letter to a friend...

In March it will be Epic Church's one year anniversary from our public launch. I recently sent an e-mail to my friend Mike reflecting on where God has brought us in this last year. Mike Moran is the Pastor of Kettlebrook Church in West Bend, Wisconsin. I really respect him and Mike and his church was the first church to "buy in" and partner in the dream of Epic. As I reflect on God's faithfulness over this last year, I simply stand humbled at how He has built His church beyond our imagination. To Him truly be all the Glory! Below is a portion of the e-mail that I sent to my friend Mike.

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Hi Mike,

You and Kettlebrook were on my heart this morning and I felt impressed to give you an update in regards to Epic in order to encourage you all and to allow you to celebrate with what God is doing.

As you last heard, we had made our Epic challenge of $53,000 in October of 2010 which made it so we were no longer in need of outside financial assistance. Since that time, Epic agreed to help partner with a church plant in an urban area in Michigan in addition to the church planters that we are supporting in Asia.

In November Epic was told about an incredible facility that had come available in the heart of our community. It’s an 18,000 square foot building that has a gymnasium that was built on in 2007. Additionally, it came with 10 acres of land. It’s located right next to an elementary school in the heart of several new subdivisions. What’s more, Epic was offered the deal of a lifetime – simply take over the mortgage of the property (for about $1,000 more per month than what we were paying for the rent of the school for 4 hours a week). After much prayer our entire congregation unanimously agreed that this was God’s provision and next step for Epic but not without first considering how this building would allow us to better live out our Vision and Values.

Shortly after acquiring the building I had an individual come to me and ask me to go to lunch. We went to lunch and he shared that he and his wife are absolutely thrilled with the vision and values of Epic along with direction that the church was heading. He then proceeded to tell me that he and his wife would like to donate $100,000 towards this new building for whatever the leadership deemed necessary for start up. He also asked that it they be kept anonymous and that he and his wife do not want any type of “say” or influence on how the money should be spent...He went on to say that they are not the type that will leave a church if they don’t like how it was being spent... they just want to be blessing. So, Epic is in the midst of doing some renovating so that we can have our grand opening in our new building on April 17th...it feels like we’re doing a launch all over again and it’s pretty exciting!

Additionally, we’re excited to mention that the nearby public school to the new property has already contacted Epic and asked if they could begin holding some sports practices in our gymnasium. We’re so thrilled that before this building has the opportunity to serve us on Sundays for our worship gatherings, that it’s already serving our community...and we have so many more ideas and plans on how we can serve our community with this new tool that God has blessed us with.

Finally, and a piece that I’m most excited about. Epic is going to be planting another church in Goshen, Indiana (about 20 minutes away from Epic). Epic is going to be the mother church and will be planting this church without any other assistance. We are looking to introduce our planter to our congregation and bring him onto our staff in the next week. He has already gathered his team and it looks like we will be able to get them holding their own worship services within the next several months. Naturally we would love for your continued prayers for Epic and this exciting new church plant.

In March, Epic will officially be 1 year old (from our public launch to our community). There have been several who have been reconciled to God and many more who are living far from God but have begun attending Epic and are taking their next steps with God.

I share all of this with you, because I was reminded once again this morning about the step of Faith that you and the people of Kettlebrook took in partnering with Epic. As I recall, you all were the first church to “buy in” as partners and soon several others jumped in and followed the testimony of your lead and faith step. Thanks for being the first to believe in what God could do, we are so grateful for your belief and we trust that you are encouraged by the fruit that has sprung forth for the Kingdom of God! To Him be all the glory.

Anyway just want to say that I’m so grateful for you and our brothers and sisters at Kettlebrook!

-Jeremy

Molly...

Last Sunday, Molly, the school custodian sat in during the worship Gathering . Afterwards, I had a chance to talk with her for a significant amount of time as people were leaving. She really poured out her heart to me, and we had an incredible conversation about God and life. Our conversation eventually turned towards me having the opportunity to share the plan of salvation with her. Molly admitted that she had never gone to church prior to Epic coming to the school. She has been going through a tough time but felt that God was drawing her to himself. I then asked her if she was ready to make the choice to follow Jesus. She said that she was, so I led her over to the chairs in the lobby and prayed with her to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. She said she had a real sense of peace after praying together. Yea God!!! Please pray for Molly and Epic as we help her take her next steps in her new relationship with God.

