Word on the Street

From Al Engler

A few years ago, some couples living in a rural area outside of Seattle started thinking about the people in their social networks. Curt and Judy had been part of a community of horse lovers affiliated with a local club. They began to pray for the friends in that network.

A couple of friends that they began to pray for were George and Julia. George was a local contractor who had developed a love for horses. Julia was a young woman he had met on the job. They were living together and Julia was pregnant. Both George and Julia were divorced and really wanted to make this relationship work. Somehow, they felt that they needed a spiritual dimension to their lives. They visited several churches and could not find anything that connected with them.

Once after a horse show, George and Julia asked Curt and Judy about the relationship with God that they observed in Curt and Judy’s lives. They ended up talking for an hour about what a living relationship would look like. George mentioned that he and Julia wanted to get married, but did not know a “preacher” who could marry them. Judy mentioned that someone, a NavStaff, in their bible-reading group could perform weddings. George excitedly asked for his phone number.

Al and Iris (the NavStaff couple) were invited to George and Julia’s home for dinner. As the two couples sat down for dinner, George said, “We have begun to pray before we eat”, and bowed his head to give thanks. Al and Iris were thrilled to see clear evidence of spiritual hunger in George and Julia. They mainly talked about the possibility of Al performing a wedding for them, but at the end of the evening, George asked, “What is this bible thing you do?” Al invited George and Julia to come see.

The next Thursday, for the first time in their lives George and Julia began to read the eyewitness account of the life of Jesus as recorded in John’s Gospel. A year later, George and Julia are married parents of a one year old and are learning to follow Jesus in every aspect of their lives. Now there are two couples praying for the others in the horse-lover network.

(Note: names have been changed)

From Al Engler

• Ask the Lord for hundreds of transformed authentic followers of Christ who will have a penetrating influence on those around them.
• Ask the Lord to fulfill the promises stated in Ezekiel 36:37, 38 (NIV) for the Puget Sound Area; “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
• Ask the Lord to fulfill the promise given to Abraham for those serving Him in the Puget Sound Area: “He took him outside and said look toward heaven and number the stars if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Genesis 15:5
• Pray that God’s workers in the Puget Sound will be described as those who “serve God with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind.” I Chronicles 28:9
• Ask God to show the way and open doors of His choosing to bring about a loving multi-ethnic family of believers among Navigators in the Puget Sound Area.

From John Nellis

In this past year, the Philly Metro experienced sustained momentum in two ministry arenas: urban partnerships and missional communities.

Urban Partnerships

Philadelphia churches had a healthy representation at Spectrum’s recent African-American Congress on Discipleship (AfAm2008) in Harlem back in March. A Navstaff with Spectrum, here in Philly, facilitated the participation of approximately 80 people from several urban churches.

We are fully engaged with the Kingdom Care Re-entry Network (KCRN), a partnership of over 65 congregations and prison ministries providing mentoring, housing referrals, job training and placement, education and family counseling to ex-inmates. The Lord has blessed KCRN to become the premier faith-based mentoring organization for reentry in the city and to become a contract partner to the Mayor’s Office of Reentry. Chaired by Church of God in Christ bishop, Rev. Ernest McNear, KCRN has become part of a unique early release partnership with the Philadelphia Prison System, the adult probation/parole department of the Municipal Court, the Philadelphia Defenders Association and the District Attorney. On the strength of its success in recruiting and training church-based mentors, KCRN has also been sought out by the Federal Reentry Court to begin providing mentoring services to inmates returning to Philadelphia from prisons all across the US. The Navigators are ideal partners for this kind of urban ministry because of God’s calling and enabling the Navs to develop effective mentoring and discipleship strategies and tools for this intensive person-to-person ministry of aftercare. Several NavStaff are participating in this opportunity.

Missional Communities

There are several ongoing missional communities in the Philly metro area, including a neighborhood Bible reading group, a b2g group, and a suburban church with a missional community emphasis.

From John Nellis

• Wisdom to know how to capitalize on the momentum created by AfAm2008
• For missional communities to continue to grow in heart and vision
• To recruit more young men into our b2g groups
• For a handful of younger staff couples with a heart for this region
• For wisdom to know what resources we as a staff team should contribute to the upcoming Harvest ‘08 crusade in early October

From Dennis and Bonnie Clark

One of the advantages of small town living is long term relationships. Marcus (not his real name) was a self proclaimed atheist/agnostic who was the real estate agent who sold us our home when we moved to Arkansas in 1992! We developed a friendship as families and enjoyed many meals at one another’s homes over the years. We got quite involved with them as they went through several struggles in their marriage. Marcus was polite but never showed interest in spiritual things.

