New Blog site.....

Hey Friends and Family!

December is already here and so are a lot of changes coming up! School loans are beginning to kick in, we are getting ready to take the church to bi-weekly services in January and we are changing the way we communicate with all of our supporters! We are creating a new blog and have done away with the website.

www.thelitters.com is no longer available because of the time and effort it takes to update it. Instead, we have made a new blog and I will stop writing on this one! We want to give you the latest updates and pictures while being smart with our time and energy!

We are so thankful to all of our supporters for continued prayers and encouragement and we are excited to see many of you in a couple of weeks! Here is our new blog address and our newsletter will be coming to you very soon!


www.thelitters.blogspot.com



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Our 2nd Gathering for Discover Church.....

November 15th was our first ever 2nd Gathering! Though we didn't have as many friends and family there, we had a great turn out of guests and even had kidz in the Discover Kidz worship! I had some great conversations with parents and hope to see them back at our next Gathering. We had a total head count of 46 adults and 4 kids and there were only about 4-5 people helping that were not directly a part of our Launch team!

We had a great time setting up for this month's Gathering for Discover Church and we have improved on the time that it takes to set up everything and tear everything down too. Because we don't have a church building, we are renting some ball rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Beach Gardens. We will most likely be renting a facility for a few years, if not more than that and will be "mobile" in that process. Here are a few pictures of what we will set up each time. We are also hoping to go to bi-weekly services in January and February as we work toward getting to weekly services!

We will be having our 3rd monthly Gathering December 6th! Please be praying as we plan and prepare and share with the people we come in contact with. It is our priority and passion to help people find life in Jesus Christ and we know that God's hand is on this area. He is already restoring families and bringing them closer to Him!

Upcoming Events:
Novemeber 29th....Discover Church Cookout at Carlin Park 2-6pm
December 6th......Discover Church Gathering

Discover Church Cookout...

We had a great weekend last week and I just want to share briefly what we did and post some pictures too!

On Sunday, Nov. 8th, Discover Church held cookout at the park in Jupiter. We rented out a pavilion and the volleyball court next to it and we all had a really good time! The weather was perfect and we had a great turn out. Discover Church provided all the paper products, drinks, and meat and several people brought side dishes and desserts! Our neighbors came to hang out which was exciting to see them there as well as friends and families of our other Launch Team members. We were stuffed from all the great food, played a few games of volleyball, and connected really well with our neighbors and friends and family that came to the cookout! Here are just a few pictures....enjoy!

Discover Church's first Gathering...

Sorry I have taken so long to write about the church's first Gathering, but here it is...

Our Sunday last week began on a great note. We gathered together with our Launch team to worship together and pray for the day ahead of us. The launch team consists of people who consider Discover Church home and who are committed to giving and serving to help get it off the ground and see it grow. We had a great time of just setting our hearts in the right place that morning and felt the presence of God before the hectic day began.

After meeting together we went our separate ways until meeting at our condo to start packing everything into the trailer at 1:00. The past few weeks all of the shopping and all of the equipment was shipped to our condo and needless to say, I'm am thankful to be able to see our floors again...It was packed! We packed the trailer in no more than a half hour, ate lunch, and headed to the hotel to unload at 2:00. This seemed to be the easiest part of the day because the pace quickly picked up and the set up began!

The set up went really well for our first time! I was so excited about the kids area and thought the Gathering looked great! Benj and the worship band sounded amazing and he had a great group of very talented musicians to help out! Over all we learned so much and where we saw things missing or not how we wanted it, God showed up in a mighty way. Screens, subs, projectors, mics, and much more ended up not being on time so we had to rent screens, go with out subs, and run to stores for other things. God provided abundantly and our first Gathering was a success!

That night we had 79 people total (including volunteers)!!! About 20 of those people filled out guest cards, meaning that they were not well-wishers or volunteers from other churches. It was a great turn out and we received so much encouragement from those well-wishers, supporters, and volunteers from other churches...we could not have done it without their prayers and encouragement and yours too! We knew so many people from home and from other places were praying and we are SO THANKFUL. God was so present that night.

