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

December Christmas prayer letter

We wish you more this Christmas. We wish you a Christmas that gets even closer to the heart of the matter. As we rejoice in His advent, we exult in the most significant missional event ever! Christmas is Mission. If Jesus hadn’t come, we would still be lost in darkness. If he hadn’t left his home and taken up residence among us - we who were lost and needy – there would be no hope for us. As we buy gifts, sing songs, feast in our abundance and remember His coming, please don’t forget those who live without hope, those who are still lost in darkness. As we worship the Christ child this year, we worship the one who gave up everything, His riches, home and very nature - to come and bring us light and save us.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2, 5-8)

With joy,
Jason and Sue

November prayer letter

Dear Friends,
We’re on the home stretch. Our Home Ministry Assignment is drawing quickly to a close. We are very thankful for God’s protection over the many miles driven and for all the people we could see and reconnect with. We are grateful for God’s provision as well. All the bills are paid and a large part of our support shortfall has been pledged. But we are still in need of some monthly support and special gifts in order to return to Germany as planned on December 28. Perhaps you can help. You can learn how at: BACKTOGERMANY.BLOGSPOT.COM.

Not long ago, we got this upbeat update from Uli Rothstein, the German pastor and co-founder of our second church plant: “We were able to have our church weekend retreat the middle of October with more than 70 participants! There was plenty of time for talking, laughing, playing, meditating, praying, singing, learning, eating, and just basically having a great time together. For some who are relatively „new“ in the church, it was a good opportunity to start feeling „at home“ in our fellowship. Shortly after the retreat 8 people interested in becoming members, attended our membership seminar. At the end of November we are planning another Baptismal Service, when possibly 4 dear people will take this important step in their faith journeys.” I am scheduled to preach there on January 7 – just a week after our return. We love going back to see the growth and changes and of course many dear friends and children in the Lord. That will also be the week we celebrate 15 years of ministry in Germany!

Please pray for us as we tie up loose ends and enjoy time with our family these next few weeks. We are grateful to be celebrating our first Christmas in 15 years in North America. We are looking forward to having both Sam and Roy with us and to being close to Sue’s parents and brother Sam and his family in Colorado. Pray that we would be able to return to Germany not only fully supported but also with renewed vision and energy. Pray that God will lead us to just the right future ministry opportunities and give us wisdom as we choose. As our ministry grows, we are being challenged and stretched. Pray that God would use us as never before!

With Thanksgiving,

Jason (and Sue)

October Prayer Letter

The Needed Power

He came running, half stumbling and half sliding down the hill shouting wildly – “We hit it!” “We hit it!” He caught himself again as he slid down a short patch of gravel and exposed roots. His hands were more callous than skin with months of grime embedded in the cracks and cuticle. He steadied himself with his right hand and in his left he clutched a small rock. His hair was a tangled nest of mud and dust. Tributaries of sweat cut through the dust on his face - his eyes shimmered like diamonds. His mouth couldn’t be open wider with the smile that heralded the news they had all worked so hard to uncover.

They all looked up from what they were doing and knew immediately. The adrenalin instantly flowed collectively through their veins for they knew that their months of backbreaking work were at last going to pay off. They dropped what they were doing and clambered to meet him. Yes, it was gold in that rock he held. And yes, up the ravine where he had just been picking away, there appeared to be more – maybe even an entire vein! The only problem was that they would have to blast past the granite that they had been battling for months, to get to it. It was difficult to say how deep it ran but they knew that there were meters of hard rock that stood between them and the mother lode. They would need a significant and powerful force to be able to pry past the barrier that stood between them and the payoff they had been laboring so hard to reach.

They came to an agreement quickly. One of them would be sent back to the investors in town to secure what they needed. They needed more funding to pay the workers now that they knew they were on to something. But even if the money for the payroll was forthcoming it would be meaningless if they didn’t have what they needed most – dynamite. Without dynamite they could scrape at that hillside until their fingers bled and it would all be for naught. They would never achieve what they all wanted so badly. The dynamite was the key that would unlock the treasure chest. The dynamite was the element that would give their entire struggle and labor meaning. They needed to set a series of powerful blasts that would literally peel away that barrier of rock and expose the precious vein to be harvested.

And so it is with prayer and missions. Prayer has the power to unlock the treasure chest. Prayer is the element that gives meaning to the missionary effort. It can literally peel away the spiritual barriers that so often hinder us and expose the precious harvest that we so long for. When you think of your missionaries – please pray. Pray for God to powerfully move the mountains that stand in the way of seeing churches planted and people come to faith and experience for themselves what the power of prayer can be like in their own lives.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

Dear Friends, please continue to pray for us and for the church planting projects we are coaching: Cologne-in-Motion, Hennef, Cologne and Monheim. Please pray for us as we continue to travel and present our ministry to people. We would like to return to Germany on December 28. Thank you for standing with us.