Open...

This last week, during my personal prayer time, I began praying, "God, would You move in our midst and pour yourself out in our Gatherings in such a way that we can't miss You?"

Last Sunday we showed up to the school an hour and a half before our Gathering started only to discover that we didn't have power. The storms that came through on Friday left many homes and buildings without power. The school had a generator back up but it was only enough power to flush a few toilets and turn on a couple lights. I was so proud of the resilient attitude of our church. We looked things over and quickly reassessed what our Gathering would entail for the day. Instead of focusing on what we didn't have we got pretty excited about what did have.

1. We had a beautiful day.

2. We had an overhang outdoors that would hold everyone and protect us from the direct sunlight.

3. We still had use of the restrooms.

4. We had a wonderful playground on the other side of the school for the kids to play on after their lesson.

5. We have portable chairs, and tables that we could just move outside.

6. We have an incredibly gifted and flexible worship team that was able to put together an acoustic set on the fly. They had to come up with songs that were a little more familiar from their original set list. Then Our drummer realized that he had some paint buckets in his car (which sounded really cool). The custodian allowed us to use an acoustic piano that was on rollers in the music room. We had an acoustic guitar and singers with great hearts and voices.

7. We had a children's ministry that was able to adapt and still make things run with excellence. I heard one of our kids say, this was the best Sunday ever, I wish we could do this every week.

8. We had a Gathering that was full of people that saw this as an opportunity rather than an obstacle and they were grateful for the opportunity to still gather for worship.

9. We had prayer. Prior to our Gathering many of us prayed and thanked God for this opportunity. We asked that He would be our focus and that He would still bring the people.

Afterwards I had so many people comment on what an incredible experience it was. Some even asked if we could do that more often! The presence of God was evident and it was so simple and different. I was reminded at how often I seem to put God in a box and expect Him to work according to MY plans, MY comfort zones and MY traditions. As if to say God can't work outside the lines that I've drawn in the sand. In reality God doesn't need for me to figure everything out for Him, all He needs from me is an open heart!

www.epicmishawaka.org

Journey's

Yesterday, I went to the graduation ceremony for Bethel College as several of our students from Epic were graduating. Yesterday reminded me of just how grateful I am for the college students that have journeyed with us at Epic. Several of them have stepped up in huge ways and are being used by God. This last Sunday was our last Sunday with some and several will be heading home or on various trips throughout the summer. We're going to miss them and were already looking forward to their return! One of our students, Casey Hasselkus recently blogged about her journey with Epic.

http://caseyhasselkus.blogspot.com/2010/04/epic-journey.html

Week 2

We had a great second week as well. During our first week we had a guy from Michigan that came and visited. He was so compelled with our heart for meeting needs and reaching out to our community that he wanted to help partner with us. As it turns out, he is a distributor for an organization that gives away large amounts of free food to other non-for-profit organizations. He ended up getting 1,000 lbs. of apples and 80 loaves of bread and asked us if we could use them to help touch some lives in our community. Our team rallied to the challenge and we distributed every last apple and loaf of bread to multiple families in need. As a result we were able to have so many incredible conversations with people as we started the conversation by simply letting people know that God loves them. So many were blessed and several asked what church we were with (we only told them if they asked as our heart is that people will know that God loves them and that they would get involved in any church that serious about being devoted followers of Jesus).

On Wednesday I received another phone call that challenged our team significantly. We learned that due to a mechanical issue we would no longer be able to use the stage in the gym where we were holding our worship gatherings. This posed several significant issues. First we didn't have any stage (and I'm really short). Secondly, Even if we get a stage we don't have a big enough trailer to haul it in.

As we prayed and talked with others, we ended up having a church allow us to use their portable stage that they were just storing and not using...and they told us we could use it long term. Then, one of our team members posted our need on his facebook status and a guy responded that his father had a 24 foot trailer that he wasn't using and he thought we could use it long term. On that Sunday, we ended up completely flipping the direction and using the new stage and most people said that they liked the feel even better.

