February 2019

Friends and family,

We are so looking forward to the month of February as we kick off the first of many steps towards launching our new church later this year! Read below for more information and ways to pray.

Last month’s answered prayers:

1.  Church Planting Team Expansion

Last month our church plant’s interest meeting was a great success with many considering joining us in the future and praying through next steps. Over the past several weeks we have had multiple conversations with these individuals and continue to meet with each person one-on-one. Please pray for:

·  Our personal wisdom and discernment as we help others determine next steps

·  The Spirit would lead each person to know what God would have them do in relation to our church plant

·  Trust and dependence on God that He will provide the people and resources we need to bring Him glory in our future church

 2.  New Semester for our College Community Group

Last night we had our first Community Group meeting for our college students, and it was great to get back into the swing of things after a long winter break. We have students ranging from freshman to seniors, from gap year students to graduate students. We love the mix and diversity in age and backgrounds that our group has, and we pray for that diversity to increase over the next few months. Our Thursday night Community Group generally consists of 8-12 students that meets weekly to discuss our lives, talk through a passage of the Bible, work through questions relating to that passage, and pray with one another over specific application. Pray for:

·  Unbelievers in our group to understand the good news of Jesus for life transformation, not just behavior modification

·  A deep longing for Jesus and a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him for our students that are believers

·  New students to join our group and hear the truths of the gospel

·  Openness and grace within our group discussion as we talk through hard topics

Ways You Can Pray for Us This Month:

1.  Our First Vision Night

Over the next three months, City on a Hill Church Brighton (our new church plant’s name) will meet once a month on a Sunday evening for a Vision Night. These Vision Nights are specific times set aside for our church planting team of 40-50 people to meet and pray together. We will spend time worshipping, praying over specific names and people groups we’d like to reach in our neighborhood, and simply spending time to grow in our relationships with one another. Each of these nights will meet in our church location at our local high school. We are excited to pray over each chair that will be used in our future Sunday morning gatherings and especially for the people that will one day use those chairs. Pray for:

·  Unity in vision and mission to reach Brighton

·  Initiative and desire to tell our friends and neighbors about Jesus

·  Health of our future church plant

 2.  Aaron Preaching Twice

City on a Hill Church (CoaH) is a network of neighborhood churches including a church in Brookline, Somerville, and eventually our new church in Brighton. This network has the distinct advantage of shared resources while maintaining specific church autonomy. One of those shared resources is a group of pastors willing and able to fill the pulpit as needed. I have the opportunity to preach at CoaH Brookline on February 10 and preach at CoaH Somerville on February 24. Please pray for:

·  Clarity as I speak and that the gospel would pierce our hearts with its truth

·  Those far from Jesus to hear His Word and come to faith in Him

·  Smooth sermon preparation

 3.  February Colborne Night

This Sunday, the Jacobs (a couple from our launch team) is hosting a Super Bowl party for our friends and neighbors to watch the game together. Sporting events like these are a great opportunity to spend more time with others and have them be a part of our regular routine of life. Pray that:

·  Good conversations about faith will come from our time together

·  N, L, A, & F will see, experience, and know the love of Jesus in how we love them

·  Those gathered will continue having a deep desire for community and find that in the local church

Thank you for praying alongside of us; we look forward to seeing what God will do this month!

January 2019

Prayer partners,

We can’t believe it’s already 2019 and we are off to a great start! Next steps are unfolding for our church plant and we are excited to move forward in what God has planned for us. We are thankful for the Lord’s provision and goodness in all of it.

Read below on how God answered your prayers from last month:

1. Community Group Multiplication

Community Groups are the main way those at City on a Hill Church in Brighton will grow in understanding of the Christian life and see God’s transforming power in the natural rhythms of life. From August to December of last year, our church planting launch team (a core group of people who felt a specific desire to help us start City on a Hill Church in Brighton) met weekly as a Community Group to train and equip ourselves in the gospel, in community, and in mission within our neighborhood. We decided to multiply our one Community Group into two starting in the new year so that we would have room to grow and invite others in our area to join us. We are so excited to have multiplied (the first of many times to come!) and see the health of our church people grow.

Please pray the below for our groups:

-Gospel intentionality to live as disciples of Christ

-Community involvement that points others to Jesus

-Those far from Jesus to see the gospel displayed, declared, and delighted in within our Community Groups

2.  Steps Toward Launching our Church!

Our meeting space has been approved! We are so thankful for God’s provision in allowing us a place to meet at Brighton High School, a local partnership we have built since moving a year and a half ago. Also, City on a Hill Church Brookline hosted an interest meeting for all those considering joining our church plant. We had approximately 50 people attend! Please pray for wisdom and discernment for those thinking of joining our church plant. Also pray for committed members to join our church planting team as we move towards establishing our Brighton Community Groups and begin our preview services in a matter of months.

3.  Colborne Christmas Party

What a great time to celebrate the birth of Jesus with one another! We had over 25 people show up to our Colborne Christmas Party. At least half of those at the party were not attendees of the church but were friends, co-workers, or neighbors that were invited into the celebration. Dan shared with everyone the joy in why we celebrate this holiday, which encouraged further one-on-one conversations throughout the following meal. Please pray for A, J, B, and several other friends and neighbors that are learning more about the Christian faith. Pray for continued boldness to share about Jesus and for open hearts and a desire to join this community with those who hear.

4.  Passion Conference

Each of our college students is in a crucial time of life with overall life choices and specifically with their faith. The Passion Conference was a great time to get away and refocus on the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection both for His glory and our good. We heard from Louie Giglio, Matt Chandler, and several other speakers from Bible passages like Romans 8, Hebrews 6, and Luke 7 speaking to the changing power of the gospel of Jesus. Our students were encouraged to seek the God of truth, to hide in God’s faithfulness, to guard against idle familiarity with the gospel, and being reminded that the good news of Jesus gives us a new hope. Passion Conference was not just a spiritual retreat but was a dedicated time of deeper conversations with one of our unbelieving students, a recognition that God is in control and makes sense of the chaos, and a realization that they are not alone. Pray for our students to seek out community rather than isolation, to experience the transforming power of the gospel daily, and to understand that the gospel IS all of life, not just a part of it.

Read below on how you can pray for us in the coming weeks:

1.  Church Planting Team Expansion

Over the next several weeks, Emily and I will continue following up with individuals who have expressed interest in joining our church planting team for City on a Hill Church in Brighton (CoaH Brighton). Please pray for wisdom as we have these one-on-one conversations with the 10-20 people that are considering our team. Also pray for those interested in CoaH Brighton to discern if God is leading them to our church and what their next steps may be. Our hope is that 10 or more people from these conversations will commit to the church plant by the end of February.

2.  New Semester for our College Community Group

Emily and I will start another semester of our weekly Community Group meeting with college students by the end of this month. We love having these students in our home and it is a great opportunity for us to welcome them into our family. Each new semester brings changes to schedules and new opportunities on campus. Please pray for our students to be bold on their campuses and live intentional lives for the sake of making Jesus known amongst the students. Also pray that our Community Group of students would be healthy and fruitful as we continue to invite those interested in learning more about the Christian faith and as we dive deeply into the Word every week. Our greatest desire is for these students to be equipped to do the work of ministry on their campuses, in their hometowns, and eventually in their own careers and homes once they graduate.

3.  Preaching Opportunities                        

I am continually grateful for the opportunities to preach at City on a Hill Brookline, City on a Hill Somerville, and other churches in the area. Each preaching opportunity further solidifies the calling God has placed on my heart to pastor and shepherd. This weekend I will be preaching at a conference for high school and middle school students. Pray for me to be faithful to the Word each time I preach and for gospel clarity as we seek life change through an understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

December 2018

Family and friends,

Going through this holiday season makes us all the more thankful for the many blessings provided by our church family in North Carolina, the friends that have become family here in Boston, and all the gifts that are ultimately given by Jesus Christ.

Read below for updates from last month’s prayer requests:

1.  Collegiate Conference

With Boston College and Boston University only a mile from our own home in each direction, we have almost 50,000 students in our area. Each of these students are at a pivotal time in their lives to hear and understand the words of Jesus. Last month Emily and I and one of our college leaders, Aryn, went to Lowell, MA for a short collegiate conference hosted by the North American Mission Board. This conference was meant to equip college leaders to better reach college campuses in our nation with the good news of Jesus through the local church. We came away with a lot of vision, best practices, and some helpful resources.  We pray that the tools we gathered at the conference will enable us to better minister to, love, and serve the college students here in Boston.

2.  Friendsgiving

What a great night we had together! We had 26 people join us for a Friendsgiving in our home this year where we prayed over our meal thanking God for His provision and spent time building relationships with one another. The most special thing about this Friendsgiving was the variety of people there from different connections to us and our friends. We had neighbors from our complex, college students from our weekly Community Group, roommates of our Community Group members, and athletes from a ministry on Boston College’s campus. One student even said, “I’ve never seen anything like this”. What a good representation of God’s family and how He draws all different people to Himself. Please pray that each meal, each conversation, and each prayer will see the good news of Jesus be known to those we know and love here in Boston.

3.  Thanksgiving in NC

Although our time back in NC for the holiday was brief, it was great to see both sides of our families to celebrate Thanksgiving! K met her Gigi (great grandmother on Emily’s side), her Aunt Jenn, Uncle Dave, and cousin Jackson (on my side) for the first time. K was showered with gifts from friends and family throughout the week and through the generosity of Hickory Grove and its members. Emily and I are extremely grateful to know that, while Boston is home, we have such a good church family to come back to each time we visit. This is a special thank you for your personal kindness to us as a family, your dedication to regularly pray for and provide for us, and how you continue to encourage us in our ministry here in Boston.

Read below for prayer requests for the month of December:

1. Community Group Multiplication

Emily and I lead a Community Group of our church planting core team every Sunday night (as well as a second Community Group of college students every Thursday night). Part of our strategy of church planting is through the growth of our Community Groups. We desire to not just be a church with Community Groups; instead, we desire to be a church of Community Groups. Our goal for starting a Sunday morning gathering is to have 3 Community Groups of 10-12 people. By God’s grace, at the beginning of the new year we will reach that goal! Starting the first week of January, our Sunday night Community Group will multiply into 2 separate groups to better reach the pockets of people around us. These Community Groups are where we live out the identity of disciple, family, missionary, and servant. Please pray for fruitful ministry, for those far from Christ to come to these groups, and for our groups to be biblically strong and gospel-focused in our care for one another and the community around us.

