The Pathway has never really done things by the book.
In the world of church planting, it is commonly said that you will always reach people that look like you. Ha! I think we blew that possibility out of the water when we moved to Tacoma. From day one God drew us to people, and he drew people to us, who look absolutely nothing like us. From background and economic status to race and religious heritage (or lack thereof), God has connected us with a diverse bunch of people, very few of whom look like me or Kelli.
Growth. In "typical" church planting (whatever that means!), summers are always a difficult time. I'm sure that's true for established churches too. Rhythm's are broken. Vacations are taken. Attendance drops. Consistency wanes. Giving goes down. But of course, for The Pathway, that's never been the case. Summer has always been an incredible opportunity to embrace the patterns of summer and maximize the opportunity to do life with each other, engage new people and see people decide to make biblical community a part of their new routines. This summer has been no exception to that. We've seen doors open, the vibrancy of our gathering increase and more and more people connect to the community of believers.
The list could go on but for some reason I assumed that while we don't follow any other normal patterns of church planting, we would follow the pattern of renewed consistency and momentum heading into the fall.
WRONG!!!
What was I thinking?!?! Why would we do that by the book when we do nothing else by the book? The last 2 weeks have proven to be somewhat "slow," for lack of a better term. I think people are still clinging to what's left of summer. Getting kids back into school certainly drains parents and kids alike. Overall, our worship gathering has decreased in attendance rather than increased and from a cursory look at our Intentional Community gatherings, attendance is sparse as well.
All this to say... pray for consistency. Not just in the Sunday gathering, although I want people to long for and value that time, but also in community. Pray for people to consistently do life together, consistently make disciples (and become disciples), consistently serve, give, love and worship. Pray for people to see the need for disciple-makers, Intentional Community hosts and Intentional Community leaders. Pray that our church, starting with myself, would embrace the call of God on all of us to be missionaries for the gospel in our own world, our own neighborhood and even in our own homes.
We're learning to be the church together. We're learning the rhythm's of life together. It's messy and it's fun but it is never ever "typical!"
Monday, September 15, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
One of those moments
I had one of those moments Sunday night. It was a good moment. It was a sweet moment. It was one of those moments where God reminds you that he is at work in big ways. He's at work in God-sized ways, doing God-sized things that for the most part I will never know about or comprehend.
I've shared on this blog before that 2014 is a year of focused and intentional congregational prayer for The Pathway. By God's grace he gave us a reminder at the end of last year that we are really good at working hard. We're really good at serving our communities, hosting block parties, moving people and meeting needs. But we're not so good (mainly because I've led poorly in this area) at slowing down and asking the God of the universe to move in power, to change lives and to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
We definitely don't have it all figured out, but the first Sunday of every month this year we've committed to coming together as a church to pray for the spiritual healing of our city. It's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. At times it's down right frustrating and discouraging. Prayer is hard. For the most part we don't have a big turn-out. Overall our numbers have been decreasing as the year has progressed.
Sometimes it's hard to focus. We bring our twin 4 year olds with us. Try praying for an hour with 4 year olds! For us it really doesn't happen. We make it as long as we can (usually 30 minutes), praying together as a family for our friends and neighbors. Coaching our kids in what it means to pray, why it's a crucial part of life and the powerful affect it has. Then either myself or Kelli takes the kids home while the other parent stays and continues to pray.
One of the stations we have set-up at the concert of prayer is really just a row of poster boards. All year long we've been writing names on those poster boards. But they're not just names, they're souls. They're human lives who need to be radically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We write names every month and then we pray over those names. It doesn't matter if we know them or not, God knows them and is honored by our prayers for them.
Last night was when I experienced one of those moments. To be honest, my prayer time had not been incredibly deep and passionate. It was a struggle. But I made my way over to the poster boards as I do every month, kneeling next to them, and asking God to move in the lives of the people as I read their names in prayer. I began reading names and then I saw my own handwriting. The name of a man named Paul who our summer interns had met and served as they sought to saturate their apartment complex with the gospel.
I had attended a few of the intentional cook-outs our interns put together and that's where I met Paul. We struck up a conversation and I asked him for his phone number (one of the most awkward, yet absolutely crucial parts of missional living... asking another dude for his number). The interns continued to love on him and I reached out to him. I prayed for him, had lunch with him and God started to soften him and work in his life.
The reason it was one of those moments, is that as I came to Paul's name on the list, I looked over my shoulder and there was Paul, sitting at another station in the room, praying. Paul is still wrestling with God over many issues in his life, but God is moving. Paul is now a part of my Intentional Community and becoming a friend. God is moving in people's lives. Prayer works. Lets not ever forget that!