We ended up having 105 people (which I found out is pretty decent for the second week) and most importantly, we had 12 first time visitors from the community that came (not very usual...but awesome)!

God continues to go before us and He continues to remind us that nothing catches Him by surprise...it's His church that He's building after all!

Public Launch Sunday...

We had an amazing first Sunday! We conservatively had 198 people in attendance (although we think there were more than that...and we’re double checking our figures). Our team did a really great job inviting and there were several faces that I didn’t know or recognize from within the community. We had two families that came as a result of our promotion (one of which was a single Father who hadn’t been to church in over 7 years).

On a personal note, Ann and I had 15 of our friends from the community and neighborhood show up (plus all of their kids)! Many of them said that they really enjoyed it and are planning to come back. At the end of my message as we went into our second worship set, there were several who were visibly moved by God! In fact one of my friends that was a prayerful and financial supporter came down from Wisconsin posted on our Epic Facebook wall, “One of the most powerful (services) I've ever attended...EPIC is amazing!!!! God is really at work here.”

Friends, it’s apparent that lives are being impacted and changed, and we’re asking God to continue to use us for so much more! Please keep praying for us!

This Sunday - The Big Day!

It's been a long time in waiting but this Sunday is the day! We will be having our first public worship gathering. The team has been working their tails off and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. The last two weeks we held our preview services at the Meadows Edge Elementary School (where we will now meet) and they went incredibly well. Last week Jennie Kintner spoke and I heard nothing but positive feedback. Again the strength is the incredible team that God has brought to Epic. I'm really excited as I've had several of my friends and family members mention that they are coming this Sunday. We even have some of our supporters from Wisconsin and Colorado coming in to be a part of this momentous occasion. We're so grateful for all of you who have prayed and supported us in so many different ways!

As we go into this Sunday, please pray that God will:

• Bring the people in that need to be there.
• That God will move in hearts and lives would be changed.
• That Epic will have a significant ongoing impact in our community and around the world.
• That God will continue to give us a heart for people who are far from Him.
• That God’s provision and protection would be on us physically, spiritually and emotionally.

On a more personal note, I could use your prayers as Ann and I had a loss in our family this last Sunday night. One minute before we were supposed to start our service, Ann and I received a text that we needed to "get to the hospital now." We had to leave and the team went on without us. As it turns out, our nephew Joshua was born on Sunday night but was only with us for an hour after his birth. We were made aware of this diagnosis prior to his birth so it didn't come as a total shock. However our family is deeply saddened by this and would appreciate your prayers. Please especially remember my brother, Jonathan and his wife, Kristin as they mourn the loss of their first child. Ann and I are so grateful for all of your prayers and encouragement!

Pre-Launch...

Last Sunday night was our final worship gathering at First United Methodist Church. We are so grateful to the leadership and people of FUMC for graciously allowing us to use their facilities over the last 5 months. Our final worship gathering was special as we had several guests from some of the partnering churches along with the 5 senior pastors and their spouses from the 5 lead team churches (which have supplied us with people and finances) came to pray a prayer of commissioning over our launch team. It was a very inspiring night and we're excited to begin this next phase.

I've been in several meetings trying to nail down all the final details before our public launch on March 7th. We are in the midst of a marketing campaign that Josh Yoder is heading up. Josh and the team are doing a great job with the marketing and have been really creative in this effort. Our different ministry teams are working endless hours to get prepared but everything seems to be coming together and I'm being constantly reminded of how grateful I am for the people that God brought to this team. It's so evident that we have the right people with the right gifts and He has continued to meet our needs.

Please be in prayer for our us as we begin this next phase of our church plant:

• Please pray that God move in the hearts of the people within our community and that they will come out to Epic and that we will be faithful in doing our part in their lives as God does His part.
• Please pray for God’s provision and blessing upon us.
• Please pray for God’s protection on our team (spiritual, emotional, physical).
• Please pray that God would go before us and that we would follow His lead.
• Please pray that people who are far from God will be reconciled to Him through this ministry.

Countdown!

