Update!!

Hi Friends,

I want to share with you some exciting praises and updates and then give you some items to be praying with us.

Praise/Update:

Things are beginning to ramp up. Ann and I have begun to have conversations with people that say that they would be interested in taking the next step to discover if being a part of Epic Church (in some form) is what God has next for them. We’ve had several great conversations over the last month and we’re excited about the potential of what God may choose to do with these people in regards to partnering with Epic.

This week Ann and I went and met with a church up in Michigan and had an awesome time of sharing our hearts and vision with them. I received a phone call from the Sr. Pastor yesterday and he said that their church board unanimously decided to take a major step of faith and send us a $10,000 donation towards the ministry of Epic. Additionally they would like to partner with us and know of any tangible needs that the ministry may have in order that they might be able to help towards those needs as well. This is a giant step of faith for this church in these times and to say that I was humbled and encouraged by them would be a considerable understatement.

Significant Upcoming Dates:

February:
18-19 - Growing Healthy Churches Cluster Meeting (in Columbus, OH)
22 – Share at St. Mark Missionary Church

March:
8 – Preaching at St. Mark Missionary Church
11 – Informational Meeting at St. Mark Missionary Church
15 – Preaching at Sturgis Missionary Church
22 – Preaching at Wakarusa Missionary Church
25 – Informational Meeting at Wakarusa Missionary Church
29 – Sharing at Granger Missionary Church

April:
15-16 – Lead Team Retreat
20-23 – Exponential Church Planting Conference (in Orlando)

May:
3 – Preaching at College Park Missionary Church


Requests:

* Please continue to pray for God to go before us and to provide and give wisdom.

* Please continue to pray for his hand of protection to be on our family. Pray for us physically (Jeremy is currently feeling ill), emotionally and spiritually.

* Please pray for God to bring the people He has for this church and those that are to be on the Launch Team. Pray that we will be wise and incredibly sensitive towards His leading as this is a crucial step towards launching this church.

* Please pray for God to move in the hearts of those we will be speaking to in the near future in regards to a space to be renting.

* Please pray for us as we seek to impact our community and reflect the love, humility and compassion of Christ.

* Please pray for God to give us His words as we continue to share and begin preaching at churches.

Prayer and Praise Update...

"See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.  You also be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."  James 5:7-8

Requests:

• Caitlin came down with the flu last night.  Please pray that she gets better quickly.  I'm supposed to leave for a church planting conference in Orlando this Wednesday, please pray that God will keep Ann and I from getting sick while I'm away.  Please pray that my time at the conference will be a very beneficial time.

• Ann and I continue to develop new relationships and are continuing to nurture relationships we have built since moving.  James 5:7-8 has been impressed on my heart - please pray these verses with me.

• We're beginning the very early stages of recruiting the launch team.  We're looking for 45-100 people (ideally) that have hearts like Missionaries to the people of South Mishawaka and match the values and vision of Epic Church that God has put on our hearts.  Please pray for God to go before us and to give us much needed wisdom and discernment as we start this process.

• Please pray for God to continue to provide financially.  This has been extra challenging with the economy.

• Please pray for God's hand of protection to be on our family:  Physically, emotionally, & spiritually.  Pray too that He will continue to meet our needs.
  

Praise:

• Ann, Caitlin and I are grateful for our home and are continuing to get settled and unpacked after living out of suitcase for 4 months.  The time we had with our parents was a wonderful time for Caitlin to bond with her grandparents.  It's really neat to see this... she has 4 awesome grandparents!

• Ann and I have had opportunities to meet some of our neighbors and we're excited to develop these relationships.  One of our neighbors who also just move in, were actually a part of a church plant several years ago... pretty cool!

• Ann and I have had meetings with some churches that are considering partnering with us.  We were encouraged by our times with them and are prayerfully hopeful for their partnership.

• We are continuing to develop relationships with our friends in South Mishawaka and we're just loving these people and our times together.

• Our family and "long time" friends have been an incredible inspiration and encouragement to us.
  

