A Good Day...

I praise God for a great day yesterday! I wanted to make that praise public by giving God praise for...

• A great meeting with Mark, a friend we met several months ago. We haven't been able to get our schedules together until, finally, yesterday we were able to connect. Mark was a member of Northwest Chapel before he moved to the northeast side of town several months ago. God directed our paths together miraculously. Mark works many hours, including Sundays, but he's going to try and make our group and desires to help us get a church off the ground as his busy schedule allows. Please praise God for Mark and his heart to serve.
  
• Our end-of-season soccer party last evening. We played well in our last game and had a great time of celebrating the boys and their accomplishments and connecting with families. I created an award for each player based on skill or character and presented them during the party. This was a fun way to commend them. God allowed many good conversations with parents. I believe we had a positive testimony for Jesus. Praise God. Please pray that some type of spiritual fruit will come from this investment of time...even if it is 10 years down the road. Pray that these precious boys and families are drawn to Jesus.
  

Date Is Set...Invites Are Out!

Please pray with us! We're excited to ask you to pray with us on June 10, from 4-6p. as we host our first spiritual formation group at our home. Together, with several of our new friends, we've invited at least 12 different family units to attend. So far, we've gotten good feedback on desire to attend from about 7 of these invitations. Please pray that God would bring people out, bond our hearts together around Jesus and mission, and help us have fun! Pray that those that attend would see and feel the vision God has given us and desire to partner with us. This first meeting is important, the culmination of many God-stories, and a key next step in the development of a new church. Thanks for your prayers...please keep them coming!

Some Exciting Family Times!

Trish and I celebrated 10 years of marriage (5/18/1997) last weekend. We enjoyed a great overnight away at a beautiful state park lodge on Lake Erie. It was the first time in over a year we had been away together without the kids. We enjoyed being together, remembering all that God has done and brought us through in 10 years of marriage, God's creation, and some needed R&R. Praise God! I'm so thankful for the wife God has given me and the children and work He's blessed us to build together.


Last Sunday, we also had the special privilege of being interviewed in the service at the Woodville (Mansfield, OH) Grace Brethren Church. As, Trish's dad interviewed me, we were able to share about what God is doing in the church plant and encourage people to pray with us for God's continued work. We very much enjoyed spending the day with Trish's parents, connecting with Pastor Ron Smalls, and the sweet people of the Woodville GBC.

A special time yesterday- Seth came home from his last day of pre-school with his first report card! He did well and his teacher commended him for how well he did despite all the changes that have occurred in his life this year (he started at this school mid-year in February). We praise God for Seth and how well he has come through all the changes we have made! Great job, buddy! We celebrated with some great ice-cream at a Columbus favorite, Greaters!

Music To Our Ears!

Praise God! Tonight, we got home after spending some time with some old friends in Upper Arlington. There was a voice mail from one of our neighbors, Beth. The gist of her message was that she was sharing that she's excited about helping us invite people from our neighborhood to attend our initial spiritual formation group this summer. She's already talked with two people willing to participate and a teenager that will assist with childcare during the gathering!

Please thank God with us for Beth and her husband Luke. They have an effective ministry of loving people and living for Jesus in our neighborhood. People like and trust them and when they tell someone about what we're (the new people...with no track record here) doing...the message is credible because our neighbors respect Beth and Luke. They are truly "people of peace" (see Luke 9:4) and God is using them in great ways.

A Cool Way To Spend A Friday Night

Last Friday evening, I got home around 7p. from being gone all day. As I was getting out of my car, our neighbor, Jay, yelled over to me and invited our family to attend their son, Sebastian's, birthday party that evening. We quick got ready and headed over. Seth enjoys playing with Sebastian and talks about him frequently. This was the first time we've been invited into a neighbor's home in our neighborhood and were thrilled with the opportunity to get to know Jay's family, some of their friends and co-workers, and some of our neighbors better.

