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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:COLOGNEAbout 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-MOTIONThe 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.HENNEFThe 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.MONHEIMMy 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)
Dear Friends,Fall is beautiful in the Rhein valley. The trees are changing and the days are much shorter and we are as busy as ever. God has given us some unique ministry opportunities lately. Let me tell you about them:
ALLEGRO
Allegro, the hand bell quartet from Calvary Church in Longmont, Colorado, where I served as Minister of Music in the 80’s was here from September 2-11. We are so thankful they came. God opened many doors greatly exceeding our expectations. They performed and gave their testimonies at various venues: an elementary school around the corner from us (see picture), the kindergarten next door, the hospital down the street and at our two previous church plants (Porz and Bergisch Gladbach) - on Saturday in the market square and on Sunday in the worship service. They also performed at two house concerts of members of those churches with about 50 neighbors attending both concerts. It was awesome! We were very thankful for a spirit of unity and faith in the group as we did some very “front-line” stuff. We made many new contacts for the kingdom and have already had a chance to visit on the street with some of the people we have gotten to know through this.
PROCHRISTMOBIL
The first week of ministry in “The smallest church in the World” is history. The Smart car was like a magnet. I have never experienced anything like it; being able to share my faith over and over again with total strangers. The enemy was not pleased and seemed to be trying to trip us up all week long. Although the response was largely positive, there were those who verbally attacked us. One day, at a very busy crossing, a religious fanatic from some kind of cult decided to preach right next to us, giving people the appearance that he was with us. I politely asked him to move up the street to no avail. It was very uncomfortable for us. Since it was almost lunchtime we decided that the best thing to do would be to simply leave. Another time I locked the key in the car. Oh weh! On another occasion a gust of wind blew the door of one of my teammates into the side of a luxury car parked next to him. One evening a group of protestors against Antisemetism decided to protest right in front of us. Their cause was good, but it totally distracted from what we were doing. All in all it was a great week but utterly exhausting. Please pray for the many people with whom we spoke that they would respond to the gospel seed that has been planted and for me as I am scheduled to drive from Oct. 10-16 in the Freiburg/Basel area.CHURCH PLANTS
We can now give you the details of our 4th church planting project. I have been meeting with pastor Michael Hoering (see picture) of the evangelical Free Church in Cologne for several months now. He has been at that church for over 10 years and feels that God is leading him to move on. The beautiful thing is that he doesn’t want to just look for another church but rather to plant a daughter church and be it’s first pastor. It took some time to get his elders on board but now he has their full support and 2 of them even want to join him in this venture! The church has been informed and an information evening has been planned for late October. Please pray for Michael. After an initial positive response he has started to hear some of the first rumblings of opposition. But that is normal. Pray for perseverance, faith and lots of grace. Please continue to pray for the German-led church plants in Hennef, Monheim. Pray also for Cologne-in-Motion, the missionary led church plant. I will be meeting with them from 25-27 to do some strategic planning.SPARK!The church planting motivational seminar entitled SPARK! is coming along. Please continue to pray about funding for the equipment I will need to be able 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 $1500 has come in. Perhaps you would like to help us with the final $2500 needed. Please let us know.Gratefully,Jason (and Sue)
Dear Friends,September and October will be busy months. Please pray for us as we continue fostering church planting in our region in order to reach even more Germans for Christ.ALLEGROAllegro, a hand bell quartet from Calvary Church in Longmont, Colorado, where I served as Minister of Music many years ago, will be here from September 2-11. God has opened many doors for us. They will be playing and giving their testimonies in various venues: Schools, market squares, churches, in a hospital, etc. It will be a strenuous week. Pray for stamina, joy and many new contacts for the kingdom!PROCHRISTMOBILThis is an innovative evangelistic concept in Germany. 100 leased “Smart” cars are traveling throughout the country from May-March. (The “Smart” is a very small 2-seater - a joint venture of DaimlerChrysler and Swatch). On the side of the car
it says “The smallest church in the World”. The reports from other cities have been encouraging. People’s curiosity gets the best of them and the drivers are given multiple opportunities to share the gospel simply by parking a group of them on the market square or in a busy pedestrian shopping area. Please pray for me as I am scheduled to drive from Sep. 26-Oct. 2 in Cologne and Oct. 10-16 in the Freiburg/Basel area. Pray for good contacts and open hearts for the Gospel. Please also pray for safety and good weather! I will let you know how it goes.
