correction - reformation tour phone number

Dear Friends,
There was a typo in our November posting. The correct number to call concerning the German Reformation tour is 1-800-436-4488 extension 139.

Sorry about the confusion.

Yours,
Jason

Christmas 2007

Dear Friends,
The small elementary school classroom was full at the new church plant in Esch – a northern suburb of Cologne. We were looking forward to seeing what God had done since the group began holding services in September. As it turns out, there were several new people there for the first time. One of them was a tall handsome young man named Simon. He had returned just months earlier from a year as an exchange student in Ohio where he had been very active in church. When he got back to Esch he was disappointed to learn that even the Catholic church was closed for the summer due to lack of interest! There was nothing for him. He knew of no other place to turn to. Then one Sunday morning he saw the people stopper sign up in front of the elementary school in his neighborhood where the new church in Esch has been meeting. He decided to check it out and even brought his mom. He was so excited and thrilled to learn that on his very first Sunday there an American was guest preaching!

Germany is a needy mission field. There are literally thousands of areas with no Gospel witness. Many young people like Simon are interested and open to the Gospel but do not know where to turn. We are praying and working for a true church planting movement so that every person is within reach of a witnessing fellowship.

As we celebrate the riches we have in Christ this Christmas, including the wealth of churches we have in North America, please pray for Germany. As we worship the Christ Child let us continue to pray that His will be done and that His kingdom will come on earth (in Germany!) as it is in heaven.



Loving Christmas Greetings,
Jason and Sue

November Prayer Letter

November 13, 2007

Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying. Last Wednesday night we had a group of in our living room to start our first City Mentoring Program phase 1 group. It was exciting for us to see thier eagerness to learn and ask questions. There are at least 5 potential church plants represented in this group and many more if they begin to multiply, which is one of the key values we will be teaching them. Please pray for wisdom and creativity as we continue meeting and teaching. Some of them have some preconceptions that need to be challenged in regard to church planting and the ugency of being proactive while still giving the Holy Spirit freedom to lead and work.

Continue to pray for the Consultation for Church Planting this Saturday, Nov 17 in Frankfurt. Pray that the national train strikes won't affect attendance and the God would work in this diverse gathering to build His kingdom in Germany. We are praying for a 2nd Reformation in Germany!


Announcing the exciting New Reformation Tour!

New Reformation Tour Summary:

Visit the sites of events that have had a powerful impact on the world: the conversion of the Germanic tribes, the Reformation, the Holocaust and more. Familiarize yourself with exciting ministries that are working to fulfill GEM's vision: "a witnessing fellowship within reach of every European".

Travel with professors from the German Theological Seminary, a GEM partner institution, who have extensive knowledge of Germany's rich religious history. Gain a sense of Germany's present spiritual need and celebrate the beginnings of a new reformation in the heart of Europe.

Date: September 13-20, 2008

Travel Logistics: Approximately $1,995 per person; Fly through Newark to Cologne, Germany. Arrive on a Saturday and depart on a Saturday. (See more trip details below).

Travel Details: GEM will secure hotels, tickets and transportation. Cologne, Germany is the best airport to fly into. Continental Airlines is offering competitive direct-flight connections from Newark. We estimate that trip costs (March round-trip airfare from/to Newark and tour-related costs) will be approximately $1,995 per person.

We'll stay in excellent hotels and travel between sites in a state-of-the-art tour bus. No trip between sites requires more than three hours travel time. Breakfast and dinner are included in the trip cost.

Itinerary: Saturday: Arrive and get settled in Cologne.

Sunday: Cologne: See the city's Roman antiquities, its world famous cathedral, and important Jewish sites. Visit Cologne in Motion, GEM's cutting edge ministry team.

Monday: Muenster, an important center of the Anabaptist movement in Germany, and Fritzlar, site of the conversion of the first Germanic tribes under Bonifatius (the 8th century monk who chopped down Thor's oak tree and lived to tell about it).

Tuesday: The Wartburg, Eisleben, Wittenberg: Three must-see sites for anyone interested in Martin Luther and the Reformation. All in one day!

