May Prayer Letter

Refuge got four new faces this month. Luke and Lydia-Ruth moved here May 5.  Also there is two babies at Refuge now.  Luke and Lydia-Ruth have a little boy, and John and Amy had their baby last month.

John and Amy are leaving on vacation in a less than two weeks.  They will be going out to visit Amy’s family in Arizona for a couple weeks.  Abigal, their daughter, will be going with them.  Please pray that everything goes well and they find the time restful.

I have decided to seek employment downtown.  I will be sending in applications and my resume to different buisnesses down there soon.  I will be looking into several different options, please pray for wisdom and guidance.

There are several areas in downtown that I am considering moving into.  I am waiting to see where John, Luke, and Scot move.  They are looking at houses, and depending on where they move will depend on where I move. 

Twice a year, Dayton holds an event called “Urban Nights”.  Several of us volunteered to help with the event.  Halfway though my time serving, I met a guy named Sonny.  He was telling me about his mom that had passed away recently.  He said he struggled to see why his parents passing away before the age of 60 could ever be a good thing.  He then began asking me why I was serving at Urban Nights.  I started telling him about the church and why we wanted to help at Urban Nights.

Sonny then said, “Do you ever wish you could have met Christ before you met christians?”  After addressing his question I started asking him what he thought about christianity.  Sonny struggles to understand sin, grace, Christ, and many other things.  Many of his questions had to do with trusting God.  After talking for 20 minutes he said he needed to get on a bus so that he could get to the greyhound station and head back to L.A.  I told him I appreciated his conversation and began asking if he was going to look into a church out there.  He didn’t know any so he gave me his e-mail address so that I could help him find a church when he arrives.

May 27 is when I will be starting a four week series through the book of Jude.  I have been enjoying preparing for this series.  John has been a great help guiding and equipping me to go though this book.  I have never done something like this before. 

Please continue to pray for Refuge.  This month has been very encouraging.  With the arrival of the Neff’s, Abigal’s birth, Scot and Hanah preparing for marriage and moving downtown, and Urban Nights, I write you filled with joy because of the work He is doing.

Thanks for your support, and congradulations to my friends Andrew and Anna Barnes on getting married.

Matthew 28:20

April Prayer Letter

Spring Break is allowing me to get some needed rest. This month has caused me to grow in many ways. As my awareness of my need for the Gospel grows, my awareness of how much this city needs the Gospel grows.

Please take the time to thank God for two of our supporting churches. I am always encourage by Mac Williams, pastor at Two Rivers Community Church, and Jonathan Newman, pastor at Koinos Community Church. A couple weeks ago some of the members at Two Rivers came to visit one of our services. We appreciated seeing their excitement and support for Refuge. This past Easter I went with some others to Koinos. Jonathan Newman and many of the members at Koinos sought us out to encourage us.

I was asked several weeks ago to prepare a series at Refuge. This is the first time that I have been asked to do a series. John and I decided to go with the book of Jude. It will be a four weeks series that will start mid May. John’s baby girl will be born soon, and I will be doing this series while he takes a vacation and adjusts to having a baby in the house.

I am so thankful for my friends in Charlotte and Nick Swan. There have been some things that I have had to do lately, that I know God prepared me for, when I was around you. By your patience and allowing me to start seeing my constant need of the Gospel, I have, by God’s grace, been doing the same.

Please pray that Luke hears back soon regarding a couple interviews he had last week. Now that people at Refuge have seen him lead worship, they are egar for him and his family to move here.

Please pray for Mike and Shane. These are a couple guys that I have been talking with about the Gospel. They are struggling to see why they need the Gospel. I have also been trying to find opprotunities for me to get to know more people in Downtown. However not living and not working Downtown makes this harder.

Next month I am going to send out support letters. I need to be downtown so that I can have more interaction with the lost that are living there. My goal is to raise $10,000. It’s hard to be missional to downtown people when you don’t live there. I hope to move into either an area that is has a growing Turkish, Sudanies, or African American population. Downtown Dayton has these demographics, but I have been struggling to connect with them. I want to move into their neighborhood, and do some of the things I did in Charlotte.

March Prayer Letter

Sorry I have not been sending these out lately. There has been a lot going on, and some days I am on the go all day. God’s grace is doing many things.

My renters continue to pay rent on-time! It is such a releif to have good tenents. In a couple months I will be talking to them about what they want to do when the lease ends, this summer. Last year they did not see themselves only living there for one year. In December they said they were still undecided between doing another year or moving into a lease to own.

Since I wrote last I have had the opportunity to speak a couple times. In October, John had me share with a church in the area, the importance of church planting. During chapel, where I teach, I spoke once on the misconception that the church is overly protective, and another time on Gospel Centered Singleness. A couple weeks ago, John was asked to speak at another church so he had me fill in at Refuge City Church.

