How to Pray

You remember that last month we asked you to pray for our children and the relationships they are building in Orlando. Well, within days Eli and Titus were asked by a little 10-year-old girl to be a part of a play that she had written and was going to perform at her home. This family isn’t even from our church and yet God, through a web of His own making, connected us to them.

Eli was cast as Jesus and Titus played the dual roles of “leper” and “boy raised from the dead”. They spent Monday and Tuesday afternoons practicing and we watch the debut performance last night. It was wonderful to see such creativity in this small group of children and to see our children joining right in.

We asked for prayer … you prayed … our good God was pleased to give.

Praying is Investment and Praying for Investment ::

Because of your great faithfulness to pray for us (and the kindness of many of you in financial investment) I want to share with you these three specific prayer needs.

1) Please pray for our faith and perseverance as we await God’s perfect provision for our needs in the coming months and year.

• God has provided two separate grants through the Illiana & Florida Classis and the RCA Church Multiplication office for $15,000 each.
• As we left First Reformed Church in Sheboygan Falls we were abundantly blessed and encouraged by numerous financial gifts to aid in our move and send us into mission.
• We have received a number of monthly commitments and have received such joy and connection with our friends around the country as we have begun to receive the first of these gifts.
• Though we are short of our financial needs for the year we see these investments as signs of God’s blessing as we pursue His call.

2) Please pray about personally investing financially.

• I want to emphasize that this is a prayer request and not a giving request alone.
• We need to raise an additional $2,500 in monthly commitments within the next 60 days. These commitments will fund the remainder of my apprenticeship at CrossPointe Church (Check the bottom of the page). These commitments along with future grants will also carry us into the first months of the church plant next year.
• For more information about investing in our church planting mission visit our Online Giving Page or download a Donor Commitment Card.

3) Please pray about connecting us to others who would consider investing.

• Most of the people that provided for Paul during His missionary journeys Paul did not even know before he began. It was because of the hospitality of many partners in the gospel that God planted the seed of the gospel through His ministry.
• Please share our website information (JeremiahFyffe.com/prayer) with others who you think would consider joining us in this endeavor in both prayer and financial investment. I would love the opportunity to share our vision with others whom you would recommend.

How to Pray ::

• Pray for our fundraising efforts, that we will approach this process with humility and faith.
• We thank God for some of the connections that our kids have made even in the last week! Thank you for your prayer so quickly answered by the steadfast love of our God!
• Pray for our Mondays as we continue to commit Monday afternoons for our search for a location for the future church plant.
• We have begun reserving our Friday evenings specifically for meeting the people in our immediate neighborhood. Pray that God would open our home and our lives to those around us.

One of our primary goals in the coming months is to seek a people and a place. We believe that God has already prepared a small group of people that will join us in mission and ultimately become the core team of a future church plant. We just haven’t met them yet. Yesterday (2011-07-25 – Monday) we took a family field trip along the Atlantic coast (near Cape Canaveral) getting to know the towns along Highway 1. This is one of the areas that we are praying over. In the picture below we are driving over one of the many huge bridges that connect the mainland to a long strip of beach that runs for miles along the coast.

Next week we are going to take a similar trip just north of Orlando to investigate another area. It is exciting to drive through these areas looking at businesses and churches and neighborhoods. Sandy and I spend that time praying and dreaming together about who we might meet someday in these communities.

Every time I shake a hand of a new person that I have met and every time I drive through a new community I wonder, “Is this person going to become a future partner in ministry? Is this the neighborhood that God is going to use our family to ignite a gospel movement?”
We invite you to join us in prayer that God would cause us to meet with just the right people in just the right place in His perfect time and according to His perfect plan.
The Lord Bless You & Keep You

How to Pray ::

• Prayer for us as we search for a people and a place for the church plant.
• Jeremiah is now in his third week in the CrossPointe office. Pray for Jeremiah as he establishes a routine.
• We have begun reserving our Friday evenings specifically for meeting the people in our immediate neighborhood. Pray that God would own our home and our lives to those around us.
• Pray for our fundraising efforts, that we will approach this process with humility and faith.