Please praise God with us for this opportunity to meet several new people. As I was sitting at their table...with kids yelling and playing all around us...surrounded by handfuls of people that don't know Jesus, my thought was, "God, thanks for opening up this door...this is what church planting/being a missionary is all about..." Please pray we would be a light for Jesus in our neighborhood and that these new relationships would lead our friends to a friendship with Jesus.

More Surprises from God!

We're learning from Jesus' example that a prime way to love and reach people is to look for practical ways to serve them. Here are two recent stories:

1. With the spring rain and sunshine comes high, green grass! One of my neighbors is going through a divorce and is a busy, single dad. I noticed that his grass needed mowed...so I mowed it. I love mowing anyway and figured it might be a building block in my relationship with Maurice. He and I have enjoyed good initial interactions, even discussing religion, Jesus, and the Bible. I left a note letting him know what I had done and that I'd love to have breakfast or lunch sometime.
   
   A week or so later, I found this note in my mailbox. In part, it read: Dear Andy, I cannot say how touched I was to return home from a grueling trip for work, to find such a neighborly and friendly gesture. As I'm sure you know, times of divorce or separation can be very difficult periods of transition...I look forward to getting to know you and the family better!.
   
   I was so thankful to God for the opportunity to serve in this way and Maurice's positive reaction to my effort to encourage him in a practical way. It was a bit risky (sometimes people don't want help), but God worked it out well. Maurice and I are having breakfast tomorrow. Please pray for Maurice. Please pray that our time together will honor Jesus. Thank God with us for His work in this new friendship.
   
   
2. A few weeks ago, we were saddened and concerned as one of our distant neighbors (a few houses down the street behind us) was violently assaulted in her home. By God's grace, this woman lives two houses down from some new friends of ours, Luke and Beth, who are faithful, godly members of another GBC. Luke and Beth quickly began looking for ways to minister to this woman.
   
   Beth networked a few of us together and sent the victim flowers at the hospital. Trish and I pitched in a little to help with the purchase and offered to help Luke and Beth minister to her in any way we could.
   
   Last night, we were pleasantly surprised when our doorbell rang. Guess who!? It was Mesirat, the woman who had been assaulted. She's doing much better, is healing emotionally, and was going around greeting and meeting those who had ministered to her through the flowers. She also had a friend with her. The four of us got to talking, and somehow our work came up. We mentioned that we are starting a new church. Mesirat told us that she attends a good local church and is also going to church with Beth and Luke this Sunday. Great! They asked where we would be meeting. We said, "Here." They said, "Let us know. We'll come!"
   
   I was really encouraged by this. I was impressed that Mesirat took the initiative to go around and thank people she didn't even know. Please pray that we can minister to these two ladies and work together for God's Kingdom.
   

Please praise God with us for His progressing work. It is exciting to see things working out that can only be God!

Family #3 Is On Board!

Please praise God with us! Sunday night, we met with a family that we connected with at the YMCA. Trish knew the wife/mom of the family from her high school days. Through a God-ordained encounter, we connected with her at the Y, renewed contact, and were at their home for dinner Sunday night. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship, and towards the end, they shared that they have been praying with us about becoming involved in our first spiritual formation group. They've sensed God leading them to help us in any way possible. We're excited!

We're working on finding the best date for all involved to come together for meeting #1. It looks like this will take place sometime in early June. The other couple teaming with us is getting married in early June...so they are understandably focused elsewhere (smile!). Pray God works out all the details of people's busy schedules so we can commence this important first time together.

We have confirmed dinner plans with another couple for this Saturday that are also praying about if they should become more involved with what we are doing. Pray for them to sense God's direction and that God would continue to lead us towards those people that will help to accomplish the work of beginning a new church.

God is working...

"If I believed in signs..."

Yesterday, I was working in Panera Bread. Not working for a wage as an employee... but using a table there as an office. With my two little angels at home...sometimes it is hard to get any administrative tasks accomplished there. So, I sometimes take my office on the road. Earlier that morning, I had asked the Lord to use me in conversation with someone at Panera that morning. By trial and error, I've found that a favorite table by the door gives me a vantage point to notice people as they enter and exit and the opportunity to offer a friendly smile and greeting to anyone who passes by.

