Dear Friends,
We have been silent for too long and much has happened since we last wrote.
The Cologne Project
We have been encouraged with a steady flow of new faces and a deeper commitment to the church among the regular attenders. A real highlight was our weekend retreat in April at which we had wonderful times of fellowship but also good discussions about what it means to be a church. We are in the process of disbanding the start team of 7 people and moving toward a preliminary leadership team that will guide the church through the next phases of growth and restructuring. We always have the best music and are slowly becoming known as the jazz church. It has been amazing to experience God speaking to us through the creativity of jazz music within a very simple, mostly unplugged, liturgical worship service.
We have been silent for too long and much has happened since we last wrote.
The Cologne Project
We have been encouraged with a steady flow of new faces and a deeper commitment to the church among the regular attenders. A real highlight was our weekend retreat in April at which we had wonderful times of fellowship but also good discussions about what it means to be a church. We are in the process of disbanding the start team of 7 people and moving toward a preliminary leadership team that will guide the church through the next phases of growth and restructuring. We always have the best music and are slowly becoming known as the jazz church. It has been amazing to experience God speaking to us through the creativity of jazz music within a very simple, mostly unplugged, liturgical worship service.
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| Cologne Project retreat |
The Pastor's Atelier
I continue to make new contacts and to see how God is using the Atelier to open new doors in people's lives. In May, June, July and August I hosted mini-concerts with young musicians who brought their friends. The beautiful music in the intimate ambiance of the Atelier lends itself to simple, relaxed encounters. The men's prayer group continues to be a highlight for my friends and me. As one of them recently commented: this is becoming a small church. Hallelujah!
Please pray about a new workshop that I will be conducting in Oct-Nov called My Life Workshop. (www.mylifeworkshop.org (http://www.mylifeworkshop.org) I am excited about this new tool that was developed by our friend and colleague Dietrich Schindler to reach post-moderns with the Gospel. Please pray as we begin to promote and invite people to the workshop. Pray that God would lead 12 people who are far from God to sign up.
The Symposium for Church Planting in Germany
As part of the ongoing work with the Consultation for Church Planting in Germany, we hosted our first major conference in June in Stuttgart - but for strategic reasons decided to call it a symposium. As part of the steering committee that initiated and led this gathering, I must admit we were somewhat nervous going into it. We have no official status or organization backing us so financially it was a personal risk for the four of us. We sought to recruit the best speakers but then told them we couldn't pay them and they would have to pay their own expenses.
We needed 80 participants to sign up in order to break
even. In the end we had 120 participants and a program of speakers, discussion
groups, workshops and debate that was thrilling to witness. The Christian press
was there and their reporting was extremely positive. Never before has there been a conference like this that included almost
the entire spectrum of evangelicals in Germany to talk about church planting
and the need for Germany to be saturated with new churches. We are thankful
to the Lord and for your prayers and support.
Sue's Masters program
Sue has been very diligent in her Masters study in Intercultural Competency. This summer she successfully completed a very challenging internship at the University of Cologne - creating and teaching a two-day block course for students preparing for studying abroad. Word has gotten out and she has already been asked to teach the course at additional venues including the European Institute for Church Planting. She loves it but is also being stretched and challenged. There is no end to our dinnertime discussions over the topics she is learning about. So much of it relates directly to our lives and ministry here.
Rocky Mountain High
I am going to be in Colorado Sept. 6-23 to visit family, friends and our 5 supporting churches on the Front Range. I would love to see as many of you in Colorado that I can. I will be staying in Denver, close to our son, Sam but have plenty of weekdays open to meet for a meal, coffee, etc. I'm also hoping to meet new folks who might be interested in joining our support team. If you would like to host an informal evening get-together - please let me know. The next trip we are planning is for early 2014 to Ontario and Michigan.
The Family
In May I took a spontaneous trip to visit Roy in New York. His job as building superintendent was eliminated meaning Roy was out of a job and out of an apartment. He has been staying with friends in the city looking for work and a new living situation. Please pray for him. He is open to moving if you know of anything in your area. In July Sue's mom, Elinor (87) and her sister, Connie, came to visit us for 2 weeks. We had a great time together. One night we had my men's prayer group with their wives over and at one point I asked mom to share her story. They are still talking about her strength, wit and fluent German and her story of God's grace in her life.
Thank you for standing with us!
Jason and Sue
Sue's Masters program
Sue has been very diligent in her Masters study in Intercultural Competency. This summer she successfully completed a very challenging internship at the University of Cologne - creating and teaching a two-day block course for students preparing for studying abroad. Word has gotten out and she has already been asked to teach the course at additional venues including the European Institute for Church Planting. She loves it but is also being stretched and challenged. There is no end to our dinnertime discussions over the topics she is learning about. So much of it relates directly to our lives and ministry here.
Rocky Mountain High
I am going to be in Colorado Sept. 6-23 to visit family, friends and our 5 supporting churches on the Front Range. I would love to see as many of you in Colorado that I can. I will be staying in Denver, close to our son, Sam but have plenty of weekdays open to meet for a meal, coffee, etc. I'm also hoping to meet new folks who might be interested in joining our support team. If you would like to host an informal evening get-together - please let me know. The next trip we are planning is for early 2014 to Ontario and Michigan.
The Family
In May I took a spontaneous trip to visit Roy in New York. His job as building superintendent was eliminated meaning Roy was out of a job and out of an apartment. He has been staying with friends in the city looking for work and a new living situation. Please pray for him. He is open to moving if you know of anything in your area. In July Sue's mom, Elinor (87) and her sister, Connie, came to visit us for 2 weeks. We had a great time together. One night we had my men's prayer group with their wives over and at one point I asked mom to share her story. They are still talking about her strength, wit and fluent German and her story of God's grace in her life.
Thank you for standing with us!
Jason and Sue
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