Positive Connections

In the past two days, God has opened doors for meetings with 5 key leaders in our district in reference to the possibility of partnering with two area churches. Praise God! We've made verbal and written requests to these churches, asking them to consider partnership (defined broadly to include any of the following: mission teams, equipment, financial support, prayer support, networking, etc.) with ClearView. Obviously, this would be a huge boost to our work if God continued to open these doors. Please pray that God would make His paths clear for finding teammates and financial provision.

Guests...

Praise God... we've enjoyed welcoming several guests to our gatherings over the last month or so. Please pray that God moves in Cheralyn's, Eric's, and Kathryn's hearts to feel a sense of community with our group and join our efforts.

ClearView's First Newspaper Feature!

A big shout out to God today. Will you say "Praise God" with me!? ClearView was featured in today's issue of the New Albany News. See article here.

Several weeks before Christmas, a reporter called me because she had seen an announcement in New Albany Chamber of Commerce's December newsletter that listed ClearView as a new chamber member. I am so excited about the way God has orchestrated these events. To use MasterCard's line... free publicity...is priceless! I'm also thankful that, for the most part, the article represents well what we feel God has called us to do and be in our community.

Please pray that this article leads us to fruitful contacts, team members, much traffic on our website and some inquiries about our gatherings. This is a huge boost to us as we begin a year that will be absolutely critical to the launch of a healthy, new, Bible-teaching church.

Thanks for praying with us. God is working!

GBNAM Is No More

Grace Brethren North American Missions (the Grace Brethren organization that facilitated church planting in the United States and Canada) has closed its doors, effective 12/31/07. Read the full report here.

I wanted to communicate on this for three reasons:

1. We owe great thanksgiving to GBNAM. The organization, its resources, and missionaries (namely Jim Snavely and Ron Boehm) were instrumental in the process God led us through as He called us to church planting. Along with Northwest Chapel, NCO District and several individuals, GBNAM was a key financial sponsor in 2007. Resources given to ClearView Church by GBNAM helped us move through our first year without having to make additional support appeals. We thank God for using this organization in the FGBC and our lives for many years.
2. I want to ask you to pray for our Fellowship of churches and its next steps in the arena of church planting. Pray for a new church planting organization that will seek to reach the millions of unchurched people in North America through beginning new, Bible-teaching churches. For more details, click here.
3. I want to ask you to continue to pray that God will meet our resource needs. Now that the news of GBNAM's future has been made public, I can explain that one reason our support needs are greater than we anticipated is because GBNAM grants that were available previously are no longer an opportunity. Obviously, this puts greater responsibility on sending churches and church planters to find other means of funding their ministries. Even though I didn't, I know that God foresaw these events and has other options He will make available in His perfect time.

Thank God for GBNAM. Pray with me that God would continue to plant churches around the world and in North America through the churches of the FGBC. And, thanks for praying for God's provision for ClearView. I can't wait to see how He works around this new obstacle.

Happy New Year!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and New Year season. We enjoyed a trip to Pennsylvania to visit family. Highlights were seeing most of my family, sharing about our ministry with the New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church (Myerstown, PA), and driving the remaining 50 miles to Columbus (on our return trip) with the passenger's side window down. Long story...but the short version is that it broke and we couldn't get it back up! I don't think any of us have been that cold in a while. But, praise God it wasn't raining or snowing and could have been much colder.

Needless to say...with that part of our adventure and a tiring week of travel...Silas is sick AGAIN and struggling with a terrible cough and cold. Please pray for healing. He feels miserable and the medicine/breathing treatments he's on make all of us miserable!

Now, 2008 is moving forward. What a year it will be. Our hearts are full of anticipation of what God has planned. I've never been more excited at the beginning of a new year... our family is growing, we're trusting God for a new church to be born, and countless answers to prayer await. The challenges will be great...but nothing in comparison to God's provision. Thanks for praying with us! Hebrews 11:1.

This Week's Praise List!

As I was spending time with God today, a few thoughts flooded my mind in the form of a list of things to praise God for in the last week or so. To accomplish Psalm 103:2, I thought I'd share some of these thoughts with you.