When Graham entered, he commented on my computer from the vantage point of a fellow Mac fan. On his way out, we started talking. He's a friendly, brilliant man of Australian descent and a business man who lives in northeast Columbus part of the year. We discussed his work. He travels all over the world. He asked what I do. I told thim that I'm a pastor working to begin a new church in this area. He mentioned that he is a "spiritual person and is not interested in religion" that adheres to a form of Buddhist beliefs. I asked him how he defines "religion" and "spiritual". We had a riveting discussion on the differences between Jesus and how the Church (sometimes) postures itself. I shared that our church adheres to a literal interpretation of the Bible, what it says about Jesus (I shared John 14:6), AND the love and compassion and respect Jesus had for individuals (even if they did not follow His teaching).

I learned a lot from our conversation. I learned that some of the current writing on how the world is open to Jesus and even His teaching but views the Church with contempt is true, at least for Graham. I was also struck by something else that Graham said. As he was leaving he shared how he had recently returned from a business trip to Ecuador. Sitting next to him for four hours was an ancient language scholar from a South American University. From the way Graham described this man, he is a believer that discussed spiritual things with Graham on the plane. Graham said, "I don't believe in signs...but if I did..." I didn't even respond...because I think it was obvious to both of us that God is working in his life...drawing him to Himself.

I'm amazed at the way God works and uses His servants as links in the chain of His work in the lives of those who are not yet part of His family. My conversation with Graham was just one step in the journey God has him on. By God's grace, our conversation will move him forward towards biblical Truth and a personal relationship with Jesus. Who will be the next step?

I left this encounter with thanksgiving for God answering my prayer to be used in a spiritual encounter with a seeker. I left the encounter amazed at the scope of God's plan as He uses people all over the world to reach out to those that need Him. I left desiring to be used further in the lives of others.

Would you pray for Graham? Please also pray that God will continue to use us in people's lives for Kingdom purposes. Where is the next person that God would have us serve as a link in His redemptive chain in their lives? Whose life does He want to use you in?

Please Pray With Us For Team Members

God has led us to some extraordinary connections within a few short months. We've met a lot of great people and had several encounters that only God could orchestrate. Praise be to God- He did choose to answer our (and YOURS- THANKS!) prayer request to provide one family to begin a spiritual formation group with by the end of April! Much to our excitement, Bobby and Jamie (picture right; the young man I led to Christ a few weeks ago) have agreed to begin meeting with us soon. In addition, there are at least 4 families right now, that we know of, that are praying about if God would lead them to team with us to begin a new church. We've invited these people to our new group and are praying they will join us. Obviously, if God chooses to bring one or more of these families on board...our potential for impact and service to our community grows exponentially. The exciting part about this phase is that one or two families double our efforts and add significantly (relationally, spiritually, service-wise) to our baby church.

Please give praise to God for His work...and keep praying for His guidance, provision, and step-by-step wisdom. WE APPRECIATE YOU!

Pray for Impact Through Coaching

One of the activities I have enjoyed most since we've been here is building relationships in the community through coaching soccer. I have the privilege of direct contact with 10 boys and their parents and indirect contact with other coaches, officials, league leaders, etc. It allows me to naturally plug into a place and activity where hundreds of local people gather several times per week. PLUS, I love the game and enjoy being around the boys and serving families.

Please pray with me that I have a positive testimony for Jesus. Pray that relationships can be established and built. Pray that serving people in this manner will open up doors for sharing about Jesus and our work of beginning a new church. Pray that our team wins one game (I'm sort of kidding...but you really could pray for that...we need all the help we can get!) THANKS!

Simple Things Can Be HUGE Praises!

