in other churches. My
passion is to see many churches around our nation with
thriving, Christ-centered recovery ministries so that the
wounded, and the downtrodden can experience healing and
wholeness as they walk the recovery road towards Christ.
This imminent transition will impact my financial status
drastically as the church switches their financial
commitment from me to the Newell’s. As I move out of the
recovery pastor roll at Zion and into full time missionary
roll at Hope Ministries I will need to raise an extra 1,200
dollars a month of steady support in order to remain at my
present level of income. I am confident that God is leading
me to make this change, and I am also confident that He
will provide for my family’s needs as I step out in faith.
I have had faithful supporters many of whom have supported
us for over 20 years and I appreciate each of them. I am
asking God to give me either 12 new supporters who can each
give 100 dollars a month or twice that many who can give 50
dollars a month. If God speaks to you about becoming one of
our supporters you can make out your support checks to Hope
Ministries and put a note with the check letting them know
that your gift is for the support of Lew & Barb Gervais.
Your support checks can be mailed directly to us at the
following address:
2020 Palm Bay Road suite #1
Palm bay, Florida 32905
I just want you to know that we appreciate your friendship
and your fellowship very much. What we covet most is your
relationship with us and your prayers; not your money.
Because of Christ
Lew Gervais
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