2. Steps Toward Launching our Church!

Church planting has been a long journey for Emily and I and the team of people that joined us a few months ago from North Carolina. We are still on track to start weekly services in September 2019, just nine short months away! Emily and I are in the final steps of getting city approval and reserving a meeting space at a local high school called Brighton High. We have a great relationship with this school and have served there many times in the past year with clean up projects or providing gift cards to 40 of their homeless students. Please pray that the meeting space requests are approved quickly and with no issues! This is a huge prayer request for us and the most pressing one right now.

Our plan is to launch:

-Interest Meeting: January 6

-Vision Nights: 3 monthly prayer gatherings from February to April

-Preview Services: 4 monthly Sunday morning gatherings (to make any necessary changes) from May to August

-Weekly Services: City on a Hill Church in Brighton starting September 8

We know this has been a long process for us as well as our prayer partners so thank you for your diligence in praying us to this very spot! We trust that God will continue to provide and guide us to the right place for the church to start.

3.  Colborne Christmas Party

Along with the logistics of starting a new church in our neighborhood, we also desire to reach our community and specifically our direct neighbors in our complex with the love and kindness of Jesus Christ. This month Dan and Kelly Jacobs (who are a part of our church planting launch team) will be hosting a Christmas party for our friends and neighbors in this area. We are so thankful for our launch team’s partnership in sharing the good news of Jesus’ birth with all of those around us in tangible and intangible ways. Pray for opportunities to love, serve, and care for our neighbors well during this holiday season and specifically for gospel opportunities at this Christmas party tomorrow.

4. Passion Conference

Passion Conference exists to see a generation of 18 to 25-year-old students to leverage their lives for Jesus Christ. Emily and I will be leading a group of ten students/leaders from local colleges to DC January 2 to 4. This will be the first time our college ministry has had a large enough college presence at the church to take a group, so we are very excited! We’ve seen the college ministry grow from 2 students to 25 in the last year. Pray for lives to be altered by and for the good news of Jesus and that the students we bring would either come to a saving faith in Jesus alone or be drawn closer to Him in their walk with God.

November 2018

Friends and family,

In this upcoming holiday season, Emily and I are reminded of how fortunate we are to have your support, encouragement, and prayers to come alongside us in our ministry in Boston. To say thank you is such a small statement to convey a greater feeling of love and thankfulness. Suffice it to say that we are extremely grateful in your faithfulness to pray for us.

Read below for updates from last month’s prayer requests:

1.  Business Trick or Treat

This past Halloween was far more than celebrating a cultural holiday but was instead an amazing time to meet and serve our community. We served over a thousand people! We met local families and their children, invited those in our community to our upcoming winter festival in January, passed out information about our church, and deepened relationships with the local YMCA director and staff as well as with our friend from Brighton Main Streets (who orchestrated the Business Trick or Treat event). It was a fantastic day in the community, not to make our church’s name known but to ultimately make the name of Jesus known in Brighton. People in our area are beginning to recognize the name of “City on a Hill Church in Brighton” from community service projects we do and our movies in the park from this past summer. However, we have no desire for the “nice” things we do to be seen as more important than the God we serve. Please continue to pray for an abundance of opportunities to explain why we do what we do.

2. An Opportunity to Preach on a Sunday Morning

Each opportunity to preach is a reaffirmed call to start a church here in Boston and each opportunity is a training field to prepare us for weekly gatherings of our own church starting in less than a year. In the past month, I have had the opportunity to preach on Matthew 3:17-4:11 as well as lead worship with Emily at a local church plant’s very first preview service. It is a great honor to do what God has called me to do: to share the good news of Jesus from the truth of the Bible within a gospel-centered church in a city that is far from Christ.

3.  City on a Hill Network Retreat

Emily and I moved fifteen months ago and immediately began a residency/apprenticeship with a local church called City on a Hill Church in Brookline, MA, which will end when we start our church in September 2019. This residency has allowed us to learn the intricacies of starting a new church in a post-Christian context like Boston. Yearly retreats like these re-center our focus on the good news of Jesus and challenge us in our faith. We “retreat” temporarily in order to regroup, cast vision, and take steps of advancement when we are sent out again. This network retreat was centered around gospel intentionality in everyday life. I had the opportunity to preach on how to be missional in the natural rhythms of our lives. It was a great weekend with our church and specifically our core team (8 separate family units) to strategize about the people we are called to, how to support one another in the ministry of natural rhythms in our lives, and how to challenge one another to be more dependent on Christ by taking steps of faith and action for the gospel.

4.  Marriage Retreat

We believe that a foundational part of our ministry is our marriage and our family. If our marriage isn’t healthy, then our ministry won’t be sustainably healthy. With that in mind, the North American Mission Board’s gift of a short marriage retreat was timely and helpful.  Emily and I had the opportunity to reflect on how our marriage has deeply grown since we’ve moved to Boston and in what ways we need seek God’s grace. We know that God’s strength is shown through the weaknesses in our marriage and that the strengths in our marriage show off His goodness and grace in our lives. Nothing in and of itself can be attributed to us outside of Christ and we pray everyday that our marriage would be a clear picture of the good news of Jesus and how He loves His people. We ask that you pray for us in that way as well and that we would build each other up with the truth of the gospel to love and serve each other in our marriage as Jesus has unendingly loved and served us.

Things to Pray for This Month:

1.   Collegiate Conference

Emily and I head out today for a conference focused on college ministry and how to serve and love the college students we regularly have in our home. This conference is meant to encourage and equip us in the work we are doing on local college campuses. Pray for fruitful tools and resources to reach students. Also pray for continued reliance on the Spirit as we seek to bring the hope of the good news of Jesus into the lives of college for transformed hearts and minds.

2.  Friendsgiving

This Friday, November 9 we will host a Friendsgiving to celebrate Thanksgiving early with our friends and neighbors. We will simply use the evening as a time to celebrate and spend time together over a good meal. Emily and I love our neighbors and are grateful for any time spent with them. Pray for many neighbors to come to our home to enjoy a meal together and tangibly see and feel the family and love that Jesus offers through us. We earnestly pray that neighbors and friends wouldn’t confuse our “morality” with the One we follow and that we will have many opportunities to share explicitly about the good news of Jesus.

3. Thanksgiving in NC

As a personal update, we are headed back to North Carolina for a brief visit over Thanksgiving. This will be K’s third visit to see our families and she will get to meet for the first time an aunt, uncle, cousin, and even her great-grandmother! K is intricately enmeshed in our lives and we love every part of it. Due to some appeals with her case, K’s official adoption into our family has been put on hold for at least another year unfortunately. This was difficult to swallow but we praise God that our day-to-day lives don’t change in the way we love and parent K. We eagerly wait for the day that we can legally call her our daughter. Whether “official” or not, she is certainly our daughter. Just last weekend on November 3, we celebrated our first anniversary of the day we met her! Please pray for her future adoption into our family as well as for Emily and I as we seek to parent in a godly way that shows K Jesus in every situation every single day. Our greatest desire is for our sweet girl to know Jesus herself one day and we pray earnestly to that end!

October 2018

Prayer partners,

Fall is kicking into gear and things are settling into another new normal with those around us. We’ve had a rainy fall so far, but we are looking forward to the opportunities that come with the cooler weather. After a very busy season from May to September, God has brought us into a small season of rest with a couple of retreats in the near future.

Read below for updates on last month’s requests!

1. Movie in the Park

On September 7th, City on a Hill Brighton hosted our second movie in the park for our community. We had around 300 people attend! Not only did this community event have a great turnout, but each person heard the core values of our church: Gospel. Community. Mission. We had one couple start coming to City on a Hill and made connections with many others as they passed on their information to us through a raffle and survey. These large events are designed to be a launching pad for deeper friendships to form and we look forward to continuing the work of spending time with those in our community on a more personal basis!

2. Community Groups and College Ministry

The month of September was full of college students moving back to Boston and starting classes along with Community Groups coming back in full swing. Many new students are in search of a church home when they move here, so we utilize the month of September to do a lot of college ministry outreach. Last month we took our college ministry students out to a free lunch after each Sunday in September (five total), held one college party at our home, and hosted our College Community Group with dinner beforehand each Thursday night. It was a busy but very fruitful month of reconnecting with students that returned to Boston and building new relationships with international students, short-term exchange students, and students new to or exploring the faith. Pray for our Community Group each Thursday night to make the good news of Jesus very clear in our words and how we live our lives. Also pray for the many students exploring Christianity joining us to come to faith in Jesus Christ.

3. Cornerstone Vision Trip

We are beyond grateful for faithful church partners to support us with their time and with their people. Emily and I had a great visit with the small team from Cornerstone as we planned the logistics of working together next summer. Cornerstone will help us host a version of Vacation Bible School for our community that will serve the kids in our neighborhood through sports and the Word of God. This is an especially special partnership for me personally since I partially grew up at Cornerstone during my high school years and that is where I began to understand the good news of Jesus. I’m looking forward to the conversations ahead and seeing this church’s ministry come full circle in my life as we seek to share about Jesus with the children in Brighton.

How to Pray for Us This Month:

1. City on a Hill Network Retreat

This weekend City on a Hill Church will gather at a retreat center in New Hampshire to focus on “Revival through the Ordinary: How God Brings Extraordinary Change Through Ordinary People”. Our hope is that people see all of life as an opportunity to display and declare the good news of Jesus. City on a Hill Somerville, City on a Hill Brookline, and those committed to City on a Hill Brighton (our new church plant starting in May 2019) will spend dedicated time to get away with one another and dive deeper into the family culture of our church. Just like any family vacations together, so does our church body! Please pray for the three times City on a Hill Brighton will get to meet over the weekend! These gatherings are extremely important in building the culture and foundation of our church and we look forward to doing so with the team we have. Also, please pray for me as I speak at the retreat on Saturday about living life on mission in everyday life and for Emily and I as we speak on a panel related to missional living.

2. Colborne Community Night

Each month Emily and I host a complex-wide get together for our neighbors. These gatherings are meant to be a springboard for deeper friendships and community outside of these monthly events. We are planning to watch a popular Boston event called Head of the Charles, a rowing regatta, together the third weekend of October. Pray for intentional time with our neighbors and for Emily and I to show them the love of Jesus well by serving and caring for them in the busyness of their lives!

