With Christmas, living in transitional housing, and moving we decided to combine our December and January Newsletter into one. Well we are officially Ohioans (if that's how you say it). We arrived here December 28th and spent the next week unpacking and settling in. We attended our first church service since moving here the next Sunday at Grace Point Fellowship (the church that Ben will be doing his church-planting residency at over the next year). Not only will we be attending and serving there but we will also be learning the ins and outs of planting a church. The next week Ben started his residency and training with NAMB. There's been so much newness but it has been good to start our journey here with getting some routines back into our every day.
We have been taking the time to get out into our community to meet people and will continue to do so in an effort to build relationships. The cold weather kind of puts a damper on that as people tend to stay more indoors. We joined our local YMCA as a family and are hoping to use this as an avenue to get involved as well. Looking ahead on this church planting journey, we will be spending the next few months deciding on a church name, starting a home group/bible study, connecting with people, and spending a significant amount of time in prayer. We are so excited to continue to share with you monthly about what all God is doing through our family. Even though our time in Cincinnati has just begun, we are praying and believing God for big things. We are excited to join the effort of bringing the hope of Christ to our community and to the city.
Please Pray:
- For us as we continue to adjust to a new state, town, home, and community.
- For Ben as he begins his training with the North American Mission Board
- For new relationships for our family.
- For our next goal in fundraising of $12,000 in monthly support.
A God Story...
We have continued to see God at work in our lives as we have moved to Cincinnati. We keep reminding ourselves that God is planting His church and we just get to be a part of it. Many of you probably remember us telling you that in order for us to move to Cincinnati we had to hit our goal of $6,000 a month in support. At the beginning of December we were only at $3,000 confirmed support and needing God to show up in a mighty way in December. Wow, did He! God used church partnerships and many of you to help us hit that goal! We are praising God for continuing to provide and remind not only us but those of you supporting us of His plan and desire to reach this community with the hope of the Gospel! We know with your help and the help of others, we will be able to reach our next goal of $12,000 in monthly support. With this additional funding, we will be able to secure a facility, do community outreaches, pay for up-front costs to run a church, among other things. We are trusting God to provide what we need.
Many Thanks...
Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us in reaching the Cincinnati area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have received so much encouragement, love, and support and this is just the beginning. Thank you for going on this journey with us. Thank you to our church partners who have committed to pray, give, and send mission teams along the way. We are excited about your involvement in the work here.