On a different note, Discover Kidz looked great and we were prepared for kids, but we just didn't have any. At first I thought I might have been disappointed but I quickly heard God reassure me and I know if He wanted kids there, He would have had kids there! Instead I was able to have great volunteers ready to go when needed and I was able to experience our very first Gathering. This was a blessing from God and I am so thankful I was able to be there and watch it happen!

Tear down was a little confusing at times, but everyone really sacrificed their time and worked so hard! We are learning quickly what works and what doesn't and I cannot explain how amazing it is to see other churches coming together to help get this church started. The Church is a body, not a competition across denominational lines...we were so blessed by how sacrificial these churches were! (Thank You First Baptist-West Palm, First Baptist-Lake Worth, and Life Church.Tv! You guys are Awesome!!!)

Even in the short amount of time we have been down here in Florida, we are already seeing life change, marriages being restored, and friendships renewed! I hope to be writing some of those stories on here very soon to share with you what God is doing and hope that you are encouraged by this and what's to come!

Here are a few pictures and the whole album is on my Facebook page!

Please continue to pray as we prepare for our very first Second Gathering :)

This Week.....

This week holds a lot of emotions and thoughts! During these last few weeks there has been a turning point in our lives as we prepare all of the details for our first service that we call The Gathering along with the kids worship area, Discover Kidz. There is an extreme excitement for our upcoming Gathering, and I must say, the nerves are evident as well. But most of all there is the presence of God that seems to be very near right now! Please keep us in your prayers as we put finishing touches on all the details and that He would give us the strength and wisdom to do our best. We want to do our best, yet we know that only He is the one that works in a persons heart and changes lives!

If you are in the area and would like to join us or if you would pray for us this weekend, here are the details:

What: The Gathering and Discover Kidz
Location: The Hilton Garden Inn ballrooms
3505 Kyoto Gardens Dr, Palm Beach Gardens, FL‎ 33418
When: 6:30pm-7:30pm

Three weeks to go....

We are back and this past week just flew right by! We had a WONDERFUL time at home visiting friends and family and we are so blessed to have been flown home and taken care of so well! We were able to get some rest even though the weekend was very busy. Mike and Kelsey's wedding was beautiful and the rain stopped as soon as the carriage brought her up! Bella's 5th birthday party was fun and she was "so surprised," and we were so happy to see Joel and Lacie too....Happy 1 year anniversary!

As we prepare for our first preview service (Oct. 25th), the weeks are going too quickly. We have less than 3 weeks before everything has to be ready to go! I want to ask if you would be praying....Pray for spiritual protection as we prepare lessons, music, sermons, etc. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of the people in this community to come to know Him. And please pray that the spiritual battle going on would not leave us discouraged, but rather excited because we know the ONE who conquers all!!!

We are so thankful for your prayers for us and supporting us in changing lives in Palm Beach County and please know that you are in our prayers as well!

Here are a few pictures from our visit to Ohio!!!

Discover 4-1-1.....

Discover Church 4-1-1 is our way of being able to share with people what Discover Church is all about and why we are in this area. Tonight was our third time doing this and every time the weather has been just horrible. Even today the thunder was so loud and began to rain 10 minutes before our team showed up. We have learned many things each time and this time I truly learned that God is in complete control. I felt as though no one would show up and we didn't think we were going to have any one there. Just as our team arrived, the door bell rang and two girls from PBA came to check it out and then another girl from the area came soon after! We had a great time tonight with three new faces and saw that as soon as we realized we could do no more than just wait on God to provide, he provided three times more than we could even imagine!

What could have been a potentially discouraging evening, turned out to be God moving in a mighty way. There is no possible way we can take any credit or glory for tonight! Please continue to pray for the Discover Church core team as we grow and reach out around us! God is doing something big and I am so thankful that He was gracious to even allow us to be a part of it!!!!

Learning new things.....

Hello Hello!!!