Home update & Praise:

Our prayers have been that God would go before us in every aspect and He certainly has!  As it turns out with this unusual weather in December it exposed some serious grade issues as well as some tile issues with our home -hence significant water in the basement.  Long story short, it was good that this happened before we owned the home (as this issue wouldn't normally have happened until Spring time) and the contractor was able to correct it with the warmer weather. Additionally, we discovered that if our personal items would have been in there and that had happened, our personal items would have been our loss unless we were to get into a big legal battle.  

After a great deal of helpful advice from friends and family who knew how to handle this situation far better than us (you know who you are and we thank you so much) we had to have several meetings with our contractor and third party inspections, but it all looks good and seems corrected.   Ann and I are closing on the house this morning...YEA!  We have a little bit of painting to do over the next few days, but we're hoping to start moving our things in this Saturday.  Thanks for your prayers and concerns!  God is so Faithful!!!

Prayer for our home...

Please pray.  Ann and I previously postponed on the closing of our new home a week ago.  We thought the issue had been resolved until we went into the basement again this morning.  Due to the road conditions, the contractor said he couldn't make it out to look at it today and we are supposed to close this Monday morning.  Also, due to contract issues, we really need to close before the end of the year.  This has turned into a very complicated and difficult situation.  Please pray for God's wisdom and intervention as we seek to navigate through this matter.

On the bright side, Ann and I had a wonderful time celebrating Christ being with us and being with our families for Christmas!

Epic Church Video

Check out this video...it will give you yet another glimpse into the heart and purpose behind Epic Church.

Prayer Update...

Praises:

• Ann, Caitlin and I had a chance to catch up with some friends last Saturday.  We were able to hear of what God was doing in each other's lives and Ann and I left very inspired and encouraged!
• Ann and I have seen people offer to support us without our initiation.  Thanks for your prayers, God is building His church!
• Ann and I had the opportunity to share our vision with a Sunday School Class at Wakarusa Missionary Church.  It was a wonderful time and they were very encouraging towards us.
• Ann and I are supposed to be closing on our house Dec. 22nd.
• We've seen several of our relationships with people in South Mishawaka continue to develop... we're grateful for these friendships!    

Requests:

• Please pray for others to continue to give and join in giving towards the church.  Pray that God will continue to bring about others who have a similar burden for reaching out to the people of South Mishawaka.
• Please pray that God will bring about the people He has to help launch this church.  Pray that Ann and I will have faith, discernment and courage in this area.
• Please pray that others will continue to be prompted to pray for this ministry and for Ann, Caitlin and I.
• Ann and I are going out of town for a few days.  Please pray that God will watch over us and Caitlin.  Please pray that this time will be very beneficial to Ann and I as we have this significant amount of time together.
• Please pray that God will have His hand of protection on my family and me:  Pray that He will protect us Spiritually, Physically and Emotionally.

Prayer Update

Requests:

• Raising financial support has been very difficult.  Please pray for God to provide and that we will remain encouraged.
• In January, Ann and I will begin the process of recruiting the Launch team.  Please pray that God will move in the hearts of the right people to be a part of this church plant.  Pray that we will have incredible wisdom and discernment.
• December 22nd we will be closing on our house, please pray that things will go smoothly.
• Please pray that God will continue to allow us to build significant relationships in South Mishawaka.
• Please pray that Epic church will be a beacon of Grace and Hope as we seek to be tangible extensions of His Love.

Praise:

• God continues to meet our needs.  Every time I have a meeting or thought of discouragement, God continues to "surprise" us with means of provision and encouragement.  
• I had an awesome meeting today with a pastor who had a vision and heart for partnering in the planting of a church in South Mishawaka before God had even put it on my heart. I'm excited in the potential of this relationship.
• Ann and I are so thankful for our parents allowing us to live with them since August...last night, Ann and I were able to go out on a date together and we had a wonderful time time together.
• We have so much to be thankful for, we enjoyed getting to spend time with some of our friends and family over Thanksgiving.