Wednesday: Berlin will come alive as you tour world renowned Holocaust museum, the Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the onetime headquarters of the East German secret police, and much more. Also visit an innovative church plant in the heart of the city.

Thursday: Weimar, the cultural center of Germany's Golden Age, the city of Goethe and Schiller.

Friday: Buchenwald concentration camp will shock and sadden you, but also give you insight into Germany's present spiritual state. The tour will conclude with a banquet at the German Theological Seminary and a chance to reflect on all you have learned.

Saturday: Departure.

(You are welcome to build additional days of personal travel on either side of the above tour days). Please join us on this truly unique tour!

Please contact us if you are interested or call Lynn Hoffman at GEM in Colorado at 800-436-4488, ext 139 if you have any questions.


The Weak Dollar

We are excited about all that God is doing in Germany and are thankful for how He has provided for us to serve here. We have not written about our financial needs for quite some time but find it difficult to refrain any longer. The U.S. dollar continues to hit record lows in value against the Euro almost on a daily basis. The weaker the dollar gets, the more we need just to stay even. Everything has become extremely expensive for us. Yesterday we filled up our little Honda and paid a whopping US$8.73 per gallon! © 2007 by Prof. Werner Antweiler, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada.

We would like to request that those of you who are supporting us financially prayerfully consider increasing the amount and/or give a special extra gift to help offset the shortfall that we have. If you are not yet supporting us, perhaps you would consider joining us at this crucial time. Drop us an email to let us know if you can help.

Thank you so much for standing with us as we minister and serve in Germany!

Gratefully,
Jason and Sue

October Prayer Letter

October 21, 2007

Dear Friends,
This month, instead of our normal Prayermail, we have put together a 5 minute video update for you. Just turn on your sound and click on the video below. (if that doesn't work click here.)


Enjoy!

Jason and Sue

September Prayer Letter

September 13, 2007

Dear Friends,
We wanted to get this off to you before this weekend. My sister and husband are coming on Friday from Charlotte and we using the opportunity to take an overdue vacation. We've had a terrible summer in Germany and are hoping to find some sun in the south!

Here is an update on what God has been doing as we seek to be part of starting a church planting movement in Germany.


City Mentoring Program

We now have a logo and are working on a web site and flyer for the City Mentoring Program.

I met with the 5 seminary grads on September 2 here in Cologne. It looks like only one of them is coming to Cologne to do an internship and to take part in the City Mentoring Program at this time. Please pray for Esther as she finalizes her plans to come and that some of the others would participate in the future.

I am scheduled to present the program at the Neues Leben Bible school on October 30. Please pray that we would find several interested students. Pray also for the groups that we want to start in Landau, Giessen and Berlin. Pray for our next board meeting on October 9 in Berlin as we have some strategic decisions to make. Pray that God would give us wisdom, courage and unity!

Divine appointments in Moenchengladbach

When Sascha told me the name of the former Baptist pastor he had contact with in Moenchengladbach, I had to ask him to repeat it for me. I knew pastor Tosch from our days in Porz - over 10 years ago. We met occasionally for fellowship and led our churches in some cooperative evangelistic efforts. Now they are in Moenchengladbach and very much interested in the church plant - even though it is not a Baptist project. We quickly scheduled a get together and met at the Tosch's on August 28 for coffee.

Pray for Sascha and Anke as they continue to network and prepare for the church plant. Pray for more divine appointments. Pray for both of us as we hit the streets on October 11 & 12 to conduct a survey and try to talk to as many un-churched people as we can. God knows the people we will be talking to. Pray that many of them will be open to further contact.


Where there's smoke - there's fire!

Originally we were hoping that SPARK would have more mass appeal in Germany to help spark a church planting movement - but it seems that God is using it more like a fine surgical instrument. On August 30 I attended a meeting of the German Baptist national forum for church planting in Kassel with Fred McRae, one of our GEM church planters who is working with the Baptists in Rheinland-Pfalz. I wanted to show them that we stood behind Fred in his work with them and also that we as a mission want to encourage them and help them as a denomination as much as we can.