Life has been busy here and we are still adjusting to the area and still trying to get to know people and places! I am loving my job, but there is still so much to learn and Benj has been working hard on all of the responsibilities he carries with the church. He is not only responsible for the worship leading and music side of things, he has also been given the entire "guest relations" side of the church plant. Anything from the parking lot to the stage he has been planning for and he is doing a wonderful job at it and has learned so much!

I am continuing to see how much goes into Children's Ministries and was able to see a church set up a mid-week program that they hold. I was able to to ask questions and see how well organized things were in the midst of having to set up and tear down every week. We are currently looking around for toys, books, and other supplies for our kids areas so if you would like to donate anything we would appreciate any help we can get!

We are learning so much and God is showing us that He is the one in control! We are still praying for more core team members especially for the upcoming Monthly Gatherings! Please continue to pray that God provides more core team members, for our personal finances, and for continued personal growth! We are so thankful for all of you and praise God for the support system of family and friends that He has given us!

This week....

This week has been such a blessing and a challenge! Prayers have been answered, we are being stretched, and things are coming along quickly with Discover Church! I am so thankful to be where I am right now and trying hard to see how God is working in my own life. Benj and I are feeling a little more settled in our condo, even though it may be a while before we really feel “at home.” Benj is truly my encouragement and keeps me going even when I don’t want to and God is blessing us so much with precious time together even though I’m working.

Working at Starbucks is wonderful and I just love the people there! My co-workers and managers are great and it’s just fun to be back in a coffee shop again :) God is so good to put me somewhere that I can enjoy and Benj is keeping just as busy working with Discover Church from home.

We are coming up on some exciting things with Discover Church and it is a challenge for all of us! My priorities are changing and only God can give me the strength to say “no” to some things even though it is so easy to say “yes” to everything! On October 25th we will be holding our first Monthly Gathering. We will have these monthly services until the launch in January in which we will hopefully be able to start the weekly services. We have been given software and a sound system to use for FREE and we have booked 2 ballrooms at a hotel for an amazing price! Please pray that God continues to provide not only supplies for the upcoming services, but also that He provides PEOPLE! We are still trying to grow our core team and we know that God will have the right people at the right time, but we could still use your prayers!

Please let Benj and I know if there’s any way we can pray for you!!! And check out new blogs at our website: www.thelitters.com

Also….the NEW Discover Church website is up and running now: www.discoverchurchpbc.com

Discover SERVICE

Tomorrow's big event:

Cookout at the beach!
Carlin Park/Loggerhead Beach
12:00-3:00pm
FREE hot dogs and bottled water!

Upcoming Events.....

I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone of our supporters for continuing to pray for us as we prepare for Discover Church, and as we reach out to the community around us! Here are a few things that we are preparing for and some things that we could use some prayer for as well! Again we deeply appreciate all of your prayers and encouraging words and would love to know how we can pray for you!


August 23rd--Discover SERVICE
Our Core Team will be holding a TOTALLY FREE cookout at the beach from 12pm-3pm. We simply want to show God's love in a practical way and get to know our community!

August 28th--Discover Church Vision Cast
This will be an evening of casting the vision of Discover Church. We are in the process of building our Core Team and this is a great way to learn more about what we are doing in Palm Beach County!

September 24th--Flying to OHIO for a family wedding!

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I Got The Job......

Praise the Lord, I finally got the job at Starbucks!!!

I just have to say that God definitely knew what He was doing with our job situations. Benj turned down a job that a friend was generous enough to offer because neither of us had a peace about it and the pay would, in all reality, only pay for gas money and tolls because it was so far away.

Anyway, Tuesday morning I really didn't want to call Starbucks to check on whether or not I was actually hired and Benj stopped what he was doing and said that I needed to pray about it. So that is exactly what I did and even asked God to put my name on their hearts and minds and that I would find favor with them somehow. I received some clear direction that I did in fact need to call them instead of just waiting even though I still did not want to call and be an annoyance. As soon as I called the manager said that I was hired even though I can't start till the 24th and that she thought it was funny that I called because she was just thinking about me and looking over my application!!!