3. Marriage Retreat through North American Mission Board

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is a domestic missions agency designed to reach North America with the good news of Jesus and they are an active partner in the new church Emily and I will start next year. NAMB supports us with financial assistance, but also with resources and gifts specifically geared to take care of a church planters’ family. NAMB has organized a marriage retreat for Boston area church planters and their spouses on October 26 & 27. This retreat is a short reprieve to get away from the demands of life and church planting. Pray for rejuvenation, continued health in our marriage, and special time with other church planting couples from Boston.

4. Business Trick or Treat

Each Halloween, Brighton Main Streets, a non-profit organization seeking community growth that we have partnered with in past community events, puts on an event called Business Trick or Treat. Brighton, a neighborhood of Boston, holds almost 50,000 people in just four-square miles. That’s a ton of people! As you can imagine, it’s a lot of apartments and multi-family homes, which makes trick or treating on Halloween that much trickier for young families and kids in an urban setting. Brighton Main Streets created Business Trick or Treat, an alternative way for kids and families to walk through the business district of Brighton Center for their usual trick or treating. Every business on the main street passes out candy, ending with a pizza party at our local YMCA. It is our hope to host a City on a Hill table that serves both kids and their parents as an avenue to meet families in our neighborhood and gift them with something as simple as a candy bar and a smile.

Pray for:

-The ability to serve and be a part of Business Trick or Treat

-Relationship building with the families that live in our area

-Goodwill and favor for City on a Hill Brighton as we seek to be in the community and for the community

September 2018

Friends and family,

What a week! There is so much we can praise God for just over this past week and weekend. September is like the start of a new year here in Boston with apartment leases ending/beginning and college classes starting again. God has already paved the way for new relationships to be formed and for His name to be made known throughout this city. Read below to see how:

1.  The Big Move

Thousands of people move every September 1st in Boston, the day that most apartment leases begin in the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. Many of these people have very limited help moving their belongings. Last Saturday, our City on a Hill Community Groups had the opportunity to give back to our community and serve the neighbors around us. The Big Move is a practical way to love and serve our neighbors and to show our community what the church about – glorifying God while serving others. We spent all day Saturday helping neighbors move into their apartments throughout Brighton and built several relationships with those in our community.

Pray for:

-E & K newly arrived from Iraq seeking an education here (only been in the US for six days now)

-M, D, & E live down the street from us and have lived in Boston for several years pursuing PhD’s at Harvard

-M, M, J & A are new neighbors within our apartment complex

2. Colborne Cookout

One day after The Big Move, Emily and I hosted an apartment-wide cookout and invited several of our new neighbors on surrounding streets as well. The goal of our apartment events is to turn neighbors into friends and friends into family. The only way to bridge the gap between turning neighbors into friends is to spend dedicated time with one another, learning each other’s stories. Many of these conversations are the start of deeper dialogue about spiritual backgrounds and beliefs. Please pray for A, E, & B as we continue to have conversations with them about the good news of Jesus and its daily implications. Pray for their hearts to be softened towards Jesus as they explore the faith.

How You Can Pray for Us This Month:

1.  Movie in the Park TODAY!

City on a Hill Brighton, the church Emily and I will start in September 2019, is hosting a free community movie in the park tonight! This event is meant to draw new and current residents of Brighton together to foster a culture of community in our neighborhood. A movie night in the park is a great opportunity to get new neighbors plugged into Brighton in a fun and easy way. These nights also give us the chance to speak in front of a large group of people so that they better know our church, that we are in the city for the city.

2.  Community Groups start next week

City on a Hill’s Community Groups are meant to be more than just a once a week gathering of a small group of people. Community Groups are designed to be a small group of people living intentionally with one another to be a part of the patterns and rhythms of life together throughout the city. These groups are one way in which we live out the good news of Jesus. Not only do we desire to live out the good news of Jesus, but we also strive to share the good news of Jesus with one another through discussing the Bible and praying with each other. Each weekly meeting focuses on the sermon text from the previous Sunday and how it applies to our daily lives. Ultimately, Community Groups are a small reflection of the family that God invites us into through His Son, Jesus Christ. Emily and I are genuinely looking forward to starting our Community Group again after taking a break over the summer while college students went back home. Pray for our leadership to be solely guided by God’s Word, our group to be solidified in its understanding and mission of the good news of Jesus, that we would see those far from Christ come to faith in Him, and for our group to be a true picture of the family of God in our daily rhythms.

3.  Cornerstone vision trip

Next Friday, Cornerstone Church of Greensboro, NC will be coming to Boston for a vision trip with the hopes of coordinating with City on a Hill Brighton for future events and a potential partnership. Please pray for Cornerstone to continue flourishing in the gospel and for a healthy partnership to result from a fruitful vision trip. We will have all next weekend to share the statistics of this amazing but far from God city. As one of the least Bible-minded and one of the most unchurched areas in the nation, Boston has a deep need for the good news of Jesus. And with 5.8 million people and less than 3% evangelical Christian, we know that the hope of Jesus is needed here. There is nothing in Emily and I that saves a person, only the simple truth of Jesus’ perfect life for us, His sacrificial and atoning death on our behalf, and His victorious resurrection over sin and death. Praise God for a powerful gospel! Pray for the gospel to become rampant in this city that desperately needs a Savior.

4.  College ministry update

September is a great month to reach out to and build relationships with college students. Many of the colleges and universities in the area wait to start classes until after Labor Day so there is always an influx of students in September. To best serve and love these students, City on a Hill hosts free college lunches for the entire month. Not only that, but we also have the privilege of hosting a party for college students on September 22. Each of these lunches or get togethers allow Emily and I to connect with students personally to learn how to better pray for them and come alongside of them through busy school semesters. We know that living a Christian life on campus is not an easy task. We pray that each of our students feels refreshed and supported by their church and energized by the good news of Jesus as they go out in the college campuses in faith and on mission.

August 2018

Prayer partners,

Emily and I are celebrating as we move in our last two families that are a part of our church planting launch team to their new Boston homes! We couldn’t be happier to have all of the team members finally together again as we work alongside one another for the mission that God has given us.

See What God Has Done!

1.  Parkwood Volunteer Team

Last month, one of our partner churches sent up a group of volunteers that helped with a variety of service projects including prop design for our Kids’ Summer Adventure, a movie night in the park for Brookline, prayer walking, and serving our local high school. This team was instrumental in establishing an active partnership with a local school, Brighton High. Brighton High is a target area of need that we desire to serve tangibly and prayerfully. Our relationship with Brighton High School will continue this month as we help with their Back to School Blast.

2.  Community Day at Faneuil Gardens

On July 14, our church, City on a Hill in Brighton, hosted a table at a local housing development’s Community Day for the tenants of the complex. This type of community event is especially important because it gives us an opportunity to meet more of our Brighton neighbors and to tangibly serve local complexes largely made up of families. These events allow us to actively live out our faith by having conversations with those in our community, giving freely with no expectation of anything in return, and building relationships with those in leadership positions so that we can help again in the future. Pray for continued open doors for us to share the good news of Jesus at Faneuil Gardens and in other housing developments in the area. Also pray that we would continue to build a healthy partnership with this complex to meet its tangible needs.

3.  Camp Paradise Speaker for Hickory Grove

Hickory Grove has been very good to me! Not only is it one of our main partner churches, but Hickory Grove is also our sending church and home church. We love the people of Hickory Grove and any opportunity spent with them. In fact, last month I was given the chance to be the Camp Speaker for Hickory Grove’s middle and high school student camp. What an honor! The week at camp focused on the theme of being transformed by the good news of Jesus and His call on our lives. Pray for Hickory Grove’s students to seek gospel change in their daily lives and for the Holy Spirit to work mightily in them as He draws them nearer and nearer to Himself.

4.  The Daniels and The Jacobs

Our church planting launch team is now complete! The last two families from our North Carolina team are officially in Boston. It is a surreal feeling to know that the plans we have made for the past couple of years are finally coming to fruition! Please pray for these families as they settle into life in Boston. These couples have left their families, friends, home church, and jobs back in North Carolina to see the good news of Jesus shared in Boston. We are very thankful for their faithfulness to God’s call on their lives and would ask that you pray over their time in this city, especially for a smooth transition and for Boston to feel like home.

What You Can Pray For This Month:

1.  Adoption Paperwork for Baby K

Emily and I found out on July 26 that we get to be baby K’s forever family! We are beyond thrilled. The adoption will not be finalized until we are able to complete all the paperwork and get through a few more trial pieces for her case, but we are very hopeful that things will move forward so that we can call her our very own daughter by early next year. Emily and I can’t wait to introduce her to you as a permanent part of our family. Please pray for us as we continue taking on the joy and responsibility of raising our daughter in love, patience, and in the truth of the good news of Jesus. Also pray for paperwork and any remaining trial pieces to go seamlessly for her adoption.

2. Guest Preaching for Local Churches

                                    Preaching at Redemption City Church

The Boston brotherhood of church planters is unlike anything I have ever seen. Each church planter desires to see the kingdom of God grown through the multiplication of more gospel-centered churches. Because of the brotherhood and friendship between planters, I have been asked to preach at several churches in the past year. This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to preach at Redemption City Church in the South End and later this month I will be preaching at City on a Hill in Brookline. Pray for each of these gospel-centered churches to flourish in their communities and pray for clarity of speech and insight from the Word of God as I preach in a few weeks.

3.  The Big Move

                     Last year's group of volunteers for The Big Move

Every year in Boston there is an almost 30% turnover in people. Apartment leases, which make up the majority amount of housing here in the city, generally end/begin on September 1 each year. Because of that, there is a mass influx of people moving in throughout Boston and its surrounding areas and this gives us a great opportunity to meet and serve those directly around us. Partner church, Parkwood, will be sending a volunteer team to help us as we endeavor to meet more of our direct neighbors and serve them by moving in their belongings for no cost. The Big Move is an opportunity to build friendships with those around us. Last year we had graduate students attend our community group and City on a Hill church because we helped them during The Big Move (and they are still a regular part of our community group!). Pray for strength and endurance for the teams that will be helping during that very busy weekend, for gospel opportunities with our neighbors, and for opportunities to live life with friends that live in our immediate community.

Thank you for praying alongside of us through this journey. Look for our top ten highlights of our first year in Boston in another post soon!