Pastor Manfred Beutel, who participated in helping produce SPARK, is the newly appointed leader of this group. At one point he shared with us how God used the making of SPARK in his own heart. He said that the very questions I posed as we interviewed him helped him see clearly how important church planting is to him. A short time after that when he was asked to lead the forum, he did not hesitate to say yes.

Please pray for two upcoming SPARK presentations: On August 13 at Wolfgang and Petra Stolz's. We are having supper with them and Paul & Anna Klassen. Afterward they have issued an open invitation for people to come and pray with them for Hennef. After prayer we will present SPARK. On November 4 I will be presenting SPARK at the Evangelical Free Church in Krefeld. This church wants to partner with Sascha to plant the church in Moenchengladbach.

Please keep praying for us as we are ministering on so many fronts. We are more dependent on God's wisdom and strength than we ever have been. Pray that our vacation will truly be one of rest and rejuvenation.

Thank you for standing with us.

Jason and Sue

Prayermail - report on the weekend at the castle

Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying for last weekend while we were at the castle. It was an awesome and exhausting time. We drove down Friday afternoon, checked into a nearby hotel and then headed over to join the other guests for supper out on the lawn below the castle wall with a beautiful view of the vineyards and farms out in the distance. The sun was just beginning to set and they started lighting the candles and torches. After greeting the hosts and a few others we know, we headed for the buffet and then sat down at a table of people we didn’t know. We all introduced ourselves and agreed that everything was really special – almost like a fairy tale. It didn’t take long and we were just chatting about our day. At one point I mentioned how I start my day by reading the bible in the form of a daily email I receive (www.studylight.org/plan/byemail.cgi). I guess none of them had ever heard of anything like that. They were very inquisitive and asked us a string of questions. For quite a while we were simply able to share about why God’s word is important to us. As the evening progressed we moved on and simply enjoyed visiting with people. We finally headed for the hotel at around midnight.

On Saturday we slept in and eventually joined the crowd, which was now even larger, at the pond, down below the castle vineyards. Water games were on the agenda! The 4 hosts were prepared with rubber rafts, and different colored hats for the 4 teams they divided us into. The sun was shining and fun was had by all. Much laughter and silliness! Late that afternoon we retired to our hotel to rest, shower and get ready for the evening.

8pm: the men, dressed in light summer suits, and the women, looking beautiful in their summer dresses gathered in the courtyard for supper. An entire pig had been roasting all afternoon and the aroma filled the warm evening air. There was assigned seating splitting up the couples. This gave both us plenty of time to interact and share our lives with our tablemates. The sun set. The candles glowed. They had set up some colored spotlights on the courtyard walls. Everybody was having a wonderful time. We were all relaxed and the conversations lasted for hours. We thank the Lord for this awesome opportunity to share our hearts. We finally decided to leave at about 3am.

After such a wonderful party, we wondered how many would show up for the worship service planned for 10:30am on Sunday. The chapel – located within the castle wall – holds about 60 and there ended up being standing room only. It was a simple service with prayer, scripture reading and several traditional hymns. My sermon lasted only about 10 minutes. I simply explained what it means to be a Christian. I began with a quote from C.S. Lewis talking about how standing in a garage doesn’t mean you are a car – just as attending church does not mean you are a Christian. I finished by quoting one of the last songs Johnny Cash recorded: Your own personal Jesus.

Several people came up to us afterward and said that they had never thought about their faith in such a personal way. Please pray that God would continue to work in their hearts.

Jason and Sue

newsflash

Dear Friends,
Please be praying this weekend for us. We are leaving on Friday afternoon to celebrate our friend Philipp von Kunhardt’s 40th Birthday at a castle near Nuernberg. It should be a very interesting weekend. 150 guests are expected (4 of the them are celebrating their 40th). A lot of activities are planned including Saturday afternoon at the lake and a formal dinner that evening. Interestingly, Philipp was able to convince the others to hold a worship service on Sunday morning in the castle chapel and invited me to preach a short gospel devotional. We have no doubt that we will be involved in many conversations and will be free to share our faith. Please pray that people will be receptive and that the Spirit of God will work in people’s hearts.