Last week, the battery on my Mac (given to our new church by a donor!) laptop died. I was concerned about this due to the fact that there isn't much ($0) in our family's "technology fund." I was looking online at new batteries and was ready to buy one. I felt a prompting in my spirit to find a local Mac store and have the computer looked at. After having it checked out, I found out the battery is indeed dead. However, I also found out that the computer IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY FOR 16 DAYS and they replaced the battery at no cost. I had never even considered this possibility. God saved me from buying a battery online and wasting $130.

I'm so thankful for blessings like this that we didn't even know to ask for. God is good!

Happy Birthday, Trish!

We enjoyed this past weekend as a time to celebrate Trish and her 34th birthday! We're so thankful for our wife, mommy, church-plant partner... etc, etc.! Please pray that this new year will be one of rich closeness with God, blessing, and fruit for Trish.

How Did He Do It?

THE major goal we are praying about and working on right now is asking God to lead us to the person, couple, or family that would be willing to join us in our first spiritual formation group (Bible study with an emphasis on building genuine spiritual community together). We're continuing to meet new people every day, trying to gently and lovingly feel out spiritual receptivity among the people we meet at the YMCA, coaching soccer, in our neighborhood, etc. We've asked several people to consider participating in such a group with us. However, the challenge of finding people who trust us enough or are open to such a relationship is even larger than we expected.

I'm trying to learn and contemplate why this part of our journey is so difficult. Part of it has to be that all of our relationships are new and there has not been time to build trust with our new friends. God has even led us to numerous mature followers of Jesus. These people are already connected to good local churches and friendships and I'm sure the prospect of starting a new church from scratch seems risky. Whenever we meet anyone and tell them of our work, their first questions are Where are you meeting? and How many people are working with you? I'm sure it is a bit freaky when we answer (something like), We're not meeting anywhere yet...because it is just our family. I guess I would be skeptical of me too.

These thoughts and fears in mind, I'm more amazed than ever at Jesus' methods. Mark 2:13-17 describes His call of Levi (Matthew). Jesus was out among people, saw Levi working, asked Levi to join Him, and Levi accepted. Calls of Simon, Andrew, James and John (Mark 1:16-20) were also successful. How did Jesus know who to pick? Why did the men readily accept? Was there any relationship or history or trust there that the Bible doesn't record? Did any initial contacts refuse Jesus' invitation? These are the questions I'm asking God today.

What I do learn from Jesus is that He was constantly among the people. Mark says He saw Levi "...as He walked along...". We've got to continue to find ways to meet more people. Jesus also had His eyes open. I don't know what it was, but there was something that prompted Him to approach Levi. God, open our eyes to the people and opportunities you want us to see and approach. Finally, I notice (simple!) that Jesus wasn't afraid to ask. He simply said, Come, be my disciple. God, give us the courage, wisdom, and words to clearly request of people that they join us on mission for you.

Friend, your prayers are needed. Thanks for praying with us. This post is an honest reflection of my heart today. I want to live Matthew 21:21-22...but sometimes my heart is weaker than my head. I also know we have a responsibility to work hard to meet and befriend people. But, ultimately, this is spiritual work. Please pray that Jesus would deepen our faith and do Matthew 16:18 with us today.

There Is Joy In Heaven!

We praise God for the first tangible fruit from our work here in the Columbus area. I've been working with a super young couple as they prepare for their upcoming marriage. This contact was passed on to me, by God's grace, from my new friend Nathan Harrison (a pastor at the Eastside, Columbus, GBC).

Last night we met for the second time. Jamie and Bobby and I were looking at what the Bible says about the role of the husband and wife compared to the example of Jesus and the Church (from Ephesians 5:21-33). I felt led of the Lord to ask some follow-up questions of Bobby from our initial conversation a few weeks ago. The long and the short of it is that the Holy Spirit has been working in Bobby's heart. He believed in Jesus as God's Son, the One who offers forgiveness for our sins, and his own need for Jesus' grace. After some good discussion around Titus 3:4-8, Bobby stated he was ready to communicate a personal commitment to Jesus. We prayed right there at Caribou Coffee.

