The Herbsts are doing great! Life continues to be busy, so we’ll just fill you in on a few of the things going on.
The family is growing up. Ellory turned two years old a couple of weeks ago. She has really blossomed in the last year. She loves dancing around the house with her brother and sister, and she loves to sleep (always a good thing)! Marin is as fun-going as ever and Townsend is turning into quite the little gentleman. He takes good care of his little sisters and continues to talk up a storm.
At work, things seem to be progressing slowly, but steadily. Starting a new church is like starting a new business: it just takes a lot of work, determination, and ultimately, patience. One change we’ve made recently is that Norton took a temporary paycut from New Denver Church. Let me explain.
For the past four months, our main salary has come from New Denver Church (from the many gifts that so many of you have given to support our venture). When we started the church, our goal was to raise enough money to cover our salaries and some basic ministry costs for two years, at which point the church would hopefully be self-sustaining. We have raised almost 90% of that goal, but we still want to be good stewards of the money you have given, and it’s possible that the church may not be fully self-sustaining by the end of 2010. Therefore, if we could take a reduction in salary now, it would extend the funds entrusted to us and would give us a longer runway, so to speak, to get the church off the ground.
For the past year or so, Norton has been doing some work on the side with Gabe Lyons and Fermi Project. Specifically, he works as a writer, editor, and project manager. It’s an outlet for Norton’s gifts and earns us a little extra money. Well, it just so happens that some big projects have come our way with Fermi Project this year. In light of the timing, it seemed like a great opportunity to consider. As a result, for the next few months, Norton will take a reduction in salary from New Denver Church and spend one or two days a week working on other projects (which will make up the financial difference for our family). It really is a win-win situation. Norton’s main focus remains on the church, but this will help our funds to “go farther” in the long run.
One thing that has been on our hearts recently is to be more intentional about spending time with people outside of our church. So, this past week, we hosted a Neighborhood Egg Hunt and Cookie Decorating Party! It wasn’t a huge production. We simply invited several families that live close by to come over, hunt for eggs, and decorate cookies with us. It was great. Ten kids and their parents showed up, we had a fun time with the children, and most importantly, we started building great relationships with our neighbors.
At the end of April, we’re excited to travel back to Austin, Texas for a few days. Norton, Stephen, and Jason will be attending the Q Conference. Janis and the kids will be coming along too and staying with her parents in Georgetown. It will be a great time to reconnect with old friends and family, eat some bbq brisket, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Austin once again.
Lots of other stuff is going on. We’re in a new small group on Thursday nights, we’re doing some construction work on our house, and we’re visiting different churches on Sunday mornings . . . but we’ll save all that for a future update. Hope you are doing well. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line.