Things I'm excited about:

• We had a guest at our gathering last Thursday night. I "just happened" to run into a young lady I knew from our church in Macedonia (where we moved to Columbus from) at Panera Bread one day. I knew I recognized her from somewhere and finally went up and confirmed that we knew each other. I told her what we were doing and invited her to join us some Thursday evening. Last week she did! I think she enjoyed our time of fun and Bible discussion around the Christmas story and said she would be back! Praise God!
• This Sunday, while we're in PA for Christmas with my family, I've been invited to share about our ministry in my dad's Adult Bible Fellowship class and briefly in the worship service at New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church (Myerstown, PA). We praise God for NBGBC and their becoming a sponsor of ClearView in 2008!
  
• A few weeks ago a reporter from one of our community newspapers called me for an interview. She found out about ClearView from our church being introduced as a new member of New Albany's Chamber of Commerce (we joined in November for networking and advertising opportunities). We had a great discussion, and hopefully a story will be forthcoming. As MasterCard would say... FREE publicity is PRICELESS. Please pray that many people read this story and that God leads us to teammates or spiritually searching people we can love.
• After much fundraising work, God has already brought in promises for almost one third of our need for 2008 (we've received promises for over $22,000 compared to the $75,000 we need to raise). This is exciting because our appeals to individuals (which should be our most fruitful source) are going out in December. Please pray that God continues to reveal how He has already planned to provide the resources we need to accomplish the calling He has placed on our lives.
• A major focus for next year will be securing ministry teams from other churches that will come and help us make contacts and serve our community on a broader scale. We've received several unsolicited inquiries already from youth pastors and other ministry leaders looking for places to bring groups for ministry experience. It is exciting to think what God could do in our community if we are able to network many different teams together to love people in Jesus' name and get the word out about ClearView in 2008. Please pray that these details will come together and that God will do much in northeastern Franklin County through these teams. Interested? If your youth group or small group or ABF is looking for a Saturday, or weekend, or week-long, or life-long (smile!) ministry experience next year...I'd love to talk with you (614.578.0676).
• God has opened up a door for a meeting with 3 leaders from a key church in our area. In January, I will meet with these leaders to discuss avenues for partnership between our two works. This could be a huge boost to our work if this key church would help us in some needed areas. I'm excited about this possibility and praying that what God is and will do in ClearView could be a blessing to this good church as well.
• I have a meeting scheduled next week with the executive director of a beautiful facility near us. This site could be an ideal location to begin meeting on Sunday mornings. It has meeting rooms that would fit a growing group and an ideal setting for kids. Pray that God leads us to the RIGHT location, at the RIGHT price, and gives us wisdom on when and how to transfer our group gatherings to a weekend worship experience.

That's what is rattling around in my brain today. Praise God for His movement. Please keep praying with us. I am REALLY excited to see what God is going to do in 2008.

See Year In Review Video!

We developed a short video slideshow to share God's work in 2007. Hope you check it out (if you haven't seen it already). Enjoy!

We've Come Full Circle

Last week we had some beautiful snow here in the Columbus area.  While Seth and I were out shoveling and throwing snow balls at each other, I was reminded of the last time it snowed here.  That day, we happened to be moving in (mid February).  I was scared to death of our new location, our new work, and didn't know a soul.  I remember loneliness and fear pervading my heart.

Now... its not that there are no challenges... they are great.  But, I feel excited about where we are... we know so many people...we feel at home in our neighborhood...God has provided many friends and great teammates...and God has moved our ministry along in significant ways.  Praise God!

So... as the snow came... so did warmth in my heart-- with excitement for our work, thankfulness for God's work, and anticipation of what is to come.  Where will we be when the first snow flies next year?  Only God knows...but I'm glad to be along for the ride!  Thanks for taking this journey with us through prayer!

Now THAT's Serving!

Sunday several of our ClearView team members volunteered to assist the New Albany Chamber of Commerce with their annual "Holiday Happenings" festivities. Two of us (both men, mind you!) "manned" a craft-table (previously run by girl-scouts!) :) and helped children assemble various crafts.

Later, 75 or so people huddled around a half-doused fire in a cold drizzle as the community choir pounded out some "holiday" songs. Our role was to hand out candles (protected from the harsh wind by a decorative plastic cup- see picture left) to participants. I was encouraged as ClearView's name was mentioned several times as a supporting organization. I also enjoyed meeting and talking with New Albany's mayor in a cold downpour. We made several positive contacts with community members.