July 2018

Prayer partners,

This last month has been a busy one and we have loved the summer weather as we spend time with our community, neighbors, and friends. Read below for the highlights of this past month.

See What God Has Done!

1.  4th of July Cookout

Emily and I had the opportunity to spend the 4th of July with friends and neighbors and what a good time we had! We believe in being a family with those around us and, as a family, we eat together and celebrate together. As a family, we also invite others to join our family and be a part of this special community that God has created for us. The 4th of July was a perfect time to get everyone together and invite neighbors and new friends. One thing Emily and I have learned here in Boston is that spending time with others doesn’t have to be compartmentalized. Invite people into the everyday rhythms of your life and see how God works through that!

2.  Pav Family is Here!

The Pav family is settled and enjoying Boston! They have begun making friends with neighbors and we are so thankful they are here. We had several friends moving in the Pav family, including non-Christians, international students, and members from City on a Hill. The Pav’s will be living in the Oak Square area of Brighton that will allow us to intentionally reach young families around them. Breckon will be serving as an Emergency Room doctor and Stephanie will be doing ministry with her children and other moms around her. We are very excited to have them on our team and here in Brighton!

3.  Waiting on Court Decision for Baby K

Baby K is growing so fast! We see a marked difference in her development over the past several months as she gets closer to turning two years old in the fall. Her trial is finished, but the judge has 60 days to make a final decision for baby K’s custody. Emily and I are battling anxiety and worry, but we know that this decision is not out of God’s control. We also know that God loves baby K far more than we ever could. Please continue praying for baby K’s case to come to a swift conclusion and that she will be permanently settled in a safe and loving home.

What You Can Pray For:

1.  Parkwood Volunteer Team

Parkwood Church in Gastonia, NC sent a volunteer team to help us with several projects. The team arrived on Wednesday and will be with us until Sunday. They have certainly been busy! Each volunteer team builds upon each other. For example, a previous volunteer team prayed over the Brighton Common area. The next team served as we did a Movie in the Park in Brighton Common. We met a family from a local housing development called Faneuil Gardens that evening who are now coming to church and having faith conversations with us. This team will be helping us with a Unity Day community event hosted at Faneuil Gardens! Every team builds upon the work of the people that came before them. Not only is Parkwood serving with our Community Day at Faneuil Gardens, but they have also helped with Kids’ Summer Adventure props, led five different service projects at Brighton High School (a local school we are building a partnership with), prayer walking key areas in Brighton, and setting up City on a Hill Brookline’s Movie in the Park. We cannot emphasize enough how important each team is and not just for what they do, but for what they pray for throughout their time with us.

2.  Community Day at Faneuil Gardens

Brighton alone has six government housing developments within its four-square miles. Tomorrow, July 14, we will be a part of Faneuil Gardens' Community Day, which is a day that brings local partners together to serve the families of that specific development. City on a Hill Brighton will have volunteers to pass out free food, lead games and prizes for the kids, and to talk with families and hand out information about our church. We look forward to spending this Saturday serving in our community! Pray for opportunities to invite people to church and specifically to share the good news of Jesus with those we meet. Pray that we will show the love of Jesus to the children and families at this development by giving freely as Jesus gave to us.

3.  Matt and Jordan Daniels & Dan and Kelly Jacobs

The last two families from our church plant launch team will be moving up at the end of this month. To say we are excited is an understatement. Both couples are highly gifted with people, sharing the good news of Jesus, and opening their homes to the community. They will be using their jobs in IT, education, the medical field, and accounting/finance as platforms to share the good news of Jesus in word and deed in Boston. Please pray for smooth transitions as they move away from family and friends and get settled in Boston, last minute details for packing and housing, and for peace that God will provide every step of the way.

Thank you for praying with us! We look forward to all that is up ahead this next month.

`

June 2018

Friends and family,

Emily and I have had a busy month becoming full-time foster parents, putting on our first City on a Hill Church Brighton event, and hosting a volunteer team from a partner church. Our daily lives are filled with lots of time with people both in and out of the church and we can't believe we are just a couple months away of celebrating our first year in Boston. We have certainly settled into a routine and we look forward to the many opportunities ahead!

See How God Worked Last Month!

1.  Baptizing our First College Student

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of baptizing one of our college students, Shelby Grasso! Shelby is a true example of when a neighbor turns into a friend who turns into family. Shelby became a believer several years ago but hadn't yet been baptized. After a conversation during one of our Community Group meetings, Shelby spoke to us about her desire to be baptized. We had many personal conversations in our home, car, running errands, and even over a vacation to detail what baptism meant as a symbol of the good news of Jesus and why it is important (a picture to the world of what Jesus has done for us and an opportunity for the church to celebrate and come alongside of her in her faith). Shelby knew that she had come to know Jesus personally through faith alone by God's grace alone and shared her testimony before City on a Hill Church on June 3 of just that! We had a great time celebrating what Jesus did for her through the symbolism of baptism.

2.  Parkwood Volunteer Team

Celebrating Tom's birthday with some neighbors and our volunteer team

Parkwood Church in North Carolina has been one of our many great partner churches. Partner churches help support us financially as well as with resources, including extra hands to complete projects that would otherwise remain unfinished. This particular volunteer team helped complete artwork/props for our Kids Summer Adventure, pass out flyers for our Movie in the Park, set up and tear down of the Movie in the Park, and set up for City on a Hill Brookline’s church service. They also helped us to host a birthday lunch at a local restaurant for our apartment manager, Tom! We are always thankful for the work these teams accomplish and for the encouragement that they continually give us.

3.  Brighton Movie in the Park

Emily and I hosted our very first event as City on a Hill Church Brighton in our community last week and it was a great success. We were hoping for 75 people to come and instead God brought us almost 300 people! Emily and I as well as our volunteer team made up of City on a Hill members and neighbors were blown away at the turnout. We had the opportunity to briefly share our three core values with those attending: Gospel, Community, and Mission. And had the privilege of gifting 6 lucky people with gift cards to local businesses. Dozens of people come over to our information table to ask for more details about City on a Hill and to put their names down for an email list for future events we put on. We also had a family attend church the following day who are exploring what it means to know Jesus. We are extremely grateful for those in our community who attended and look forward to serving Brighton again in the near future!

4.  Brighton High Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

Emily and I have been in contact with several community centers and schools directly around us in the community of Brighton. Brighton High School is a short walk from our home and educates almost 600 students every day. This school in particular has been through a few difficult years and we desired to support them in whatever way we could. Yesterday we hosted a teacher appreciation luncheon for the 65 or so teachers and staff that persevere everyday to give their students an education and so much more within their classrooms. We pray this lunch was an encouragement to the teachers of Brighton High and that we will be able to build relationships with the teachers to better support them in the future. We are so thankful for the partnership with have found in this school and their willingness to allow us into their establishment. Pray for Brighton High to succeed as a school, for teachers to have the endurance to finish out the school year strong, and for the protection and well-being of the students that attend there.

                                The Pav family

Be praying for:

1.  Breckon and Stephanie Pav

At the end of the month, another family from our church planting launch team will be moving to Boston and we couldn’t be more excited! Pray for the Pav family in the logistics of moving a family of six a thousand miles and especially peace for their hearts in this big transition. We look forward to having them nearby, but also know that this is a big adjustment for their kids in particular. Emily and I are praying for close friends for the kiddos, a smooth transition for Breckon at his new job, and opportunities to spend time with other women in and out of the church for Stephanie.

2.  Foster Care Update

  Baby K enjoying a day at a local beach in South Boston

Baby K is doing well and adjusting to our home nicely. She eats like a champ and sleeps through the night, so we can’t complain! She is currently cutting four teeth, so you can be praying for her comfort and health as we handle a teething toddler. Baby K’s goal is now for adoption and not reunification with her biological family. Because of that, her case is in the midst of a trial concerning custody and termination of parental rights. Please be praying throughout the next two months for:

-The judge’s wisdom in presiding over a difficult case on where baby K should be placed long-term/permanently.

-Peace for us as we continue to take steps for baby K to be a part of our family. It is our hope to adopt her.

-Kiana’s safety and well-being to be the primary concern for everyone involved in the case.

Thank you for your continual support. We have seen God answer many prayers since we moved almost a year ago and look forward to watching Him move in the future through more kingdom prayers!

May 2018

Prayer partners,

Boston has come alive with the spring weather, which means more activities and opportunities at local playgrounds and throughout the community! This will be our first spring in Boston (since we moved late summer last year) and we are excited for the season ahead.

Update on The God Question event:

Last month, Emily and I coordinated with a local ministry, InterVarsity, on Boston College’s campus to host an event called The God Question. This event answered one question each night concerning God within suffering, pain, evil, and oppression. The God Question was developed to be a place for seekers, skeptics, and Christians to hear more about God, who He is, and what He has done for us through the good news of Jesus Christ.

Many college students, including those at Boston College, feel the overwhelming weight of decisions for the future, academic achievement, and being overly involved in too many activities on top of any personal life difficulties. Because of that, students can often feel isolated, depressed, anxious, and hopeless. However, Jesus Christ has a unique hope to offer all of us through faith in Him alone. The God Question was an opportunity to share that hope on Boston College’s campus and to further build relationships with students.

After passing out 2,000 invitation cards, spending 25+ hours on campus at a promotional table, and having personal conversations with those interested in the event, we can say that The God Question certainly opened doors for us to have conversations about Jesus on campus.

Some students were dealing with anger or confusion towards God and other students were curious and seeking for an answer. Either way, God gave us the privilege of offering His hope through Jesus Christ to dozens of students through personal conversation and the two-night event. Ultimately, our goal was to share the good news of Jesus on campus with students and that’s exactly what The God Question enabled us to do. We look forward to being more and more available on campus as these conversations continue!

Please Pray For:

1. Brighton Clean Up Day

Pray specifically for Brighton Clean Up Day this Saturday, May 19. A local non-profit organization is hosting a day for volunteers to beautify our community by planting flowers, picking up trash, and serving in any way needed for our local homes and businesses. This will be a great day to not only serve our community, but to also build relationships with those that also love this area of Boston. While it may seem like a simple task to pick up trash, this clean up day is a lot bigger than that. We have the privilege of serving our community in small and big ways, develop relationships with other people that will be there, and love with no expectation of anything in return, just like Jesus does for us. It is our honor to serve this part of the city where we can see God actively working!