I just met with our launch team last night and there is a general sense of anxious anticipation. We are looking forward to our public launch on March 7th at Meadows Edge Elementary School. Our Worship gathering time will be at 10:30 on Sunday mornings. We are calling this "Stage 2" of our launch. With our Stage 2 launch we have re-invited our previous launch team members to re-up their commitment to be a part of this second stage and I'm excited to tell you that everyone has decided to do so and we have the privilege of having new people joining the team.

We are getting ready to start our Home Groups. Currently we have three homes that we will be launching in the next week and there are more that we are prepared to start after we begin our public gatherings. The home groups will be a significant part our spiritual formation process and helping people get connected to Epic.

It's so amazing to see how God is continuing to go before us and meet our needs. When we initially put our plan together in October, we had a goal of raising $50,000 in order to purchase everything we needed to do our launch. As of January we had raised/saved up $24,000 and this seemed significantly off pace for where we needed to be by March. Once again God reminded us that He is building His church and that He is our provider in both resources and people. We have so many talented and gifted individuals on our launch team that God brought and they have been able to be creative and resourceful to the point that it now appears that we are only going to have to spend $10,000 to launch (and still do our ministry with excellence). From God having another church allow us to use their trailer to being able to build things at cost, we are seeing everything come together for way under the initial estimated start price. God is so amazing! What's most exciting is that this allows us to use the additional money to continue in other forms of outreach to our community. Yea God!

Currently we're really heavy into the public marketing stage of our launch. Please pray that this will be effective and that we will have wisdom in this area. Once again, I feel good about my marketing team since I'm working with two young business majors/graduates who have some expertise and creativity in this.

Please pray that everything will come together for our preview services and then for our public launch on March 7th. Please pray that we wont lose sight of what we're about and why we're doing this...that we will remain focused on the vision and the mission!

Finally, please pray for God's hand to move in several ways:

• To touch people's hearts and lives in our community through Epic.
• To protect the hearts, minds and families of those who are a part of this team/church.
• To continue to provide.
• To continue to lead us (and that we wont let go of his hand).

Thank you for your prayerful support.

Thanks to our Incredible Launch Team

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Grateful

It's Thanksgiving and there's so much we have to be grateful for.

Last Sunday was our seventh week of holding our worship gatherings. The spirit has been great and it is apparent by both the new faces that we’re seeing and the comments we are receiving that God is moving and building His church. A week ago, we had 82 people (our highest attendance) so far. We have had 30 new visitors and several have asked how they can get involved.

Last Saturday, we delivered 27 Thanksgiving meals to 27 different needy families living near our meeting place. It was amazing the opportunities we had to build relationships and share God’s love with these people.

Last Friday, I had the final meeting with our finance team and we put together a working budget. Money is going to be extremely tight! We still have several items that we need to have donated or purchased before we can move forward with our public launch that we are tentatively planning for March. Yet God, shows His faithfulness as a couple of weeks ago, a church planter that I didn’t even know, happened to “by chance” look at my website and saw that we were trying to find a trailer. As it turns out they are no longer in need of their 16-foot trailer come January. They told us we are welcome to use it. I was moved by their generosity and Kingdom-mindedness! God is so Amazing and continues to show His faithfulness!

I’m currently in the process of thinking through starting small groups. I want to be wise about doing this right. Please pray for me that I will do this in God’s timing and with His wisdom. Also that all of the components and people needed would come together to make this happen.

On December 6^th, I’m excited to have Jennie Kintner, one of our launch team members share her first message with Epic. Jennie is a very gifted communicator and I'm looking forward to hearing her share! We are planning to have her join the speaking rotation once a month. On December 13^th we are planning to have a special Christmas Worship Gathering and this should be a really wonderful time.

Prayer Requests:

· God’s Financial Provision and Wisdom in Stewardship. We need about $50,000 worth of capital expenditures.

· God will continue to use us and expand our impact in our community.

· I need God’s Wisdom and Strength as I lead the church.

· I need God’s wisdom, timing and effectiveness as I look to start small groups.

· God will continue to build His church and that we wont get in the way.

· God’s provision and protection will be on our families.

· Endurance as we recognize that this is a marathon.

This Sunday!

