Boston & New York.... possible church plant destinations?

So we just got back from a trip to the northeast to check out some possible cities to Church plant in. We went with another couple who is interested in Church planting, as well as a few students who wanted to check out grad schools.

First we went to Boston for three days... we walked A LOT and saw about as much of the city as possible!

Then we took a bus to New York and stayed there three days also. Again, a lot of walking!

Aside from the usual tourist attractions, we made it a point to walk around the different nieghborhoods and areas of each city, getting a feel for what life is like for the locals.

We also got to meet with church planters in each city. It was great, we got a lot of advice and perspective on the challenges that come along with planting in the northeast. We still don't know if that is where we will end up... but it is definitely an option!

Surgery!!!

Many of you know that we have been trying to start a family for almost two years now. We started to suspect endometriosis as the problem, so I (Nicole) had a minor surgery about a week and a half ago to check things out. They ended up finding quite a bit of endometriosis, and a large cyst, and were able to remove it all. They can't say for sure if this was the cause of our fertility problems, but they do think our chances will be improved now that it is removed!

Please be praying for us in this area. Endometriosis grows back, so our best chances are in the next six months. We will keep you all updated!

Learning in Washington at SOMA!!

We recently got to go to an amazing conference in Tacoma, Washington put on by Soma, a local Church. It was so great and really inspiring! They really know how to live in community centered on the gospel, something that we seem to let slip all too often! Here are a few of the things we learned:

*First, the lost art of story telling. Our culture, like most cultures, connects with stories. So why do we primarily teach the Bible with an outline and bullet points? We got to experience hearing the full story of God, from beginning to end. At first we were skeptical, thinking we already know all the stories, but it was amazing and humbling how much the Lord taught us through it.

*And second, how to really create and live in community centered on the gospel. Most of us have settled for a shallow version, but when we truly become family with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and invite others into that family, it's pretty incredible!

These will definitely be a big part of our vision in the years ahead, so stay tuned for more writing on these topics!

*Awesome pic by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashishmalgi/2694301620/

It's about time...

Ok, so we have been meaning to start a blog for the longest time, but for some reason writing that first post always seemed so intimidating! Well, we've been in Austin for about six months now, and I've decided that it's now or never. So here goes!

For those of you who don't know our story, we moved to Austin for a two year residency to get some training in church planting. (Basically, starting a church from scratch). This means that in another year and a half, we will leave Austin and go wherever we feel the Lord leading us, hopefully with a team to work together with, and start a church. It will look very different then you may think, probably starting in our house and then spreading to other homes as it grows. It's a long, difficult process that absolutely requires tons of prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is why we want to start this blog. We want you to all be in the loop on what the Lord is doing while we are here, so that you can be praying for us and helping us as we set out on this scary but exiting journey! So I, well we, will be doing our best to post as often as we can!

As of right now we have no idea where we are going to go when we plant, so that is a definite prayer need! Please pray that the Lord will let us know where He wants us and that we will have no doubts in our minds that we are going to the right city! We will keep you all posted on our progress!

Thanks for your prayers!!

[image by: noel zia lee]