Mission Partner Update - Steven Castello, City on a Hill, December 2024

So Much Grace This Year

It has been WAY too long since our last update. The Lord has poured out so much grace on our family and church in the last six months. We often pray for the Lord to do something only He can get credit for. This feels like such a risky prayer because it means relinquishing control and trusting the Lord to be faithful. Thankfully, we serve a faithful God who provides and works in ways we never could on our own!
 

Family Update
One of the prayers we have asked all of you to pray over the years is for our family to thrive in Boston. Healthy families make healthy churches possible.

By God's grace, we've see that become reality over the last 6 1/2 years. Our girls LOVE being here. They are truly "city kids" who can navigate the T like pros. They have friends, and community, and the local church. We could not ask for much more.

The big thing happening in our lives is that Lily is preparing for college. The first round of applications are out. Pray for us as we patiently await the responses!

You can also pray for us as parents as we are teaching TWO kids to drive right now. I think I have new gray hairs!

Summer Recap
This summer at City on a Hill, we saw such incredible grace. We had seven GenSEND students from around the country who served with us for 8 weeks. They served by interning in various ministry areas as well as Sunday setup and mission team execution. One had so much fun that she stuck around! She plans to stay in Boston long-term!

We also served the city and blessed our neighbors through running a great soccer camp, a Memorial Day party, and other fun events.

Thank you to mission teams from our partners (FBC Trussville, Northbrook, and South Shore Baptist) for helping make these a reality!
 
Fall Update

Fall started off with a bang! On 9/1, there are 250,000 people who move in or out of Boston on ONE DAY. We sent our people out on 9/1 to help our neighbors move in. People are always shocked that someone would help them move for free.

We also had a back-to-school bash for our children and youth. We served English High School by providing dinner for their open house (see above), as well as passed out coffee during the BAA Half Marathon. The race course runs right in front of our building. Instead of fighting the traffic, we moved our service to the evening and gave away coffee in the morning.

City on a Hill has also seen extensive growth over the last year. We have grown from an average of 65 in attendance in January to over 95 as of November. We had our largest service ever a few weeks ago with 109!

We multiplied our groups from 6 to 8 and instituted a new leadership development cohort model that is bearing a ton of fruit!
 
What's Coming Up
Here's a look at what's coming up over the next few months that you can be praying for:

Member Christmas Party - 12/6
Nine Lessons and Carols - 12/14
Christmas Eve Service - 12/24
 
Finances - A Big Year

Over the years, the Lord has blessed us immensely through the financial support of churches, NAMB, Harbor Network, and supporters like you. First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart. We could not do this without you.

This is a big year in the life of City on a Hill. We are no longer receiving funding from NAMB or Harbor and some of our churches have rolled off (which is normal). Our church is taking on a larger portion of our financial need.

However, we still need financial support as planting in Boston can take between 7 and 10 years for a church to become self-sustaining.

Prayers & Praises

Prayers:
- College Decisions!
- A permanent building
- For our leader cohorts
- For our sabbatical in 2025

Praises:
- A GREAT start to the Fall
- New believers and leaders
 
Thank You
We could not do this without you. Thank you, and I pray the Lord blesses you and keeps you and that His face shines upon you!

Steven Castello