After two and a half weeks of hard work moving in and occasional rest for our family I am finally spending my first day in the office at CrossPointe Church (No, it doesn’t look like much, but at least I have my mac!).

We are very glad to be here, to have met some neighbors, to have celebrated the Fourth with some new friends, and to begin to get a glimpse of life and ministry in Orlando. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support!

How to Pray ::

• I am spending much of this week learning and establishing my new routine. Pray for clarity and vision in the upcoming days.
• Pray for wisdom as we continue to raise support for the upcoming year of ministry.
• Pray for our connections back in Wisconsin. Each member of our family misses our friends and family very much. Know that we pray for you and love you very much!

The Lord Bless You & Keep You.

We are almost on our way. The house is starting to fill up with boxes. Seven stacks of paper have been thrown out of the church office. And the U-Haul is reserved.

We are loading our house on Saturday (2011-06-11), enjoying a Sabbath rest on Sunday, and starting our three-day journey to Orlando on Monday. It is hard to believe the time is almost here to leave.

Core Prayer Team ::

We are seeking 30 families and individuals who would be willing to join us as our core prayer team in the years to come. If you would like to be a part of this team, please send me an email (email@jeremiahfyffe.com) and let me know. You will receive periodic email updates with specific prayer requests for this core prayer team.

Resources regarding our future life and ministry.

• June Support Letter
• Give Online at Razoo.com
• CrossPointe :: The church Jeremiah will be apprenticing at.

Prayer Needs ::

• Obviously strength and wisdom in packing! This is an excellent opportunity for Sandy and I to re-envision our home and the direction of our family.
• Safety in our travels next week.
• Most importantly, it has been clear to Sandy and I that the last few weeks have been difficult for our kids. Not so much because we are leaving. They have had wonderful opportunities in recent weeks to spend a very great deal of time with their friends. What we have noticed is that they are craving time with their Mom and Dad. When we arrive in Florida we will spend the remainder of that week unpacking and organizing our home, but the week after we are going to take the entire week to simply be with our kids and each other before beginning this new season of ministry. Pray that Elijah, Titus, Solomon, and Eliana will enjoy these last days in Wisconsin and that we will have a special time together in two weeks to simply be a family together.

Thank all of you so very much for the many means of kindness and encouragement that we have received in recent weeks.

The Lord Bless You & Keep You.

You have heard it before :: For Joshua and the people of Israel to cross the Jordan they had to take that first step.

This is very true and instructive. But I have also seen many people with this in their mind step off into disastrous decisions. Often this has also caused the people who watched things fall apart to question the goodness and faithfulness of God.

The problem is that we get things backwards. Let us not miss the fact that God is the first one to act in the crossing of the Jordon, not the person taking the step. God first instructed Joshua and the Levites and the people to cross the Jordan. Then, and only then, did they take their step of faith.

God distinctly placed a burden for church planting deep in the hearts of Sandy and I. Even before that we can look back and see the way that He was preparing Sandy’s heart, our family’s habits, and my vision for this season of life. But up to this point we have not clearly had a direction in which to step.

Early on in this season of discernment God gave me a prayer for a partner, a people, a place, and provision prepared by a movement of the Holy Spirit. Along the way we have felt that when God brings these things into place that it will be our time to “step into the waters” and see God work in ways that will unmistakably bring Him and Him alone glory.

Sandy and I had a little meeting on Saturday night. The result of that time of reflection and prayer together is the distinct sense that God has answered this prayer. We don’t know many details and we don’t have a move date set, but we do know the direction of our steps.

So what does that mean?

• We are moving to Florida. That is the first step.

• I am going to apprentice at CrossPointe Church (xpointe.com) in Orlando under Chan Kilgore. That is the second step.

• … hmmm … we don’t know what the third step is.

But that’s the cool thing. Who would have thought the Israelites would get to see waters pile up a second time after the Red Sea. Whatever the third step is it has been prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

So, anyway, we just thought that you should know that we’re crossing the Jordan and so far not even our feet have gotten wet.

So I stayed up until midnight last night to send you the email that probably arrived in your inbox just a few moments ago.

It turns out that the email just sat in my outbox over night because of an internet connection issue.

I apologize. But this also gives me the opportunity to offer you another quick update.

