Where Will You Live?

 This is the question we get more than any other.  It makes sense, because it is a question that Jenny and I wrestle with consistently.  The short answer is that we don’t know yet.  There are a lot of different factors that go into the decision. 

Here is what I will tell you:  More than likely we will NOT live within the garbage dump communities.

I have to tell you, it is a difficult decision though.  I see all of the benefits of the “incarnational” approach to ministry.  Jesus “pitched his tent among us…” as John 1 tells us.  Likewise, shouldn’t we move in to the neighborhoods where we are doing ministry?  In short, if I (Justin) was a single guy with no family, I probably would.

So how are we going to choose where we will live? 

We have decided on three key elements to our housing that we are using as the framework for prayer.

1. Proximity

We want to live AS CLOSE as we possibly can to the garbage dump.  We don’t want to be the rich, white people that come soaring in off of the mountain.  Historically, this is the way much of missions worked.  Missionaries would find housing that was conducive to the lifestyle they would prefer, and often it required a much nicer location than where they were ministering.  Many times, missionaries have had to travel quite the distances to meet with the people they are ministering to. 

We want to be close to the action.  We want to be as close as possible.

2. Safety

The flip side of this is that we want to live AS SAFE as possible.  We know what everyone knows about Latin America, often Americans have a target on their backs.  Naturally many thieves in Latin America presume that we have money (they'll be in for a surprise if they mug us!). We know that we need to guard the longevity of our ministry.  While it would be noble to move into a rough community to “do ministry,” getting shot a week later wouldn’t be a great step forward for our ministry. 

We also want to have a family.  I (Justin) know that it is my God-given responsibility to protect my family.  There is a HUGE difference between protecting my family and sheltering my family (a distinction more missionaries should probably consider).  We are not looking to eliminate risk.  If that were they case, we wouldn't go!  

This is just a side-note: Jenny and I are perfectly aware of the great risk that this move places on our families.  Yet we both firmly believe that the gospel demands action, action in the darkest, most dangerous places in the world.  Eliminating risk is impossible, as a matter of fact, risk comes with the territory.

We are simply wanting to make the wisest decisions for our family, knowing that there is always risk in proclaiming the gospel.  Regardless, we will be actively  making decisions with our safety in mind.  

3.  Identification

Finally, we plan to live as simply as possible.  We don’t need the flash and glamour of the suburbs.  We want a humble space that we can use.  We will use it for our own personal retreat and rest.  But we also want to be able to use it for ministry.  If we are using it for ministry to people within the garbage dump communities, then we want to ensure that it will not be extravagant in a way that puts their homes and belongings to shame.

We are not trying to fool them.  They know that we are American, and by nature we have more then they have.  At the same time, we don’t want to luxuriously flaunt what we have.  We are perfectly willing to set aside what many of us would consider “necessary comforts” for the sake of our ministry.

We need You!

With that said, we are by no means under the delusion that we can accomplish this perfectly.  We will never completely eliminate risk or need for comfort, and we will never completely eliminate American stigma.  This is why we need your prayer.  Please, pray on our behalf that God would show us the best way to make our housing selection.  Any input from you would also be encouraging and helpful.

We trust a God who provides.  We are whole-heartedly resting in God, that He already has the perfect home for us selected in Guatemala.  We just need to find it!

Worshipping on the Free-Throw Line

A Church in a Gym

I don’t know if I’ve ever attended another church like it.  The echo of the drums off of the hardwood floor made the sound bounce in all directions.  You don’t get to just find your seat, you have to set up your seat, and then tear it down when the service is over, how’s that for “Welcome to Church!”  The only apparent emblem that there is a church somewhere is the flag stuck in the ground outside of the YMCA in which they meet.  And somebody has to take those down too. 

The Summit Church in Green, OH is not your traditional church.  They have an overwhelming passion for their city and a comprehensive involvement in the mission of their church.  Everybody is doing something.  No one is simply receiving and walking away happy that “it was a good sermon today…”.  Needless to say, their pastor preaches great sermons, and their worship team leads fabulous music.  Seriously, it’s fabulous!  But their Christian lives are not tied up in the Sunday event. And for them it is much more of an event than for most churches.

The Summit Church is a church that was started out of a vision to see the un-churched and the de-churched meet with a church.  They began meeting in a movie theatre, but eventually landed in the gymnasium of the YMCA.  Those of us influenced by church structures may have a hard time adjusting to singing our worship songs with the strands of the basketball net looming above us.  But this doesn’t even phase members of the Summit.  As a matter of fact, they love it! 

When they use the word “church”, they mean something quite different than most of us accustomed to buildings and programs mean.  Their “church” is quite literally them!  They spend time together, interact constantly, serve together, throw parties together, invite anyone and everyone.  They all have careers in all sorts of things…but they use their abilities honed by their careers to serve their church. 

My Time at the Summit            

This past weekend I had the chance to speak there.  My overwhelming sense was “my goodness the American church has some sacred cows to slaughter”.  Though this isn’t the first time I’ve concluded this, it returned with a renewed strength.

We are totally consumed by our buildings....How will we adjust them?  What will we add?  What new thing can we buy?  How can we make it better, more attractive, more compelling?

We are totally consumed by our programs…what new event or new ministries should we offer? Is it engaging enough? Will people come? Is the music loud enough, new enough, old enough? Do we have a graphic?…we have men’s, women’s, students, children, college, post-college, pre-college, post-highschool, post-college/premarried…I mean my goodness!  We have too often missed what it means to be the church…together. In an effort to offer the "best possible product" to "our consumers" we have cheapened the gathering of believers.

We have missed that church, the assembly, the gathering, is simply those who have been called by Christ, justified by Christ, and are being sanctified by Christ, gathering to worship Christ. 

And let me tell you…there are whole groups of people that are concerned with the numerical growth of churches, but the Summit is growing, and not with the usual ploys and gimmicks.  There is rawness, an authenticity and genuineness of faith that this generation loves and at Summit they find that.  They find real people, with real problems, not trying to use cosmetics on their buildings, programs or their lives rather passionately pursuing a Savior who rescues them. 

All this to say, I am grateful for my time at the Summit Church, and for the influence that Pastor Tom Hogsed and their leadership team have had.  They are building a church, not a church building, and that cheesy cliché may actually make all the difference.  

Check out the Summit Church here.

April-June Prayer Letter

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