Your partners,
Jason and Sue

September prayer letter

Dear Friends,
Halfway through our 2-month road trip, we are getting weary but are very pleased with how things are going. We have had many good meetings and reunions with friends and supporters. It has been a great joy to share personally with many of you about what God is doing in Germany and you have been such a blessing to us! God has protected us through many long hours of driving and we have only left a few things behind along the way - which is easy to do. One day we had been driving a couple of hours when Sue noticed the hanging clothes in a car we were passing and looked back in our car questioning, “Jay, where are our hanging clothes?” (Thanks, Bev, for forwarding them to us so quickly ;-)

Thankfully we are progressing toward our goal of needed financial support but still have a ways to go. You can track our progress at: http://www.backtogermany.blogspot.com. To be honest, we are homesick and miss Germany terribly. The Internet has been our lifeline for staying in touch with our partners in Germany. Here is an update on our current church planting projects:

COLOGNE
Please keep praying for the church plant in the northern suburbs of Cologne. About 15 interested people from the mother church have met twice this summer to consider and discuss this project. Please pray for courage and direction for this group as some are still considering if God has called them to do this or that it is the right thing for the church to do. There was also a congregational meeting in September where the church plant was discussed and we are pleased to tell you that the church as a whole has basically gotten behind this project. Please pray that God would directly bless this decision and encourage the church for its vision. Pray for Pastor Michael Höring (pictured at right) – for wisdom and courage to move ahead in spite of some hesitancy in the church.

COLOGNE-IN-MOTION (CIM)
The CIM team is busy trying to keep up with the 20 youth from English Camp who trusted Christ. It’s been a challenge with busy summer and now school schedules. Please pray that they would be able to work it out to connect with these new believers consistently. Also pray that these kids would become more and more connected into the CIM Sunday worship/community gatherings and into their community in general. Adam Gascho, the leader of CIM, has been in communication with the owner of the facility they rented for the World Cup Café this past June/July. They have moved into serious talks concerning the potential purchase of this facility for the dual purpose of intentional outreach into the community and for a training and connection base for the long-term church planting movement. These next weeks will be extremely crucial in this process. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to clearly lead and guide and that He will open doors and breakdown walls (not literally—at least not yet: ) Amazingly, God has already provided some large gifts equaling around $100,000. They will need significantly more than this, however, to make this dream a reality.

HENNEF
Wolfgang and Petra recently sent us a long update. The church plant in Hennef continues to be on hold as Wolfgang and Petra go through a time of soul searching and adjustments in their lives due to Wolfgang’s recent promotion at work and increased responsibilities there. In addition to that they discovered this summer that their son is hearing impaired and are dealing with all of the implications for them. Sue has and will continue to counsel with Petra as she shares how it was for us to raise a hearing impaired boy. Wolfgang and Petra continue holding on to their vision of a new church in Hennef. However it seems that at least for now, God wants to work in their lives in a special way.

MONHEIM
The church in Monheim has had some struggles this spring and summer with a disrupting couple but has continued to move ahead. They have recently rented some commercial space (inset at right) in the heart of the town – right across the street from their historic town tower (pictured at right) - so nobody can say they haven’t seen it or don’t know where it is. The main room will seat 40-60 people plus they have a several rooms for children’s ministries. Please continue to pray for Detlev and Micha, the two leaders, and the rest of the group. Their firm desire is to be a lighthouse and beacon of God’s love and light. SPARK Even though we aren’t currently in Germany, please continue to pray that God would open doors for us to present SPARK in churches upon our return. It is not too early to begin setting dates. Pray that God would use this tool to motivate German churches to multiply themselves.

Thank you for your partnership with us in prayer and finances.

For Germany,
Jason (and Sue)

Getting us back to Germany

Dear Friends,
We have driven app. 3000 miles so far and God has kept us safe – although we are a bit road weary. Tuesday, we arrived in Florida at Sue's brother's house just before tropical storm Ernesto hit – if you could call it that. There was just a lot of rain and hardly any wind L

Please pray for us regarding our financial support. In order to return to Germany in December, Greater Europe Mission requires that we raise an additional $800 in monthly support. This increase is due to the ever-increasing cost of living in Germany (gas is now at US$6.00 per gallon!) and the continued weak dollar against the Euro. In addition to this we need $8000 in special gifts to cover our travel costs while in the USA and to give us a $4000 buffer required by GEM before departure.

We are praying that some of our long-time supporters will consider increasing the amount they give. We are also praying that new people will join with us. If you are interested, you can track our progress in meeting these goals at http://backtogermany.blogspot.com

Thank you for standing with us,

Jason and Sue

PS: Check out our new video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zjg4yrECK8

August Prayer Letter

June Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,
Germany is soccer-crazed! You can’t help but get caught up in the excitement. It is fun to see how the Germans have shed their patriotic inhibitions and are flying their flag proudly. There are literally 10’s of thousands of soccer tourists from all over the world to be seen and with a few minor exceptions Germany has been a great host to them.