I've shared on this blog before that 2014 is a year of focused and intentional congregational prayer for The Pathway. By God's grace he gave us a reminder at the end of last year that we are really good at working hard. We're really good at serving our communities, hosting block parties, moving people and meeting needs. But we're not so good (mainly because I've led poorly in this area) at slowing down and asking the God of the universe to move in power, to change lives and to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
We definitely don't have it all figured out, but the first Sunday of every month this year we've committed to coming together as a church to pray for the spiritual healing of our city. It's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. At times it's down right frustrating and discouraging. Prayer is hard. For the most part we don't have a big turn-out. Overall our numbers have been decreasing as the year has progressed.
Sometimes it's hard to focus. We bring our twin 4 year olds with us. Try praying for an hour with 4 year olds! For us it really doesn't happen. We make it as long as we can (usually 30 minutes), praying together as a family for our friends and neighbors. Coaching our kids in what it means to pray, why it's a crucial part of life and the powerful affect it has. Then either myself or Kelli takes the kids home while the other parent stays and continues to pray.
One of the stations we have set-up at the concert of prayer is really just a row of poster boards. All year long we've been writing names on those poster boards. But they're not just names, they're souls. They're human lives who need to be radically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We write names every month and then we pray over those names. It doesn't matter if we know them or not, God knows them and is honored by our prayers for them.
Last night was when I experienced one of those moments. To be honest, my prayer time had not been incredibly deep and passionate. It was a struggle. But I made my way over to the poster boards as I do every month, kneeling next to them, and asking God to move in the lives of the people as I read their names in prayer. I began reading names and then I saw my own handwriting. The name of a man named Paul who our summer interns had met and served as they sought to saturate their apartment complex with the gospel.
I had attended a few of the intentional cook-outs our interns put together and that's where I met Paul. We struck up a conversation and I asked him for his phone number (one of the most awkward, yet absolutely crucial parts of missional living... asking another dude for his number). The interns continued to love on him and I reached out to him. I prayed for him, had lunch with him and God started to soften him and work in his life.
The reason it was one of those moments, is that as I came to Paul's name on the list, I looked over my shoulder and there was Paul, sitting at another station in the room, praying. Paul is still wrestling with God over many issues in his life, but God is moving. Paul is now a part of my Intentional Community and becoming a friend. God is moving in people's lives. Prayer works. Lets not ever forget that!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Stepping up
I shared a few months back that we seemed to be having a mass exodus of leaders moving out of state due to job changes. It really wasn't all that many people but when you have 6 Intentional Communities and the leaders and/or hosts from 3 of them move, it can be a scary challenge. As I mentioned in that blog, God gave me an unusual peace about it all. Usually I freak out about these types of things. We have a hard enough time raising up leaders as it is. But God is so good and thankfully he is sovereign. I don't have to know his will or figure out his will in order for his perfect will to be done.
We're about a month removed from the last leaders to leave and not only are we surviving, we seem to be thriving. Chase and Kyler Phillips and Chris and Rachel Croft were fantastic leaders. The mark of their leadership is that when they left, and before they left, new leaders were already stepping up. Of course it's not without challenges, but it's been cool to observe from a distance how the groups saw the challenges, embraced the challenges and are growing through the challenges. Praise Jesus! We lost our host, Deidra Delgado, to a move to South Dakota. It gave us the opportunity to move back to a mission field we had thought was not going to bear much fruit and already we're seeing opportunities and open doors. God knows what he is doing!
The two prayer requests I want to leave with you today are the following:
1) Pray for more Intentional Community Leaders & hosts. We had 94 people at our gathering yesterday and we only have 5 Intentional Communities. That's simply not enough groups to assimilate people into community. We have also had an interesting influx of soldiers and families from joint base Lewis/McChord. We need to see an Intentional Community birthed there. I have ideas of who could host it, not idea who would lead it... but God knows! Please pray for open doors.
2) Pray for volunteers to step up in September. We are spoiled in the summer because we don't have to set-up and tear-down our worship gathering because school is not in session. Well, school starts next month so we are recruiting volunteers and developing a new system with new leaders. It's always a challenge because when it comes to gatherings, people often just think it happens. They don't realize all the work and prayer and preparation that goes on behind the scenes to provide an environment to worship without distraction, a hospitable culture that welcomes new folks in and a children's environment that safe and engaging. We're in the recruiting process now and it's natural to be getting excuses! Please pray that our people would be so passionate about worshipping Jesus together that they would be willing and executed to rearrange their routines to make it possible. Please also pray that by this time next year we would be launching a second worship gathering so that even our KiDCity volunteers would be able to gather for worship every single week.
