It was exciting to visit and see the tremendous progress of one of our newest church plants in Frederick, MD – Redemption City Church. Bliss Spillar, his wife Shelby, and their daughter Cora relocated to start Redemption City less than a year ago and have been engaging unbelievers in their city with the gospel since they arrived. They are also forming a church culture of disciples who follow Jesus in all aspects of life, being shaped by the Spirit, Scripture, and the gospel. Bliss is multiplying himself by intentionally developing other leaders who lead missional communities and share in the overall direction of the church. As Matt Klingler (Bliss’ coach) and I visited and talked with people last Sunday, we were encouraged to see this fledgling start-up church exhibiting both faithfulness and fruitfulness by the empowering grace of God.
While we are rejoicing in all the progress, we are also bearing the burden of some of the personal pain Bliss, Shelby, and family have been facing recently. Bliss’ mom was in the hospital and the doctors gave her just days to live. As he visited her to say his final goodbyes, Bliss was struck down with a virus that went directly to his heart and had to be immediately admitted to the same hospital one floor below his mom. Bliss left his hospital bed to say his final goodbye to his mom and she passed away about thirty minutes later. Can you imagine this? And, if all this weren’t enough, they were also in the middle of moving their home across town and trying to coordinate with the movers arriving the next day with all their things.
God is using their new church community and fellow leaders to rally around Bliss and Shelby to help them bear the load both personally and with responsibilities for the church plant. It’s been amazing to witness. Let’s do our part and pray for Bliss, Shelby, and their family during this trying season. Ask God to make his nearness known as they mourn, move, recover, and find ultimate rest in Jesus.
Thanks for your generosity that enables us to walk alongside precious people like this as they lead church plants, and as they face the joys and heartaches life brings!
For the gospel,
Mark McGeever
Executive Director | Equipper
SENT Network
www.sentnetwork.org