Dear friends,

Thanks for your prayers in September as we visited our friends, supporters and supporting churches in Michigan and Ontario. It was a very busy and God-blessed time.  We are thankful for God’s protection and provision.  Two of our supporting churches are in the process of planting daughter churches. It was great to meet with those young church planters to talk about this special ministry and encourage them. One Sunday morning we were at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Cobourg and their church plant in Port Hope. Here is the link for the recording of one of the services. At 38:14 minutes you can hear our report and Jason‘s sermon from Ephesians about reconciliation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkhHk958Ehk

On October 8, shortly after we returned, it was a great joy and privilege to be at the dedication of the new campus of the Giessen School of Theology. After years of wrestling with the plans and financing, we have seen the Lord provide in amazing ways. The board and school leadership worked well together through the whole process and God provided donations that almost completely covered the cost of 9+ million Euros. The new students are in the thick of the fall semester. These young men and women are all part of God's plan for Germany and beyond.
 

October 17-23 we had an intense but blessed time with a wonderful prayer team from Calvary Church in Longmont, Colorado. Jason was on staff at Calvary many years ago when he was studying at Denver seminary. We prayed through the streets of Cologne and met with ministry partners to hear their stories and pray with them. We are so thankful for the support and encouragement of these folks and this church family.
 

We recently had our first concert in  2+ years in the pastorenatelier with Lisa, Ian and Martin. It was so wonderful. They did beautiful interpretations of covers from the last few decades. All 3 of them are incredible artists. There were about 20 guests - several of them new to us. Please pray that God would bless the seeds that were planted.
 

In our last update we spoke of our financial need.  Due to rising costs, some donor attrition and a long overdue support adjustment, we are in need of additional funding in order to continue building on the foundations we have laid.  Praise God that we have made some significant progress in this need (see the graphic below).  Please pray that God would move more people to partner with us, for increase in existing support or a special gift. Perhaps God is calling you to be a part of the answer to this prayer!

Gratefully,
Jason and Sue
 

september support update

Due to rising costs, some donor attrition and a long overdue support adjustment, we are in need of additional funding in order to continue building on the foundations we have laid. Pray for us as we travel in Michigan and Ontario this month to visit friends and supporters, seeking new and increased support.

August Update

 We got the word from her daughter while we were on vacation. Christine, one of our extra-grace church members had died alone in her apartment. It wasn’t a big surprise. She had been in and out of the hospital more times than we could count. For most of us, her passing left us with a confusing mix of relief and sadness. She constantly challenged the limits of our love and patience. She loved Jesus but sadly died without being reconciled with her own family. And Jason was her pastor for over 20 years - not always an easy job.

It turns out, being a long term pastor opens many doors to speak the Gospel into people’s lives. Many have no connection to a church, but they do have a connection to us. The idea of going to church is foreign to them, but dropping by the Pastorenatelier is no problem. The trust that has been built over time makes Jason the go-to guy when they need a pastor - as the recent weddings and funerals attest to. Although weddings and funerals might not be considered classic evangelism events, it has allowed us to speak hope and the good news of the Gospel into hundreds of people’s lives in the last few months.

Jason’s platform of “pastor at large” (not large pastor ;-) has taken time to develop. Building trust is a process that bears more and more fruit as we pastor more people outside the church than inside.  

Please pray for us as we continue to share the Gospel and seek to make disciples who make disciples. Pray for wisdom and creativity as we lead and encourage others in their lives and ministries.  We are in critical need of a youth “pastor” for the growing number of teens in our church.  Please pray with us for God’s provision.

Due to rising costs, some donor attrition and a long overdue support adjustment, we are in need of additional funding in order to continue building on the foundations we have laid. Pray for us as we travel to Michigan and Ontario next month to visit friends and supporters, seeking new and increased support.

Over the years Sue has developed a number of training seminars on the topic of intercultural communication and competency for various ministry contexts.  On Wednesday, September 21, at 7:00, she will present the seminar "Unity with Diversity".  The Seminar will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa (300 Rossland Road East, L1G 2X1).  You are welcome to participate, if you are in the area. Feel free to contact us if you would like more information.

