-Waiting, Working, Praying and Planning. (And More Waiting)-
Hello everyone!
We are due for an update around here! We want to get all of you up to speed and invite you to pray with us about where we’re at, what we’ve been doing and the things we are working toward and praying for right now.
On the business side of things, we have been dealing with what has felt like an endless process of “Hurry up and wait”. We first submitted our 501(c)(3) paperwork to the IRS in early July of last year, using what we were shown by their website to be the correct paperwork. Unfortunately from the time we sent the forms in to the time they received them to process, their online forms had updated and the ones we sent were no longer valid. We redid everything on the new forms and had them resubmitted in September with great hope that we would be able to receive our official nonprofit status by the end of 2018. The holidays came and went, the new year came, and finally Spring came and we were still waiting. We knew that because we hadn’t received a response within the initial 3 month waiting period that meant that our paperwork was either incorrect or was missing information that they needed. That also meant that once we received a response we would have to correct everything and resubmit the forms again.
And....wait again. While the waiting has been difficult and honestly frustrating at times, God has been showing us and teaching us so many important things through it. This season has absolutely all been a part of HIS plan.
Over these past few months, our team has been working through a course called “Impact” with our friend and oversight team member Wendy Good. The course teaches the keys to effective leadership and impacting others. It also has been equipping our team to better relate with one another and how to better invest in the lives of those around us. This course has been an immense blessing for our team. Each week, we found that the coursework lined up directly with things that each of us had been dealing with in our own lives at that exact time. It also has been giving us new opportunities to open up more with one another, which has blessed us by bringing our team unity to a much higher level. We have no doubt that God’s timing has been perfect and that He knew this course would be exactly what our team needed, exactly WHEN we needed it most.
As a team, we have expressed to one another at different times how it’s difficult not to get frustrated with the timing and process of being able to make 5Lights “happen”. We are all eager to be on our way, excited to make our big move and we have all felt so READY to get moved and get started. Through these past few months and even over this past year, God has been showing each of us that while we have all felt ready, He has important things for each of us to learn and work through first in our team, our marriages and our families. We cannot be effective in doing His work until he has taken us through this refining process we have been going through here at home FIRST.
We are trusting in Him and His process and welcoming Him in each day to guide us and to teach us what we need to learn and do next.
The good news is that last Tuesday we were given a huge dose of hope! We finally received our response from the IRS on what needs to be corrected, and they only had ONE THING that needs to be clarified! We are excited to get that worked out and hopefully have everything resubmitted in the next couple of weeks. We are trying to be as prudent as possible in answering their questions correctly and fully with hope that we will get our approval this time around.
Please be in prayer with our team about this paperwork over this next 3-4 month wait. We are praying that the process will go smoothly and that we will receive our official nonprofit status without having to resubmit again.
The next thing we hope to do (if the Lord wills it) is to make another trip to Phalaborwa at the end of May. As a team, we need to continue to grow and maintain the relationships we have been building with the pastors and communities we have connected with on the South Africa side. We hope to send 3-5 members of our team on this trip and the main focus will be on reconnecting and maintaining and growing those vital relationships. This is another area where we want to invite you to partner with us. Right now we need prayer for the timing of this trip, prayers for the team members that hope to make the trip and prayers also for the funds to be able to make it happen.
The estimated cost for airfare, lodging, food and materials is $2800 per team member. We want to invite each of you to pray about partnering with us as we raise the funds for this trip. If you feel led to give, you can make a tax deductible donation by clicking below:
Or you can also mail a check to:
New Hope Church
1100 W Brown St
Wylie TX
75098
*Checks must be made out to New Hope Church. Please DO NOT put any other names on the check, but instead include a separate note that says “5Lights May 2019 trip” and if you are donating for a specific team member for this trip, also include their name in the separate note.*
Any funds left unused at the end of this trip will be transferred into our 5Lights Launch fund. You can view an itemization of what our Launch Fund will be used for in the “Future Projects” section on our website.
We’d also love for you to read the update (with an awesome video!) posted from our last trip. It will show you what one of our team trips usually looks like and also explains more of what we’re about and how God created this team. You can view the video here: 2018 Summer Trip Video
We are so grateful for you, 5Lights family. Thank you for continuing to believe in what God is doing with this team. Thank you for praying with us and for us and for those we are seeking to serve. Thank you for being our community!
In Him-
The 5Lights Team.