Thank you for standing with us,
Jason and Sue

Interview on Moody's Prime Time America

If you missed our interview on Moody's Prime Time America - click here to here it!

Jason

July Prayer Letter

July 23, 2007

Dear Friends,
We are stoked! A few weeks ago I met with Stephen Beck (GEM seminary professor) and five of his students in Giessen. Christian, Esther, Bobby, Jochen and David are all graduating this fall. They had to take Stephen’s class on church planting this last semester and God met them there. They are sensing His call on their lives to plant churches. A couple of them had never even considered church planting as an option for their lives. When Stephen first told me where they were thinking of coming he instructed me in his email to pick myself back up off the floor. They think God is leading them to Cologne! As we sat there in Stephen’s living room the discussion got more intense and exciting as we went. David was struggling. He had already been offered a job as youth pastor at his home church. But the others kept telling him that he knew that that is not where his heart is and he wouldn’t be happy there. After 2 hours of speaking into one another’s lives, we began to pray. David began to weep. He was clearly torn between an attractive youth ministry with a nice salary and stepping out in complete faith to plant churches and build a youth ministry from the ground up. Please pray for David and the others. I invited them to come to Cologne on Sept. 1 to talk more concretely about the opportunities here and how we can help them. I have also invited them to enter into a mentoring relationship with me as I start a new CMP group in October in Cologne.

In case you were wondering, CMP stands for City Mentoring Program – a 2-3 year, 3-phase training and mentoring program for church planters. The first phase takes place in a group setting in which we discuss the philosophy and theology of church planting; drawing on the Word, our experience, and a manual for church planting from Redeemer Church in New York. The second phase involves a mentored internship in a church plant. The third phase is an actual mentored church plant. Stephen Beck has created this program and we are trusting God to use it in a powerful way. This fall, in addition to the group I am starting, there will be phase one groups starting in Berlin, Landau and Giessen. Please pray for the solid startup of these groups.

Parallel to this we are planning a Consultation for Church Planting on November 17 in Frankfurt and have invited key leaders of church planting ministries from across the evangelical spectrum. The initial response to the invitation has been very positive. Please pray for this one-day round table discussion. Our desire is that the evangelicals in Germany will intensify their cooperation and communication to such an extent that the way is cleared for God to grant us a true church planting movement.

Sascha & Anke Rützenhoff had their second child on June 30th - Tiago Emmanuel. Needless to say, the church planting efforts in Mönchengladbach have slowed down a bit. Sascha will be meeting with the elders of the Ev. Free Church of Krefeld soon in an effort to get that church to partner with him. Please pray for openness and generous support! I will be helping him get started on a street survey this fall. The purpose is to learn what the people in Mönchengladbach think about God and the church and to make contacts so that he can continue building his network there.

The church plant in north Cologne will begin having services this fall in a school. I will be preaching there in October. Please pray for Pastor Michael Höring as he leads this daughter church plant. His schedule is about to get very busy as he divides his time between the mother and daughter church. It will not be easy and he will begin to feel pressure from both groups for more of his time and attention.

Please continue to pray for Wolfgang & Petra Stolz and the church plant in Hennef. Anna und Paul Klassen will move there the end of the month and we will soon begin planning meetings together. Pray that they would be able to settle in quickly and that God would allow the restart of this church plant to flourish and succeed. Pray for the 40,000 inhabitants of Hennef, most of who have never heard the Gospel.

I am enjoying the new challenges of leadership in Germany. My interaction with our missionaries here always proves to be an inspiration and encouragement to me. There are also problems and concerns that weigh on us. Please pray for much strength and wisdom.

