February 7, 1996

Dear Pastor,

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Creator of the gift of love.

For some of you, this may be the first letter you are receiving from the Woodland Drive-In Church; for others of you, you have been receiving them for more than a year. In any case, I greet you in the name of Christ, our King.

As I have been emphasizing in every letter, the Woodland Drive-In Church does not hold membership papers. We are a service church—serving people in your churches who may have a temporary need for a drive-in type service and serving those who for a variety of reasons do not see themselves as fitting within the traditional church structure. We see ourselves as partners with you in ministry in the greater Grand Rapids area.

Our church is run almost entirely by volunteers. When I total up all those who are active in our ministry, I come up with at least forty names. As in most churches, some are more heavily involved than others. One of the most difficult challenges lies on the shoulders of the person who arranges special music. Since we have no congregational singing, he must see to it that there is
someone there every Sunday to help us worship the Lord through their songs—including those Sundays when a singer has to cancel at the last minute.

For some reason, it is increasingly difficult to get people to volunteer to sing. We need your help in this regard. If you have any in your congregations who love to sing, I would like to suggest that you submit their names to us. At most, they will call on them once or twice a year. But we have also approved a position with a $25.00 per week stipend for someone who can play the piano well, and perhaps even sing, and who would be willing to join our ministry. This person would play prelude music, and especially when we get sudden cancellations, would be able to fill in. If you know of anyone who might be willing to take on this position, please have them send us a note at 2600 Breton Road SE, 49546, or leave a message on my answering machine at 942-5980. Thank you.

May the Lord continue to bless each one of you in your respective areas of ministry.

Sincerely,

Verlyn D. Verbrugge