Easter was a gloriously exhausting day. I know a little of what Paul meant when he said, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Corinthians 12:15). Most gladly!! The Greek word is hedista (from which we get "hedonism"—Christian Hedonism!!)

I got home about 9:30 Sunday evening. The voice was about gone from all those Easter greetings! But the heart was full! Noël and I capped off the day at the kitchen table for half an hour dreaming about the future of Bethlehem.

We have no dreams that don't include Bethlehem.

We brainstormed about the Crankshaft building. We pondered the crowding of the nursery—should it take over the church offices? The “chapel”? We discussed a new sanctuary. We dreamed of a citywide youth ministry. We thought about the preparation of hundreds of missionaries.

It is invigorating to dream and hope and pray about the coming decades at Bethlehem. Let's do it together. Read on.

There were three people short of 1200 in worship last Sunday morning. That does not count any of the nursery children or the forty in the Asian congregation. What is your vision of where the Lord is taking us? What can a downtown evangelical witness become in the power of the risen Christ who is “above all rule and authority and dominion and power”?

This Sunday evening I want to tell you about some dreams. Then after the service the Site Development Task Force will present some exciting developments.

The quarterly business meeting on April 24 is going to be one of the most important we've ever had. This Sunday evening will be an indispensable preparation for that meeting.

Dreaming and planning in the power and confidence of the resurrection,

Pastor John