There has also been much going on in our lives since our last letter. Sue’s surgery went well and she has been recovering slowly but surely. We are thankful to God for his provision and healing. Thank you for praying. Sam and his girlfriend, Heidi, came to visit us. We drove down to the Black Forest together for Roy’s Graduation. Roy graduated with honors and we are very proud of him. He has been accepted at Juniata College in PA and received a nice merit scholarship from them. Please praise the Lord with us for Roy’s achievement. Pray for us in the provision of the daunting remaining tuition cost that needs to be paid. Please pray for Sam and Heidi as they consider their future. Pray that they would draw near to the Lord and that He would protect and guide them.

Now that we are back home we have hit the final stretch of preparing for our furlough in North America from July-December. We will be based in Colorado Springs but doing some extensive traveling in Sep-Oct. We are looking forward to seeing friends and family but truthfully are not looking forward to being away from “home” in Germany.

Here is an update on our current church planting projects:

COLOGNE
Pastor Michael Hoering has been extremely involved heading up the regional cooperation of evangelistic World Cup outreaches. He has been running from one appointment to the next in addition to his regular pastoral duties. The church plant has therefore taken a back seat. I met Dirk, one of the elders committed to the church plant at one of my recent SPARK presentations. He was encouraged by SPARK but had to admit that he is frustrated with the lack of movement in the church plant project. I will be meeting with him and a couple of others involved on June 25. We hope to meet at a café on bikes and then tour the potential target area of the church plant. Please continue to pray for Dirk. His job situation is still completely up in the air. And please continue to pray for the actual launch of this church plant.

COLOGNE-IN-MOTION
These guys are awesome. They recently signed a short-term rental contract for their “World Cup Café” – a recently vacated grocery store where they are showing all the games on a big screen plus offering other events and holding worship services on Sundays. The weeks before the World Cup were spent painting, cleaning, and running around trying to find everything (furniture, refrigerators, food and drink, decoration, publicity, etc.) they needed to set-up a café. On the opening Friday evening between 70 and 80 people were in the café when the opening whistle blew (Germany beat Costa Rica 4:2). Others came throughout the evening. They probably had close to 100 people in all! A number of 10-12 year-olds have been coming consistently and they keep bringing more and more of their friends. Please pray that many of these contacts will translate into decisions for the Lord and then members of the new church being planted. Pray for strength as they all work very hard day after day at the café. Praise God with us that their team members, Jared and Lori Bridges, finally received their visas. That was a huge concern and now they can fully focus on the ministry.

HENNEF
We have been asking you to pray for Wolfgang and Petra for quite some time; for steadfast hearts and long-windedness! Please don’t stop. For the time being the church plant in Hennef is on hold. After much consternation every single team member has left the group. It is amazing to us what damage one divisive person can inflict. I know she didn’t mean to, but as a result of her constant challenge of Wolfgang’s leadership, one woman caused the team to fall like dominoes as they all became disillusioned with the endless discussions and arguments. Wolfgang and Petra are holding on to their vision of a new church in Hennef. They are planning on holding several special prayer meetings in the coming months to seek the Lord’s guidance and help.

MONHEIM
Our work with the church plant in Monheim is basically finished. It is exciting to see how things are moving along. They have recently rented permanent space in the heart of town. They are planning to move in the beginning of August after renovations. In conjunction with this they will start having their services at 11:30 instead of late afternoon as they have been – and weekly instead of twice a month. These are major changes. Please pray for them. Pray for unity among the founders and growth in their two cell groups. Pray also for increased inroads into the community and good contact with seekers.

SPARK
I have had multiple opportunities to present SPARK in the last couple of months. Being a motivational presentation – it is difficult to measure the impact but it seems that God is using this as a tipping point in some people’s hearts. I am especially thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the national convention of the Evangelical Free Church of Germany – presenting SPARK in two workshops to a total of about 80 people who expressly came because of their interest in church planting. Erhard Michel, the director of the Ev. Free Inland Mission, saw SPARK for the first time there and has requested that I make some technical changes so that it can be put in the hands of workers around the country. I also recently showed SPARK to the German Baptist board for Inland Mission in Berlin. These men greeted SPARK wholeheartedly and have challenged me to consider working on a version geared more toward youth. Please pray that the seeds sown through SPARK would flourish and bear fruit. Pray that Germans would begin catching the vision for reaching their country through the planting of many more witnessing, reproducing churches.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer.

