Pray For An Offer On 12/22!

If you're tracking with us in prayer...you know that the selling of our house is the biggest and most immediate obstacle to moving to the Columbus area to get started in early 2007. It is our specific prayer that our home would sell in December so we can move sometime in January.

If you would, please make a special note to ask God that an acceptable offer would be made for our home on Friday, December 22. At this point (Thursday), a couple is supposed to come and view our home for the third time. They are representing their daughter who lives out of state. This could be the provision that God is making...we could be seeing God's plan unfolding again in amazing ways right in front of us. In any case, God's plan is perfect. We will wait on Him.

God Provides!

I'm typing this post on an almost brand new computer that is being donated to our new church! Would you take a second and utter a BIG "Praise God!" with us! We are so grateful for this gift! This was a major item of prayer for us. It's going to be a big step going from our current church, which is blessed with state-of-the-art resources, to our baby church, which starts with nothing! God has a plan and is working it out step-by-step in amazing ways! Thanks for praying with us! Special thanks to our anonymous donors-- 2 Cor.9:14.

If You Want To Help Financially...

Thanks so much for your desire to partner with us through prayer and giving. That is such an encouragement and blessing to us. Our prayer is that your prayers and your financial sacrifice will be multiplied exponentially as we seek to follow God and see lives changed in northeastern Franklin County.

Above all, we want to be accountable with the funds you donate towards our work. The best way for you to give would be to make any gift out to “Northwest Chapel” and send it to:

Pastor Martin Guerena
Northwest Chapel
PO Box 1234
Dublin, OH 43017-6234

Eventually, we will be putting together a formal support raising team (separate from our prayer team). It will be our responsibility to help raise money for the following areas: salary, ministry outreach and marketing, equipment expenses (computer, etc.), and facility/office rental. As you send a check to the above address, please be sure to put “NEFC CHURCH PLANT/WIRT SUPPORT” in the “memo” line. Any gift made out to “Northwest Chapel” will be tax-deductible and they will send you a receipt for tax purposes.

Thanks again for your vision to help us get this new work started. We are amazed to see how God is working through people like you to seed this new church. Please know that whatever God does—you’ll be a significant part of it with these gifts and prayers to get us started.

2 Corinthians 9:14,
Andy and Trish Wirt

Thanks, WRGBC!

Our church, Grace Church, Macedonia, OH (www.wrgbc.com) held a send-off party for us last Sunday night (12/10/06). It truly was a special time of hearing testimony of God's work through our family and celebrating dear personal relationships. This is a special church and it will be hard to leave. "God, help us take what we've learned here and use it for your glory in the new church you've conceived in our hearts."

Here's a picture of us on stage at our party, listening to kind people express words of grace towards our family. What a blessing this evening was. Soon, it will just be us...so we'll carry these words of encouragement with us into the joys and challenges ahead.

Prayer Team Soars Over 200 Mark

Please praise God with us! Our first goal in beginning a new church is accomplished. Sometime this week (the numbers change every day!) we added the 200th member to our team. At this point, we have around 215 people praying with us for God's work in northeastern Franklin County, OH. Our goal was to find 200 people to pray with us by the end of 2006. Praise God- He's done it!

"God, Please sell our house..."

God has blessed us with a great house. We're thankful for it and have enjoyed it much. We're learning a lot about the fact that earthly possessions are just that- earthly, temporary, and lacking in ETERNAL value. That doesn't mean it is necessarily any easier from a human standpoint to face all the adjustments that moving entails. We're moving away from what is comfortable...away from a place that holds memories of our two children coming into the world...away from a place that we've fixed up and made our own. BUT, we're moving to a place where we are anticipating God working towards something that will have value for eternity- changed lives in a community where new churches are needed. Pray with us that we can live Matthew 6:19-21 as we walk through coming days.

Pray also with us that God will release us from this burden. We trust His timing and His perfect plan. Yet, as we look ahead, the obstacle to moving, to getting started with the important work God has given us, to knowing our financial position, etc. is our house. Our time schedule and financial picture would be much more clear if we knew our house was sold. We want to get to work as early as possible in January...please pray that God would bring the right buyer at a fair price and strategic time.

Why Northeast Franklin County (Columbus), OH?

The following is a letter I wrote to Pastor Martin Guerena, Associate Pastor of Missions, at the northwest Chapel Grace Brethren Church in late November. I include it here so members of our prayer team can understand what and why we have sensed God's leading in this direction. God has been faithful to clearly communicate with us on our calling to church planting and His location for our work. Please, PRAISE HIM with us.


Dear Martin,

Thanks for your assistance in helping us confirm God'’s calling on our life for church planting. We are at the point of confirming God'’s leading to a specific location. We have spent much time visiting several different locations that were either of interest to us or brought to our attention by trusted advisors.

For a variety of reasons, it seems like God keeps pointing us to New Albany/Northeast Franklin County. As I sense God revealing His will, I'’d like to outline these indicators for you (as you requested):

Including our breakdown adventure with you, we'’ve been to the New Albany area 4 times in the last 4 weeks. Each time, we'’ve been impressed with:

• The number of newer homes that indicate explosive growth in the last 5 years or so. It is clear that this area has grown and continues to grow rapidly. There is clearly need for new, relevant, disciple-making churches to reach this growing population.
  