2. Provision of jobs and homes for those on our launch team

     Haley and Bradley Wright, members of our launch team, that are now in Boston!

Several family units from Charlotte, NC are moving to Boston with the express purpose of helping us start, or “launch”, a new church in Brighton. They are moving their families, changing jobs, and searching for jobs and places to live in Boston instead. This group of almost 15 people has agreed to intentionally live out and share the good news of Jesus with their co-workers, neighbors, and many others in Boston and to lay the foundation of the new church. Haley and Bradley Wright from our launch moved just a couple months ago and have already been a great help to us!

Pray specifically for:

-Haley and Bradley: good relationships with neighbors, opportunities for Bradley to share the good news of Jesus at work, and growing relationships with international students at Northeastern for Haley

-Breckon and Stephanie: smooth transition for their move in late June, peace for extended family, and good friends for their kiddos once they move to Boston

-Dan and Kelly: provision for jobs and open doors in their respective fields

-Matt and Jordan: moving transition (application for their apartment has just been approved!) and job openings in Jordan’s field of work

3. Church Plant Meeting Spaces

Last week, Emily and I spent time going through Brighton and finding potential places for the new church to meet in Brighton. We took time to pray over different areas and locations while we walked and had the opportunity to meet many of the owners to discuss potentially meeting there next year. Please pray for us to have favor when speaking to those in charge of the spaces we are interested in and especially for us to have wisdom in choosing a location based on cost, accessibility, and space. We pray that God’s name will be known through these partnerships as we seek to love the Brighton community well!

4. Full-Time Foster Parents

                                Baby K, 19 month old little girl in our home

We are officially full-time foster parents with our very first child placement. We are very fortunate to be foster parents to a beautiful 19 month-old little girl who is full of life, joy, and lots to say! Pray for us as we transition to full-time parenthood that we would have an abundance of grace, love, patience, and endurance to love this little girl like Jesus loves her. Foster care and adoption are important to Emily and I because we have been adopted into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe this is just one way to show God's love for others and we pray that we will always share and show the good news and hope of Jesus Christ to every child within our home. 

(Note: For the safety and well-being of the children placed in our home, we will not show their faces in any pictures.)

 “‘And you shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:30-31

April 2018

Hi friends,

We have been busy over the past month with foster care meetings, mission teams, and prepping for a big college event. While I will give you an update on the requests for last month, I only have one prayer request for this post! I hope you will join Emily and I as we pray fervently for the Lord to work this week throughout the event we’ll have on Boston College’s campus.

But first, take a look at what God has done over the past month!

1. Preaching Opportunities

I have had the opportunity to preach twice over the last month. Once on Palm Sunday and then again on April 15. These opportunities are important not only for my own personal development, but also for the continued growth in our relationship with City on a Hill church. Emily and I have spent the last 8 months apprenticing with City on a Hill to learn the Boston culture, what church planting looks like in this context, and much more! For this and many other reasons, we value their partnership. Preaching is important because I can exercise the gifts and calling I feel like God has led me to and gives me an opportunity to receive feedback from a faithful congregation here in Boston.

2. April Colborne Community Night

Another great night with our neighbors in the books! While watching a movie with friends and freshly made popcorn  is always fun, our main excitement from these nights are the developing friendships we have with our neighbors. This is exactly the type of community we hoped for when we moved here. We most enjoy spending time with our neighbors outside of these community nights where we can genuinely get to know them better. We are thankful that these community nights have afforded us that opportunity.

3. Parkwood Volunteer Team

From April 4-8, Parkwood sent a volunteer team to help us in the Brighton community. This team of people focused on developing goodwill within our specific neighborhood. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and we believe that we can accomplish that call through serving those around us without asking for anything in return. We had the opportunity to serve local businesses and the whole community by picking up trash along a main thoroughfare in the neighborhood. This may not seem like much, but it accomplishes more than you think! Most importantly, we show the love of Christ by doing whatever is needed for those around us without expecting anything in return. Also, it helps Emily and I to build goodwill with those in our community. We genuinely desire for the church to be known for its love for the area and its people. Volunteer teams, like the one from Parkwood, enable us to complete projects that would otherwise be left undone due to our lack of hands/manpower so we are always grateful for teams like these to show up and be willing to serve in any capacity needed. We also had the opportunity to share the gospel with local businesses and through granola outreach in the Boston Common area! Many great conversations stemmed from this team's service and we pray for the fruit that God will bring from those discussions.

JUST ONE REQUEST!

Please be praying for The God Question event taking place at Boston College tonight and tomorrow evening. City on a Hill via Emily and I are coming alongside of a Christian organization, InterVarsity, to put on this event on campus. Boston College has approximately 9,000 undergraduate students with most of them not knowing Jesus as their personal Savior. 

We are praying that The God Question will draw in skeptics, seekers, and even those established in the Christian faith. This is our first big event on the college campus and we are praying for big things to happen!

The God Question event will answer two questions (one for each night):

1. If a good God exists, why does God allow evil, pain, and suffering?

2. If I believe in God, will the evil, suffering, and oppression end?

Our hope is that The God Question will be a part of a series to answer some of the biggest questions students have concerning the Christian faith. This event will not only answer these questions according to the good news of Jesus Christ but will also allow students to ask additional questions and discuss their personal views for an open dialogue about faith.

This specific event will be tonight, April 24 at 6:30pm and tomorrow, April 25 at 6:30pm.

Pray for the following with The God Question event:

1. The good news of Jesus will be clearly shared at the event

2. Boston College students will attend the event and hear the good news of Jesus

3. God would begin to work in students’ hearts to understand who He is and what He has done for them

4. We will receive helpful feedback at the end of the event as we determine potential next steps for this series

Thank you for joining alongside of us to pray! For updates on The God Question event, be sure to check out Instagram or Facebook this week (or wait until next month’s post where an update will be included as well!).

March 2018

Prayer Partners,

Spring is around the corner for us in Boston and we couldn’t be more excited! As much as we love the snow, we will look forward to more time walking to local restaurants and spending time outside with our friends and church here!

SEE HOW GOD WORKED LAST MONTH!

1.  Almost Licensed as Foster/Adoptive Parents!

Emily and I are excited to say that we are just a few weeks away from being done with our foster/adoptive licensure for the state of Massachusetts. In the Boston area alone, there are 6,000 children in the foster care system. And because each one is made in the image of God, they are all deserving of love and care. Through the foster care process, we have had the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus through why we want to foster/adopt with many social workers. God has given us a heart for adoption and foster care because we ourselves have been adopted into the family of God by faith in the perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus. We hope to continue this ministry to the little ones that come into our home and show them the unending love of Christ. Our first official placement should happen around the beginning of April!

2.  Fruitful Time with our Hickory Grove Volunteer Team

The goal of a church plant is to share the good news of Jesus in a place where there are not many established churches and to see the good news of Jesus spread in that area. We would not be able to accomplish this goal without church partnerships in our ministry. Whether by providing funds, people, or general resources, a church plant in Boston will certainly be a team effort. Emily and I have been blessed with Hickory Grove as our “sending church” (where we previously were and now have been sent from). Recently a team from Hickory Grove had the opportunity to walk through the streets of Brighton, praying for its people, schools and organizations and praying that its people would be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus. The team also helped Emily and I grow our partnership within this community through a non-profit called Brighton Main Streets. Teams of people like this enable us to accomplish more ministry opportunities that we would otherwise be unable to fulfill. Needless to say, we are very thankful for faithful church partners and those willing to come and serve the city!

3.  March Colborne Community Night

Each month Emily and I host a Colborne Community Night, a night to spend time with our neighbors in our apartment complex. Part of being in the family of God means extending that love and care to others and we have the privilege of doing that with our neighbors who we love and are so thankful to know. These nights are meant to be a time to grow our friendships with those immediately around us and to simply serve them by providing free food or just a night to relax and play games. This allows us to learn about their life stories, beliefs, and hopes for the future. We are continually praying for more opportunities to love and serve our neighbors at Colborne Place!

4.  Many Opportunities to Preach

I am always thankful for any opportunity to preach the gospel in local church bodies. It was a great privilege to be asked by a few other planters to preach at their churches in the last month. Be praying for Indian Community Church as they reach the Indian population in Boston and specifically in Waltham, where the church is located, that they would be fruitful in seeing Indians come to know Christ and His sacrifice. Also, be praying for Renewal Church, which meets downtown. This church is a great example of “gaining by losing” as they multiply and send out another church plant to the Mission Hill area. Pray that their congregation would have perseverance and would show great faithfulness as they pursue making the good news of Jesus known throughout the city of Boston.

BE PRAYING FOR:

1.  Aaron Preaching Sunday at City on a Hill

With Good Friday and Easter just around the corner, I will be preaching from Matthew 21 about the Triumphal Entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday. I’m looking forward to preaching this Sunday! Please pray that the gospel message of Jesus Christ will open the eyes of those who don’t yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Also pray that my message will be very clear on who Jesus is and His sacrifice for us.

2.  April Colborne Community Night

                                            April Colborne Community Night flyer

Flyers for our next Colborne Community Night will be going out this weekend! Along with these flyers will be some homemade cookies and a personal note to each of our neighbors inviting them to join us. We hope that this extra touch will serve as a simple encouragement in their busy lives and to let them know that we care about them. Our next Colborne Community Night will be on April 6. Be praying for our neighbors and all that they have going on in their lives! We hope that our next Colborne Community Night will be a time to simply relax and spend time with friends without any agenda but to love and serve those around us.

3.  Parkwood Volunteer Team April 4-8

Emily and I have been blessed with great supporting churches! And each of these churches graciously send teams of people to catch the vision of seeing the love of Christ spread throughout Boston and to specifically serve and love this community. Parkwood will be sending a team from April 4-8. During their stay with us, we will prayer walk, further build partnerships with local businesses and non-profits, be a part of our Colborne Community Night, and serve City on a Hill with various projects. Parkwood has been a great ministry partner and allowed me to speak at their missions conference recently. More and more people are growing to love Boston and we are so thankful for this church’s efforts in gospel ministry!

We have a big event coming up next month called The God Question at Boston College. Be sure to check out our next prayer update to learn more about the event and how to pray specifically for it!