We're about a month removed from the last leaders to leave and not only are we surviving, we seem to be thriving. Chase and Kyler Phillips and Chris and Rachel Croft were fantastic leaders. The mark of their leadership is that when they left, and before they left, new leaders were already stepping up. Of course it's not without challenges, but it's been cool to observe from a distance how the groups saw the challenges, embraced the challenges and are growing through the challenges. Praise Jesus! We lost our host, Deidra Delgado, to a move to South Dakota. It gave us the opportunity to move back to a mission field we had thought was not going to bear much fruit and already we're seeing opportunities and open doors. God knows what he is doing!
The two prayer requests I want to leave with you today are the following:
1) Pray for more Intentional Community Leaders & hosts. We had 94 people at our gathering yesterday and we only have 5 Intentional Communities. That's simply not enough groups to assimilate people into community. We have also had an interesting influx of soldiers and families from joint base Lewis/McChord. We need to see an Intentional Community birthed there. I have ideas of who could host it, not idea who would lead it... but God knows! Please pray for open doors.
2) Pray for volunteers to step up in September. We are spoiled in the summer because we don't have to set-up and tear-down our worship gathering because school is not in session. Well, school starts next month so we are recruiting volunteers and developing a new system with new leaders. It's always a challenge because when it comes to gatherings, people often just think it happens. They don't realize all the work and prayer and preparation that goes on behind the scenes to provide an environment to worship without distraction, a hospitable culture that welcomes new folks in and a children's environment that safe and engaging. We're in the recruiting process now and it's natural to be getting excuses! Please pray that our people would be so passionate about worshipping Jesus together that they would be willing and executed to rearrange their routines to make it possible. Please also pray that by this time next year we would be launching a second worship gathering so that even our KiDCity volunteers would be able to gather for worship every single week.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Whirlwind.
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| KiDCity kiddos singing "J is for Jesus" after an awesome week of Kids Club |
I think our natural tendency is to shout the praises of our God, proclaim that what he has done is good and then collapse in exhaustion, satisfied that the task has been completed. In reality though, that would be a horrible blunder on our part. In fact, the task has only just begun.
Prayers were lifted that God would bring the spiritual healing of our city and there is still much to happen in that regard. The Kids club and parenting class were carried out in an effort to partner with parents in discipling their kids and that is only one piece in a multi-faceted, life-long discipleship process. The block parties, cook-outs and service project partnerships were done in an effort to love our city well and find persons of peace who want to be a part of seeing the kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven. Now it's time to build into those persons of peace and spiritual sojourners so the kingdom will in fact grow in Tacoma.
The work is far from over and we need your prayers. We've realized that we are at a crossroads as a church. We are no longer at a size where we can fly by the seat of our pants and handle everything as it comes. We're realizing that in order to effectively equip leaders, make disciples and multiply Intentional Communities, we have to implement systems that are clearly defined for people to walk through as they grow in Christ and play their role in the body.
But where do we start? Do we begin with our Family ministry system, what I believe is one of the most important things we do in equipping parents to raise up the next generation to know and follow hard after Jesus? Do we start with our financial system so that we can raise up a community of extravagantly generous followers of Jesus as well as providing people the confidence that the church is being a great steward of the resources we have? Do we start with our discipleship system? Our volunteer system? Our leadership development system? Our assimilation system? Our worship team system?
You get the point. There are so many places to grow and systems to implement, the tendency is to get overwhelmed and accept the status quo. But if we accept the status quo we won't grow. And if we don't grow that means disciples aren't being made. And if disciples aren't being made, God's mission is not being accomplished and that's simply unacceptable!
Please take a good look at the kids in the picture at the beginning of this post. They are the vessels that will carry hope to the next generation. That hope is the gospel and we want them to know it, be raised in it and be saturated by it. Please pray that as we follow-up with all that God did this summer and as we seek to wisely implement the right systems in the right ways at the right time, that God would pour out his grace, grow his kingdom and empower us to keep our eyes fixed on him every single step of the way.
Thank you so much!
Monday, July 28, 2014
What a summer!
Fail.
I'm pretty sure that's the best word to describe my attempt to fulfill my end of this blogging relationship. You can't read and pray if I don't write and post. Sorry about that. Let me share with you a bit of what's been going on.