Your servants in Germany,
Jason (and Sue)

Special prayermail

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers for me this past week. The surgery took a little longer than planned but went well and I have made a steady recovery every day. I was released from the hospital on Friday – a day or two sooner than we at first thought possible. So now I can finally get some sleep. It was impossible in the hospital! Both the doctors and lab reports indicated the urgency of the surgery. Jason and I have been saying over and over again what a blessing it was that the surgery was able to take place in spite of the doctor’s strike. Not only that, the change of doctors and hospital seem to have been a gift from God. The hospital was much smaller than the huge university hospital in Cologne making it more personal and I felt like I got top quality medical care. Pray that I will be patient in this recovery period and not do too much too quickly.

Roy called me early on Monday morning before the surgery and the first of his huge AP Biology and Chemistry exams (4 hours long!). It was a precious time of sharing our burdens and praying together on the phone. He called again after the last Chemistry exam on Wednesday and the relief and lightness in his voice were almost tangible. Thanks for supporting him with your prayers. Continue to pray that he would finish well. He has three weeks of classes left and a week of tests before graduation on June 9.

Please continue to pray for the church-planting project in Hennef, which is now temporarily on hold. The tension was too intense for the last remaining participants and they have now all left the group. Wolfgang and Petra stand alone with us and the vision of a new church in Hennef. They refuse to let go of their calling to do this and remain confident and full of faith that God is working. Please pray for them. In spite of their positive attitude, this has been very hard for them and they are trying to learn from the experience. Jason is also prayerfully trying to understand what mistakes he may have made as their coach. Pray for wisdom and God’s leading as to what the next steps should be.

Yesterday Jason presented SPARK at a regional meeting of the Baptists in Kaiserslautern. About 100 people were in attendance. Please pray that God would SPARK the vision of church planting into a flame in many of their hearts and churches. Pray for these upcoming SPARK dates: 28 May – Ev. Free Church in Oldenburg, 30 May – National Baptist Committee for Missions in Berlin, 4 June – 2 Workshops at the national Ev. Free Convention in Bochum, 6 June – several of the National Ev. Free leaders and staff in Witten. Also pray for him as he preaches in our former church plants in Bergisch Gladbach (today) and in Porz (next week). We want to continue to be an encouragement to both of these churches.

Thank you for standing with us. We depend so much on your prayer and support as we face illness and hardship but also exciting ministry opportunities in Germany.

Sue (for Jason)

special prayermail

Dear Friends and Family,
Please pray for Sue as she has surgery on Monday (May 8) to remove her uterus and the fibroid tumor. Pray for the doctor, Detlev Katzwinkel, who is a friend of ours. Pray that all will go well and for a speedy recovery.

Please continue to pray for the church plant in Hennef. As of last week, the entire team has quit, leaving Wolfgang and Petra alone with their vision. Please pray that God will encourage them and work in their hearts and that they would discover what he wants to teach them through this difficult time. Pray that we would have wisdom as we look to the future. Hennef, with a population of over 40,000 desperately needs that church as there is no other gospel witness in that city.

Please pray for Roy who is in the final stretch of his senior year. With two AP science classes he has had a heavy load. He will be writing his AP Biology exam on Monday (May 8) and his Chemistry exam on Wednesday (May 9). It is an emotional time for all the kids at BFA as they prepare to say goodbye to their friends and classmates. Most of them are MK’s and know that they will probably never see each other again. Yesterday Roy was suffering from major back and neck pain and fainted at school.

Thank you so much for standing with us.

Jason (and Sue)

Follow-up prayermail

Dear Friends,
The meeting in Hennef was intense but also illuminating. We were hoping that all the members would attend but it ended up being just a handful including the couple that had quit. They were very open and shared their hearts. Angelika, the wife, told me that she thought the SPARK presentation was very good but on the way home that night she told Hans-Theo, her husband that it showed her very clearly that church planting was not for her. Her passion is youth work and she wants to continue doing that in their present church. Hans-Theo admitted that he was simply overwhelmed with the work and stress that planting a church brings with it. With a demanding job and a large family, he just can’t see how he could do it.

Wolfgang and Petra are not disheartened. They accept this as from the Lord and are just as committed to the vision if not more so. Please continue to pray for them as well as for Angelika and Hans-Theo and for the other two couples who are taking a time-out to evaluate their involvement. Sue and I are having Wolfgang and Petra for supper on Monday, so we will be able to encourage them and talk about where to go from here.

Please pray for the SPARK presentations I will be doing tomorrow in Leverkusen and later this month in Solingen. Pray that God will work. Also praise the Lord with us for an exciting opportunity that has opened up: On May 30th I will be presenting SPARK at the national board meetings of the German Baptists in Berlin. They have given me an entire hour! Pray that SPARK would capture their imaginations and ignite their hearts. Pray that this will lead to open doors in the local churches.

Some people have asked when Sue will be having surgery. It is planned for May 8th. The doctor said she should plan on staying in the hospital an additional 3 days and then another 10 days recovering at home.

Blessings,

Jason (and Sue)