Halfway through our 2-month road trip, we are getting weary but are very pleased with how things are going. We have had many good
meetings and reunions with friends and supporters. It has been a great joy to share personally with many of you about what God is doing in Germany and you have been such a blessing to us! God has protected us through many long hours of driving and we have only left a few things behind along the way - which is easy to do. One day we had been driving a couple of hours when Sue noticed the hanging clothes in a car we were passing and looked back in our car questioning, “Jay, where are our hanging clothes?” (Thanks, Bev, for forwarding them to us so quickly ;-)Thankfully we are progressing toward our goal of needed financial support but still have a ways to go. You can track our progress at: http://www.backtogermany.blogspot.com. To be honest, we are homesick and miss Germany terribly. The Internet has been our lifeline for staying in touch with our partners in Germany. Here is an update on our current church planting projects:
COLOGNE
Please keep praying for the church plant in the northern suburbs of Cologne. About 15 interested people from the mother church have met twice this summer to consider and discuss this project. Please pray for courage and direction for this group as some are still considering if God has called them to do this or that it is the right thing for the church to do. There was also a congregational meeting in September where the church plant was discussed and we are pleased to tell you that the church as a whole has basically gotten behind this project. Please pray that God would directly bless this decision and encourage the church for its vision. Pray for Pastor Michael Höring (pictured at right) – for wisdom and courage to move ahead in spite of some hesitancy in the church.
COLOGNE-IN-MOTION (CIM)The CIM team is busy trying to keep up with the 20 youth from English Camp who trusted Christ. It’s been a challenge with busy summer and now school schedules. Please pray that they would be able to work it out to connect with these new believers consistently. Also pray that these kids would become more and more connected into the CIM Sunday worship/community gatherings and into their community in general. Adam Gascho, the leader of CIM, has been in communication with the owner of the facility they rented for the World Cup Café this past June/July. They have moved into serious talks concerning the potential purchase of this facility for the dual purpose of intentional outreach into the community and for a training and connection base for the long-term church planting movement. These next weeks will be extremely crucial in this process. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to clearly lead and guide and that He will open doors and breakdown walls (not literally—at least not yet: ) Amazingly, God has already provided some large gifts equaling around $100,000. They will need significantly more than this, however, to make this dream a reality.
HENNEF
Wolfgang and Petra recently sent us a long update. The church plant in Hennef continues to be on hold as Wolfgang and Petra go through a time of soul searching and adjustments in their lives due to Wolfgang’s recent promotion at work and increased responsibilities there. In addition to that they discovered this summer that their son is hearing impaired and are dealing with all of the implications for them. Sue has and will continue to counsel with Petra as she shares how it was for us to raise a hearing impaired boy. Wolfgang and Petra continue holding on to their vision of a new church in Hennef. However it seems that at least for now, God wants to work in their lives in a special way.
MONHEIM
The church in Monheim has had some struggles this spring and summer with a disrupting couple but has continued to move ahead. They have recently rented some commercial space (inset at right) in the heart of the town – right across the street from their historic town tower (pictured at right) - so nobody can say they haven’t seen it or don’t know where it is. The main room will seat 40-60 people plus they have a several rooms for children’s ministries. Please continue to pray for Detlev and Micha, the two leaders, and the rest of the group. Their firm desire is to be a lighthouse and beacon of God’s love and light. SPARK Even though we aren’t currently in Germany, please continue to pray that God would open doors for us to present SPARK in churches upon our return. It is not too early to begin setting dates. Pray that God would use this tool to motivate German churches to multiply themselves.
Thank you for your partnership with us in prayer and finances.
For Germany,
Jason (and Sue)