Yet, I was even more encouraged by one of the families on our team, the Whinnerys. At the conclusion of the event, everyone scattered due to a rare December thunderstorm. It was cold and pouring rain. Those that were left to clean up? The Chamber President and her husband, myself, and the Whinnerys. I was so blessed to see Dan and Erin and their children cheerfully and willingly do whatever it took to help these city officials- even when it meant slogging through rain to take down chairs and tables. I was very proud to be with a church that already is penetrating our community. We want to love people to a clear view of Jesus... that has to start with serving. Even when it means getting wet!

Please Pray for Trish and Silas

Trish had a biopsy done on a nodule on her thyroid today.  We'd appreciate your prayer as she experiences discomfort from this procedure and as we await results.

Also, Silas has endured another bout with some sort of something that causes him to vomit frequently.  He's had a cough for 4-5 weeks now, but for the last 4 days or so... coughing often leads to not being able to keep food or water down... especially at night.  Please pray that his body would fight off this bug and that God would prevent any sort of dehydration.

Thanks!

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Grim!

It was my privilege on Saturday (12/1) to marry two of our teammates- Gary and Mesarat. What a great day! The ceremony went well, we had a great time at the reception, and several good contacts were made. I was especially thankful to God that the Gospel was clearly communicated during the ceremony, that there were over 100 guests (many unchurched) present, and that our fellow team members served sacrificially to accomplish many details. I was deeply impacted as I saw the potential Gary and Mesarat have for Kingdom impact among their friends. They are well-liked and know many people. People are attracted to them. And, while mixing with and talking to these friends and family members, I saw much evidence that Gary and Mesarat are actively telling their loved ones about ClearView and inviting people to join us. I was very encouraged!

Please pray:

• For Gary and Mesarat as they begin their lives together.
  
• That people from Gary and Mesarat's sphere of influence would be drawn to (a). Jesus and (b.) our team.
• That several couples I talked to about our work would join us at one of our gatherings or events.

Key Prayer Items This Weekend

We'd appreciate your specific prayers over the next few days in the following areas:

• Please pray for Trish.  Doctors have been watching some abnormalities with her thyroid and have scheduled a biopsy of a nodule on Tuesday, December 4.  Please pray for Trish as she endures this procedure and that God would protect her and our baby's health.
• I'm officiating at the wedding ceremony of two of our team members.  Gary and Mesarat (pictured) are getting married on Saturday.  They are planning on about 80 guests attending.  Many of their friends and family are unchurched.  Please pray with us that Jesus will be clearly present in the ceremony and in our words/actions and that we will capitalize on any opportunities God provides to communicate about ClearView.
• Sunday is New Albany's Christmas tree lighting festivities in the town square area.  400-500 people are expected for music, children's activities, and a candle lighting ceremony.  ClearView has been invited to facilitate one of the children's craft areas and assist with assembling and distributing the candles.  This a great opportunity to serve the community and make contacts.  Please pray that God would use this opportunity to open doors for relationship building and that teammates would emerge out of these new contacts.
• We're preparing an 800 piece mailing to new residents in our area.  Please pray that God would use these welcome letters and invitations to our gatherings to spark interest in ClearView.  Pray that teammates would emerge through these contacts.

Thanks for praying!

Giving Thanks

In my quiet time this a.m. I reflected on the many things I am thankful for.  Topping the list were my wife, my kids, my family, the distance God has brought us over the last year, what He is teaching us, and the families that have also embraced the challenge of beginning a new church with us.  As I turned to Scripture one of my favorite praise passages came to mind.  It was a joy to meditate on God's blessings from Psalm 103.  Just in case you need a great passage to check out to reflect on God's goodness...here you go.

Praise God!

Psalm 103
A psalm of David.

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
6 The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

7 He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
15 Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels,
you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
listening for each of his commands.
21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
who serve him and do his will!
22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

It's A Girl!

We're excited to report that the little life inside Trish appears, from all indicators (or lack there of!), to be a girl!  This will help balance out the girl/boy ratio in the Wirt household!  We're extremely thankful for our little men and looking forward to meeting the girl we've asked God for! The ultrasound showed healthy development to this point.  We're thankful and excited!  Praise God!