Personally, we are busy and extremely grateful for all that God is doing and for how He is providing for us through you. Sue will be flying to Oklahoma for 2 weeks starting July 24 to help her parents move into a retirement village there. I will be attending the GEM annual conference in Hungary Aug. 1-10. Roy had a good summer working in Hillsdale, MI and living with his cousin, Abe. He will take a short trip to see some of his GEM friends in Minnesota before he heads back to Juniata College in PA. He is going to be an RA this year, which will be a new challenge for him. Sam is living and working in Gillette, Wyoming, and is hoping to start taking classes at Sheridan College this fall.

Your missionaries to strategic Germany,

Jason and Sue

June Prayer Letter

June 14, 2007

The rain was drumming on the car roof. We sat there for a minute knowing it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon so we finally made a dash for the house. Max and Klaudia had invited us once again to their combined birthday garden party. There we stood as Klaudia opened the door - fashionably late and sufficiently soaked. Fortunately they have a large house. Their great room buzzed with chatter as everyone made the most of an indoor garden party. In true German fashion we made the rounds and greeted each one with handshakes or hugs depending on how well we knew them. We proceeded to enjoy the catered buffet and conversation among clusters of quests. Both Klaudia and Max are lawyers and many of their friends as well. Over the years we have gotten to know some of them. But not Johannes.

Johannes is a rather famous criminal defense lawyer in Cologne and always seemed to come across as rather hardened and brash. To be honest, I had always been a bit reticent in trying to talk to him. As the rain slowly let up and the sun came out the party moved outside as well. At one point I was sitting at a table with several others when all of a sudden Johannes plopped down in the seat next to me lighting up his Cuban cigar. He didn’t say anything. We were sort of listening to the small talk of a few women at the table. Finally I gathered my courage and spoke to him.

“So, you’re a lawyer.”
He nodded his head.
“What type of law?”
“Criminal defense.”
“Aha…. I’ll bet you have some good stories to tell.”
And then, out of the blue and before he had heard a word about my faith he said, “You know, if everyone would just follow the ten commandments, the world would be a much better place.”
“You don’t say.”
“Yes, and I don’t see things changing or getting better any time soon. There will always be plenty of work for people like me.”

He went on to tell me a few stories about cases he has had had, dealing with pedophilia and tax fraud and then finally asked me what I do for a living. I shared with him that I am a pastor and help various free churches to start new churches. Being a typical nominal catholic, he had never heard of anything like that before. Through the haze of his cigar smoke I explained to him what I do and why I do it. He rejoined by telling me he really didn’t know if he believed in God or not. “That is not how I define myself,” he said. “I define myself through my career.” And then I think it dawned on him that he was starting to open up to me and he quickly closed the door and moved on to small talk again. As I sensed our little encounter drawing to a close I quipped, “You know, Johannes, what you said before about the ten commandments and there always being plenty of work for you . . . my goal of starting hundreds of new churches would have a positive effect on society and a negative effect on your work load. I’m sorry to tell you that my ultimate goal is to put you out of work!”

He stood up and stretched, puffed once on his cigar, smiled sarcastically and said, “that, my friend, is never going to happen.”

Friends, please pray for Johannes as well as for Max and Klaudia. Pray that they would come to know God personally. By the way – our gift to Max was a German copy of C.S. Lewis, A Mere Christianity.

Please also continue praying for the church plants in: Moenchengladbach, Euskirchen, Hennef and Cologne. We will share more about them in the future. Pray also for our work toward starting a national center for church planting development. More meetings are planned in June and July as we strive toward this goal.

In HIS Service,
Jason (and Sue)

April Prayer Letter

Dear partner,
Meet Paul and Anna Klassen – a big part of God’s answer to our prayers in regard to the church plant in Hennef. Paul is a high school physics teacher and Anna a certified midwife. Paul is in his last semester of a two-year bible school program in Ireland. Not long ago their name was presented to me as couple eagerly looking to become involved in a new church plant in this area of Germany. I put them in touch with Wolfgang and Petra Stolz in Hennef with whom they have connected beautifully. They quickly agreed that if Paul were able to get a teaching position close to Hennef, they would be willing to move there. This last week Petra called us with the awesome news - Paul had just signed a contract with a high school in the area. Petra was so exited! She said that when they first got the news they started dancing. We personally got to know Paul and Anna on Good Friday and were greatly encouraged by their serving and energetic hearts. Praise God for his leading and provision. Please pray for them as they finish up in Ireland and move to Hennef. Pray for the church plant which now can move forward once again.