HENNEFMonday, August 22 was a historic day for the city of Hennef as the team that Wolfgang and Petra have gathered together for the church plant there had their first meeting. It was so cool to hear how God had been preparing these four couples for this venture. I admire their courage and faith in spite of the uncertainty and apprehension that they are feeling. It is good that I can be there for them. I will be meeting with them on a bi-weekly basis for the next several months as they get started. Pray especially that God would mold them into a loving fellowship that is unified and committed to the Lord, to one another and to the lost people all around them.SPARKThe motivational seminar continues to take shape. The editing work is extremely tedious but I remain excited about this project. Please continue to pray about funding for the equipment I will need to be able 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 $1500 has come in. Perhaps you would like to help us with the final $2500 needed. Please let us know.Thankfully,Jason (and Sue)A PS from Roy: Dear Family and Friends, Poland was an immense learning experience. Not only was I able to be a blessing to the children in Tomaszow and Zakosciele, but the children were a blessing to me, too. The first week our team carried out the Imagin'Air (learning
English) program in the City Center in Tomaszow for the poor children of the neighborhood, most of whom came from broken families. The second week we were part of a sports camp in Zakosciele. This was a greater challenge, since the kids were a bit too old for the material we had, but with God's grace and help we were still able to reach out to them telling about and showing them the love of God. I want to say thank you to all who prayed and supported me. This trip was a true experience with God and another culture. Without your help it would not have been possible.Thank you,Roy
Dear Friends,The week of interviews has come and gone and it was really amazing – and tiring. Ted and Brandy Cox and Durand Robinson arrived on June 26th and we hit the ground running. Thank you so much for praying. It was intense. On the technical side (cameras, lighting, sound, etc.) - an area where the enemy often attacks – everything came together – but not without Ted and Durand constantly staying on top of things. The schedule of interviews was ambitious but we were able to make every one of them. Conducting the interviews was a joy but also exhausting.
The people we taped who had either come to faith in a church plant or had helped plant a church were the most enjoyable for us. We were honored by the Christian VIP’s who were willing to support us with their statements and they were awesome but also stressful as we were very much aware of how valuable their time is. The interviews on the street made us very much aware of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. What was intriguing for us was to see how the various things people said began to compliment one another or answer questions that another person had raised. It will be very interesting to see how this all comes together as we begin the editing work. Please pray about the editing. Since neither Ted nor Durand speaks German – it will be a challenge to help them pick the statements we want to use in the final product. We will be working mostly through email and through uploading and downloading video segments for review.
Please continue to pray about funding for the equipment I will need to be able to take this into German churches: portable sound system, screen and projector (total needed is $8000). We have received a matching grant of $4000 and the first $1000 has come in. Perhaps you would like to help us with the final $3000 needed. Please let us know.
The church plant in MONHEIM is moving ahead with 2 services a month. I will be meeting with them one more time before the summer Holidays. The theme for the next session will be unity: What is it? Why is it so important – especially in a church plant? What can we do to foster it?
Praise the Lord - Adam and Bethel Gascho will be arriving in Cologne on July 12. We will help them get settled and find suitable housing. Please pray that God will lead and provide them with a home that will be comfortable and strategic for the emerging ministry they will be having.
God has been leading others to join with Wolfgang and Petra Stolz to plant the church in HENNEF, southeast of Cologne. Pray for them as they continue to talk with potential team members. We are looking for a date in July to have the very first meeting with their team.
Thank you for praying for the recent meeting of the Evangelical Free Church regional committee for Church Planting. Three of the 4 projects we are working with were represented. It was a good meeting and I think that we all left being more or less on the same page. It was encouraging for the various church planters to share with one another and compare notes.
We were grateful for Roy’s eager help during the week of filming – which he was free to give after not being able to find a summer job! Please pray for Roy as he travels to Poland on a mission trip later this month. Thank you to those who have indicated they will be supporting him financially and in prayer.Thankfully,Jason and Sue
P.S. We wish we only had good news to share. Because of the continued weak dollar, we have had to accept a significantly reduced salary due to a lack of support funds. This lack could become critical in the continuation of our ministry in Germany. We ask you to consider how God might use you eliminate this “lack” by your giving as our partners to this needy mission field.
June 2005Dear Family and Friends,
A year ago I said that school and dorm life were good, but also hard and challenging. This year has been even more so. Leading a dorm small group and the student street evangelization team to the city of Basel were rewarding but also afforded some huge learning experiences along with the challenges of studies.Back in the fall I considered joining the school on one of their many mission trips during spring break, but after prayer and deliberation with my parents, we decided that I needed a rest instead. Now I clearly see it as God’s plan. My Grandfather, Roy (Bud) Holm (yes, I was named after him) died in March and Dad spent the whole break in the U.S. for the funeral and attending to personal matters. God had planned for me to be at home in Cologne with my Mom to work through this loss.NOW He has provided an opportunity to join a mission trip to Poland, July 23-August 5, which I am really excited about. I will be going with GEM Euroteam to several towns in the vicinity of Warsaw to help them teach grade school children basic English with a program called “Imagin’Air”. Following is a description of the program (check it out at www.gemission.org/imaginair).“Imagin’Air is a TEFL activity to help children begin their discovery of English in a fun and non-threatening environment using music, video, live puppetry, games and lessons adapted for children 5-10 years old. During the five sessions, the children will be guided by a team comprised of native English speakers we call the Imagin’Air flight crew and of local children’s workers serving as tour guides for the kids as they take a make-believe journey to places where children speak English. European parents see English as an important tool for their children’s future. We believe that their moral and spiritual development is even more important. The curriculum is shaped by a foundation for life and learning found in the Bible. Each day, children will hear related stories and lessons that illustrate the importance of knowing the forgiveness and leadership of God in their lives. Imagin’Air was conceived to sensitively but clearly communicate the truth of the Gospel message. Out of respect for families not familiar with the claims of Christ and the Church, special activities are planned each day to inform and include parents in what is being presented to their children.”We will run through the one-week program twice. I am very much looking forward to this chance to do what is near and dear to my heart. This trip means more than just an outlet and development of the gift of evangelization that God has given me. I believe that it will be an opportunity to learn more about becoming dependent on God and drawing closer to him.
