I want to apologize for keeping so many of you hanging for the past ten days -- especially pastor Robert. I know that all of you depend upon this blog for a sense of completeness in life and I have let you down. I'll strive to do better...
So now it was somewhere around May, 2005...
Coast Community Church is one of those church fellowships that has a true missions focus. Now that we were a part of the fellowship there and getting such strong support for what we were doing, it seemed only natural to ask them to be our sending church. We asked Pastor Robert if Coast would indeed be that and the prospect was welcomed with excitement and grace. We would, in fact, be the first missionaries sent out from among the body at Coast and everyone got excited about it.
We have have no qualms or reservations whatsoever about our decision and know that Coast will be caring, supportive and a solid base from which to work. Coast has been a great blessing to us and will continue to be so.
So for the next 10 months or so, there's not a lot to tell. Only that we continued in our pursuit of supporters while working and maintaining a family.
Speaking of family -- Beth and I were in a growing quandary regarding Molly and what role she might play in Ireland. Would she go with us? Would she stay here? What did God have for her? She turned 18 in November. She was now technically an adult. She had pretty much decided that she didn't want to go to Ireland to live. She loves Ireland, but began to feel that she wanted to stay here and pursue a career as a violinist.
Here's the breakdown:
- We feel called to Ireland as missionaries - no doubts about that
- God has opened widely every door that we have tested and we've walked through
- In order to honor the Lord in this we feel we need to raise our support as quickly as possible and move to Ireland
- Molly isn't planning on moving to Ireland with us
- Molly is just now 18 and we don't feel like we're ready to leave her here on her own
- We can't abandon her at this critical stage in life
- I have known for the past two years that if God was in this, His plan would be perfect
What was happening? Where was God's perfect plan? What are we to do?
Once again, God opened another door. A biggie.
To be continued...
Jun 27, 2006
Jun 18, 2006
A Not So Brief History, Pt. 12
Cont'd from 6/10...
Yeah, I know, it's been a week now. A rather crazy week around our house.
So back to fundraising -- the daunting task...
We have felt all along that God was in this. It was apparent in the way things just happened without our planning or striving. But now, this is (to use an over used cliche) where the rubber meets the road. We were told that the average time of appointment (the time between orientation and going to the field) was 2 years. We thought we could easily accomplish our goal in much less than two years. Yeah, right.
Fundraising could easily be a full time job. In fact, many appointees start living off partial support as they near the last of their fundraising and spend that time concentrating solely on getting the final pledges needed.
Taking into account that we were both teaching music lessons and I was doing carpentry, computer work and other odds and ends to make a living, plus the time spent in family matters, the hours left over in a typical week to actually do fundraising (a.k.a. Ministry Partner Development or MPD) were few and it remains that way today.
There were some remarkable things that began to occur as we contacted those on our list, or as we would run into people in public. As we would share what was going on with us and how God was calling us to Ireland, we heard time and again, "How can we be involved?" or "Where can we send a check to support what you're doing?" We even had one individual say, "I want a piece of that!"
We quickly realized that there were many who counted it a privilege and not a burden to financially partner with us. When we contacted a man (who had expressed an interest when we saw him out somewhere) and gave him particulars as to how to go about supporting us, he said, "Thanks for taking me at my word." Gee, people really wanted to give their money for God's Kingdom! Go figure!
At the same time, we were beginning to feel a bit dry in regard to ministry. At Calvary Chapel, because we had been in such a highly visible role for such a long time, there was no practical ministry role for us there. We had been in contact with a friend, Robert Pooley, who had planted Coast Community Church in Gulf Breeze 7 years earlier and was still the pastor. Since it's beginning, Pastor Robert had led the worship as well, but was at a place where he felt that it was time for a change. Not wanting to throw ourselves into such a position, we did volunteer to help him out in any way that was practical. So we began playing on their worship team and have had somewhat of an "advisory" role in the worship, while at the same time I am working with a couple on the team who are up and coming worship leaders themselves. It has been almost like pre-field training for us in that these are some of the types of things in which we will be involved in Ireland. We also have opportunities to lead worship at Coast from time-to-time.
But the best thing about us being at Coast we hadn't yet discovered.
To be continued...
Yeah, I know, it's been a week now. A rather crazy week around our house.