• This is a place we would enjoy living. At first we were concerned that we couldn'’t connect adequately with the exclusive nature of New Albany; but as we looked father, we realized that when you consider the greater community of New Albany and then factor in the eastern areas of Westerville and the northern areas of Gahanna, there are tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of middle-to-upper-middle-class people and young families that we feel we would connect well with. We feel we could develop a ministry that is missional in this context.
  
• There seem to be numerous connecting points for meeting people. We observed countless neighborhoods, community functions, community pools, pre-schools, schools, libraries, Starbucks, restaurants, fitness centers, shopping, sporting activities, etc. where we could participate and build relationships with unchurched people.
  

In addition to the community, there are other factors for us that point to God'’s calling for this opportunity.

• We are excited about the opportunity to team with Northwest Chapel in this adventure of faith. From our assessment results, prayer, and introspection, we understand that to be successful in this exciting challenge, we will greatly benefit from a strong relationship with a mother-church that truly understands and has a strong commitment to do what is necessary to plant a healthy, new church. I can'’t think of better people to work with. I'’m excited about learning from Terry and Martin (who both have been instrumental in our journey already!) and with a church that is proactively reproducing itself (a value our new church will adopt). We look forward to the structure, accountability, assistance in strategy development, and resources (people, teams, finances) that a strong mother church can provide. We recognize our need for assistance in these areas and desire to partner for Kingdom results.
  
• We recognize that God has led us to pursue a journey of faith that involves an aggressive time schedule. We consider the fact that our time table is fast (wrapping up our current ministry and getting on site for a new venture) AND the fact that God has led Northwest Chapel to target northeastern Franklin County in an aggressive fashion TO BE PROVIDENTIAL. God has brought our path together with Terry in training and Martin in assessment and our timetable and Northwest Chapel'’s targeting of this area-- perhaps it could be because He is ordaining a marriage of all these factors for a new, disciple-making venture.
  
• Factoring in some family, relational contacts from the past, and the fact that Tricia grew up close to this area (Worthington), of any of the areas that we examined, the New Albany area is the place where we would begin with the remnants of a support network already in place. We are familiar with the area and feel comfortable there.
  
• I would be excited and privileged to be a part of the NorthCentral OH district ministerium and would find much encouragement from fellowshipping with the good men there. I believe there is also potential for my wife to enjoy good relationships with godly women in the district as well.
  

There is probably more I could say. In a nutshell, this is how we see God moving. In sum, we are interested in talking further and taking a next step to confirm God'’s leading. Please let us know what this would be.

Blessings,
Andy Wirt

Wirt Prayer Update, December 06

The Lord said...GO... (Genesis 12:1)...
To northeastern Franklin County, OH. We are excited to communicate to you that we feel God has made clear to us that we are to work in conjunction with Northwest Chapel Grace Brethren Church (Dublin, OH) to begin a new church in this rapidly growing section of Columbus. We're relieved to know God's leading, excited at His calling, and scared to death! However, our fears are accompanied with a great sense of peace (Philippians 4:7) and anticipation of what God is going to do (Isaiah 43:18-19). In five years, we envision a healthy, disciple-making church full of people whose lives have been changed in a place where there wasn't such a church before. It can't get any more riveting than that! Here's how to pray and praise with us in December.

Please Praise...

• God has answered our prayers for guidance and clarity by calling us.
  
• God has provided a SUPER sending church to work with.
  
• Our current church has blessed us with freedom to discern God's leading.
  
• God is meeting our physical needs in amazing ways.
  
• God is teaching us faith and dependence on Him. We're in maximum position to give Him glory. Whatever happens will be HIS work...
  
• That 169 people have committed to pray with us for God's work!
  

Please Pray...

• That God would give guidance and wisdom as we continue to dream, plan, and record the vision, mission, values, and strategy of a new church.
  
• That God would sell our home in Northfield SOON and provide adequate housing close to our target area.
  
• That God would help our family through the transitions we are facing.
  
• That God would provide needed personal and ministry resources. If God prompts you, contact Andy for more specific information.
  
• That we would be able to relocate in early January 2007.
  
• That God would prepare and lead us to those that will join us as Launch Team members.
  
• That God would provide at least 31 more prayer team members by the end of 2006 (our goal is 200).
  

Thank You!
We praise God that 169 people have committed to pray with us for a new church! This is our first and most important task- to mobilize a group of people that will bring the praises and concerns from this and future updates before God. Our central concern is to bring glory to Him (Romans 11:36). We believe He is brought great glory when His people pray...and then celebrate His work! That will be the central aim of this page- to equip you with both requests for God's movement and provision...AND, more importantly, with invitations to praise God with us as we see Him work for His glory. Thanks for being on our team! We pray you'll be encouraged as we anticipate and witness Jesus building His Church!


New Albany and Northeastern Franklin County are experiencing explosive growth. "Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest..." (Jesus in John 4:35b). "Pray...that God may open a door for (His) message..." (Paul in Colossians 4:3) with the thousands of unchurched people in this area.