Praise God--He heard my every word and I am so thankful that this is where He wants me! I am really praying now that this will be a place to meet and influence many people and that He will use it to grow Discover Church and that I may be an encouragement to those that I work with!!!!

Overwelmed with blessings from God.....

We have had a great weekend and I just wanted to let you all know of some great blessings in our lives that God is overwhelming us with!

As many of you know, Benj and I went to our best friends' wedding in Pennsylvania two weeks ago! We had a good time seeing friends from school, however, we were somewhat discouraged because of the amount of money needed for plane tickets, hotels, food, and other expenses. The evening we arrived back in FL, we checked the mail and there we found checks just over the amount we spent on this trip! Praise God and Him alone! What an encouragement to know that we have a God that cares about us so much!!!

He continues to encourage us and amaze us every DAY that goes by. Even as we are still waiting on my job situation, He blesses us and we have peace knowing that He is providing and He does have a plan!

God is good--all the time!

Pics of new home and recent events....

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting any updates lately! Here are a few pictures of our new home. We are renting a condo in a beautiful area and we are meeting some great neighbors. They have really gone out of their way to meet us and even to help us find jobs, which we are still praying God provides something :)

A couple of weeks ago we had a "Totally Free" Car Wash where we just wanted to serve and get to know the community and people were just blown away that we weren't even accepting donations. We wanted them to see that they are loved and that we just wanted to show Christ's love in a practical way! We washed about 100 cars that day and many heard the Gospel of Christ and had many great conversations as well!

We've also been trying to build our core team and had our first vision cast to share this church's vision with other believers. Please pray that God will continue to build this team!!!

I will try my hardest to update more and more now that we are getting settled! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Back to Reality...

We are finally back and loving married life!

Benj and I got back from our honeymoon last Saturday and just had a wonderful time. We went to Gatlinburg and stayed in a beautiful cabin and had such a restful week! We even took a helicopter ride, went to an aquarium, played some put put golf, and ate at some great restaurants. The shopping, eating, and resting was a treat after a long week of wedding details and busy schedules. The entire week was such a blessing and I hope you enjoy the pictures below!

Now we are back home for a short while and have been blessed with lots of work this week! God is so good and has provided so much from the wedding and even more from being able to work this week for some extra moving money!

We have finally found a condo to rent in FL and we are excited to move down the weekend of the 20th! Please be praying that all of the paper work this week goes well. It is approaching quickly but we are extremely excited to be able to get started with the church plant and get settled as we start our new life together. God is doing some exciting things in FL already as Chip (our lead pastor) and his wife have been holding small groups in their home.

Benj just updated our website at www.thelitters.com and the new newsletter and prayer calendar are up! Please keep us in your prayers as we spend our last week in Ohio with family and friends and as we begin packing too!

Thank you for your continued prayers and please let us know if there's anything we can be praying about for you as well!!!

One more week....

Just a little update before the Big Day!!!

We are getting married in a week and life is crazy trying to prepare for it! I am so thankful to be home and I am receiving so much encouragement from friends and family! What a blessing they are! My two big projects for the beginning of next week are preparing the center-pieces and decorating the church! I can't believe the wedding is coming so so quickly!

Benj and I are also preparing to do some fundraising at our home church this weekend! We had an awesome opportunity to talk about what we are doing with Discover Church this week! The Bainbridge United Methodist Women's dinner was at the Bell Tower and we received a generous gift from all of them Wednesday night! We are so thankful and it really was a huge blessing as we begin our support raising at our home church. We are preparing to speak to a Sunday school class for a full hour as well as the Connection Service to ask for financial and prayer support! I cannot explain how thankful we are for all of the neat things God is doing in our lives right now!

Please continue to pray for us--for preparation for our marriage and that we would never forget WHO these blessing truly come from. Pray that He would provide through those that we are able to speak to about what we are doing in Florida and with Discover Church! We know that God's hand is on this church plant and we are just thankful that He is allowing us to be a part of what He's doing! May He receive ALL the glory!

I pray that you all can trust in Him for the impossible!
He is faithful!!!

Visit our website at www.thelitters.com

3rd Blog This Week.....It's been busy!