John continues to work with me on hermeneutics, exegesis, speaking, and preaching. In May he has asked me to do a four week series. This week I will be deciding between a couple things we have been talking about.

John and Amy are expecting their first baby. Abigal Pope should be joining us sometime around the end of April. Everything is going well, and Abigal is developing as the doctors expect.

A couple weekends ago John, Scot and I went with a couple other guys to a conference in Columbus. This conference focused on being men of God. After the conference we grabbed a bite to eat, and while having dinner one of the unbelieving friends we brought with us shared the Gospel with the other unbelieving friend. It was so amazing to see.

Please pray for the unbelievers in our midst. This past Wednesday we prayed, as a church, for our unbelieving friends. There are a lot of them. Praise God for bringing them into friendships with various people at Refuge.

I am about to try raising finances to support my part-time work with the church. We call it part-time, but it’s more like full-time. My current salary does not put me in a position where I could live downtown. I have tried to work the budgeting a couple times, but the money is not there with what my current job pays. I hope to raise $10,000. That would be enough for me to live downtown. It’s hard to be missional to downtown people when you don’t live there. I hope to move into either an area that is has a growing Turkish, Sudanies, or African American population. Downtown Dayton has these demographics, but I have been struggling to connect with them. I want to move into their neighborhood, and do some of the things I did in Charlotte.

October Prayer Letter

Church planting seems to find ways of deepening your dependance on God. Thanks for your prayers, they are very much appreciated.

Over the past months we have been meeting to develop the team more. We have been taking many college students and young professionals through the vision and mission of Refuge City Church. John has been leading most of those meetings and Scot has jumped in, when John has been out of town. We had another vision presentation a couple weeks ago, and things went well. John was able to relax more because Scot and I took care of organizing everything for that night. John is growing as a pastor, and it has been a joy to support him as he leads this church.

Scot and I have been working together to allevieate as much as we can from John’s load as we can. Communication has been a main area that we are trying to grow in. While it easy to think, just talk more, that’s not always the best way to communicate. Each of us understands words in different ways, and ofter how things are communicated is swayed by feelings.

It’s so easy to loose focus and let our sinfulness sway our hearts from realizing God’s grace at work in each other. It has been encouraging to me to see Scot by God’s grace serving people, talking with people about the Gospel, teaching those who are coming about our core values, and so much more. John, by God’s grace, has been: helping Scot and I see the depts to which our sin will try to hide itself, teaching us about loving the city, how the Gospel can breakthrough in how we serve and live, speaking with pastors in the area about RCC and the necesity for this church, and so much more. Amy, John’s wife, by the grace of God, has been: understanding of many of the struggles John faces, reaching out to women that have been coming and those she meets, cooking up food for so many different occasions, and there are so many other things that could easily go unnoticed.

John has asked me to speak at Airway Baptist Church on October 16. This will be my first time speaking in Ohio since my teenage years, not to mention it is for their Sunday morning service.

Things can get busy but through it all we are seeing God build another church for His glory.

Psalm 30

Prayer Letter for August

God continues to work in ways that challenge and encourage me to grow closer to Him. Thankyou so much for praying. My first month hear has been busy.

I moved to Dayton July 11. There was no warm-up to Dayton time. I moved my things into storage for the time being, and right after that I went to check out a house for John & Amy that they were interested in renting. After that John asked me to come to Raleigh and help him move, so our friend served us again and flew me and a couple others down to help with the move. John & Amy moved into the house and the weekend after they moved in, John went to the hospital with severe adominal pain. The doctors could not determine what was wrong, and after a couple days John was back to normal. We spent that week walking all over Downtown Dayton. I think I walked somewhere around 25 miles that week. That weekend after church Scot called.

Scot had been living with Jeff & Lauren Bays since he moved here. Scot was calling to tell me the house the Bays’ were renting had caught on fire. I was so thankful for God looking out for them. No one was hurt, including their neighbors and the dogs. After the fire was put out they let us in to start clearing things out. My parents arrived with drinks and the cargo van. Within six hours of being allowed in, we were able to move almost all of Jeff, Lauren, and Scot’s belongings. Also within that time period we were able to find places for them to live. I am so thankful that Andy S. was able to open his house for Scot to move-in.

Also around that same weekend as the fire, I was contacted by a college friend’s mom. She was asking if I would be interested in teaching Algebra1 and Geometry at Dayton Christian High School. So after the I got home from helping Jeff & Scot, I filled out the application. I went in for an interview a couple days later, and was offered the job this morning.

We had our first meeting last night for the plant. We Skyped in Luke, Lydia-Ruth, and the Jackson family (another family that is going to be moving from Raleigh), and we also Skyped in a college student that lives in Dayton but is working a summer job away from here. Some others came that were interested in hearing more before they decide to commit to Refuge City Church.