So back to fundraising -- the daunting task...
We have felt all along that God was in this. It was apparent in the way things just happened without our planning or striving. But now, this is (to use an over used cliche) where the rubber meets the road. We were told that the average time of appointment (the time between orientation and going to the field) was 2 years. We thought we could easily accomplish our goal in much less than two years. Yeah, right.
Fundraising could easily be a full time job. In fact, many appointees start living off partial support as they near the last of their fundraising and spend that time concentrating solely on getting the final pledges needed.
Taking into account that we were both teaching music lessons and I was doing carpentry, computer work and other odds and ends to make a living, plus the time spent in family matters, the hours left over in a typical week to actually do fundraising (a.k.a. Ministry Partner Development or MPD) were few and it remains that way today.
There were some remarkable things that began to occur as we contacted those on our list, or as we would run into people in public. As we would share what was going on with us and how God was calling us to Ireland, we heard time and again, "How can we be involved?" or "Where can we send a check to support what you're doing?" We even had one individual say, "I want a piece of that!"
We quickly realized that there were many who counted it a privilege and not a burden to financially partner with us. When we contacted a man (who had expressed an interest when we saw him out somewhere) and gave him particulars as to how to go about supporting us, he said, "Thanks for taking me at my word." Gee, people really wanted to give their money for God's Kingdom! Go figure!
At the same time, we were beginning to feel a bit dry in regard to ministry. At Calvary Chapel, because we had been in such a highly visible role for such a long time, there was no practical ministry role for us there. We had been in contact with a friend, Robert Pooley, who had planted Coast Community Church in Gulf Breeze 7 years earlier and was still the pastor. Since it's beginning, Pastor Robert had led the worship as well, but was at a place where he felt that it was time for a change. Not wanting to throw ourselves into such a position, we did volunteer to help him out in any way that was practical. So we began playing on their worship team and have had somewhat of an "advisory" role in the worship, while at the same time I am working with a couple on the team who are up and coming worship leaders themselves. It has been almost like pre-field training for us in that these are some of the types of things in which we will be involved in Ireland. We also have opportunities to lead worship at Coast from time-to-time.
But the best thing about us being at Coast we hadn't yet discovered.
To be continued...
Jun 10, 2006
A Not So Brief History, Pt. 11
Cont'd from 6/8...
We have spoken to several people who wonder at the amount of support that GEM missionaries are required to raise. Most people have the concept that, of you are a missionary that God has called you to be poor -- to sell everything, to live in the most modest housing available and live hand to mouth.
Let me give you a little perspective on this. There is a couple that we know of whom God has called to reach out to a particular segment of society in Italy. Now, to reach the people in their, shall we say, "target market", they need to live as those people do. There needs to be a common ground, or they will be ignored and ineffective in their mission field. In the same way that someone trying to reach the bush people of Africa, this couple must live like those who they are trying to reach.
Now in the case of the one going to Africa, that person most likely would downgrade their lifestyle and live as close as practical to the way the natives do, to establish a commonality and open the doors to ministry. This couple going to Italy, on the other hand, must live in an area where the average small apartment rents for about $5000/month and people drive only the finest cars. There is no way they would be able to establish relationships with the people in their field if they were perceived to be from an inferior segment of society.
Regarding what we are required to raise, it is enough for us to live comfortably in Ireland. Not in excess, not in want. It could be argued that the number one reason that missionaries leave the field is because they are underfunded. GEM wants their workers to be as effective in their ministry as possible without having to worry about money. In addition to living expenses (Ireland's cost of living index is 64% higher than the US) , we also are covered on our insurance, retirement and tax preparation.
Now back to our story...
So now it was time to begin our fundraising. A daunting task, to be sure, but we had been given some good tools and training at orientation. One of the things that we were asked to bring with us to Colorado was a list of potential supporters. It was suggested that there should be 200-400 names on this list. If memory serves, we were able to come up with about 360. (Even now, there are still about half of those that we haven't yet contacted.)
Here are some things we had to keep in mind as we began this process. First, God's pockets are deep. Second, this was a test of our resolve -- did we really feel called? Third, we began to see that this process of raising support was also ministry in and of itself.
I'll explain...
To be continued...