Exposure Trip to NC…

This past weekend we continued our preparation for Discover Church. Most of our team traveled to Raleigh, NC to visit Journey Church. We left Saturday afternoon to arrive just in time for their evening service. After a great evening service, we were able to sit in their staff meeting concerning the service. We were able to hear how they wanted some things to change and heard encouragement for the things done well in the service. Afterward, they took us all out to eat and two of the staff members let us all stay in their homes overnight!

The next day we went back and forth between their two campuses to see how their church was structured. Journey Church is about 3 years old and they have just started another campus in a movie theater which we have not been able to see until now. There were some space issue with the children’s rooms but they did a great job with the space that was available! It is amazing to see how much strength and flexibility God gives them each week as they serve in different ways. I especially liked the children’s ministry and how it was structured! The hallways and rooms were painted in interesting ways and they utilized spaces well.

Church planting has opened my eyes to a brand new world of doing church and I am so thankful for the opportunities we have had as a team to see how others are doing it! Not only are they learning experiences—they are also an encouragement as we prepare ourselves and as we will be starting very soon!

Here are some pictures of their set up. I wish I would have taken more pictures (esp. of the theater) but here they are anyway!


This is where the adult services were held. They had great lighting and the stage area was set up well. They video recorded the Saturday night service and used it on Sunday morning for one of the campuses.


Here's the kids room where they came together as a large group. In the back they built an extra room and the orange and green doors spin so that they can go in and out of the backstage area.

Church Plant Convo...

Here are some pictures from yesterday's Convocation. Pastor Jonathan Falwell preached a powerful sermon that the late Jerry Falwell had written years ago and would preach at the end of every school year. Then he had many of the church planters going out this year to plant churches come forward (some to California, Virginia, Florida!, and even South Africa). He challenged and encouraged us all and Dr. Elmer Towns prayed over all of the teams! What a blessing! My prayer is that hearts were stirred for church planting yesterday! Praise God for this opportunity and blessing!!!

To read the full story click here

Only a few more weeks....

Hey Everyone!

We are just wrapping up the semester and are in our last full week of classes! I am so thankful that God has given me the strength to finish strong in school and He is providing daily!





Before Easter Benj had his Senior Worship Recital and did a wonderful job with his team! We had a great time visiting friends and family at home which was much needed as we come near to the end of the semester! This was our first time home since January and the whole weekend was great!

We also had some major blessings come our way this week! Benj and I have received a couple of financial and prayer supporters this week, Praise God! We are also preparing to share with a Sunday School class and the Connection Service at the First Wesleyan Church on May 24th! We are so excited to see how God is providing and ask that you would be praying for us as we finish school, prepare to share about the church plant, and as we prepare for the wedding. We are still looking for housing and trying to plan for moving and such. All of the planning is overwhelming at times but I feel like we are more excited than anything! I am so thankful for all of you who have been praying for us and all of the encouragement that we have receive in our preparation with Discover Church!

~Steph

Visit our website at www.thelitters.com

Unexpected Blessing.....

I just wanted to share some excitement from this week!

On Tuesday I was at work when a girl that I vaguely know from another office came up to visit someone. As we were talking, she shared with me that she had just arrived from being overseas for the semester and that she would be moving to Florida in the next few weeks! She had heard through a mutual friend of ours that Benj and I were going to Jupiter and she asked about it. I was so excited when she said she would be in the Wellington area (only 20-30 minutes from us) as a nanny and Spanish teacher for a family down there! It's exciting to think that we a new friend that will be in the area!!! She was such an encouragement and said she would keep here ears and eyes open for housing opportunities for us! What a blessing to see how God is moving in our lives. Please continue to pray that He will open up doors to get an apartment soon. I was also able to share with her a little about the church plant and exchange phone numbers so that we can get in contact when Benj and I move to Jupiter. I know this may not seem like much but it is a huge blessing to know that we are already seeing God form support systems around us! Praise God for His creativity and His awesome hand in our lives.

For more updates on what Benj and I and our team are doing, you can visit our website at www.thelitters.com