It is exciting to see young Germans like Paul and Anna whose hearts beat for Church planting, but unfortunately they are a rare case. If we are going to see a second reformation occur in Germany we need hundreds more like them. To that end, God has given us a new vision that our entire team of GEM missionaries in Germany is pursuing. We see the need for a new, multi-denominational, Center for Church Planting Development and are in the process of inviting the denominational leaders of several evangelical denominations to a round table discussion about this vision. We sense the time is right to initiate this as it seems that some of them are beginning to realize they can no longer afford to think so territorially and are seeing the need to begin working together in order to foster a true movement of church planting in Germany. We envision this center to be a kind of incubator where young church planters can be inspired, trained, and then mentored as they launch new churches across this country. Please pray that God would open the hearts of the denominational leaders we are contacting and that we would indeed be able to meet with them soon. The first meeting will take place at our home on May 5 with the hope that a second one will follow the beginning of June.

Your missionaries to Germany,
Jason (and Sue)

March Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,
Here is a brief update. Enjoy.

SPARK IN RHEINBACH – a supernatural morning
Sunday, March 11 was a mild sunny day in Germany. After weeks of cold and rain it was welcome weather. As we drove to Rheinbach to present SPARK in the morning service of the Ev. Free Church, I was wondering what God might do that day. Andreas, the pastor, was also anxious to see what would happen as his church was challenged to consider planting a daughter church for the very first time. God did not disappoint us. The people were extremely attentive and the atmosphere after the service was electric as several people came up to me to say how God had spoken to them. Although Andreas had never talked publicly about planting a church in Euskirchen (10 miles from Rheinbach), at least 3 people told me independently of their burden for that city. Euskirchen has one of the highest crime rates in Germany. One of them was even in the process of buying a house there in order to have a ministry to troubled youth! What a thrill it was to share later with Andreas about what his people had told me. Please pray about the critical next steps that Andreas will need to take to move ahead. Pray that God would raise up a courageous and unified church planting team. Pray for Andreas as he leads them and for me as I coach them.

FIELD LEADERSHIP – a new challenge
After 2 years of being asked to consider becoming the Greater Europe Mission German field leader and not finding peace about it, God began to work in my heart in a new way and I agreed to take on this responsibility for 30+ missionaries, including children, living and ministering in Germany. They are an extremely talented and motivated group. Someone once said that leading missionaries is like trying to herd cats. It will definitely be a challenge. Missionaries tend to be very independent and strong personalities. Most of them are leaders themselves. Please pray for me as I learn the ropes and adjust to this new role. Pray that I will be wise and loving as I seek to encourage and challenge each one in their lives and ministry. Leslie Kuhn, who works in Berlin, will be assisting me with administration. Pray that someone will also join to help in a more pastoral/member care way. Pray that I will find the right balance between field leadership and facilitating and coaching German church plants. It is an exciting time to be in Germany and to be working with such an awesome group of people as we seek to be a part of a 2nd reformation here. If you are interested in knowing more about GEM in Germany click here: GEM Germany.

In HIS Service,
Jason (and Sue)

February Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,
What is holding them back?
When the Berlin Wall came crashing down in 1989 the world’s axis was altered. The chunks of concrete that the protesters chinked out with their hammers led to a breech in the wall that couldn’t be stopped. Torrents of people flooded through the ever-widening gaps – at first mostly from the east into the west. But almost immediately, the opposite occurred. Poised for years along this unnatural, manmade barrier were the western banks, investors and businessmen, just waiting for this day. With the fall of communism began an era of democracy and capitalism that could not be held back. Those with money saw massive new markets and dazzling opportunities. Nothing would hold them back.