Pray For a Local Bank

A few days ago I learned that a local bank had been robbed this past Saturday.  Yesterday, and again this morning, I felt God prompting me to find a way to serve.

The best idea I could come up with was to take them some treats, go and introduce myself, and let the employees know they were being prayed for.  So, this morning I went to Panera, bought some fresh bagels and cream cheese, ate a few on the way (JUST KIDDING!), and dropped them off at the bank.  When I introduced myself, communicated my concern for the situation, and offered a treat...the girl taking the bag of Panera goodies was visibly impacted.

Please pray with me that a little act of kindness like this will brighten the day of the workers and that whomever was traumatized by this event would be brought peace.  Pray that these people Jesus loves would be led to see Him clearly through an act of kindness.

Caffeinated Contact Making!

God hit a home run for us yesterday!  From 5:15a.-7:30p. we had the opportunity to connect with and love (through service and smiles) hundreds of YMCA staff, poll workers, and voters as we served free (donated!) Caribou Coffee to people at Gahanna's YMCA.  All in all, we served about 4 dozen donuts to poll workers and YMCA staff and about 15 gallons or 175 cups of coffee to people.

What was most exciting was the contacts we were able to make and the conversations we were able to have.  Many people were excited about getting something of value (that they enjoy) for free.  We were also able to talk to a handful of families that communicated they are looking for a church.  I estimate we were able to give out about 20 invitations to our meetings and seed our logo and a smile in countless minds.  

Another factor that I believe will be key in the future is an emerging partnership with the YMCA for service opportunities in our community.  As we move forward in one of ClearView's key values-- to be the church (missionaries) where people are (YMCA!)-- partnerships with great community organizations like the YMCA are of inestimable value.  Malik Moore (Membership Services Director-pictured on right with our teammate, Dan Whinnery) wrote this to ClearView at the conclusion of the day:  "It was a great pleasure having you at the YMCA for Election Day.  You are a great example of what it means to be a neighbor.  Our members and visitors all seemed to really enjoy your warming spirit...Please do not hesitate to call me with any ideas you have for partnerships between the Gahanna YMCA and ClearView Church in the future!"

Please praise and thank God with us for this GREAT opportunity to love many people, begin an important relationship with the YMCA, and invite many to our gatherings.  Praise God for the good people at the YMCA and Caribou Coffee.  Pray we can be a blessing to them in Jesus' name!  Please pray that God would translate seeds planted into teammates AND people loved to a clear view of Jesus and mission.  

God Is Big...Creative...Beautiful

We enjoyed a morning this past weekend in the Hocking Hills are of Ohio.  This is just about an hour southeast of Columbus...so it worked for us to get away despite nap schedules, etc.  A rare step outside the hustle of our daily grind...this short jaunt was a welcome respite from life as usual.

We had a great time as a family and were amazed by the fall colors, God's power and creative mastery, and fresh, pine-scented, air.  The boys especially enjoyed climbing on rock formations, hiking some short trails, and playing with sticks, salamanders, and leaves.

I'm reminded again that if God can do all this...certainly He is in control of the everyday events, challenges, and victories of our lives and ministry.  There's something refreshing to the soul about worshiping God in His creation.  It reminds me of His sovereignty, power, and perfection.  And, I need that.  My soul was made to function best when a proper view of God is at the center of it.

Look At The Opportunities...Not Disappointments

Another lesson I'm learning as we move forward in our journey with God... is to look through circumstances that could be disappointing at first glance to the opportunities that God is presenting through things that don't go as we planned.

Saturday (11/3), we had invited Seth's soccer team over for an end-of-season party.  Through previous r.s.v.p.'s we were expecting about 6 families to join us for pizza, games, and fun.  Even though we were to begin at 11:30a., by 11:45a., our family was alone in our house with $50 worth of pizza.  My physical body was playing with the kids in the backyard while while my mind and spirit were wrestling with God about how to handle my disappointment about how the day seemed to be turning out.

Soon the doorbell rang and a family we really enjoy showed up (picture right).  The mom communicated how much their son (the boy on Seth's team) had been looking forward to this day.  Our two families had a wonderful time getting to know each other better, swapping kid stories, watching the OSU game, eating pizza, and playing with our kids.  It really was a pleasant afternoon.