Pray for Bobby as he lives out this new pursuit of Christ and he and Jamie as they prepare for a lifetime commitment to each other in marriage. Please praise God with us (Luke15:10) for His work! Pray also that they might accept my invitation to join us in our initial spiritual formation group as we move towards a new church.

"I don't think we have a Bible in our house..."

My new friend, I'll call him Ed, shared this with me at lunch. We had an great conversation (over some wonderful food at the Columbus Fish Market...I never thought I would like Walleye...) where he taught me some tips on marketing and developing a customer base (from a business perspective) and I shared with him our vision for starting a church from scratch by loving people who don't go to church or know Jesus.

Ed shared with me that he has a life-coach. The coach works with him from a holistic perspective- health, spirituality, vocation, relationships, etc. This opened the door for me to ask what sort of guidance or encouragement the coach offers in the spiritual realm of life. Praise God, for a first conversation (Ed did our mortgage...so this was our first contact outside of business), I was able to lay a foundation for my beliefs in the authority of the Bible and what it says about Jesus and His purposes of forgiveness and eternal life.

Before we met, I had no idea where Ed would be coming from. As it turns out, he is friendly, successful, kind, and giving. He loves his family and works hard to help other people. It hit me as we were meeting- this is the type of person God sent us to Columbus to reach. Ed is a good man, but, even though he doesn't realize it, he's apart from Christ. This breaks my heart and I'm determined to pray and try to find a way to further our relationship and conversations.

I learned some interesting (to me) things from Ed:

• Unchurched people aren't as scary as I sometimes think they might be. I'm not sure why Ed was willing to have lunch with me, but he was as open and kind as any believer I know. He was even open to the spiritual elements to our conversation.
  
• If I'm going to be effective in reaching out to those who do not yet know Jesus, I'm going to have to be willing to hear others' political views and be careful how I share my own. Like it or not, in many cases, as conservative Christians, we've ruined our credibility with unchurched people because of how we posture ourselves publicly or are portrayed politically by the media. Jesus was interested in loving, healing, and teaching truth...not winning converts to a political agenda.
  
• Ed is more open to spiritual things at this stage of his life because he wants his children to have an opportunity to explore various religions. A church that impacts his kids has a good chance of impacting him.
  
• It is more and more acceptable in the professional world to recognize the role of the spiritual in achieving "success". May this trend help missional people be more effective in sharing Jesus as The Way, Truth, and source of Life.
  

Would you pray with me for Ed? Pray for God's movement in his life- maybe in some result from our time together today. Please ask God to give me wisdom and opportunity for future interactions.

Rethinking Evangelism

I was talking with my neighbor, Sarah. As we watched our kids play, I tried to direct the conversation towards issues of spiritual significance. I shared with her that we had moved to the area recently to begin a new church and asked her what she thought of the churches in the area. She said that she really wouldn't know how to respond to that question because she isn't "really religious". My heart broke as we talked more about how she feels that "the whole religion thing is a sham" and doesn't believe in God. I said, "So, you can really look around you (at nature- sky, trees, etc.) and believe it all came into existence by chance. I know for me, when I see the amazing beauty and detail of nature, it reaffirms my belief in a Creator and Supreme Being."

On a different occasion, I was talking with another neighbor (I'll call him Jack) about his work and spiritual beliefs. He is an adherent of Sufism, an offshoot of Islam. God opened the door for a conversation that revolved around the reliability of the Bible as the sole source for spiritual Truth and Jesus as the Son of God.

I'm learning that evangelism in today's culture is a process, not an event. Previously, I would have been disappointed and felt that my conversations with Sarah and Jack were incomplete because I did not have or did not force an open door to share the complete plan of salvation. Now, on the contrary, I'm coming to believe that sharing my faith will be more effective as I enter into a journey of spiritual discovery with those God places around me. I'm praying for opportunities to build on these conversations with my new friends. My role with those God loves is to pray for them, look for opportunities to model and share Jesus' love, invite them into spiritual community, AND share the Gospel with them at the appropriate time.

