We arrived back from vacation on June 27 and hit the ground running with a busy ministry weekend. Worship musicians from Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA put together a one-time Country and Blue Grass band to do outreach with us in Cologne. They were awesome. On the 29th they did a concert at our church location. Although we had advertised well, imagine how disappointed we were when only one guest showed up who was not a part of our church family. In spite of that, the band gave everything and we had a lot of fun with their music and line dancing.
On Sunday morning they played in our worship service after which I asked them if they would be willing to play at my impromptu birthday party that evening. We blew away our friends and neighbors with that. Here's a link to a short video of everyone singing "Country Roads" with them. (It is one of those quirks in the German culture that everyone seems to know that one!) At my request they also did a gospel song and got everyone singing along with "We worship you, hallelujah, hallelujah!" That was very cool. One of the band members gave a short but clear testimony. With 20+ people in our living room, it was truly a blessed evening.
Please pray for the upcoming outreach concert on August 4 in Cologne with Eurobrass: a Greater Europe Mission brass ensemble. The 12-member ensemble, whose members come from Germany and the United States, performs brass music at its highest level with impeccable technique and a beautiful sound. Brass music is not for everyone but is still very much loved by many Germans. Pray for good connections with the concert guests and that many would return the next day to the worship service where the group will also be playing.
I (Jason) have been thinking and praying about the possibility of renting a small office somewhere in our neighborhood where I can work and meet new people but also have more space to pursue my hobby of painting and see if going public with it would open ministry doors for us. Hanging out a sign that "the Pastor-Painter is in" might provide us with new in-roads into the lives of the people in our neighborhood. To begin with, I would like to have a trial period of a year to see what God does and if we think it is worth continuing. To that end we need to raise an additional $7,000 for the rent and utilities for one year. If you would like to help us with this project, please let us know. Here is a link to a gallery of some of the things I have painted in the last few years.
In closing, we ask you to continue to pray for growth in our church plant. Pray that more and more people will come to faith and become disciples and fishers of men. Pray for creativity and boldness in reaching out to the people of Cologne and beyond. Pray for more workers to come and join in the harvest.
Thank you for your support and encouragement.
Jason and Sue
PS: Click here to see our current financial support needs.
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