I did meet with Chan Kilgore today as well as some of his leadership team. At the end of our time together he said that he would like to offer us the apprenticeship. This is truly an answer to years of prayer for us. God has now shown us our first step in the water. Now we will get to watch God provide the rolling up of the waters.

Here are a few further requests for prayer ::

• Pray for the first wave of five church planters here in Florida that I will be joining in the coming year. They are here with me in Orlando this week receiving training as well. Their task is truly monumental.
• I visited the apartment of Chan’s present apprentice. He has four children and will be moving to church plant in Italy right when we would seek to come to Florida. The apartment would be perfect for my family. Pray that God will make the way straight for our family.
• Pray for the provision of funding for the apprenticeship. The fact is that we will need to raise most of our own support when the time comes to actually plant. I do not want to exhaust potential donors for the apprenticeship, so it is my prayer that grants and denominational funding would largely supply the funding during the months of the apprenticeship.

Thank you to each one of you. You are truly friends whom we love upon whom we greatly rely.

Partners in the Gospel,

I am so thankful to each one of you for your great kindness and bearing with my family in prayer for guidance and provision.

Some of you have written me in recent days asking how things are going since my last email. It has been a whirlwind. The last few weeks have been filled to overcapacity with activity, work, sickness, and travel.

• Sandy and I had the opportunity to attend the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago. Last year we attended the Together 4 the Gospel Conference in Louisville and it was a time of refreshment and renewed conviction. We are truly thankful for the opportunity that we had to attend the Gospel Coalition. One special opportunity that we had was to meet the man who wrote the curriculum that we are leading our Friday night Bible study through (Tony Payne).
• Sandy and the kids came down with a cold. While the kids are still doing some nasty coughing but mostly back to normal, Sandy is still fighting this thing off. Please pray for her strength as I travel.
• Sandy’s grandmother (Ruth Buehler) died last week. I was privileged to perform her funeral service on Saturday. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate her life in Christ and to be reminded of the hope that we have that because His grave is empty we too have the hope of resurrection insofar as we are united to Him by faith.
• I had a wonderful conversation with Chan Kilgore (see previous update). I am meeting with him and some of his elders tomorrow (2011-04-26) for lunch. Please pray for good communication and a shared vision for an opportunity to apprentice with him in Orlando.

So that means I am presently in Orlando … again. I am also spending this week with some of the other church planters that will be working in this movement in Florida.

It is truly encouraging to be here with these special people. I believe that I can see the end of this long road of discernment and it fills my heart with joy.

But I also ask for your uplifting in prayer. I think my whole family is a bit exhausted and we just long to be together for a while.

Please pray

• that I will make the most of this time in Florida.
• that I will be able to answer all of the questions that are in Sandy and my heart and mind.
• that I will be able to return home on Saturday to my family with a vision and provision for our future in ministry as a family for the sake of the gospel.

About a year ago I preached a sermon at First Reformed on Philippians 1:1-11 called “PARTNERS and PARTAKERS: a Gospel Community of Joy”. During my study for this sermon I was struck by how often the apostle Paul speaks about those who have come alongside of him in gospel ministry; people like Aquilla, Priscilla, Apollos, Timothy and so many more. In all Paul mentions more than 30 different people who join him in ministry and prayer throughout his letters. You have become these partners for Sandy and me.

I thank my God in all of my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. :: Philippians 1:3-5

All of you know that Sandy and I have been praying and preparing for a move toward church planting for a number of years now. During this season of discernment God has shown us Himself with such depth and clarity through the Word of His gospel and yet it has also been a season that at times has felt like suffering. We are longing with words inexpressible to bring the seed of the gospel to an unreached community and see Christ grow His church 30, 60, even 100-fold.

Please forgive the length of this letter. I want to seek your kindness and discernment in prayer. And so, I also want to carefully inform you on what has taken place in recent weeks.

Increasing Desire to Plant ::

About seven years ago my participation in Living Fire Leadership Ministry helped me to clarify the personal vision that God has given me for my life.

… to see Christ’s church become a discipleship community of joyful worshippers.