Mission Teams:
I'm going to jump in the "old church van" in just a little while to go pick up our 8th and final mission team from the airport. Please be praying for Humble Area First Baptist Church as they lead our Kids Club for the second year in a row. Last year I believe we had around 25 kids a night. This year we already have around 70 pre-registered! Glory to God! Please pray that this would be an incredible opportunity to partner with our families in making disciples of their children. Please also pray it would be an incredibly fruitful connection point for many of the families in our community. Our heart is that they would experience the gospel in all it's fullness and the Holy Spirit would change them in a powerful way.
Humble is our final team but God has been rocking our community this month through the 7 teams that came before them. In brief, we had 2 teams per week for 3 weeks come and serve with us. Two teams focused on the Hilltop, the neighborhood where The Pathway started and where my family lives and 3 of our Intentional Communities currently gather and serve. Two teams focused on the neighborhood around Franklin Elementary where we have our Sunday gathering and 2 teams focused on the North End, a new neighborhood for us but where we already have 2 Intentional Communities gathering.
What do I mean by focus? Quite simply the teams adopted the neighborhood for the week. They prayer walked the neighborhood almost every day. They dove into what we call "Gospel Saturation." That is, after they prayer walked with their eyes open, asking God to show them people and needs, they went out and met those needs. One example was a family on the North End who needed a HUGE tree trimmed and some yard work done. By God's grace one of the team members was a professional tree trimmer so he bought a chainsaw and knocked it out. The family happened to own a sail boat so they took the team out sailing on their final day in Tacoma. It was a beautiful and God-ordained connection.
One of the teams who was focusing on the North End seemed to also unofficially adopt a local frozen yogurt shop as their mission field. That's where they met Tanya and Faith (pictured above). Tanya is a single mom and Faith has special needs that the doctors have not been able to fully diagnosed. Faith can't communicate verbally and she's in a wheel chair but she has one of the most precious smiles I have ever seen. The team bought mom and daughter Frozen Yogurt and invited her to The Pathway's block party. She told them she felt like God was trying to tell her something because some of her neighbors keep inviting her to The Pathway's gatherings and block parties... imagine that!
Well sure enough, Tanya and Faith came to the a party where she immediately recognized Gene (also pictured above). When she found out Gene was a part of The Pathway she knew God was up to something. She had multiple days of sweet fellowship with the mission team, has come to 3 block parties and visited our Sunday gathering. When she came to the gathering she also realized she knew my wife Kelli from time spent with the kids at the zoo. God definitely knows what he's doing! Please pray that Tanya and Faith will connect to Intentional Community!
All in all the summer has tilled up an abundant opportunity for spiritual harvest. We have tried to make the foundation of the entire summer a movement of prayer. God has been honoring that and we have seen him move in a unique way. Two Sunday's ago we had 113 people at our Sunday gathering and that does NOT include any mission teams. Yesterday we had 96 on what was one of our lowest Sundays last year! Please be praying that these new folks would quickly connect to Intentional Community where we are confident they will connect to the gospel.
Intentional Community
Speaking of Intentional Community. Please be praying for our Intentional Communities to grow. We really focus on 3 areas of growth as an IC... Communion with God, Community with each other, and Mission among our target neighborhood. The last month has been a time of good-byes for us. Two of our IC Leaders, Chris and Rachel Croft moved their family to Nevada and 2 more, Chase and Kyler Phillips, moved back to their home state of Oklahoma.
Normally I would panic about such things but God has provided so beautifully and new leaders have already stepped up. That being said, we need more people who understand the heart of Intentional Community to be willing to lead and host IC's. Please pray that God would bring leaders for the harvest that he has been working on this summer.
The picture to the right is of my family's Intentional Community. We gathered yesterday to have a good-bye party for one of our families who are moving to South Dakota. We are sad to see them go but I'm excited to see how God uses them in their new home. I'm certain he has big plans for them. I posted this picture on Facebook today and my sister sent me the following text:
I definitely remember when it was just an idea. And as I told my sister Amber, I hope I never forget the days of inviting people intentionally into community and repeatedly being rejected, stood-up, taken advantage of and stabbed in the back.
Does that still happen? Of course. But by God's grace he has provided some incredibly loyal brother's and sister's in Christ to walk with us through the hard and to join us in celebrating the good. Thank you Jesus for Intentional Community! Please pray that God would multiply us!