This is in stark contrast to the evangelical church in West Germany. Having enjoyed complete freedom since WW2 it has remained a minute and overlooked minority. All the free churches combined (Baptists, Evangelical Free, Brethren, etc.) make up less than 1% of the population of reunited Germany. Ask an average German, and she has probably never even heard of a free church and never met a born-again Christian. What is the problem? At over 82 million, Germany presents a dazzling opportunity for the Gospel and yet the church continues on in it’s own parallel world as if the wall it has built around itself can’t be challenged or removed. Oh yes, we have been hearing some hammers and chisels recently, and we are encouraged by the courage of a few assaults on the wall, but they remain lonely sounds in a sea of silence.

What is holding them back? Why isn’t the German church reaching it’s own culture? Is it fear? Is it their critical, analytical mentality or are they just complacent or indifferent to the lost people all around them? Could it be that they are just too maxed out with their own church activities to be able to even think about evangelism or starting a new church? Do they lack vision? Don’t they have enough faith or are they simply not willing to reach out? Please pray for us as we meet and consult with German church and denominational leaders to try to answer these important questions. Pray that God would lead us to even more motivated partners and give us wisdom to be able to significantly help them to start new churches and foster a church planting movement that would once and for all breech the wall that has been holding them back for so long.

Ministry Update
Since arriving back in Germany we have been able to reconnect with all our church plants. I also preached at “Mittendrin”, our second church plant and have presented SPARK at two churches. One of those churches was the Ev. Free Church in Wermelskirchen – about 20 miles northeast of Cologne. The pastor was sick at home that day, but after the service a couple of the elders approached me and said they would like to have me meet with them to investigate ways for them to grow and possibly plant a daughter church in the future. They are an older church and have been struggling for years. It seems to me that they are too small to be planting another church but I sense a real desire for renewal and agreed to come and see what God might want to do there. Please pray for the church in Wermelskirchen. I recently finished producing a short video commercial to promote SPARK and will be sending it out to various free churches in ever widening geographical circles. Although it is in German you might want to check it out on the SPARK blogsite at: http://spark-deutschland.blogspot.com

2 new church planting projects

Meet Pastor Andreas Hildebrandt, pastor of the Ev. Free church in Rheinbach, about 40 miles southwest of Cologne. I have preached there occasionally since the church was started 10 years ago. It has been a delight to see how they have grown. They now have over 100 members with more than 150 in attendance on Sundays. Last fall they built a new building and now Andreas has the vision of planting a daughter church in Euskirchen – just 10 miles from Rheinbach. I met with Andreas recently and was energized by his faith and passion to reach the yet unreached in Euskirchen. I will be working closely with him and the emerging core group as they begin to plan for the new church. Kick-off will be in March when I present SPARK to the entire church. Please pray for Andreas and for the people who will be involved in this new church plant.

Let me introduce you to Pastor Sascha Ruetzenhoff - fresh out of seminary and driven by dreams of new churches! Sascha was recently called to pastor the small and struggling Ev. Free Church in Juelich, about 30 miles west of Cologne. The small church can only pay 50% of his salary so the regional association of churches and the denominational home mission agreed to pay the other half of his salary on the condition that he would be free to pursue a new church plant in Moenchengladbach, about 40 miles northwest of Cologne. I met with Sascha in January and was very impressed with his vision, determination and giftedness. He was very eager to meet together on a regular basis. Please pray for him as he juggles the responsibilities of the church in Juelich with pursuing the church plant in Moenchengladbach.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer.

In HIS Service,
Jason (and Sue)

15 years in Germany!

Exactly 15 years ago today, we arrived in Germany to start our ministry of starting new churches. We invite you to celebrate with us and thank God for his faithfulness and all that He has done since then. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has been a joy to be part of starting 2 new churches in Porz and Bergisch Gladbach. And now it is exciting to see how God is broadening our horizons and multiplying our efforts as we coach several church plants and work to foster church planting among the Germans nation wide.

We arrived safely back in Cologne as planned on Dec. 29. It is good to be home. More later!

Love,
Jason and Sue