prayer letter - Feb. 2009

January Summary:
January started off as a weird month. After returning to WA from CO for Christmas, I turned around and returned again to CO to be with my family after my Grandma’s death. Although she was not young, her death made me think of the immediacy of ministry, that we are invited to sprint forward with the light of Christ. My deep desire is to see the hearts of those in darkness come into the light of Jesus. In practical terms, this means our first step is figuring out where and who God is calling us to in Bellingham. So, for the 2nd half of January we began our survey of Bellingham neighborhoods, covering Sehome, York, Lettered Street, South Hill, and Fairhaven. These first visits were soaked with prayer, neighborhoods demographics, and a keen eye for gathering points of residents. These and other neighborhoods in central and south Bellingham are the initial areas where we feel God is leading us. We pray He’ll continue to direct us.

February Forecast:
In the first part of February we hope to finish initially looking at the “hoods” of central and south Bellingham. After this we’ll spend more time in those neighborhoods that God is tugging at our hearts to revisit, hanging out in those community gathering points we observed (coffee shops, parks, etc.). I also am planning on beginning to meet with church, ministry, and community leaders in Bellingham to gain a local perspective in discerning. We hope to have another prayer gathering at the end of February or beginning of March. Our focus in all of these discernment times is to determine “people” and “place,” to listen to who God wants us to serve, who will serve with us, and which neighborhood could be best facilitate relationship building. Please let us know if this strikes a holy chord with you. We appreciate your continued prayers and support.

please pray with us for…

People
• God would allow us to connect with our support base of churches and individuals, and w/ Bellingham community and ministry leaders
• God would rise up a leadership team, passionate to advance God’s kingdom, including that local “person of peace” (Luke 10:1-7)
• God would give a heart for, and eyes to see our focus group, who are on the fringe of faith

Place
• God would call us to serve a specific neighborhood in Bellingham
• God would open doors to get to know folks in the city
• God would help us find those places of community connections (running clubs, neighborhood associations, etc.), where our lives can overlap with those in the community