I'm pretty sure that's the best word to describe my attempt to fulfill my end of this blogging relationship. You can't read and pray if I don't write and post. Sorry about that. Let me share with you a bit of what's been going on.
Mission Teams:
 |
Humble is our final team but God has been rocking our community this month through the 7 teams that came before them. In brief, we had 2 teams per week for 3 weeks come and serve with us. Two teams focused on the Hilltop, the neighborhood where The Pathway started and where my family lives and 3 of our Intentional Communities currently gather and serve. Two teams focused on the neighborhood around Franklin Elementary where we have our Sunday gathering and 2 teams focused on the North End, a new neighborhood for us but where we already have 2 Intentional Communities gathering.
What do I mean by focus? Quite simply the teams adopted the neighborhood for the week. They prayer walked the neighborhood almost every day. They dove into what we call "Gospel Saturation." That is, after they prayer walked with their eyes open, asking God to show them people and needs, they went out and met those needs. One example was a family on the North End who needed a HUGE tree trimmed and some yard work done. By God's grace one of the team members was a professional tree trimmer so he bought a chainsaw and knocked it out. The family happened to own a sail boat so they took the team out sailing on their final day in Tacoma. It was a beautiful and God-ordained connection.
One of the teams who was focusing on the North End seemed to also unofficially adopt a local frozen yogurt shop as their mission field. That's where they met Tanya and Faith (pictured above). Tanya is a single mom and Faith has special needs that the doctors have not been able to fully diagnosed. Faith can't communicate verbally and she's in a wheel chair but she has one of the most precious smiles I have ever seen. The team bought mom and daughter Frozen Yogurt and invited her to The Pathway's block party. She told them she felt like God was trying to tell her something because some of her neighbors keep inviting her to The Pathway's gatherings and block parties... imagine that!
Well sure enough, Tanya and Faith came to the a party where she immediately recognized Gene (also pictured above). When she found out Gene was a part of The Pathway she knew God was up to something. She had multiple days of sweet fellowship with the mission team, has come to 3 block parties and visited our Sunday gathering. When she came to the gathering she also realized she knew my wife Kelli from time spent with the kids at the zoo. God definitely knows what he's doing! Please pray that Tanya and Faith will connect to Intentional Community!
All in all the summer has tilled up an abundant opportunity for spiritual harvest. We have tried to make the foundation of the entire summer a movement of prayer. God has been honoring that and we have seen him move in a unique way. Two Sunday's ago we had 113 people at our Sunday gathering and that does NOT include any mission teams. Yesterday we had 96 on what was one of our lowest Sundays last year! Please be praying that these new folks would quickly connect to Intentional Community where we are confident they will connect to the gospel.
Intentional Community
Normally I would panic about such things but God has provided so beautifully and new leaders have already stepped up. That being said, we need more people who understand the heart of Intentional Community to be willing to lead and host IC's. Please pray that God would bring leaders for the harvest that he has been working on this summer.
The picture to the right is of my family's Intentional Community. We gathered yesterday to have a good-bye party for one of our families who are moving to South Dakota. We are sad to see them go but I'm excited to see how God uses them in their new home. I'm certain he has big plans for them. I posted this picture on Facebook today and my sister sent me the following text:
Just saw a pic of your IC on Facebook. Every time I see these pictures I am AMAZED at what God has done with the Pathway. Do you remember when it was just an idea??? Be encouraged- He is doing awesome things!!!
I definitely remember when it was just an idea. And as I told my sister Amber, I hope I never forget the days of inviting people intentionally into community and repeatedly being rejected, stood-up, taken advantage of and stabbed in the back.
Does that still happen? Of course. But by God's grace he has provided some incredibly loyal brother's and sister's in Christ to walk with us through the hard and to join us in celebrating the good. Thank you Jesus for Intentional Community! Please pray that God would multiply us!
Monday, June 23, 2014
Tacoma Orphans
I'm sitting in my office right now listening to a bunch of college students from Ada, OK talking about meatball sandwiches & Pringles as they get ready to head to the YMCA for a shower before going to sleep on small air mattresses on a hard floor... and I love it! We actually have two mission teams here right now from FBC Charlotte, TX and Trinity Baptist in Ada, OK. They just wrapped up a day of serving our local Boys and Girls Club, volunteering at a low income apartment complex, prayer walking our neighborhood and having an intentional cook-out at the park where they'll be hosting a block party on Friday. But through all the hard work, communal showering and bad air mattresses, no one is complaining. They are all here to serve Jesus and I am excited to see how Jesus responds!