In his book Planting Missional Churches, Ed Stetzer advocates that any discussion with a lost person that clarifies a misperception about Truth or Jesus or causes them to reconsider a rejection of faith in the Gospel qualifies as evangelism. In other words, stimulating an irreligious person to reevaluate their stance that there is no God or a Sufi to consider the authority of the Bible is evangelism (as seen as a process rather than an event).

Stetzer also quantifies the importance that spiritual community is to evangelism in the 21st century. He writes, There are two conversions-one temporal and one eternal. The first conversion is the conversion to community. With few exceptions people come to Christ after they've journeyed with other Christians, examining them and considering their claims. A next step with Sarah and Jack is to invite them to participate in a new spiritual formation group with other spiritual sojourners in our neighborhood.

I know that many of us long to practice a life of mission. I hope you're encouraged to forge ahead in making disciples as you remember that every time you share God's work in your life, share your trust in God's Word or your hope in Jesus, love another with Jesus' healing love, invite someone to join you in spiritual community, and/or share the plan of salvation--these are all evangelism. These are all important elements in the process of a seeker moving to faith. Conversion is an event, but in most cases, it is preceded by a process.

The Richness Of Fellowship

One of the greatest opportunities and challenges we're facing in starting a new church is the constant need to initiate new relationships. Wherever we're at- in churches, our neighborhood, or other venues where we're trying to build relationships- we're the new guys on the block. Almost without fail, people are very friendly. Yet, we've definitely felt the weight of the energy required in the many new relationships we've formed in the 7 weeks we've lived in Columbus.

I'm always amazed at how God knows and meets our needs. In the last two weeks, we've enjoyed rich times with new and old friends who share our same love for Jesus. We are so thankful to Him for the people He has brought our way. We've had dinner and fun times in our home with:

• one of many great couples from our new ABF at Northwest Chapel
  
• a staff pastor and family from the Eastside (Columbus) GBC
  
• a family we met while on a walk in our subdivision that just so happen to be members of the Powell (Columbus) GBC and that the husband was on a Barnabas Team Trish led in 1996 (what a God-appointed-connection!)
  

We also were invited to the home of friends we met in IN who are now on staff at the Pickerington (Columbus) GBC and had a great time there. In addition, Trish has had several play-dates with other Moms and their kids and I've enjoyed lunches with the staffs of both the Northwest Chapel and Eastside GBCs. To top it off, tonight we enjoyed time with Jason and Marcie Haymaker and kids who we worked with for 6 years in the Cleveland area.

When I think back in our first few weeks here, it seemed like we knew no one and things could feel quite lonely at times. However, now we look at life here as an opportunity to embrace new friends. Fellowship is much richer when you no longer take it for granted.

I'm so thankful for these times. They are like gas in our tanks. One of the ways that God fuels us with His love and fills our hearts for the work He has given us of loving and serving those who do not yet know Jesus is by enriching our lives through His people.

Thanks, Lord. These times are gifts from you. Help us to offer others the gift of true fellowship by sharing your love and inviting them to join your family.

My Kids, The Evangelists

Everyone said that kids will be an asset in church planting. Sometimes that is hard for us to see amidst the joys and challenges of chasing around a four and one-year-old. But, I'm beginning to see others' words take shape- and I love it!

Recently, we were outside on a beautiful pre-spring day. Since I haven't had a chance to build a sandbox in our new backyard, our front flower beds have become construction sites where all sorts of Tonka trucks and equipment are busy moving mulch all over our side-walk and grass for various "parks", "bike-trails", and "sky-scrapers". Anyway, being out front has allowed us to meet and talk with many people taking walks and enjoying the great days.