We have spoken to several people who wonder at the amount of support that GEM missionaries are required to raise. Most people have the concept that, of you are a missionary that God has called you to be poor -- to sell everything, to live in the most modest housing available and live hand to mouth.
Let me give you a little perspective on this. There is a couple that we know of whom God has called to reach out to a particular segment of society in Italy. Now, to reach the people in their, shall we say, "target market", they need to live as those people do. There needs to be a common ground, or they will be ignored and ineffective in their mission field. In the same way that someone trying to reach the bush people of Africa, this couple must live like those who they are trying to reach.
Now in the case of the one going to Africa, that person most likely would downgrade their lifestyle and live as close as practical to the way the natives do, to establish a commonality and open the doors to ministry. This couple going to Italy, on the other hand, must live in an area where the average small apartment rents for about $5000/month and people drive only the finest cars. There is no way they would be able to establish relationships with the people in their field if they were perceived to be from an inferior segment of society.
Regarding what we are required to raise, it is enough for us to live comfortably in Ireland. Not in excess, not in want. It could be argued that the number one reason that missionaries leave the field is because they are underfunded. GEM wants their workers to be as effective in their ministry as possible without having to worry about money. In addition to living expenses (Ireland's cost of living index is 64% higher than the US) , we also are covered on our insurance, retirement and tax preparation.
Now back to our story...
So now it was time to begin our fundraising. A daunting task, to be sure, but we had been given some good tools and training at orientation. One of the things that we were asked to bring with us to Colorado was a list of potential supporters. It was suggested that there should be 200-400 names on this list. If memory serves, we were able to come up with about 360. (Even now, there are still about half of those that we haven't yet contacted.)
Here are some things we had to keep in mind as we began this process. First, God's pockets are deep. Second, this was a test of our resolve -- did we really feel called? Third, we began to see that this process of raising support was also ministry in and of itself.
I'll explain...
To be continued...
Jun 8, 2006
A Not So Brief History, Pt. 10
Cont'd from 6/6...
Okay, so it was the president of Greater Europe Mission, Ted Noble, with whom we were having dinner.
The next 8 days were some of the most intense days we've experienced. It was a time of GEM getting to know us and us doing likewise with GEM. We had made a conscious decision to be totally up front with our shortcomings and failures as we went through the process. The purpose for this was so that we knew that we hadn't manipulated things in our favor at all. We wanted this to be a God thing. The last thing that we wanted was to be oversees living in a foreign land and realize that we weren't supposed to be there.
There was so much to cover in just over a week and our days were jammed full of
general meetings and one-on-one evaluations. We did, however, have enough time to get to know our fellow candidates and formed some really great friendships that I'm sure will last a lifetime. Many hours of a game called Farkle were played. We had learned this game on our first trip to Ireland. Including ourselves, there were 14 individuals in our orientation class -- 6 couples and 2 single persons.
Wednesday was the day we met as a couple with a committee of GEM personnel and were asked all the hard questions -- those which help to determine if you are really cut out to be a missionary or not. At the end of the interview, we were told that we would be recommended for appointment to Ireland! So we had passed the mustard -- whatever that means. They liked us and we liked GEM, so we accepted the post as "appointees".
The next morning, everyone seemed so much more relaxed and convivial, as all had been appointed. The remainder of our week was mostly spent learning how to raise funds. Then it was back to the real world.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. It snowed while we were there! We hadn't seen snow in years, having been in Florida. It was a wonderful treat. Many of you reading this may live where it snows and think, "I don't care if I never see snow again in my life." You might feel differently if you lived where it never snows.
So now -- the task facing us was no small one. We had a large monthly sum of financial support to raise. We had been given tools to work with and now came the challenge of putting those tools into service. Could we raise that much money? We'll see...
To be continued...
Okay, so it was the president of Greater Europe Mission, Ted Noble, with whom we were having dinner.
The next 8 days were some of the most intense days we've experienced. It was a time of GEM getting to know us and us doing likewise with GEM. We had made a conscious decision to be totally up front with our shortcomings and failures as we went through the process. The purpose for this was so that we knew that we hadn't manipulated things in our favor at all. We wanted this to be a God thing. The last thing that we wanted was to be oversees living in a foreign land and realize that we weren't supposed to be there.