February 2018

Friends & Family,

Emily and I are celebrating six months in Boston today! We can’t believe how quickly time has gone by and how much has happened in a matter of months. We will be posting a blog update later this month that looks at our last six months in review and how our different avenues of ministry tie together for the greater mission and vision of reaching Boston with the gospel. Be sure to check it out when it’s posted! Emily and I love our life in Boston and are experiencing a lot of change both personally and within our ministry here. Take a look below for an update as well as prayer requests for the next month.

SEE HOW GOD WORKED LAST MONTH!

1.  First Official Home Study Done

                                              Preparing for our home study

Our first home study/interview went very well the morning of Valentine’s Day! We have had a few social workers in our home previously, but this was the first real home study done that puts us another step closer to becoming foster parents and a pre-adoptive home. This visit was a basic introduction to Emily and I, our families, and our home. It included a physical requirements check that proves our home is livable, safe, and a good environment for our future foster children. We will have two to three more home visits over the next month. Our next home study will be on Thursday, February 22 (see the prayer request below for more details!).

2.  Aaron Preached at Hope Community Church and Indian Community Church

This month I have/had the privilege of preaching four times at a few different church plants in the Boston area. I am currently two for four right now as I preached at Indian Community Church on Saturday, February 10 and at Hope Community Church on Saturday, February 3. The church planting network in Boston through the North American Mission Board (NAMB) has been one of our favorite things. We have a built-in support system with other walking through the same process of church planting. Because of the strong brotherhood between church planters in Boston, we are called upon to help our brothers in Christ and their churches in whatever capacity needed. It’s been a privilege to serve alongside these men and their families as we all work towards a common goal of spreading the gospel in Boston!

3.  Colborne Community Game Night

   Playing "Codenames" with our neighbors at our latest Colborne Community Night

Another Colborne Community Night is under our belt! Emily and I had a great time playing “Codenames” with our neighbors and even invited another couple from our church. Be praying that we find new avenues to get our neighbors involved in these community get togethers. It is very easy for all of us to go about our lives without ever reaching out to those that live directly beside us and, in our case, in the same complex. Emily and I really want to battle the easiness of isolation and build an indispensable feeling of community amongst our neighbors. We hope our Colborne Community Nights will lead to more conversations and deeper friendships with those living next door to us.

4.  New Location for our Community Group

       After Bible Study, we usually play a game together with our Community Group

We have recently moved our Community Group to our house rather than meeting downtown in a café attached to the Boston Public Library. We moved the location of our Community Group because we discovered that almost all of our group lived within either walking distance or less than a 10-minute drive to our home. This move has helped us be more intentional in the time we spend with our students and it is helping them to become part of the fabric of our lives. This has been a great adjustment! It allows them to feel more and more comfortable with Emily and I, and us with them, and it also allows more flexibility with the time. Since we’ve moved Community Group to our home (which previously ended at 9pm when the café we met at closed), students have stayed until 11pm or even as late as midnight. We are building strong relationships with these people and are loving every minute of it! Be praying for our Community Group to grow in love with the Word, understanding the truth of the gospel, letting the gospel shape how we live our lives, and grow in our love for others. We truly desire for these students and ourselves to delight in, display, and declare the gospel!

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

1.  Another Home Study Next Thursday

With foster care and adoption through the state, there are many steps to take, including home visits, paperwork, and training classes. Emily and I just reached the halfway mark in our training classes and will complete the MAPP class on Tuesday, March 13th. In the meantime, we will also be filling out paperwork called a profile pack, which details our ideas of parenting, our backgrounds, references, and much more. Our next home study on Thursday, February 22 will be a one-on-one visit. Our social worker will interview Emily and I individually about our personal history, our thoughts on foster care and adoption, and any other clarifying questions the Department of Children and Families (DCF) wants to ask. DCF does a thorough job of making sure foster children are well taken care of and we are thankful to be a part of this process. Be praying over peace for our nerves, clarity as we answer the interview questions, and an opportunity to share how the gospel has shaped our view of foster care and adoption.

2.  Hickory Grove Mission Team March 3-7

In just a few weeks, Emily and I will be hosting our second mission team from Hickory Grove since moving to Boston. The team will be prayer walking the area, helping us build strategic relationships with the community through service projects, helping with our March Colborne Community Night and being of support to the local church plant here. These teams see first-hand the work being done in Boston and, prayerfully, catch the vision for this city! Be praying for their effective ministry here as we reach the local community through our neighbors and church.

3.  March Colborne Community Night during Mission Team

Our next Colborne Community Night within our apartment complex will be during the Hickory Grove mission team’s stay with us. We scheduled the event like this for three reasons: 1. For help in putting on the event and building relationships. 2. To allow the mission team to be an intricate part of the work we are doing in Boston. 3. To have additional gospel witnesses in our home that portray the love of Jesus Christ. Please be praying for a high attendance at this next event so that we can meet neighbors we haven’t yet met and pray for Emily and I to have wisdom in intentional next steps of reaching out.

4.  Aaron Preaches Two More Times

I have preached twice in the two weeks and have two more preaching opportunities to go. This Saturday, February 17 I will preach again at a local Indian church called Indian Community Church. This church is largely made up of Indian believers and has been established within the last one to two years. The following Sunday, February 25, I will preach at another local church that meets near Boston Common in downtown Boston named Renewal Church. This church has been established for almost five years. These churches have strong ties to City on a Hill where I am apprenticing to learn more about church planting in the Boston context. Be praying for clear gospel preaching in my sermons and for the health of these two church plants.

Be sure to stay tuned for next month's prayer update!

January 2018

Friends,

Emily and I have begun experiencing a real Boston winter with single digit temperatures, negative degree wind chills, and several feet of snow. We certainly aren’t in Charlotte, NC anymore! We hope you had a great Christmas with family and friends and that you look forward to all to come in 2018. Emily and I are greatly looking forward to all that is ahead this year!

See how we've enjoyed the snow in the video below!

SEE HOW GOD WORKED LAST MONTH!

1.       December Colborne Community Night

        Spending Christmas/New Year's with our neighbors

Our monthly apartment get together was smaller this month being sandwiched between two major holidays. However, we did not want to pass up on the opportunity to get together with friends to celebrate. Emily and I have great neighbors that make food, bring games, and offer to host our get togethers. And this Colborne Community Night was hosted by one of our neighbors at their apartment. We are very thankful to have so many neighbors that want to take ownership and be involved in creating community and making these monthly gatherings work. (Thanks, Angel and Emmett, for hosting!)

2.       Teaching Opportunities at City on a Hill

         Preaching at City on a Hill on December 31, 2017

Over the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to preach at City on a Hill Church and, at a separate time, teach their students. City on a Hill has been a wealth of information as Emily and I learn the culture and context of Boston as well as the ins and outs of church planting. City on a Hill has been an established church plant for seven years now and we have learned a great deal from them. With that said, it was a special honor to preach on a New Year’s Eve morning for the church from Proverbs 3. The sermon was personally a good reminder for me concerning our love and pursuit of God and how that shapes our view of the new year and all the decisions 2018 will hold. Then, a few weeks later, having an opportunity to teach City on a Hill’s group of students from Ephesians 2 was a great blessing too. After having been so invested in the student ministry at Hickory Grove, Emily and I have greatly missed time spent with middle and high school students. Each of these teaching opportunities settle us more and more into the church life here as other members get to know us. These openings allow us to share the gospel, share our vision for Boston, and simply build lasting relationships with those around us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

1.       Community Group Semester Kick-off

Community Groups at City on a Hill take a short break, understandably so, during the Christmas holiday. So, there have been no meetings for the past couple of weeks and we are excited to get back into the weekly swing of things! Many, if not all, of our community group attendees were able to go home for the holidays. We will kick Community Group off again with a get together at our house this TONIGHT. This Thursday will be a time of fellowship and a time of vision casting for this semester’s content. We’ve certainly missed the students and young professionals from our group as they are becoming more and more a part of our lives week in and week out.

2.         Four Preaching Opportunities In February

This month I will have four preaching opportunities at a few local churches: Renewal Church, Hope Community Church, and Indian Community Church. Each of these churches are growing church plants in Boston through the North American Mission Board. It is a great honor and privilege to be given the opportunity to preach for these congregations. Be praying for clarity in sermon preparation, clear gospel presentation, and a right dissection of the Bible. 

3.       Colborne Community Game Night

               Flyer for our next Colborne Community Night

Be praying for our next Colborne Community Night. We will be opening our home on Friday, February 2 for a dessert and game night. As any other friendship grows, Emily and I pray that our relationships with our neighbors will continue to open conversations about our faith and to provide opportunities to be generous and loving in whatever way needed. We want to be bold in our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, while also being an example of the love that Jesus abundantly gave us. Our next hope from these community nights will be a small series hosted in our apartment for those that are interested in learning more about the Christian faith. Be praying now for interest and receptivity for this series.

4.       Upcoming Dinners & Meetings with Those of Different Faiths

Emily and I have met many people with different faiths and backgrounds in the past five months of living in Boston. We are also doing our best in following up with these new friends by meeting for coffee or inviting them over for dinner to further conversations. Whether it is a person we met on a walk with our dog or a UPS worker, we look forward to the many avenues God has allowed us to walk through. Please be praying for these dinners and meetings to go well, that we would be sensitive to love and listen, and that the gospel would be clearly woven throughout our conversations. We also ask that you pray for perseverance in intentionality and for more open doors with those we meet daily. Emily and I don’t want to waste a single opportunity, but instead want to be good stewards with the time given to us!

5.       We’re Pursuing Adoption and Foster Care!

Confirmation for MAPP training classes for Emily and I to become foster parents

We are very excited to share this news with you! Emily and I have long since wanted to expand our family through adoption and foster care. We see this picture clearly throughout the Bible of how God has brought believers into His family and adopted us. He has given us an abundance of love, grace, patience, and so much more. We feel very strongly about reflecting His character in how we open our home, whether permanently through adoption or temporarily through foster care, to children that need a safe and loving environment. What better way to show the beauty of what Christ has done for us than through adoption?!