The big question mark that remains is finances. The expenses for the trip are $900 including transportation. I did not have the chance to start fundraising early, since I was invited to join shortly before the end of school. Yet I believe that this is God’s will and that He will provide. Would you to consider contributing to this project AND praying? Thank you.In His love,Roy HolmIf you would like to contribute, please make your check out to Greater Europe Mission and mark it for ROY HOLM – Poland Imagin’Air Project, and send to:Greater Europe Mission 18950 Base Camp RoadMonument, CO 80132
or
Greater Europe Mission100 Ontario StreetOshawa, ON L1G 4Z1
Or - you can donate online by clicking the link at the right!
Dear Friend,Please take a minute to pray for us today.This evening I will be attending a meeting of the Evangelical Free Church regional committee for Church Planting. 3 of the 4 projects I am working with with be represented. Please pray for clarity and or a clear definition and mutual understanding of what my role is in each of these projects as well as in the regional committee itself. Pray that people would be encouraged and that God would use this meeting to bring each of these church plants a step further along.
Please also be praying for us this next week as the video team comes to Cologne to begin work on the church planting motivational seminar. Pray for strength and joy in an intense week. Pray that the interviews will go well and that we don’t encounter too many technical problems. Pray for creativity and good ideas as we begin discussing and deciding on some of the creative aspects of video and PowerPoint elements of the seminar.
Please pray for us as we counsel with some close German friends who are going through a marriage crisis. Pray that God would give us wisdom and the right words to say. Pray that He will work in their hearts and that they would turn to Him at this hurtful and difficult time.Thank you for standing with us in prayer.Blessings,Jason and Sue
Dear Friends,So much has happened since our last letter to you. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and expressions of sympathy and support at the death of my father on March 16th. I flew to Michigan and spent a week with my siblings and their children. The funeral was a real celebration of dad’s life. We know he is now in heaven singing bass with the heavenly hosts and enjoying the presence of the Lord and being reunited with mom. Thanks to a friend’s gracious offer of air miles, I flew from Michigan to Colorado to reconnect with Sam, from whom we had not heard since Christmas. Through the generosity of friends and supporters, we were provided with ski equipment, lift tickets and a wonderful house up near Winter Park and spent 3 great days skiing and talking about God, life and the future. Please continue to pray for Sam as he looks for work and considers his future.In an effort to encourage existing churches to plant daughter churches, I have begun putting together a multimedia seminar that I will offer to churches. The purpose of the seminar is to motivate people. I envision a fast paced, creative and modern seminar with video clips, PowerPoint, music and a series of “elevator pitches” on evangelism and church planting. I would like to target 25-45 year old Christians who have a heart for evangelism, are creative and have entrepreneurial gifts like leadership, Apostleship and faith. These people have, for the most part, grown up in a church that has a huddle mentality and has failed miserably in reaching out to its community. They have often been stifled in their faith and expression of their gifts and are longing for a change but have been told for such a long time not to rock the boat that they can’t imagine even standing up in the boat. These are the people whose hearts I want to capture. I want them to stand up and rock the boat and start a movement of planting dynamic, culturally relevant churches that are effective at reaching out to modern Germans. I want them to leave the seminar being convinced logically and moved emotionally to plant a new church. I want them to realize that it is their spiritual responsibility to do it - and that it can be done. I am collaborating on this project with another GEM missionary, Durand Robinson, who is very gifted in multimedia. He has recruited a professional videographer, Ted Cox, to come and help. During the last week of June and we will be doing interviews with Christian leaders and with lay people who have been involved in a church plant or have come to faith in a young church. We also want to do street interviews with non-Christians asking them why they don’t go to church. My experience is that the existing churches have often lost sight of their questions and biases but a new church plant has the wonderful opportunity to focus on the answers they are looking for. Please PRAY that God would help us as we work on this project. I hope to have it done by this fall. Please pray about funding for the equipment I will need to be able to take this into the churches: portable sound system, screen and projector.The church plant in MONHEIM is moving ahead but not without some difficulty. They have had to work through some conflict in the group causing them to delay their first service once again. This often occurs as a group nears the actual launch of the church. The enemy is going to do everything he can to destroy this work before it even gets started. But now we are happy to report that they got permission to use a school auditorium and had their first service on May 8th with 46 in attendance! Their plan for now is to hold Sunday afternoon services every 2 weeks. There is a lot of excitement in the group but also some underlying tension. Please PRAY for them. They still have some issues to deal with in order to become truly unified.Please continue to PRAY for Adam and Bethel Gascho and their team as they prepare to come to Cologne this summer. Pray that they would be able to raise all their needed financial support and that the Lord would prepare the way ahead of them. Pray that they would be able to find suitable housing.
Wolfgang and Petra Stolz
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.
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.