There was so much to cover in just over a week and our days were jammed full of
general meetings and one-on-one evaluations. We did, however, have enough time to get to know our fellow candidates and formed some really great friendships that I'm sure will last a lifetime. Many hours of a game called Farkle were played. We had learned this game on our first trip to Ireland. Including ourselves, there were 14 individuals in our orientation class -- 6 couples and 2 single persons. Wednesday was the day we met as a couple with a committee of GEM personnel and were asked all the hard questions -- those which help to determine if you are really cut out to be a missionary or not. At the end of the interview, we were told that we would be recommended for appointment to Ireland! So we had passed the mustard -- whatever that means. They liked us and we liked GEM, so we accepted the post as "appointees".
The next morning, everyone seemed so much more relaxed and convivial, as all had been appointed. The remainder of our week was mostly spent learning how to raise funds. Then it was back to the real world.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. It snowed while we were there! We hadn't seen snow in years, having been in Florida. It was a wonderful treat. Many of you reading this may live where it snows and think, "I don't care if I never see snow again in my life." You might feel differently if you lived where it never snows.
So now -- the task facing us was no small one. We had a large monthly sum of financial support to raise. We had been given tools to work with and now came the challenge of putting those tools into service. Could we raise that much money? We'll see...
To be continued...
Jun 6, 2006
A Not So Brief History, Pt. 9
Cont'd. from 6/2...
A month to get $5000 together. This was way outside our capability. Then we found out that we could do fundraising for this and that those donations would be tax deductible. We also found out that the orientation fees could be "borrowed" against our future support. But we still had a chunk of change to raise to cover our travel and have it in time to book our flights ahead.
We were planning to sell our trave trailer and thought maybe that was how God would provide the funds we needed, But something about that just didn't seem right. That seemed as if it would be us coming up the the money and not allowing God to provide it for us.
The next two weeks were two of the most faith-building weeks we've ever experienced. We made a few phone calls to friends and let them know what we were doing and in two-weeks' time we had raised $3650! "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)
Here's the deal. When we were told we should start moving toward Ireland and see what God would do, we never realized it would happen like this. You know how you will try a door and sometime it will open and other times be locked and that is your indicator as to whether you're going in the right direction? The doors were being flung wide open before we even touched them!
So February 5 we fly to Denver and rent a car to drive to Monument. The car rental facility is located off airport property and we have heavy luggage and our guitars. Once we get to the rental place, there is a bit of confusion because two companies are sharing the same building. We finally get our car assignment and Beth waits while I get the car. After wrestling for a place to pull up the car to the curb, we get our things loaded and we're on our way. It's a bit of a drive, but it was so much cheaper to fly into Denver than into Colorado Springs. We're running a bit late, so we called Bonnie Rudeen, our contact person with GEM. She is going to wait for us at the lodge while everyone else goes on ahead.
You see, we're having dinner that evening with the president.
To be continued...
A month to get $5000 together. This was way outside our capability. Then we found out that we could do fundraising for this and that those donations would be tax deductible. We also found out that the orientation fees could be "borrowed" against our future support. But we still had a chunk of change to raise to cover our travel and have it in time to book our flights ahead.
We were planning to sell our trave trailer and thought maybe that was how God would provide the funds we needed, But something about that just didn't seem right. That seemed as if it would be us coming up the the money and not allowing God to provide it for us.
The next two weeks were two of the most faith-building weeks we've ever experienced. We made a few phone calls to friends and let them know what we were doing and in two-weeks' time we had raised $3650! "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)
Here's the deal. When we were told we should start moving toward Ireland and see what God would do, we never realized it would happen like this. You know how you will try a door and sometime it will open and other times be locked and that is your indicator as to whether you're going in the right direction? The doors were being flung wide open before we even touched them!
So February 5 we fly to Denver and rent a car to drive to Monument. The car rental facility is located off airport property and we have heavy luggage and our guitars. Once we get to the rental place, there is a bit of confusion because two companies are sharing the same building. We finally get our car assignment and Beth waits while I get the car. After wrestling for a place to pull up the car to the curb, we get our things loaded and we're on our way. It's a bit of a drive, but it was so much cheaper to fly into Denver than into Colorado Springs. We're running a bit late, so we called Bonnie Rudeen, our contact person with GEM. She is going to wait for us at the lodge while everyone else goes on ahead.
