December Prayer Letter 2005

Dear Friends,
We are very thankful this Christmas season for God’s provision and faithfulness in our lives and for how he has been working in and through us. After many months of struggling financially with reduced salary and ministry expenses that have not been reimbursed, God has provided through special gifts and a slightly stronger dollar so that we can live somewhat normally again (if there is such a thing for missionaries!) On January 9th we will be celebrating 14 years in Germany! Thank you to those who have been supporting us faithfully over the years and to those who have recently sent in special gifts.

Another huge item of praise for us is the decision by the German Tax authorities that we do not have to pay income tax in Germany. (We file our income taxes in the USA.) We have been fighting this with the help of a German tax consultant for 2 years, living with the possibility of having to pay back taxes from 1996 on. It would have meant financial disaster for us. We simply had no other choice but to trust God regardless of which way the decision went. Please thank the Lord with us for His gracious intervention.

December 20 will mark another cause for rejoicing. On that date we will not only be celebrating Sue’s 47th birthday – but also our 25th wedding anniversary. We don’t feel that old and don’t think we look that old either! We are so thankful to have each other and for the wonderful years we have had together – over half of them in Germany.

The 4 church plants we are coaching are progressing. Here is a brief update:

COLOGNE
About 40 people attended the informational meeting at which Pastor Michael Hoering presented the vision and concept for a daughter church plant. If 20 people actually commit to the project that would be a great start. At the congregational meeting a few weeks later, there were many questions and outright opposition to the idea. I assured Michael that this was normal. He was encouraged about being able to answer many of the questions and reassure those who oppose the idea so that they will not be able to dissuade the leadership from this much needed church plant. For the time being my role in this project is in the background as I meet with Michael periodically to discuss the progress. Please continue to pray for the actual launch of this church plant.

COLOGNE-IN-MOTION
The three days of strategic planning in late October ended with a very aggressive list of prayer-goals for this pioneer effort. I am energized by the faith of this team and their desire to plant a very contemporary church in the heart of Cologne. Please pray for Adam Gascho and his team. Pray especially that God will give them good contacts with unbelievers and also with Christians who have a heart for reaching them. Pray for two families who are still raising support in the US.

HENNEF
The core group is growing. Since we started meeting in August, 3 new people have joined. We are planning a retreat in January with the goal of really getting to know one another on a deeper level. This is so important as we seek to build strong spiritual unity before “going public”. I shared with them our plans to be away for 6 months on our next furlough starting July 2006. They had been thinking about starting services around that time and there were some in the group who expressed anxiety about our absence. I was reminded again of how church planting is not for the faint-hearted but rather for men and women of faith who are willing to take risks for the Lord. Please pray that God would really work in this group and mold them into the church that He wants in Hennef.

MONHEIM
My role has evolved in Monheim. With the exception of a workshop in January on planning worship services, I will only be meeting with the two main leaders of the church plant. They continue to hold services twice a month on Sunday afternoons and are slowly seeing a measure of consistency in attendance. Please pray about the conflict they are having with the principle of the elementary school where they meet. For some reason she has decided that she does not want them to advertise that they are meeting in her school. She has even forbidden them to put up a sign in the parking lot to help their visitors find their way. Pray for Micha and Detlev as they seek to diffuse this strange situation. It may be that the Lord is trying to move them along to a better location. Pray for sensitivity to his leading.

The church planting motivational seminar, entitled SPARK!, is almost finished. I will be traveling to southern Germany this month to put the finishing touches on it along with GEM colleague Durand Robinson. Please continue to pray about funding for the equipment I will need to take it into German churches: portable sound system, screen and projector (total needed is $8000). We have received a matching grant of $4000 and the first $3000 has come in. Praise the Lord! We already have two bookings for this winter – even before we have done any promotion. Perhaps you would like to help us with a special year-end gift of $1000 to complete the funding. Please let us know.

Gratefully, Jason (and Sue)