Last night I sat on the floor at the spot during our mission team orientation. Stacie Hooks has led a solid team from our church in planning and preparing for the mission team and all the ways they'll be serving while they are here. It was not that long ago that if something was going to get done, led, planned or organized, I had to do it. I'm so blessed now to be surrounded by so many people who are sharing the load and carrying the mission forward.
As I listened to Stacie talk to the mission team and go over the schedule I was humbled to think of how God brought Stacie to our church. She was actually a crazy young college student who I hired when I worked at Camp WOW years ago. She came to serve with us here in Tacoma for a few weeks and she's now been here a few years. Up next was Kyler Phillips. She was sharing with the team about some service projects they would be doing this week. As I listened to Kyler talk I was in awe. She's a passionate and confident young woman who has lived in Tacoma for two years with her husband Chase. But I will always remember Kyler as the nervous, passionate, excited summer intern who came to Tacoma full of questions about life, ministry and church planting.
Then came Jason Downing. Jason was actually an intern with another church plant 5 years ago just south of Tacoma. I happened to know the planter and he let us "borrow" Jason one day a week as we learned our new city and began to plant the gospel. Jason stood before the mission teams sharing about all the ways that they would be praying for the people of Tacoma this week. I was amazed that God called him to plant his life here over a year ago.
And then came Adam Forgety. Adam is our new Associate Pastor and worship leader. He stood up to lead us in a time of worship. One of the churches that is here this week, Trinity, is Adam and his wife Khylee's old church. Adam was the worship pastor at Trinity for about 5 years and he and Khylee led multiple short term teams to serve with us in Tacoma. It was this time last year that Adam first began to feel God calling him to Tacoma. Amazing.
As I sat there on that floor, in awe of all God has done and the ways he has called people out of their comfort zone and into an incredible city that sits in the shadow of Seattle, I began to think of all of our Tacoma orphans. That's what we have come to call all those who have left the comforts of home, family and southern hospitality to serve Jesus in the city we have come to love and call home.
Tacoma Orphans:
Rebecca Hurst was the first. She is my wife's best friend and old college roommate. I still remember chatting with her on the Internet when she told me God was calling her to come from Austin, TX to Tacoma to help us plant The Pathway. Five years later Becca is still here and still serving. She came here as a single young missionary and God has brought her a husband and most recently a precious baby boy.
Laura Bravo is one of those people that makes me smile just typing her name. She came to Camp WOW years ago as a camper. She then served as a high school intern that led to me hiring her as a college summer staffer. Laura was going to serve as a missionary in Calgary and got stuck at Seatac due to some customs issues. She new we lived in the area and ended up staying with us for more than a month. She fell in love with Tacoma and after serving in Canada for a year, came back to be a part of The Pathway. She too came as a young, single woman and over the last several years God has brought her an awesome godly husband and she just graduated from the University of Washington, Tacoma. Amazing.
Jenna Jones planned to serve with us for a couple weeks with Stacie Hooks. Now a couple years later I can't imagine The Pathway without Jenna. She took our Kids Ministry from about 6 kids to over 30 today and I believe is ready and equipped by God to lead us to see even more families and kids fall in love with Jesus!
Chase Phillips is Kyler's husband that I mentioned earlier. Chase came to serve with us on a short term mission trip. He then decided to marry Kyler (good idea) and they moved to Tacoma a week after getting married.
Khylee Forgety is Adam's partner in crime and in marriage and the mother of their newly adopted baby boy! Her journey was and is an amazing testimony of faith and obedience. Although Adam had been wrestling with a call to Tacoma for a year, Khylee had not even considered until about a month before they moved here. But she didn't come kicking and screaming (at least not too much). She wrestled with God, prayed, sought wise and trusted counsel and then said "yes" to Jesus.
Marybeth Coker came to serve with us as a semester missionary and decided that there was no reason to leave. We don't know how long Marybeth will be with us but we are so thankful that she is here. She has served in our Kids Ministry, pioneered our assimilation process and done just about anything else she's been asked to do (including jumping into the ice cold puget sound!).
I think I can speak for all of us in saying that I love being a Tacoma Orphan. Although we are far from our families and many things that are comfortable, God has given us a new family that we would have never been a part of had he not called us out. God is using these orphans, these missionaries, in mighty and powerful ways. I'm thankful that my family is not alone here in Tacoma. God has provided the right people, at the right time, every step of the way!