You see, we're having dinner that evening with the president.
To be continued...
Jun 2, 2006
A Not So Brief History, Pt. 8
Cont'd from 5/31...
The rest of the week was spent meeting people, sightseeing and lots of talking to Phil (GEM) and Kevin (Crosspoint) about ministry opportunities.
Now when we began this trip, we really felt that we didn't want to leave the Calvary circle. We had served in a Calvary Chapel for 14 years. We felt comfortable with the doctrine, liked the style of ministry. In short, we thought that if we went with GEM we would be abandoning Calvary Chapel, and we weren't sure we were ready to do that.
The reason we took this trip to begin with was to clarify the options we had and discover the direction we were supposed to move. By the time we left, however, we were as confused as ever. We arrived home on a Monday, so Tuesday night, Beth and I sat down and made a couple of lists -- pros and cons of going with Crosspoint and pros and cons of going with GEM. While Crosspoint would have been new and exciting and a way for us to remain directly connected with Calvary Chapel, it seemed that it would be basically the same type of ministry that we had been doing the past 14 years. With GEM, it was obvious that this was the next step in our ministry -- using what God had taught us all these years to encourage, mentor, resource and equip the church in Ireland. Based upon our time with Phil, it was obvious that this would be a broad-based ministry with many facets. Once we made the decision a great peace filled us and we knew it was right.
What we have discovered since then is that GEM has worked with some Calvary Chapel people in Ireland, so that connection remains.
This was November 16. We decided to wait and pray about it before we made a firm commitment. By the time Christmas arrived, we began to realize that we should go ahead and send in our formal application. We contacted GEM and discovered that if we could get our applications to them by January 1, that they could approve them in just a few days and then we would qualify to go to Orientation in Colorado Springs February 5-12.
Somewhere around January 3 we got word that our applications had been accepted and that we were invited to attend orientation in February. So now we had four weeks to come up with about $5000!
How in the world could we come up with $5000 in a month?
To be continued...
BTW - as of today, Beth and I have been married 22 years! I couldn't have dreamed that it would be this good after all this time. Praise God for a wonderful wife and wonderful marriage.
The rest of the week was spent meeting people, sightseeing and lots of talking to Phil (GEM) and Kevin (Crosspoint) about ministry opportunities.
Now when we began this trip, we really felt that we didn't want to leave the Calvary circle. We had served in a Calvary Chapel for 14 years. We felt comfortable with the doctrine, liked the style of ministry. In short, we thought that if we went with GEM we would be abandoning Calvary Chapel, and we weren't sure we were ready to do that.
The reason we took this trip to begin with was to clarify the options we had and discover the direction we were supposed to move. By the time we left, however, we were as confused as ever. We arrived home on a Monday, so Tuesday night, Beth and I sat down and made a couple of lists -- pros and cons of going with Crosspoint and pros and cons of going with GEM. While Crosspoint would have been new and exciting and a way for us to remain directly connected with Calvary Chapel, it seemed that it would be basically the same type of ministry that we had been doing the past 14 years. With GEM, it was obvious that this was the next step in our ministry -- using what God had taught us all these years to encourage, mentor, resource and equip the church in Ireland. Based upon our time with Phil, it was obvious that this would be a broad-based ministry with many facets. Once we made the decision a great peace filled us and we knew it was right.
What we have discovered since then is that GEM has worked with some Calvary Chapel people in Ireland, so that connection remains.
This was November 16. We decided to wait and pray about it before we made a firm commitment. By the time Christmas arrived, we began to realize that we should go ahead and send in our formal application. We contacted GEM and discovered that if we could get our applications to them by January 1, that they could approve them in just a few days and then we would qualify to go to Orientation in Colorado Springs February 5-12.
Somewhere around January 3 we got word that our applications had been accepted and that we were invited to attend orientation in February. So now we had four weeks to come up with about $5000!
How in the world could we come up with $5000 in a month?
To be continued...
BTW - as of today, Beth and I have been married 22 years! I couldn't have dreamed that it would be this good after all this time. Praise God for a wonderful wife and wonderful marriage.
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