Gratefully,

Jason and Sue

July update

 Dear Friends,

In our last update in March (oh my, how time flies!) we asked you to pray for the refugees flooding in from the Ukraine. In the mean time the flood has become a smaller but steady stream, most of whom are able to find housing themselves or through German government agencies. Many of our missionary colleagues are helping directly in serving these people and sharing the gospel. Please continue to pray that God would bring peace to the Ukraine.

A heartfelt thank you for praying for our church retreat April 9-10. We had a good group including a refugee family from central Asia that we have been working with for the last 5 years. God was present and blessed us. We talked about peace and what that means to us and what God has to say about it in his word. Please continue praying - for God's peace to dig deeper into the hearts of us who have been following Him for a while, and into the hearts of those who don't yet know Him.

Many prayed for me as I did a funeral in April for the mother of a friend of ours. I spoke words of comfort and shared the gospel clearly for all those in attendance. Shortly after, a dear neighbor’s mother passed away and she asked me to do the burial as well. Pray for God’s continuing comfort and that He would draw the family and friends to Himself.

I recently read that "Something does not need to be perfect to be wonderful, especially weddings.” That was a good reminder for me and for the 2 happy couples that I have recently pronounced man and wife. Starting with the pre-marital counselling, weddings are very personal, and the expectations can be high. But they are also an opportunity to share the gospel and Christ’s love.
 

We had a wonderful weekend with all of our colleagues at our annual GEM Germany field retreat in April. We are grateful for how the Lord continues to send new workers to Germany. We have grown. In fact, half of those there, were at there very first field retreat. Here is the report I gave from our Cologne area: https://youtu.be/c2kDDcBaE6k

We asked you to pray for our Alpha course that started in April. We almost cancelled it because we were having trouble recruiting participants - but then we suddenly had 5 who joined us for our first evening in the pastorenatelier. We ate together, had everyone introduce themselves, and then watched the input video which gives a clear presentation of the Gospel through people who share their own journeys to Christ.

The philosophy of the Alpha course is that, after the lesson, you allow people to say what they thought and how they felt about it in an open and inviting atmosphere, allowing the Holy Spirit to work. There were many different opinions shared. We marvelled to see the Holy Spirit guiding the discussion. By the end of the evening, they were talking about other friends that they wanted to invite!

However, the next week there were four instead of more. The week after that, unfortunately 2 of the participants got into a tiff during the discussion and it got personal. One of them decided to stop coming. After week four, 2 more participants dropped out, leaving us with just one and so we ended the course prematurely. Fortunately, he has remained connected with us and even spent a whole day with our church on our bike trip recently. Pray for D as we continue to speak into his life. I also have continued contact with one of the other participants.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support on which we are so dependant.

Blessings,

Jason and Sue

March Update

 Dear Friends,

The war is definitely being felt here. In our talks with neighbors and friends, there is a lot of fear and very little hope. We pray constantly that God would intervene so that any further death and suffering will stop. The refugees are pouring into Germany. Through my extended network, I have been able to connect several women and children with christians in Cologne willing to take them in. One of our colleagues and his church have taken in a family;  Another one spent a week on the Polish border with Ukraine helping refugees.

There is a large tent welcome center set up right in front of the main train station in Cologne where hundreds of people a day are being welcomed, given immediate necessities including SIM cards and being assigned to temporary housing around the city. I ride by there on my bike almost every day and pray.

I saw a report on the German news about a 12 year old Ukrainian girl who had to choose what to bring with when her mom said that they were fleeing. She decided on bringing her violin and her pet ferret. She is a talented musician and was immediately given a spot in a music school for talented kids in Berlin. It moved me to see just a snippet of her giftedness and see this little bright spot that comes out of such a dark place. Please pray with us for Ukraine and for God's intervention. Pray for us and many others as we respond with Christ's love to the traumatised refugees showing up here. Pray for wisdom in how to help them beyond their immediate needs.

Also, please pray for me as I do a funeral for the mother of a friend of ours on Friday. Pray that I would be able to speak comforting words but also share the gospel clearly for all of the not-yet-believers who will be present.

Please pray for our church retreat April 9-10. We are thankful and excited for the many who will be attending, including a refugee family from central Asia that we have been working with for the last 5 years. The theme for our weekend is peace.

And finally, check out this 2 minute video from GEM’s president Jon Burns about “Why Europe, Why Now?" There you will find a further link on the page that shows exactly what GEM is doing in response to the war.

Thankful for you,
Jason and Sue