Last night I sat on the floor at the spot during our mission team orientation. Stacie Hooks has led a solid team from our church in planning and preparing for the mission team and all the ways they'll be serving while they are here. It was not that long ago that if something was going to get done, led, planned or organized, I had to do it. I'm so blessed now to be surrounded by so many people who are sharing the load and carrying the mission forward.
As I listened to Stacie talk to the mission team and go over the schedule I was humbled to think of how God brought Stacie to our church. She was actually a crazy young college student who I hired when I worked at Camp WOW years ago. She came to serve with us here in Tacoma for a few weeks and she's now been here a few years. Up next was Kyler Phillips. She was sharing with the team about some service projects they would be doing this week. As I listened to Kyler talk I was in awe. She's a passionate and confident young woman who has lived in Tacoma for two years with her husband Chase. But I will always remember Kyler as the nervous, passionate, excited summer intern who came to Tacoma full of questions about life, ministry and church planting.
Then came Jason Downing. Jason was actually an intern with another church plant 5 years ago just south of Tacoma. I happened to know the planter and he let us "borrow" Jason one day a week as we learned our new city and began to plant the gospel. Jason stood before the mission teams sharing about all the ways that they would be praying for the people of Tacoma this week. I was amazed that God called him to plant his life here over a year ago.
And then came Adam Forgety. Adam is our new Associate Pastor and worship leader. He stood up to lead us in a time of worship. One of the churches that is here this week, Trinity, is Adam and his wife Khylee's old church. Adam was the worship pastor at Trinity for about 5 years and he and Khylee led multiple short term teams to serve with us in Tacoma. It was this time last year that Adam first began to feel God calling him to Tacoma. Amazing.
As I sat there on that floor, in awe of all God has done and the ways he has called people out of their comfort zone and into an incredible city that sits in the shadow of Seattle, I began to think of all of our Tacoma orphans. That's what we have come to call all those who have left the comforts of home, family and southern hospitality to serve Jesus in the city we have come to love and call home.
Tacoma Orphans:
Rebecca Hurst was the first. She is my wife's best friend and old college roommate. I still remember chatting with her on the Internet when she told me God was calling her to come from Austin, TX to Tacoma to help us plant The Pathway. Five years later Becca is still here and still serving. She came here as a single young missionary and God has brought her a husband and most recently a precious baby boy.
Laura Bravo is one of those people that makes me smile just typing her name. She came to Camp WOW years ago as a camper. She then served as a high school intern that led to me hiring her as a college summer staffer. Laura was going to serve as a missionary in Calgary and got stuck at Seatac due to some customs issues. She new we lived in the area and ended up staying with us for more than a month. She fell in love with Tacoma and after serving in Canada for a year, came back to be a part of The Pathway. She too came as a young, single woman and over the last several years God has brought her an awesome godly husband and she just graduated from the University of Washington, Tacoma. Amazing.
Jenna Jones planned to serve with us for a couple weeks with Stacie Hooks. Now a couple years later I can't imagine The Pathway without Jenna. She took our Kids Ministry from about 6 kids to over 30 today and I believe is ready and equipped by God to lead us to see even more families and kids fall in love with Jesus!
Chase Phillips is Kyler's husband that I mentioned earlier. Chase came to serve with us on a short term mission trip. He then decided to marry Kyler (good idea) and they moved to Tacoma a week after getting married.
Khylee Forgety is Adam's partner in crime and in marriage and the mother of their newly adopted baby boy! Her journey was and is an amazing testimony of faith and obedience. Although Adam had been wrestling with a call to Tacoma for a year, Khylee had not even considered until about a month before they moved here. But she didn't come kicking and screaming (at least not too much). She wrestled with God, prayed, sought wise and trusted counsel and then said "yes" to Jesus.
Marybeth Coker came to serve with us as a semester missionary and decided that there was no reason to leave. We don't know how long Marybeth will be with us but we are so thankful that she is here. She has served in our Kids Ministry, pioneered our assimilation process and done just about anything else she's been asked to do (including jumping into the ice cold puget sound!).
I think I can speak for all of us in saying that I love being a Tacoma Orphan. Although we are far from our families and many things that are comfortable, God has given us a new family that we would have never been a part of had he not called us out. God is using these orphans, these missionaries, in mighty and powerful ways. I'm thankful that my family is not alone here in Tacoma. God has provided the right people, at the right time, every step of the way!
Monday, June 9, 2014
Interns Arrive Today!
I'm incredibly excited that our interns are flying in today! We have 6 college interns serving with our church this summer, the most we have ever had. I'm in awe of God, as usual, as he takes something small and grows it to be something powerfully effective for his kingdom and glory.
