Friday
We're leaving in July!
Click HERE for a larger image. If you want to follow us closer, view our posts on Facebook.
Tuesday
We're leaving in July!
To continue following our updates, please friend us on Facebook. We'll be posting there more often.
HERE is our latest newsletter (May 2012) with details about our departure and how to pray for us.
Thursday
Update on our 50/60 Initiative
11/10/11
We are so thankful--to God and to each of you who has decided to partner with us!
We are so thankful--to God and to each of you who has decided to partner with us!
We are at 64%! (up from 53% at the beginning of October). Thank you so much!
Here is an update on how our 50/60 Initiative is going. At the beginning of October, we invited you to be one of 60 people to join us in partnership by committing to giving $50/month. So far, here is the report:
As of October 1st,
- 7 new individuals (or families) have committed to monthly support.
- 3 individuals (or families) who were already giving decided to increase their monthly support.
- 1 new church has committed to monthly support.
There is still 36% that we have yet to raise. And we are confident that God will raise it.
Would you consider partnering with us? Our 50/60 initiative is still going on during the month of November.
Over the last few months, we've talked with so many people who are getting excited about missions in a new way. They've been reading books like Radical by David Platt, or they've attended missions conferences like the one John Piper recently put on. And they've been challenged to live more "missionally," or to give more sacrificially. They've felt moved to be a part of the Great Commission themselves. It is so encouraging!
Joining us in monthly support is not about just sending money. It is choosing to take part in missions, to impact lives for eternity. It makes you a partner in the ministry we will have with people in the Czech Republic who will come to know and follow Jesus for the first time. It connects you to the building of God's kingdom in a country that has very limited access to the gospel.
We'd love to hear from you!
Monday
50/60 Initiative
Last July (2010) we announced that we were going to be moving to the Czech Republic. Our heart is that more people will have access to the gospel by having a body of believers (a church!) in their area. Did you know that most Czech people don't even know a Christian?
We are getting closer to our departure date, and we have seen God provide for us in amazing ways! This is an exciting time for us, trusting in the Lord and feeling blessed by people who are giving sacrificially to see God's kingdom grow. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who have been so generous!
Currently, we are at 53% of our financial support requirement. So we need more people to join us if we're going to make it to the Czech Republic by the spring of 2012. Yes, God is the one who provides, but He does it through His people! Would you consider being one of 60 people giving $50 a month? We're calling this our 50/60 Initiative during the months of October and November (60 days.)
If you have felt God tugging at your heart to be more involved in missions, to live more "missionally" or sacrificially, this is a great opportunity. We're thrilled to get to be a part of God's work in spreading His fame throughout the world, and wouldn't it be amazing for us to join efforts and do that together?
You can join our 50/60 Initiative today by filling out the gray form to the right of the page labeled "Contact Us."
Thank you so much!
We are getting closer to our departure date, and we have seen God provide for us in amazing ways! This is an exciting time for us, trusting in the Lord and feeling blessed by people who are giving sacrificially to see God's kingdom grow. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who have been so generous!
Currently, we are at 53% of our financial support requirement. So we need more people to join us if we're going to make it to the Czech Republic by the spring of 2012. Yes, God is the one who provides, but He does it through His people! Would you consider being one of 60 people giving $50 a month? We're calling this our 50/60 Initiative during the months of October and November (60 days.)
If you have felt God tugging at your heart to be more involved in missions, to live more "missionally" or sacrificially, this is a great opportunity. We're thrilled to get to be a part of God's work in spreading His fame throughout the world, and wouldn't it be amazing for us to join efforts and do that together?
You can join our 50/60 Initiative today by filling out the gray form to the right of the page labeled "Contact Us."
Thank you so much!
Thursday
Confirming the call
We wouldn't be honest with you or with ourselves if we didn't admit to having questions once in a while: Why didn't God call us to the 10/40 window, somewhere where the need is even greater? We are not plagued with doubts about our call to the Czech Republic by any means, but every so often, when we watch a video or hear a message about the most unreached places of the world, we feel a burden.
True, there will always be somewhere "more unreached" or with a "greater need," pretty much no matter where we go. But, we cannot ignore the fact that there are still people groups that do not have the Bible in their language, and there are areas where there is virtually no Christian witness. And there is a desire within us to be a part of reaching these areas. Sure, we are always open to going wherever God would call us, so He has our permission to redirect us at any time. For now, we know we can participate in ministries to these areas by supporting missionaries that are already working there. This has been a huge blessing.
When we first sensed God calling us to the Czech, we felt Him confirming it by showing us clearly that our individual gifts and experienced matched up really well with the need/ministry there. I love teaching, and a big outreach area is teaching English as a second language. Matthew loves sports, another way of making relationships. And this are only a few examples of how we see that God has prepared us to "fit" in the Czech.
And,of course, we are constantly reminded that the need in the Czech Republic is indeed great. Did you know that a one lb. bag of rice contains approx. 87,000 grains of rice (short-grain). If this amount represented the population of the Czech, only about 600 of them would be evangelical believers. If you were to somehow distinguish these "believing" grains from the others (by coloring them blue, for instance), and poured them all together in a clear, glass bowl, would you be able to see any blue? I plan to do this experiment and find out.
True, there will always be somewhere "more unreached" or with a "greater need," pretty much no matter where we go. But, we cannot ignore the fact that there are still people groups that do not have the Bible in their language, and there are areas where there is virtually no Christian witness. And there is a desire within us to be a part of reaching these areas. Sure, we are always open to going wherever God would call us, so He has our permission to redirect us at any time. For now, we know we can participate in ministries to these areas by supporting missionaries that are already working there. This has been a huge blessing.
When we first sensed God calling us to the Czech, we felt Him confirming it by showing us clearly that our individual gifts and experienced matched up really well with the need/ministry there. I love teaching, and a big outreach area is teaching English as a second language. Matthew loves sports, another way of making relationships. And this are only a few examples of how we see that God has prepared us to "fit" in the Czech.
And,of course, we are constantly reminded that the need in the Czech Republic is indeed great. Did you know that a one lb. bag of rice contains approx. 87,000 grains of rice (short-grain). If this amount represented the population of the Czech, only about 600 of them would be evangelical believers. If you were to somehow distinguish these "believing" grains from the others (by coloring them blue, for instance), and poured them all together in a clear, glass bowl, would you be able to see any blue? I plan to do this experiment and find out.
Monday
Why does the Czech Republic need more churches?
The Czech Republic is one of the most unchurched countries of the world. According to Mark Potma, a TEAM c
hurch planter working in the Czech, "The Christian Mission Society of the Czech Republic (KMS) has calculated that today there are only 18,558 members of evangelical churches, or less than 0.2% of the Czech population. Eight of the ten evangelical denominations are in decline, but the largest and fastest-growing of the two that are growing is the denomination that TEAM is partnering with: Církev bratrská (CB) or Church of the Brethren. Almost 2000 new believers and 37 new local churches have been added in the past twenty years."
hurch planter working in the Czech, "The Christian Mission Society of the Czech Republic (KMS) has calculated that today there are only 18,558 members of evangelical churches, or less than 0.2% of the Czech population. Eight of the ten evangelical denominations are in decline, but the largest and fastest-growing of the two that are growing is the denomination that TEAM is partnering with: Církev bratrská (CB) or Church of the Brethren. Almost 2000 new believers and 37 new local churches have been added in the past twenty years."This news is encouraging. Especially when you consider the reality that most Czechs don't know a single Christian! Currently, there are 73 evangelical churches in the Czech Republic. That's one church for every 143,000 people! If you had questions about who God is and were looking for a church, finding one would be a challenge.
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