Most importantly, Trish had a good connection with Dianna and I was able to talk with Goran about our work and how we believe the Bible to be true, Jesus to be Lord, and what it means to be a "Jesus-follower".  

We're here to plant a church.  We need to find people.  We're getting involved in the community and doing things like hosting parties to try and move our ministry forward.  It would have been easy (especially before anyone had shown up) to view the day as less than what we had hoped.  BUT, God has His own plan.  He brought out exactly who He intended.  And, to His glory, I believe we looked through the disappointing turn out to the opportunity that was there- connecting with and loving this one family.

I'm celebrating this small milestone because I believe this is an important lesson God has been trying to teach us.  To get where He wants us to go... I know we need to trust Him in everything (even when things don't work out like we planned) and be faithful in the opportunities He DOES bring.

Please pray with us that we'd learn what God wants us to learn and be found wise and faithful in whatever circumstances God brings our way.

Work Where God Is Working...

One of the challenging, faith-testing, areas of church planting is that we are dependent upon God for results.  We're doing everything we can do with the wisdom that God has given us to this point to move forward in launching a church from scratch.  But, when it comes down to it... it is God who gives success and He is the only One that can really bring results and create the momentum we need to move forward.

As I process this... I look at our work and I see God moving very dramatically in some areas and very slowly in others.  It was Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God, that articulated well what we need to do: Discern where God is moving and then make sure you are a part of that (my paraphrase).  The faith-stretching part for me is that (quite honestly) God is not moving right now in the area of bringing us teammates.  Despite our contact making efforts and the many people that we have invited to our meeting or asked to pray about joining our team...movement has been desperately slow.  BUT, what God clearly IS doing is opening up great doors for us to serve people in our community.

I'm quite excited about this... because, after all, ClearView's mission is to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission.  God has opened up doors for us to serve at New Albany's Oktoberfest (10/6), brought 412 Commission to us this past week to hand out thousands of fliers, and provided a NEW OPPORTUNITY I'm very excited about: serving coffee to hundreds (and possibly a few thousand) voters this coming Tuesday at Gahanna's YMCA.  This just opened up!

An exciting story... A light finally went on in my head a few weeks ago when I was at the YMCA and I noticed it was listed as a polling location.  I approached one of the directors that I (and some of our team members) have been building a relationship with.  He said he would check with his supervisor about us providing coffee to voters.  A week later, he called saying we have the green light.  The next day, I went to a local coffee/bagel place and asked to see the manager.  On two different occasions that afternoon I waited and waited... and the guy never came out of his office.  So, I went down the street to Caribou Coffee.  The manager was at the counter and said "Hello" immediately.  So, I proceeded to ask her to donate enough coffee for hundreds of voters.  I was amazed as she quickly calculated how much we would need and offered the coffee and cups all throughout the day.  I estimate this is probably about $500 worth of coffee at retail costs!  God truly opened a door for us to partner with the YMCA and provided the resources (despite our tight budget) through this generous Caribou manager!

So, I'm learning:  go where God is working and trust Him for His perfect plan and perfect timing in the areas where He seems to be moving very slow (providing teammates).  In this case that means taking full advantage of Tuesday and all the people we will get to serve and meet AND patronizing Caribou Coffee as often as possible!  :)

Please pray with us that God will lead us to spiritually seeking people we can love and even pioneer-type people we could partner with as we serve coffee on Tuesday.  Please continue to beg God to lead us to the people He has already appointed for us to work with to begin a new church.  I do believe they are out there...we just need to find them.  Perhaps that is why God is moving slow in revealing our team...it forces us to work harder and go deeper into the community to find those we need to launch well.  That is one of the blessings I'm seeing of our situation.  It would be nice to have a team that is growing... but while we wait and beg God for provision in this area... He is opening up GREAT doors to be out among people Jesus loves- where they are.  That really is what the Church is to be any way.

So...we'll go where God is working.  That is exciting!

Halloween Provides Opportunities!

Last night Silas and I handed out candy to neighborhood children AND invitations to our gatherings to their parents while Trish took Seth around the neighborhood on "beggars night". Between Trish and I, we were able to meet many new families and continue conversations/relationships with people we have met and, in some cases, ministered to, in the past. Please pray that invitations given will fall on fertile soil and that smiles and handshakes would be remembered as kindness...and someday associated with Jesus! Thanks!