The time is finally here! This Sunday evening we will officially begin holding our first worship gathering. This is our first stage of our 2 stage launch. We are so grateful for the people of First United Methodist Church who allowing us to use their facility. They have been an incredible blessing to work with and they really have heart for the Kingdom. We will be meeting in their Fellowship Hall on Sunday evenings starting this Sunday...YEAH! They are also allowing us to use their equipment and children's ministry space. Thanks for all of you who have been praying with us to find this place. God is Faithful!

Below are some other praises and prayer requests:

Praises:

• We have a place to store our trailer (when we get a trailer). Answer to prayer!
• We have a great location to meet for our services. Thanks for praying about this.
• We have an incredibly committed launch team!

Prayer Requests:

• We have our first official worship gathering (Soft launch) this Sunday Night! Please pray that God will move in a mighty way and that He will Glorified and the lives will be changed.
• Pray that we will remain wise stewards with our resources and time.
• That people who are far from God, will become fully devoted followers of Jesus as a result of this ministry.
• God will continue to protect our hearts, bodies and minds.
• That more and more of the right people will come to join our team over the next several weeks.
• God will give me His words this Sunday as I preach.
• We need people with a passion for children to come and help us out (like most churches:)
• That we will continue to build relationships and meet needs of those living in and around South Mishawaka.

Thank you for all of your prayerful support!

God's Hands

I want to give you an encouraging update.

We are really close to declaring our official meeting sight for our October 11th launch. This Wednesday I will be able to officially make that location known. Please pray as we make this final decision.

This morning I met with a local business man and he knows of someone that may have a place that could work for an office space for us. It is not currently being used and would need some handy work done on it, but it would have three rooms and a conference room space. It would be an ideal location if it works out. Please join with us and pray that this would work out for us.

This is a portion of an e-mail sent out to our launch team from Kim Selis one of our launch team members and local outreach coordinator at Epic:

“We were able to deliver 24 packs of groceries to families in need. Each "pack" contained one bag of frozen food, one bag of non-perishable items, one bag of bread items and one gallon of milk! It was truly amazing to see!

Many opened their doors to us and shared prayer requests, some, while it seemed they had need, felt that their neighbors needed the food more and sent us there, some were just thankful for the food.

There were doors opened for us to return. We were able to take prayer requests from these homes and we prayed together as a team for those requests and will continue to pray and follow up with them.

The group also loaded up, after the delivery and went to one of the homes to help a woman, who had fire damage. The men worked to unhook her stove and get it out to the trash and the women (and children) wiped down walls and the bathroom.”

I drove away from this neighborhood overwhelmed with emotion as I was just so proud of our team and the way they are allowing God to use them to “get their hands dirty” and Live Out His love to this community.

From there I drove to one of our other outreaches that one of our launch team members was leading that afternoon. Peter Metzger who is a senior at Bethel College was hosting the Epic Skate Invitational at Bethel College. People from all over drove in and were able to take part in this event and then were made aware of a new church coming to South Mishawaka. They were given our information and it turned out to be a great day.

The details are coming together in God's timing and we are remaining dependent on His leading. Please continue to pray with us for the following:

• God would use us to meet needs in our community and develop ongoing relationships.
• God would give us discernment on a location for our stage 1 launch this Oct.
• God would would provide us with an office space and storage space for our trailer.
• God will protect our hearts and minds and that we will continue to abide in Him!

I remain humbled to reflect on God holding us in His hands, while inviting us to be His hands.

Abiding in Him!

After much prayer and counsel we have decided to go with a 2 stage launch. Our first launch will take place in a church and we are still targeting that to take place on Oct. 11th. However, this will be more of a word of mouth launch that will be intended to help us build up the launch team and save up finances for a few months (we are trying to save up close to $60,000 to purchase portable equipment). On March 7th we are planning to do our public launch which will take place at Meadow's Edge Elementary School.

Last night I met with our launch team and it seemed important for us to stop and use our meeting time for prayer. We took time to remind ourselves that it is God who must build His church and that all of our strategies and planning are meaningless without His empowerment. John 15:5 has been in my mind all week long. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." I challenged the team to double their prayer focus in the coming weeks prior to our launch. I shared with them that in order for us to be fruitful we have to be tapped in and know HIS power.