Please remember Jeff in your prayers, he has had a rough week and recovery from the surgery is still hard. Also pray for his wife, Lauren, she has been working hard and could use a weeks rest. Be praying for Scot and I as we start our new jobs. Scot started today as a teller for a bank and I start next week. Amy is still getting some paperwork situated before she starts her job nursing.

I am still trying to raise money to serve on staff at Refuge City Church. Please be praying as I try to raise that support. I would like to teach during the day and two or three times a week be working on administrative duties for the church.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Prayer Letter for July

This past month has been one of ups and downs.Thankyou for praying, I was encouraged at various times this month when I remembered that friends and family are praying for Refuge City Church and the struggles we face.

A few days ago I was in despiration; I was fasting and continually asking God to forgive me, because I was doubting how things were going. Doubt crept in because I was less than a week from moving and still had not found a buyer for my townhome.Knowing that strength comes from God, and then trusting God’s plan were big struggles these last couple weeks.

Tuesday morning I decided to list the townhome for rent on craigslist.I remember praying, “God if this is the direction I should go, make it evident and help me find comfort in renting my place.” Within the hour I had three people interested and by the end of the day seven people wanted to come by and check the place out. Wednesday three people came by and took an application with them, two were highly interested. This morning one dropped off the application and later accepted my offer for them to rent. The rent I will be receiving each month will cover my financial obligations in Charlotte and then still have a little to save for possible repairs. To God be the glory for the things He has done.The renters are a nice couple that will be getting married next year, please pray as I serve them the Gospel would come though in my interactions with them.

Last month I mentioned Amy Popehad an interview to nurse at Good Samaritan in Dayton. Within a matter of days she was offered the position. Scot has had a lot of interviews and might have found a job. Nothing official with Scot working yet but could possibly work out in a few days.

Mom and Dad are coming July 9^thto help me move. The van and my car depart for Dayton Monday morning. I so relieved that my financial obligations in Charlotte went down $800. I know there are still more mountains to climb, but I have been reminded that God is working in our midst. John and Amy Pope will be moving July 15^th.

Please pray for my friend Jeff. He had a triple by-pass done Tuesday and is starting recovery. Jeff has been experiencing pain but the doctors say things went well and look good.

John Pope and the teammembers of Refuge City Church would like me to try an raise funds to help John with the administrative and legistical needs of Refuge City Church. There is a small ammount in the budget for other staff members if the funds are raised.This ammount is small and would only cover a small part of my living expences. Please be praying as I send out letters in a couple days asking people to help support Refuge City Church financially by giving to the administrative needs, which would free me up to spend more serving and working for Refuge City Church.

Proverbs 3:5-7

June Prayer Letter

As each month passes I appreciate your prayer more and more. This month is a busy month for Refuge City Church, as we go public and some prepare to move.

Earlier today I posted the preview video for Refuge City Church. John is sending the link to this video out to pastors in the Dayton area. John’s e-mail is also inviting those pastors and believers in Dayton to attend an informational dinner on June 18^th. At this dinner we will release the longer video that breifly explains the core values of Refuge City Church. So we are celebrating today as the day we became public. Now that we are announcing the coming of a church to downtown Dayton, we are praying that others will capture the vision of planting the Gospel in downtown.

The meeting on June 18^th is not soley an informational one, we are hoping that people and churches will help support Refuge City Church. First and most importantly we are asking for support through prayer. Secondly we are seeking support through partnership. It is our desrie to see the churches in Dayton unify more strongly to see the Gospel go forward. Lastly we are asking that they consider supporting financially. While there is a temtation to think that last is the most important, it is not. We firmly believe that of our request prayer is the most important.

The house has been on the market for awhile now and no one has shown interest. I am still looking at moving in July, but I might have to consider renting the townhouse. If you know anyone that might be interested please talk to them and have them contact me.

I was told to, “Shut up!” today by a co-worker. It seems like even though I have been telling people for nine months about moving this summer, some are still finding out. She then said I had to give her my e-mail and mailing address before I left, so she can still keep in touch with me.

Sorry if you were unable to make it to the dinner last month. It was a great time with people from various places I have spent my time while in Charlotte. You can still see the video from that night of what I wanted to share with my friends in Charlotte.

As we move from a period of time that has been spent on studying to a time primarily spent on videos, brocheurs, posters, legal documents, banking accounts, and so on; we would greatly appreciate your prayers as we begin to learn to do ministry together.

Scot is in Dayton, but has not found a job. Amy, John’s wife, has in inverview next week for a nursing position in Dayton. This past week I put my application in for Dayton City Schools. So many things are happening, and we really appreciate your prayers as we move forward. As of right now John and I hope to move to Dayton by mid-July.

Ephesians 4:1-7