Finally, after 14 years of friendship and prayer he bowed his knee to the Lord. What a transformation!! He went through the Bible 3 times the first year! I have never seen anyone grow so rapidly!

Another friend, Jack (not his real name), is someone I have known longer than Marcus. He has been a hard living, rough talking, heavy drinking person ever since I met him. Because of the sudden death of his wife, he called me and asked me to come over and talk with him. We visited, I shared the Word and prayed for him. Then he said, “My turn”!! Then, without any prompting from me, he confessed his sin to the Lord, asked forgiveness and told the Lord he wanted to live for Him. Wow!! If he follows through on this like Marcus………..unbelievable!!! Our God can do whatever He pleases!! Psalms 115:3

From Dennis and Bonnie Clark

We are deliberately seeking to bring on some younger couples to eventually take our place. Ask God with us to give us men and women in their 20’s and 30’s to train and bring on staff.

Each year, several of us recruit to the Fam Jam at Glen Eyrie the last week of July. Ask the Lord to use this in the lives of some of the young couples we are bringing!

From Frank Tully

Partners in Mission - God thrills us in the unique opportunities we have to partner in the Body of Christ in Greater Boston. Doors are open in both inner city and suburban churches - both open to our Vision of generational laborers AND open to the Gospel advancing into the community beyond the walls of these churches. We are also delighted in the growing partnership we experience with our Collegiate friends, particularly the EDGE Corps team making headway at Boston University. Collaboration is vital for urban students to experience how the Gospel advances not just on campus but throughout the city.

We praise God for opening significant doors among Boston’s growing ethnic and immigrant communities, notably from Thailand, Haiti and Brazil. Collaborative opportunities among international students and with the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (host for our March 27th Metro Forum) enable others to appreciate the distinctiveness of our Calling. Also, new staff are engaged in the business community of our western suburbs, seeking to develop missional communities among the lost.

From Frank Tully

Please Pray with Us for:

Building long-term partnerships with collegiate staff and students as a result from participation in the Northeast Collegiate Conference.

Enabling the dozen African Americans and other Urban Practitioners who joined us at the African American Congress on Discipleship in Harlem in March, to embrace our Nav Calling in their context.

Encouraging and affirming local Stakeholders who participated in our Metro Forum on Urban Monasticism in March and other Metro gatherings.

From Marilyn Gnekow

It All Begins With One

A year ago Trish Schneider’s friend, Jaime (not her real name) called, she wanted to be in the Word. They decided to begin a Bible study with just the two of them. Before they got started, Mary (not her real name), was referred to Trish when she moved to town. Soon Kristen (not her real name), a friend of Trish’s from college was invited to join. Mary knew Lien (not her real name) from high school, so she invited Lien to join. After awhile, Jaime dropped out, but the other 4 had a great time digging in the Word together week by week.

The group is becoming a close knit community that has a growing vision for reaching out to others. Their desire is to have their focus on knowing God more intimately. They are eager to experiment and try new things as a group to see what God will do among them and as they reach out.

Calling Men to More

Joe Komarek is leading a business and professional flavored network of men who are eagerly participating in the Men’s Fraternity Curriculum and Authentic Manhood. Currently over 100 men are responding to the challenge to become better servant leaders, husbands and fathers.

Joe is thrilled to see many men going above and beyond the basic application and developing a thirst for studying the Word of God as they desire to know God and have their lives transformed. One of the participants shared that he was being illuminated to a whole new level of what it means to become servant leader, husband and father.

b2g - City Ready

Each month a group of graduates from a number of different colleges and universities and various professions crowd around a table at a local coffee shop to get to know each other, share stories, and sharpen each other in their desire to become more effective in reaching out to their generation right where they are. The recent focus has been on how to live out the Gospel on a daily basis.

From Marilyn Gnekow

Brennan Manning Conference
A team of staff and alumni are laying plans for a Navigator Metro conference with Brennan Manning April 18-20 in Minneapolis. Pray that this group would connect well with each other and develop a heart to serve those who will be attending. Please pray that Brennan’s message would take root in all who attend.

Metro Budget
Please pray for two new Metro donors this month who would give $1500 each. Pray for the total budget amount to come in this year. Praise God for those who gave generously to the Metro budget in December.

b2g National Conference
Pray for Bruce and the team of 8 who are planning a National b2g conference for August 14-17 in Seattle. See b2g.org/sweptup for details on this upcoming conference.

b2g - City Ready
Pray that this group will grow in vision, genuine friendships and be equipped to become leaders and laborers in the Metro area and around the world.