                   Our MAPP manual for the next 8-10 weeks

Emily and I have wanted to pursue this process for some time and applied to the Department of Children and Families here in Massachusetts shortly after we moved. We have gone through several stages and have many more to go to be licensed foster parents and a pre-adoptive home for children through the state. Please be praying for us as we know this will be a very difficult journey. There will be a lot of grief felt for the trauma these children have been through, struggle in how to best provide for them, anxiety in what next steps look like with biological parents, and much more that we are still working through. Tuesday night, we took the next big step in becoming licensed by taking our first MAPP class, a 8-10 week course that will meet every Tuesday night to prepare us for further home studies and future placements within our home once licensed. We have a long road ahead of us and we need you to pray for continued wisdom for us, an ability to reach those with the gospel in this new circle of influence, and for all the children within the foster system and those specifically that will be placed in our home. Emily and I are excited and terrified to take this next step towards parenthood. We can’t thank you enough for your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Stay posted for more updates next month!

December 2017

Prayer Partners,

Winter is in full swing and we are counting down the days until we get more snow in Boston! Emily and I pray that you and your families have a beautiful Christmas holiday. We are so thankful to share this season with our friends and neighbors as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

SEE HOW GOD WORKED LAST MONTH!

1.   A Fantastic Friendsgiving

                Friendsgiving with 20-25 of our neighbors

Each Colborne Community Night we have more and more people show up that we haven’t had a chance to meet yet. This past month’s Friendsgiving was very well attended with approximately 20-25 people. Every neighbor pitched in by bringing a side dish or entrée (special shout-out to our neighbor Jeff who brought a MASSIVE turkey to our get together). We were able to share how thankful we are for great neighbors that are turning into friends and family to us and had the opportunity to pray over them and the meal. We ended the evening with apple cider and Catchphrase. Emily and I really enjoy any time we have with our neighbors and always look forward to our monthly community nights. 

2.   A Great Visit in Charlotte, NC

Emily and I were able to head back to Charlotte, NC for a wedding and for Thanksgiving week. Our first visit home since we moved several months ago. I had the privilege of officiating the Smith/Feeney wedding at Hickory Grove prior to spending the following week celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and Emily’s family. It was also a great blessing to worship with our sending church, Hickory Grove, while home. We are setting down roots in Boston, but it is always a sweet reminder to go home and see and feel the love of the army of people praying and supporting us in this journey.

3.   College Christmas Party

     Celebrating Christmas in our home with some of our                               college students and leaders

At the beginning of December Emily and I hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party for our college students. With finals and several last performances (for our music students), many in our usual ministry couldn’t attend. Even though it was a smaller crew than we usually have, we were able to be more intentional with the students and leaders that did attend. What at first seemed like a backward step was really an opportunity!

4.   Growing Relationships in Community Group

Emily and I meet weekly with a group of college and graduate students to share about our lives and study the Bible. This has been some of our most fruitful time as we see growth in everyone, including ourselves, within the community group. Not only are we growing in an understanding of the gospel and how we are now sent out with this message, but we are also growing in love and friendship with each other. This past week we had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one of our community group's attendees. We are praying for more open doors to share life with these students as we walk alongside of them through their college and graduate years here in Boston.

        The flyer for our next Colborne Community Night

PRAY FOR: 

1.    December's Colborne Community Night

On December 29 we will have our next Colborne Community Night! In less than two weeks we will celebrate Christmas and New Year's with our friends and neighbors. Emily and I pray for more opportunities to share the hope that Christ brings as well as celebrate Christmas with those closest to us here in Boston. With the busyness of life and ministry, these intentional monthly get togethers bring us together and create a culture of community. Please pray for more opportunities to spend with our neighbors, even outside of Colborne Community Nights.

2.    Aaron Preaching on December 31st

City on a Hill church has actively prayed over and supported Emily and I through the establishment of their college ministry as well as our continued steps towards church planting. We have grown to love this church, its people, and their love for one another! Please be praying for me as I have the privilege of preaching for CoaH’s congregation on December 31st at 11am. I will be preaching from Proverbs and am praying the Lord will use this message to draw each of us nearer to Him. Emily and I will also be inviting friends, neighbors, and students to attend so please pray for each person to understand and respond to the gospel.

Thank you for your prayerful support of us! The fruits of your labor are being realized even now and we pray you have an opportunity to personally come to Boston and see it. There is a long road ahead and we wouldn’t be able to do this without the community that God has given us, so thank you!

November 2017

Prayer Partners,

See how god worked last month!

October was a busy month of ministry and mission! Read below for the many reasons Emily and I are praising God.

1. We Hosted our 2nd Colborne Community Night

October 20 was our second Colborne Community Night where we hosted a time of free food and games with prizes to meet the neighbors within our apartment complex. In the city, it is easy to become isolated. However, Colborne Community Nights are designed to bring all of us together to foster community and build friendships with those we live directly beside and, so far, they have been a big success! Many of our neighbors that came to the first Colborne Community Night attended again, which is great encouragement. Emily and I also met several neighbors that we hadn’t had conversations with yet and look forward to seeing everyone again in the next few weeks. We also have created our apartment complex’s Facebook page and are seeing continued interest in future get togethers!

2. Parkwood Baptist Church in Gastonia, NC is Now an Official Partner

We are praising God for how He has continued to provide support through finances, resources, and prayer from churches and individuals! Boston is an expensive city and the work can be slow, so it is crucial to have the backing of the church to support the beginning years of a new church plant. Hickory Grove and Parkwood Baptist have certainly been those partners! Emily and I had a great time spent with other believers casting the vision of seeing Boston changed by the gospel of Christ. It is always encouraging to Emily and I to see the global work of Christ in different churches set on the same goal of reaching the world with the gospel.

3. College Students are Spending Time in our Home

In college life, it can be easy for students to be focused on studying for the next test or achieving future goals rather than the vision and mission of God to reach other college students. The College Party at our house last month was a time for students to meet other believers from a variety of universities and to be a safe place to bring students that don't yet know Christ. This party also served as a reminder and encouragement to do well in school, yes, but to also remember the bigger picture of gospel change on these college campuses. From this get together, Emily and I have had several students in our home again for intentional dinners to keep the conversations going. Many of these students feel alone on their campus, so we enjoy any chance to encourage them in their mission to reach friends that don’t know Christ.

4. Developing more relationships at City on a Hill's Church-wide Retreat

Moving to Boston meant leaving behind family, friends, and everything comfortable. Emily and I have been extremely fortunate in that God has blessed us with Hickory Grove's connection with City on a Hill Church. We were able to jump into church life to build new friendships and create a feeling of family with other believers in Boston. One of City on a Hill's values is community and one way they accomplish this goal is through their annual Church-wide Retreat. This was a very beneficial time for Emily and I to develop deeper relationships with those we see every week. The Lord is providing friendships and community while we use this next year to learn from CIty on a Hill how to church plant in Boston's post modern context.

5. North American Mission Board Orientation

In mid October, I was sent to the North American Mission Board Orientation in Alpharetta, GA for new church planters. This orientation, while very informative, was mainly a time for encouragement and affirmation in the call God has placed on our lives for church planting. It is too easy to fall into the trap of feeling like church plant strategy and mission is based solely on our shoulders when, in fact, we can do nothing outside of God's power. This orientation was used to refocus my mindset to rely on the Lord's power to do a great work in the city of Boston. I pray that He will use Emily and I greatly in the years ahead and know we must depend on Him for endurance, perseverance, and the salvation of those around us daily.

---

Emily and I have lived in Boston for almost three months and your prayers have continued to carry us. Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for us as we enter the winter season.

Winter in Boston means staying warm indoors and can lead to isolation within the city. We are praying that winter will be a time of community rather than isolation as we seek to spend time with our friends, neighbors, and college students by opening our home regularly to others.

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD...

1. Battle Isolation and Create a Culture of Community at Our Friendsgiving

     Invitation to our next gathering on our newly created apartment Facebook page

Each month Emily and I host an apartment outreach called Colborne Community Nights. These nights are designed for us to get to know one another as neighbors within our apartment complex. On November 10 our neighbors will join Emily and I for a Friendsgiving potluck in our apartment. Pray for neighbors to attend and to enjoy a great night of friendship and community together that sparks further conversation!

2. Continue Community Group Momentum

Each week college community groups meet on Monday nights (Boston College students) and Thursdays nights (students at various colleges near downtown Boston). With the upcoming holidays and the year of school in full swing, please be praying for community group momentum to continue. Believers can’t adequately grow in their faith in isolation. The Lord created us to desire and yearn for godly community where we can learn more about Scripture and challenge one another to live out our faith. It is a temptation for any believer to lessen the importance of community, especially when exams, holidays, and many other activities want to take precedence. Pray that our college students would guard their time with the Lord and other believers and see the importance of gathering together.

Thank you again for your prayers. Emily and I recently read the verse below and immediately thought of our prayer partners. Thank you for being the prayers of many!

“You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11

October 2017

Prayer Partners,

We are so thankful that we get to serve alongside faithful supporters and prayer warriors who have diligently lifted us and our requests to the Lord! Many prayers were again answered from last month’s prayer requests. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to read how the Lord has continued to answer our prayers.)

The college ministry at City on a Hill is up and running and Emily and I are continuing to meet neighbors and those in our community. We are now in the process of continuing to build those relationships. The month of October is a very busy one with both events and individual dinners with other couples or students. Overall, please pray for endurance, strength, and rest when we can for Emily and I over this next month.

Over the next month, please also be praying for the below:

1.       A culture of community at our October apartment outreach

On October 20, Emily and I will host our second apartment complex outreach! We are praying that more of our neighbors will attend and that the culture of community will continue to grow at Colborne Place as we love and serve our neighbors.

2.       Vision casting for the mission team with a partner church

Emily and I have the privilege of hosting a mission team with a potential partner church. We will use this week to cast the vision and prayerfully convey the burden of the lost in the city of Boston. We are excited to show off this great city to others as well as to share the vision of seeing those far from Christ in Boston coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

3.       Intentional outreach and follow-up opportunities from the College Party

Emily and I are surrounded by college students and in Boston there are over 80 colleges and universities. College students make up approximately a quarter of a million people in this city. Last Friday we hosted a college party to reach and love such a huge part of Boston’s population. Many of these students live far away from family so Emily and I pray that our apartment will become a home away from home for many of these students. We also pray that our home will be a safe place to discuss the gospel with those unfamiliar with the Christian faith or for those still learning what it looks like to be a Christian.