Despite the enemy's attempts to thwart us from the mission we continue to see God's Hand. Our team remains committed and we are continuing to grow. We now have 33 adults and 31 children on our launch team (and we are still seeking more)! We had $16,000 come in last month despite having several of our families struggling to find work. We are so grateful for our outside partnerships (churches and friends) that are faithfully giving towards this church plant. We can't thank you enough!

God is amazing and it is our deep desire to abide in Him and to walk in accordance to His leading. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Below are some ongoing prayer requests:

• God will protect our hearts and minds.
• We will remain steadfast on our mission of living in and living out God's love as we seek to reach people that are far from God.
• God will provide us with the right meeting space for our Oct. 11th launch.
• God will continue to meet our financial needs (both for Epic and our individual families).
• Physical and relational protection on our families.
• That we will abide in Him and as a result He will make us fruitful.
• That we will have victory over the ongoing attacks from the enemy.

Josh...and stuff!

There’s so much to share with you. We have made an update video that I would invite you to check out at: http://www.epicmishawaka.org/Epic/Video.html

We have had a huge answer to prayer. As many of you know, I have been praying a great deal for administrative help. Recently one of our launch team members, Josh Yoder, quit his very good paying job in a management position because it ended up interfering with his commitment to the Epic Launch Team on Sundays. Josh is a recent graduate from Purdue University and has his degree in Business management. In hearing this, it seemed to me that perhaps God’s person for the position was already on our team. He has the skill, I know him and his heart (as a former student in my youth ministry), He believes and is deeply committed to the vision at Epic and he’s somebody I could work with. Finally, the big test was when I told him that he would need to raise his support and work a part time job, as Epic would be unable to pay him. After praying about it and seeking Godly counsel, he came back and said that he thought God was in this, and that he was ready to take another step of faith to become the Intern for the Director of Administration while raising his support to do so. As of late this last week we confirmed and finalized the decision and Josh is officially on board. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer! Please be praying with Josh, as naturally a step like this can be unnerving and yet very rewarding. Please pray for God to honor his step of Faith and obedience and that Josh’s needs would be met.

Please be praying for the following:

· I am going tomorrow to meet with the principal for the school. We will be talking about ways that we can partner with the school. Additionally we will talk about a rental agreement in that school. Please pray that everything would go smoothly for this.

· Please pray for unity in our team and within our partnering churches.

· Pray that I will have incredible wisdom and discernment to lead.

· Please pray for us as we continue to try and be Christ to our community.

· Pray for God's hand of protection to be on our hearts and families.

 
· Please pray for God to bring more people to our launch team.

· Pray that God will supply all our needs. 

· Please pray that God will continue to build His church and that His will would be done and that He May get all the Glory!

Momentum

I'm very excited about our Launch Team. We are now up to 22 adults and 21 kids (mostly young children). Our Launch Team is very committed and it's awesome to have a team of people that have a heart for Living in and Living out God's love. We are humbled to be used by God to lead such an amazing team of people.

A couple of weeks ago, we partnered with the city of Mishawaka and a couple of other local churches in the community (River Valley and Vineyard) to help work on a home that the city of Mishawaka selected for us. It was cool to be tangible expressions of Christ's body and love. It was exciting to see various churches partnering together for the sake of the Kingdom.

Last weekend our Launch team did a prayer walk over a large section of South Mishawaka. It was incredible to be walking throughout the city and to actually see the needs. Over 46% of South Mishawaka is low income/poverty line. It was moving to walk the streets and to see those first hand (at a slower pace of walking vs. driving) as we sought to look with the eyes of God. Our prayer is that God would touch and bless the hearts and lives of those who are so desperately in need. Also, that we would be Christ to our community. It was an incredible day to be praying the needs that God put before us.

The Launch Team will be meeting again this Sunday for our next session where we will be covering vision, training, values and community. Please pray that God will give us incredible insight and unity as we go into this meeting. In conjunction with our meetings, the Launch Team is reading two books this summer (of which I highly recommend for any church) "Simple Church" & "Jim and Casper go to church." Thanks to the inspiration of the "Jim and Casper" book the launch team is planning to break into smaller groups and set up several dates to visit a variety of churches in order to learn and grow from our experiences. Please pray that God will give us His heart and mind as we consider what it's like for a "new person" to come to our future gatherings.

