Skip to main content

January 2026 Newsletter

 Momentum...

Meet our new grandson
John Michael Clark!

Momentum is a funny thing in church planting. It's when things feel good. There are new faces and new things happening. There seems to be an excitement around the community.

I think over the last month we've experienced some momentum. It's interesting that this has happened now because for most of the last month we had to meet in the basement of the church while the sanctuary was being repainted. This created some inconvenience and "funkiness" to our Sunday and Christmas services. But at the same time... it also created some momentum. 

In all this I'm reminded of something St. Paul said, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth," (1 Corinthians 3:7). Whatever has been happening, I'm thankful for what God is doing and how he is causing our little church plant to grow.

Updates:

  • A huge praise was that our daughter Elena Clark gave birth to John Michael Clark on December 26th! Mom and baby are doing well! 
  • We were able to have all our kids and their families home for Christmas.
  • We had some wonderful services over Christmas tide! 
  • We're getting close to averaging 50 folks on Sunday's.
  • We've seen new folks come and stay with us.
  • We're seeing some new volunteers and leaders emerge.
  • We were able to raise $7,025 for our year end gift! This will allow us to give towards the sanctuary painting and begin providing financial support for our music ministers. Thank you for your support! 
Prayer:
  • For a new ministry initiative we're beginning called Table Groups that will allow for monthly fellowship and evening prayer for our people.
  • For wisdom and direction for those at Shalom who are involved in serving the immigrant community here in Kitsap. 
  • For Fr. Rob and all the clergy of the Cascadia Diocese as we go away in a few weeks for our annual clergy retreat. Pray for rest, renewal, and fellowship! 
  • For those who are exploring Christianity and who regularly attend Shalom. 
  • For wisdom as we seek what God has next for us as we are close to entering our third year!
For the Shalom of Kitsap,

Fr. Rob Steinbach


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

August Newsletter

 Grieving but grateful...  Robert Michael Steinbach Sr. 9/7/1946 - 7/28/2025 This is has been my response to people as they've asked me how I'm doing.  On July 28th my Dad's spirit left his failing body into the presence of the Trinity. My heart is heavy because of the finality of death. I can no longer see him or talk to him. Now I wait to go to him.  But I'm also grateful for his life. He had an amazing testimony which I shared about briefly at his memorial service . He was a gift to all who knew him. He was my Dad and I loved him dearly.  Needless to say July was a blur. I made two trips back to Maryland. The first was to see him and support my mom in his final days. The second was a week long trip after he passed for his memorial and committal service. I'm settling back into work and processing my grief as well as looking forward to the end of summer and some fall planning. Updates: While I was gone our church stepped up and handled the Sunday service. I'm g...
Post a Comment
Read more

July Newsletter

A Personal Update This last month was very full for our family. It began with our youngest son Asher proposing to his girlfriend! We couldn't be more happy for Asher and Angel and their upcoming wedding next summer. This means that a year from now Beth and I will officially be "empty nesters." I'm still not sure how I feel about that and will definitely need some therapy to process it all 😅. In mid-June we took a trip back to Maryland with our oldest daughter, son in law, and granddaughter.  We spent a few days enjoying Baltimore. This included time with Beth's family, an Oriole's game, the best crab cakes on the planet, and a few "snowballs." Then we spent time with my parents and my sister who live in Annapolis. My dad is going through some health challenges and it was a blessing to be with him and bring his great granddaughter around to lift his spirits.  Shortly after we got back we began planning and putting the final preparations together for ...
Post a Comment
Read more

December Newsletter - Year End Report and Year End Giving

Friends of Shalom,  As we come to the end of 2025, I am truly amazed and so grateful for all that our Lord has done and continues to do in our church. The best way to describe this year for me would be “holistic growth.” We’ve seen this in terms of new folks checking out Shalom (many new to faith), we’ve grown deeper in Christ as a church, and we’ve grown as a community in our relationships with one another.  Merry Christmas! Here are some highlights from 2025. Three adult baptisms. We regularly have people new to Christianity or who haven't been to church in years join us on Sunday. Two catechism classes with a total of twelve adults. Inside giving growth by almost $2,000 a month. Our average Sunday Attendance has grown from 30 to 45.  We collectively gave $1,500 for our lenten offering to Scarlet Road (a local non-profit that works with survivors of sexual exploitation). And we volunteered to help with several projects as well. Two weddings and Two engagements! W...
Post a Comment
Read more