This year we were able to bring in 6 interns thanks to a unique partnership between the North American Mission Board, Fielder Church in Arlington, TX and Oklahoma Baptist University. In all I think they are deploying around 25 interns to the Seattle area. It's been so encouraging to see groups of people coming together to help saturate our region with the gospel.
Please be praying for our interns. Our overall objective for them this summer is to help them learn how to be more effective missionaries when they return home. We want them to learn how to be compassionate, bold, humble servants of Jesus who love God, love others and speak the gospel with grace and love. They will be living in a local apartment complex in a pretty rough area. It will be a stretch for them to learn to live incarnationally on a daily basis. They will be volunteering at the local boys and girls club, hosting community block parties, loving their neighbors in tangible ways and joining some of our existing Intentional Communities.
This is not designed to be an easy summer for the interns. It's not designed to be a summer filled with menial behind the scenes tasks. This internship was created with disciple-making in mind. It's challenging, exhausting and at times can be lonely. But it is also exhilarating, stretching, life-changing and our prayer is that it is fruitful. We're praying that our interns have the opportunity lead many people to Jesus. We're praying that they have the change to connect new believers to the body of Christ. We're asking God to give them the chance to sharpen and use their spiritual gifts for the glory of God and courageously depend on the Holy Spirit to empower them to engage the gospel in ways they never thought possible.
Some specific prayers: *As you are able, please pray for our interns by name. Consider choosing one or two to pray for daily...
Paige Worthington, Gage Johnson, Zack Danyla, Miriam Ingham, Michael Baker, Leena Vappula
1) Please pray for safe and timely arrival. At least 2 of our interns will be a day late because of bad weather and delayed flights.
2) Pray for quick assimilation into Tacoma life.
3) Pray for a supernatural open doors with their neighbors. Pray for gospel conversations and gospel opportunities beginning week 1.
4) Please pray against the attack of Satan. We've learned a lot and experienced a lot in our four plus years in Tacoma. One of the most difficult and sobering lessons we've learned is the reality of spiritual warfare. However, we've also learned in new and fresh ways the victory found in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray against discouragement and pray for faith to overcome all obstacles of the evil one.
5) Pray for life change. Our number one priority is kingdom growth. Not just in Tacoma but all over this world. We believe if our interns experience true life change and begin to live more passionately and more missionally when they return home, the kingdom will grow and the internship will have been a success!
Please be praying for our interns. Our overall objective for them this summer is to help them learn how to be more effective missionaries when they return home. We want them to learn how to be compassionate, bold, humble servants of Jesus who love God, love others and speak the gospel with grace and love. They will be living in a local apartment complex in a pretty rough area. It will be a stretch for them to learn to live incarnationally on a daily basis. They will be volunteering at the local boys and girls club, hosting community block parties, loving their neighbors in tangible ways and joining some of our existing Intentional Communities.
This is not designed to be an easy summer for the interns. It's not designed to be a summer filled with menial behind the scenes tasks. This internship was created with disciple-making in mind. It's challenging, exhausting and at times can be lonely. But it is also exhilarating, stretching, life-changing and our prayer is that it is fruitful. We're praying that our interns have the opportunity lead many people to Jesus. We're praying that they have the change to connect new believers to the body of Christ. We're asking God to give them the chance to sharpen and use their spiritual gifts for the glory of God and courageously depend on the Holy Spirit to empower them to engage the gospel in ways they never thought possible.
Some specific prayers: *As you are able, please pray for our interns by name. Consider choosing one or two to pray for daily...
Paige Worthington, Gage Johnson, Zack Danyla, Miriam Ingham, Michael Baker, Leena Vappula
1) Please pray for safe and timely arrival. At least 2 of our interns will be a day late because of bad weather and delayed flights.
2) Pray for quick assimilation into Tacoma life.
3) Pray for a supernatural open doors with their neighbors. Pray for gospel conversations and gospel opportunities beginning week 1.
4) Please pray against the attack of Satan. We've learned a lot and experienced a lot in our four plus years in Tacoma. One of the most difficult and sobering lessons we've learned is the reality of spiritual warfare. However, we've also learned in new and fresh ways the victory found in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray against discouragement and pray for faith to overcome all obstacles of the evil one.
5) Pray for life change. Our number one priority is kingdom growth. Not just in Tacoma but all over this world. We believe if our interns experience true life change and begin to live more passionately and more missionally when they return home, the kingdom will grow and the internship will have been a success!
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