On this particular day, a mom and daughter came by and proceeded down the street. Silas, newly walking and unsteady on the grass and uneven surfaces outside, took off after them, waddling down the sidewalk. He walked a good half-block and, with me following after for protection, bee-lined across the street right over to these people. Silas broke the ice and allowed me to have a great conversation with this neighbor. Seth followed us and began playing with her girls. Without my kids, I wouldn't have had an "in" with this mom...or an excuse to stand around and have a spiritual conversation.

I'm beginning to realize these little gifts God has given us are probably our biggest church-planting assets. May the doors they open lead to lives focused on Jesus and His mission.

March Prayer Update

Time To Get To Work
Since our last update, we've moved to Columbus, unpacked all of our boxes, set-up our home and what will be our church office (in our basement), worked through MORE sickness with Silas, and faced all the natural adjustments that come with moving and its challenges, stress-ors and emotions.

God has a sense of humor, I'm convinced. Columbus dealt with its worst snow and ice storm in several years on the day we picked to move. Special thanks to our supervisor from Northwest Chapel, Pastor Martin Guerena and his brother, Phil, for braving the elements with me (left) to move items into our house. Thanks also to David, Dan, and Jim for helping us get the rest of our stuff a few days later. We're glad to be "home".

More importantly, however, we've begun "contact making" in full-force. This will be the most important and time-consuming part of our work for years to come--meeting, connecting, and building relationships with unchurched people with the hope of loving them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Shoveling snow and ice created opportunities to initiate greetings and conversations with all of our direct neighbors (6 different families). Other highlights include:

• Trish making contact with high-school classmates and associations that could lead to friendships for us and our kids or possible launch team members. In one God-appointed-opportunity, a woman came up to Trish in a Panera Bread store and said, "I think I know you..." She's the mother of a high-school classmate that Trish hasn't seen in 16 years.
  
• An encounter with Mark in a Graeter's Ice Cream store. First- I'm (Andy) so thankful that ice-cream can be a tool for building God's Kingdom. That helps soften the challenges of church planting! Anyway- after a conversation, Mark and I connected around the fact that he had recently moved to our community from Dublin and is a member at Northwest Chapel! He expressed interest in our work. Could this be our first teammate? Pray...
  
• A possible coaching opportunity in the New Albany recreation league. Our moving date put us just beyond the sign-up deadline, but after inquiring I learned there is still a need for coaches. I'm praying this opportunity will open up.
  
• Trish attending a one-week training class on church planting. While watching our kids, I participated with 15 women and 25 kids in a "baby lap-time" story/play time at our local library. Not necessarily something I want to do every week...but a great opportunity!
  

Please Pray With Us...

• To thank God for our home, the snags that He worked out to get us into it, and the help He provided in moving and unpacking.
  
• To thank God for His movement in the contacts and conversations He has ordained thus far. Please pray for additional interactions with neighbors, contacts at the YMCA, New Albany library book club and classes for kids. Pray that we would display the kindness and love of Jesus and lay a foundation for redemptive relationships.
  
• That Andy would be able to get a soccer coaching assignment in New Albany to build relationships with families.
  
• That God would lead us to teammates He'll provide to help us launch a new church.
  
• For wisdom as we complete the vision, strategy, and financial support structures of our new church by the end of March. You'll be some of the first to see how God leads!
  

How Would Jesus Start A Church?
This is a question I've contemplated much during my times with God. I've been working my way through Matthew, fascinated anew with Jesus' interactions with people and His disciples. As I constantly feel I'm on the outer edge of my faith and am woefully inadequate for the work God has given me, there is something peaceful and comforting in studying how profoundly simple Jesus' approach to ministry was. I notice that He was about at least 4 things: loving sinners (Matt.9:9-12, 11:19), healing everyone that came to Him (4:24, 8:16-17), teaching truth in creative ways (13:34-35), and making disciples (4:18-22, 10). I'm SO excited about the privilege of building the foundation of a new church. It is a large but AWESOME responsibility to build an organism that will follow Jesus' model by finding, loving, and healing those who need hope, teaching creatively, and measuring results by reproduction of mature believers and churches. By God's grace and discerning how to practice Jesus' methods in 2007, we will see the Kingdom of Heaven "forcefully" advance (Matt.11:12)!