4.       Truth and faithfulness at our weekly Community Groups

Community groups meet each week and require faithfulness and consistency of its members as well as a willingness to grow and be discipled in the truth. Emily and I praise God for the students that are currently involved in our group and are greatly encouraged by our discussions on Scripture passages, such as Titus 3:4-8. We pray that these weekly meetings will continue to grow in numbers and eventually multiply but, most importantly, we pray that each attendee (Emily and I included) will grow in a greater love for Christ and a pursuit of holiness through our conversations.

5.       Develop friendships through upcoming dinners

Events are just one way Emily and I can meet a large group of people at one time to either get them plugged into the life of the church (like our Sunday College Lunches) or to foster a culture of community (like our monthly apartment outreaches). These events create opportunities for Emily and me to then build relationships one on one with the people we meet. Throughout the month of October, we have at least one dinner each week with neighbors or students. Emily and I greatly look forward to this intentional time to develop friendships and show the love of Christ in our home.

Because God saved us, “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5a), we have the privilege, responsibility, and opportunity to extend this mercy and love to others.

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.” Titus 3:8

Answered Prayers

Last month, we asked you to pray over several things and we have seen the Lord answer those requests in big ways. (Read through September’s post again to see how the answered prayers relate to the original requests).

1.       Through the apartment outreach last month, we have had the opportunity to meet and discuss spiritual things with a few of our neighbors. Our apartment manager also has asked us to create a community Facebook page so that we can continue to bring our neighbors together! We look forward to the doors that will open through these outreaches and opportunities to love our friends and neighbors through the gospel, serve them as Christ served us, and pray that God will work mightily in the lives of those around us.

2.       Our college community groups continue to grow! We have 10-12 at each community group, which is an amazing start. To give you a frame of reference, many of these groups (especially for college students) can start with just 4 or 5 people. We have been blessed with faithful attenders and an open dialogue about what Scripture says. Each group has been able to walk through passages of Scripture and pray openly together as we seek to grow in truth and love of the gospel as a group.

3.       College lunches were a great success! Not because of numbers, but because of relationships formed, intentional conversations, and the opportunity to serve college students by providing them with a free lunch. While we did have 15-25 students come to church service and lunch each week, these lunches allowed us to have gospel-centered conversations concerning college life, the Bible, identity in Christ, and much more. Through the church services and these lunches, many college students have found their church home at City on a Hill.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

1 John 5:14-15

September 2017

Prayer Partners,

Just this past Saturday, Emily and I officially moved into our new apartment!  We are thankful that the Lord has already provided opportunities to meet our neighbors and build community within our apartment complex this past weekend. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to see how last month's requests were answered.)

Now that we have made many contacts at Boston College, Boston University, and our apartment complex over the past few weeks, Emily and I will begin the process of follow up and personal conversations. We are very excited about this next step! Pray that we will have many opportunities to share the gospel and show the love of Christ.

Over the next month, please be praying for the below:

1.       Pray for gospel opportunities with our new neighbors.

Emily and I will specifically be spending time with one of the couples in our apartment complex next Wednesday. We have already enjoyed getting to know them and look forward to a specific time to learn more about one another. Pray for avenues to share the gospel and receptivity by those this couple as well as future conversations with all the neighbors we have met. Also pray for opportunities to meet those that did not come to the cookout so we can begin building relationships with them as well!

2.       Pray for new Boston College and Boston University Community Groups.

Within the next few weeks, we will begin community groups both on campus for Boston College and Boston University. There are thousands of students on these campuses and very few of them are involved in the local church or even campus ministries. Emily and I are partnering with Christian organizations already on campus to better help, equip, and serve these ministries. We are serving alongside InterVarsity at Boston College and Cru at Boston University. These community groups are specifically geared for college students to reach other college students. Pray that students would come to these small groups on campus to hear the gospel and explore the faith. Pray that Emily and I would equip the leaders of these small groups well alongside of these campus ministries. These college students have a unique ability to meet other college students that Emily and I don’t currently have so we are interceding for big gospel impact through the believing students on campus.

3.       Pray for upcoming outreaches both at our apartment complex and church.

We have many outreaches and events that we are hosting or helping with in the next month, including:

·       Community Groups: On campus at BC and BU. Designed to develop believers in their faith and to create a welcome space for unbelievers to learn more about Christianity and the gospel.

·       College Lunches: After City on a Hill’s 11am service every Sunday in September. A time to gather college students together and get them plugged into the church.

·       College Party: Emily and I will host many college students in our home for a cookout and some games. We pray this will be a time for students to invite their lost friends and see how believers spend time with one another in an informal way.

·       October Apartment Outreach: Emily and I were very encouraged by the extremely positive response by our neighbors that attended the apartment-wide cookout. Every person was eager to meet again next month. Please be in prayer for logistics and for an even stronger turnout next month as we plan the details of October’s get together. We are looking at the possibility of hosting a pumpkin carving in our home/the apartment garage next month.

Each of these are meant to encourage believers and reach the lost. We want to accomplish the challenge set before us in Matthew 5:14-16:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Answered Prayers (from August 2017)

We are thankful for your prayers and many of them have already been answered! This past weekend, Emily and I had our Hickory Grove mission team work throughout the city to help us build relationships with college campuses and our neighbors. Here’s how they helped and how your prayers were answered!

1.       Friday, September 1: Our Hickory Grove mission team helped several people move into their apartments in the Brighton community. This opportunity established a good name for City on a Hill Church since we wore their T-shirts and allowed Emily and I a chance to meet and exchange numbers with those just down the street from us.  We are having dinner with some of these neighbors soon!

2.       Saturday, September 2: The team spent time on Boston University’s campus and collected more than 80 contacts for Cru, a Christian organization on campus that Emily and I are partnering with, to follow up with! Next week I will have the opportunity to meet and speak with many of these students personally.

3.       Sunday, September 3: City on a Hill (CoaH) had its first college lunch were almost 20 students from Boston College attended a church service and then attended the lunch! Emily and I shared CoaH’s vision for college ministry and many were interested in future events. We are also able to follow up with each of these students personally throughout this coming week.

4.       Sunday Evening, September 3: Emily and I had our first apartment outreach by hosting a cookout. Because of the rain, the cookout had to be moved into our home and through that we met 16 of our neighbors! Everyone was very excited to be there and said they looked forward to getting together again next month. Emily got the phone numbers of several of the women and we already have plans to spend time with one of the couples next week.

August 2017

Prayer Partners,

In just nine days, Emily and I will be entering our new calling and purpose by moving to Boston. We seek to obey John 20:21, which says, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” With that in mind, we have three prayer requests as we live sent on this new mission field.

1.       Gospel boldness and favor at BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Emily and I will be hosting a team of 10 people from our home church, Hickory Grove, as we lead out in a move-in initiative on the campus of Boston University (BU). BU has an undergraduate population of approximately 18,000 students, the majority of which are not Christian. Our team will be partnering with Cru, a faithful yet small Christian organization on campus, to move in college students on September 1 and build intentional relationships with unbelievers to advance the gospel on BU’s campus. Emily and I will be living sent to Boston University.

2.       Gospel boldness and favor in BRIGHTON, MA

Emily and I will live in the neighborhood of Brighton, MA. These neighborhoods of Massachusetts are similar to towns, like Harrisburg, NC. Brighton is made up of 44,000 people in just four square miles with very little to no evangelical presence. Brighton is a neighborhood of internationals, college students, graduate students, and young career professionals. In Boston overall, most renters move in around September 1. Over that weekend and with the help of our Hickory Grove team, there will be numerous opportunities to move in our neighbors in the Brighton community. Emily and I will be living sent to Brighton, MA.

3.       Gospel boldness and favor in COLBORNE PLACE

Emily and I will be living in an apartment complex called Colborne Place. Colborne Place has 28 units with approximately 50 occupants. To meet our new neighbors, we will be having a complex-wide cookout the first weekend we move in. We have already been shown favor by receiving permission to host the cookout as well as the personal help of the complex’s live-in superintendent, Tom. We pray that this cookout will be an opportunity for us to build intentional relationships with our neighbors and that our home would be known in our apartment complex as a place of hospitality, love, and truth. Emily and I will be living sent to Colborne Place apartment complex.

The weekend of September 1 will be one of the most strategic weekends of the year in Boston because of college move-in and community move-in opportunities. Please pray that we maximize these opportunities and magnify the name of Christ.

JULY 2017

Prayer Partners,

Last month we had you pray for our vision trip with potential Launch Team members. If you would like more information on what a Launch Team is and why we need one, please check out our other blog addressing that very information. We'd like to take this time to show how your prayers were made effective through the work of the Spirit on our trip.

Emily and I had a great time with our team while in Boston! We had a group of 16 team members, including Emily and I as well as Casey Norkett, our Missions Pastor, ranging from single college students to parents of young children. Each of these individuals or couples are seriously considering and praying through the possibility of moving to be in Boston with Emily and I by Summer 2018. This trip was meant for the team to spend time in the city, get a feel for the culture of the people, prayer walk, and be a part of a few church plant activities. Needless to say, our weekend was packed!

When we arrived in Boston on Friday, we had the opportunity to hear the vision of an established Boston church plant, City On a Hill, and to prayer walk in Boston Commons, a main thoroughfare of downtown Boston. We also had the opportunity to do evangelism outreach. Through this outreach, several hundred people throughout the city received a card with City On a Hill's church service information. Two of our team members even had the opportunity to fully share the gospel with an individual of Catholic faith. While Bostonians are a little more reserved, our team found that most everyone they came into contact with was friendly and open to a potential conversation.

By Sunday, the team was excited to be a part of several church planting activities: church set-up, serving in the Preschool area, church tear-down, and participating in a church-wide picnic. It gave the team a tangible example of what church plant life regularly looks like with the entire congregation helping so that the gospel can advance through local church services. That morning and afternoon were great times of community with believers from all walks of life, spanning from all over the country and world. What a beautiful reminder of the true body of Christ!

With all that said, there are still several requests you can pray over as follow-up to that trip:

1. Pray that Emily and I will be able to come alongside these families for prayer, encouragement, and godly counsel.

2. Pray as Hickory Grove and its staff considers each candidate for the Launch Team with wisdom and discernment.

3. Pray for the potential Launch Team members to be diligent in seeking the Lord's plan and purpose for their lives. 

Emily and I are grateful that we serve an all-knowing, all-powerful God that is involved in our lives. Whatever the future holds for our Launch Team, we ultimately trust the Lord in His sovereignty and look forward to the glory our future team will bring Him.

Thank you for praying!
-Aaron and Emily