Thanks for your ongoing prayerful support. Below is a short list of prayer requests that you can pray on our behalf.

• Pray that God will bring more of the "right people" to join our launch team. We have a goal to have 42 adults on our launch team prior to our launch this October.
• Pray that God will solidify where we will be meeting. Our goal is to know this by the end of the month.
• Pray for God's protection on our hearts, minds and family.
• Pray for a heart and mind of unity and focus within our Launch Team.
• Pray for God's blessing and protection to be upon our Lead Team churches in addition to all of our partnering churches.
• Pray that God will give Ann and I wisdom to lead.
• Pray that God will continue to raise up more prayer and financial partners.

Blessed to have you partnering with us!

We’re Growing!

We have officially had our first Launch Team Meeting this last Saturday. We had a great time of building relationships and spent some time praying together. It ended up being a wonderful and inspiring time. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to look around the room and to see the diversity of ages, stages of life, gift mix and passion. Nevertheless we were unified in coming together in order that we may make a difference for the sake of God’s Kingdom as we seek to “Live in and Live out God’s love.” Are team is continuing to grow. We are officially up to 18 adults with several others still considering their potential partnership with us. Ann and I were at Hillside Missionary Church this last Sunday and we had a very warm response from the people there. We had several that indicated an interest in partnering with Epic in some form.

We could use your ongoing prayers for us in the following ways:
• God would continue to bring more of the right people to join the Epic Church Plant. We have a goal of a minimum of 42 adults by Oct.
• God would continue to raise up prayerful and financial supporters.
• God would provide us with a location.
• God would have his hand of protection on all of our launch team members – Emotionally, physically, relationally, spiritually
• God would Ann and I incredible wisdom and discernment beyond our experience and own abilities.
• Epic would be used in a mighty way to impact lives as we remain focused on bringing the love of Christ to those who are far from God. Thanks for your prayers!

And the Journey Continues...

Ann, Caitlin and I have recently returned from a great deal of traveling in the car. We recently returned from a time that served as both a conference and much needed family vacation time in Orlando. As I look at what appears to be a very full summer and fall, we feel very refreshed, equipped and excited for this next leg of the journey with Epic.

I’m excited to say that we have had 11 adults sign on to our launch team at this point and we are thrilled by their partnership. We’re planning to have our first official Launch Team Meeting May 30th. We’re optimistic that there will be even more people joining us to be a part of the Launch Team by then as several more are still taking time to pray and consider. Additionally, Ann and I are planning to be in two more churches this month (Hillside and College Park) where we will be inviting people from these communities to join in partnering with us. Please pray that God will move in the hearts of these people in regards to their partnership and involvement with Epic. Our goal is to have at least 42 adults prior to our launch in October.

On the Financial front, we have a goal to raise a total of $250,000 (over two years). We currently have just over $135,000 that has been pledged and/or received. Please pray that God will continue to provide financially. We want to thank so many of you have pledged and given of your finances. I know that in these economic times it would one might be tempted to “hold back.” Thank you for your courageous faith steps and desire to help advance the Kingdom of God.

We are still in the process of trying to find a location. We have been told that we are able rent one of the schools in South Mishawaka, but only for six months max. This at least gives us an option to launch, and we are certainly grateful for this option. However, we are looking for something that would be more long term, affordable, and able to help us better serve the community. Please continue to pray with us as we seek God’s direction and provision in this matter.

On a more personal note, Ann and I are continuing to build relationships in our neighborhood and community. As I am typing this I’m looking out the back door of my home and noticing that there are 4 more new homes going in behind us. We’re excited about these potential relationships and it’s exciting to think about how God already knows who will be moving into them.

Thank you for your support and partnership with us. Together God will use us to make a difference and to bring honor to His name as we Live in/out His Love!

Jeremy

Launch Team!

Ann and I continue to meet with people who are interested in the church plant in one form or another. We’ve been preaching and sharing at various churches and have had many people indicate a level of interest - whether it be partnering in prayer, finances, periodic tasks/projects or even joining the church by being a part of the lead team. We’re continually being reminded that God is building His church and that we need to be sure to follow His lead.