About three and a half years ago Sandy asked me a question that prompted this three year long quest for discernment. She asked, “Have you ever considered church planting?” During this season, God has answered Sandy’s question with a resounding, “Yes!” In fact, we have realized that the personal vision that God has given me really defines how God has called and equipped our entire family, though each of the six of us contribute our own part to this ministry family.

Shortly after Sandy asked me about church planting I began to ask God to give me a prayer so that I would know when He answered our prayer for direction in ministry. I was running on a warm afternoon and began to pray the following ::

Lord, I humbly ask you for a partner, a people, a place, and provision prepared by a movement of the Holy Spirit.

During these three years this prayer has been prayed in many ways. At times boldly, at times like a simple repetition, at times with little faith, and at times through tears.

Florida for Spring Break ::

For the first time in my life I went to Florida for spring break! Sandy and I flew to Orlando on March 20-24. But we can say with all integrity that there wasn’t any much time for sunbathing and Disney.

We were invited by the New Wave Network to join with seven other planters to discern if God might be calling us to be a part of a church planting movement in Florida. The New Wave Network is a network of RCA leaders who have been working for 3 years to start a gospel movement in Florida by intentionally, creatively, and boldly planting “churches that reproduce”. As Sandy and I got to know the people and vision of the New Wave Network we were drawn to their passion for the sake of the gospel.

The intention of the New Wave Network during our week in Florida was to connect five church planters with five sites that they had prepared to plant a church over the next 12 months. Five quality planters were chosen. Though we were not among the five “first wave” planters, the vision was set to invite our family to come to Florida for 6-12 months. During this time I would participate in an apprenticeship with a church planter in Orlando while doing the preliminary work for a “second wave” church plant.

I hope that you can see the intentionality and vision of the New Wave Network. They spent three years preparing to call the first wave of planters! It is, therefore, wise to already begin to prepare the second wave of planters to move forward in about a year.

As Sandy and I have prayed over and carefully considered this opportunity we have a significant desire to be a part of the movement of Holy Spirit in Florida.

It seems appropriate to reflect again on the prayer we have prayed for three years ::

• A Partner :: Sandy and I believe strongly in the concept of apprenticeships in ministry. This would provide someone near us who understands us deeply and can help to shape and refine our future in ministry.
• A People :: Wow are there ever people! The target region the first wave of plants is one of the fastest growing regions in America.
• A Place :: For a long time Sandy and I have sensed that the way that our family naturally relates in ministry would best fit in an area where people spend a good deal of their time outdoors.
• Provision :: As an ordained minister in the RCA I have assumed that the provision would look much like it has in our present ministry. And yet, I have repeatedly described church planting as a missionary work. God is challenging Sandy and me to trust Him for our provision in much the same way as many missionaries by relying upon a network of “senders” who believe in the ministry and to whom we would be accountable.
• Prepared by a Movement of the Holy Spirit :: This is the very heartbeat of the desire of New Wave Network. Their intention is far more than to simply plant some churches. They are seeking to follow the Holy Spirit into Florida and reap the harvest that He has already prepared into a movement of multiplying churches that reproduce.

Specific Prayer Needs ::

• I will be having a conversation with Chan Kilgore of CrossPointe Church Orlando tomorrow (2011-04-05 – Tuesday). Sandy and I would greatly desire that he would become a mentor and coach for the apprenticeship.
• Unlike other ministry opportunities that we have considered, church planting in Florida would likely require a great deal of fundraising. I have had a few unsolicited conversations with encouraging partners in the gospel that have already volunteered to join us in this manner. We need to have a clear sense of peace that God would have us move in this direction. We do not want to presume upon God’s faithfulness where He never promised to provide. But if God confirms through prayer and the counsel of our partners we will trust in this reality, “[Never have I] seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
• I am traveling to the Exponential Church Planting Conference along with the other planters from the New Wave Network on April 25. Our prayer is that this week in Florida will confirm whether or not we should make the move to Florida.
• We have a couple other ministry opportunities with whom we have had conversations recently. We desire to be both transparent and discerning with them as we seriously consider church planting in Florida.

Sandy and I sense a climax to years of prayer and preparation and we believe it is a defining moment in our life together. We thank God for your kindness, your listening, your faithful prayer and your partnership in the gospel.