Silas Turns 1!
It is amazing how much can happen in one year. We mark much by the birth of our little guy. Last March we began a journey that culminated in the last few weeks of searching for and discovering a new calling of God on our lives, welcoming Silas into the world and enjoying him despite his many and consistent (minor) health issues, and moving to Columbus for a new leg in the journey of our family and ministry. How thankful we are for Silas (and Seth!) and the marker that his birthday will always be of God's great faithfulness and movement in our lives.

What Are The Chances Of That?

God is working. I'm amazed. I spent time in prayer this morning, crying out to God out of a heart full of fear and being overwhelmed at the great work ahead of us. I was thinking out of a heart focused on my inadequacies. God brought me again to Psalm 145 and focused me on HIS greatness and the power of HIS work! He also challenged me from John 15 with His promises of great fruitfulness if we remain vitally connected to Him. Cognitively, I understand that any success God gives in church planting will correlate to our ability to keep our eyes focused on Christ and off of ourselves. That is easier said than done...but I want to learn how. I believe Jesus promises fruit when there is a central and consistent focus on Him and His mission.

That being said, I came out of my devotional time with a peace from God that I was very thankful for. My heart was at ease. And, the exciting thing is that we can see God working in a bunch of odd circumstances. Here are some below. Keep in mind- we're in a place unfamiliar to us with tens of thousands of people all around us. Encountering someone we know through other people is analogous to a miracle!

• Last week Trish and Seth were getting a drink at our local Panera Bread. A lady approached Trish and mentioned that Trish looked familiar. They talked for a while and Trish learned that this woman was the mother of a high-school classmate of hers. Add to that, this woman keeps in touch with the wife of another classmate of Trish's that lives in the New Albany area AND has a 4-year-old boy. Trish has since made contact with the couple and we're hoping for renewed friendships for us and a new friend for Seth. Could they be partners in our launch? We'll see what God has in mind.
  
• Yesterday at church, Trish ran into some other parents of a high-school classmate of hers. He is an elder at our sending church, Northwest Chapel. They also know a couple our age related through Worthington Christian (school) that they think might be interested in helping us launch a church in northeastern Franklin County. They are finding this couple's information and will get it to us. It is exciting to us as God reveals people who are thinking and praying with us about those who might be involved in God's work in this area.
  
• Also yesterday, our family is learning the area. For Wirt boys (and Trish too :), this has to include frequenting any ice-cream establishment in a 35-mile radius. We were in a Graeters in northern Gahanna (about a mile from our home) ordering. I was talking to the man behind the counter, Scott, who happened to be the manager. I was trying to make small talk to break the ice and build the beginnings of a relationship. As the conversation unwound, he shared that he had just moved to the northeast side of town from the northwest side of Columbus. I told him we had moved the area to work with a church in the Dublin area. I asked him if he had ever heard of Northwest Chapel. He said, "Yeah, I go there!" We had a neat connection talking about people we both know through the church. I was able to share what we are doing in the northeastern section of the county. He said, "Well, I'd come!" I asked him if he'd like to help us. He enthusiastically agreed.
  
  I was absolutely stunned. I can't even believe God would take us out to ice-cream and lead us to a friendly guy who, with his skills as business man and many community contacts, will be a huge asset to our fledgling ministry. Needless to say, I got Scott's card and plan to try to take him to lunch as soon as possible.
  
  
• Also at Graeters, we met a mom named Mara. We had a good conversation with her about raising kids and the related challenges. It proved to us that our target area includes many families, like ours! :), that face challenges with their children and they need biblical help. By God's grace and provision, we'll see Mara again someday!
  

To me, it was if God was saying, "See...you were all uptight at the beginning of the day...focusing on your weaknesses and how large the task is from your perspective. You focus on ME and I will work GREAT things that only I can do. You just be obedient and love people." I'll take that any day.

Thanks for praying with us! Praise God!