We have had several informational meetings, with over 70 people from various churches either in attendance or asking for information on the church plant. As people have prayed and begin to count the costs, 22 people have come to our “Next Step” Meetings at this point in time. Out of that group we have had 3 people already commit to being a part of the Launch Team! All of the others remain interested but need more time to pray. We’re planning to hear back from them around the first week in May. In sharing this news with my Church Planting Coach, he seemed very pleased with the initial progress and response from people in the stage that we’re in. Our hope is to have an idea of an initial group to start the Launch Team by May. We’re planning to still have several other opportunities for people to join along the way. I’m planning to preach in two more of our Lead Team churches (College Park & Hillside) in May and we’re hopeful that out of these pools more people will get on board by joining the Launch Team. Please continue to pray that God will move in the hearts of those He has planned to form this Launch Team. Pray that God will give Ann and I wisdom.

In the next few weeks I will be doing a significant amount of traveling. I will be taking part in our Lead Team Retreat with our Lead Team Churches (College Park, Hillside, St. Mark, Sturgis & Wakarusa). Additionally, I will be taking part in the Exponential Church Planting Conference. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain more insight and skills in planting a multiplying church. Please pray that I will learn what God has for Epic and for me during these times at the retreat and conference.

On a personal note, Ann and I are continuing to meet more of our neighbors and people in South Mishawaka and we are enjoying building these relationships and getting to know our neighbors. My daughter has especially enjoyed getting to meet new friends and have other kids to play with (Mom and Dad get a little boring after awhile). Please pray that we will build more friendships and grow the relationships that we have formed. Finally please pray for God’s ongoing protection on our family and for our hearts.

It feels like a snowball is being formed and we’re excited to see how it continues to grow. This will only happen through God leading the way and for your ongoing support. Many thanks for your faithfulness in partnering with us.

Jeremy

Yea God!

We just found out Sunday night that we will have a 5th church joining our lead team.  This is a huge answer to prayer as it helps both financially but also giving us another pool of potential launch team members.  We are thrilled to have Hillside join us and we know that they are going to be a wonderful addition to the team (St. Mark, Wakarusa, College Park & Sturgis).  Hillside took a congregational vote last night and an overwhelming majority voted to move forward and join the lead team - fully recognizing that this will be a sacrifice and faith challenge and yet believing that the Kingdom is worth it!  Ann and I were incredibly moved and encouraged by their faith step!

In some other news, I had the opportunity to preach at Granger Missionary Church yesterday and we were well received.  We appreciated the leadership allowing us to come in and share our hearts with their people and were grateful for several that were interested in partnering with us.

Ann and I are continuing a fast pace season right now as we are continuing to meet with people who are interested in possibly becoming a part of the launch team as well as trying to keep up with several other significant relationships in our neighborhood and area.  We actually have a week off from preaching this week, so were planning to head up to Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan to pay another visit (we have found this church to be an incredible blessing to us).  The "Next Step" Meetings are for anyone who is leaning towards potentially joining the launch team and would like to get to know us better and ask any questions that they might have before making their final decision in whether or not to commit.  These are some very exciting and yet anxious days all at the same time.  Please pray for God to sustain us with His strength, wisdom and discernment.  Also, please pray that God will protect our marriage and family during these very busy times.  I want to be sure to be Christ to Ann and Caitlin in addition to other (not to the exclusion of my family - I want to be sure to keep and intentional healthy balance of both).

Please be praying with us as we seek to try and find a meeting location.  We have some initial options that could get us through the first 6 months but we're continuing to try and find something that will be more long term.  We know God will provide we just want to have discernment to hear from Him!

Below are some significant upcoming dates:

April:

6 - Informational Meeting

7 - Informational Meeting

9 - Next Step Meeting

11 - Next Step Meeting

12 - Sharing at Crossroads Missionary Church

13 - Next Step Meeting

14 - Next Step Meeting

15-16 - Lead Team Retreat

20-23 - Exponential Church Planting Conference (in Orlando)

May:

3 - Preaching at College Park Missionary Church

17 - Preaching at Crossroads Missionary Church

31 - Sharing at Chapel Hill Missionary Church

June:

4-7 - Speak at Wakarusa Missionary Church youth retreat

14 - Share and Preach at Morenci Church of the Nazarene