The Lord Bless You & Keep You,

Jeremiah (on behalf of the Fyffe family)

I have shared previously that our family visited a ministry in May. We have continued to be in conversation with this ministry and have been invited to visit again on July 25.

As I shared at the beginning we have discerned that God has been leading our family into either church planting or a unique established church ministry. I have spent the last two and a half years studying, praying, reading and seeking spiritual guidance from ministry friends to discern my family’s direction into the future.

In this case, the ministry that we are in conversation with is a church in a Southwest suburb of Chicago that is seeking a lead pastor. Their previous lead pastor recently left to plant a church in a neighboring community. The church has experienced considerable growth in recent years and is in an area that is expanding rapidly. But they sense a two-fold need: to deliberately seek to proclaim the whole counsel of scripture with the gospel clearly preached in the midst of an expanding membership and to focus upon the discipleship of those that have come into the church in recent years.

So what is unique about this existing church ministry? The fact that most of my preparation and study in the past two years has been in the area of what I have come to call “gospel-community”. This phrase captures my two fold passion for preaching and discipleship.

• Unlike a church plant ministry, an existing church ministry would provide the opportunity begin to lead the congregation in preaching from day one. This would present the opportunity to set forth the gospel clearly week after week as we would work our way through the scripture.
• In addition, there is already a large web of relationships built in this church and in the community. Gospel-community seeks to weave discipleship into these relationships through the reading of the Word together, prayer, and the sharing of our lives in Christ.

How to Pray ::

• I ask you to please pray for my family and this church as we discern the purposes of God for the future.
• Pray for me as I prepare and preach on July 25.
• Pray that there will be unity of thought about whether or not to pursue a pastoral relationship.
• Pray that God will continue to give my family diligence as we seek to be faithful in ministry in Sheboygan Falls, both out of our home and in the church.

Sandy and I want to thank all of you for your continued prayer! Point for point God has met our desires and preempted our anxieties.

• Our days of travel were beautiful. And our children felt like the whole weekend was a vacation.

• Our children, and Elijah in particular, at times can find the prospect of change quite difficult. While we were visiting the ministry our children spent quite a bit of time with one family. Sandy and I were filled with both peace and joy to see our children playing and enjoying this family even to the point that they asked that if we moved could we just move in with them. Of course, they started the weekend asking if we could move into the hotel.

• Sandy and I both felt a freedom to speak honestly and with transparency about who we are, how we minister, and what our vision for ministry, discipleship, leadership, and family looks like.

• The first thing we did when we got back to Sheboygan Falls was make arrangements to spend time with Jason and Nikki Mills and their boys. We are so blessed by friends such as these in Sheboygan Falls who encourage us and bind our hearts all the more in love to the Sheboygan County.

• Even as I return to Sheboygan Falls I am greeted with a number of upcoming events and ministries that excite me and spur me on toward faithfulness in present ministry.

• I preached on Philippians 1:1-11 at First Reformed the previous Sunday where I got to encourage the congregation with my own pastor prayer for them, the reality that they are “partners and partakers” in the gospel as one body, and that they are to increase in knowledge in wisdom that they might stand grounded in the gospel even as they strive forward for the sake of the gospel’s advance.

• I then got to preach on John 15:8, 12 this past Sunday as I visited the ministry (John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.) These two texts from Philippians and John so closely touch each other because the love with which we love each other is a “Jesus like love” that is grounded in the gospel of grace and strives to see it exhibited in the gospel community.

• My mom had a very good respite stay at the hospice.

We are so thankful to God that though at times it has been difficult to wait upon Him for His timing during the last two and a half years, He continues to provide for our every need and bless us with many good gifts. And so it is with our great Father in Heaven.

How to Pray

• Pray for discernment and a oneness of future direction among my family and the leaders of the ministry.

• Continue to pray for the ministry at First Reformed Church. Especially as we wrap up the end of the year in the High School Youth Group, many of the discipleship ministries, and the college-age ministry (Crowded House) begins to meet.

• Pray for our home as we seek to begin summer fellowship meals and reach out to our neighbors and others with gospel community.