THE CATALYST is up! Check it out.
Still a work in progress, but you get the idea.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
we are officially a church!
Today the paperwork was sent to the feds...
The PO Box was established...
The Catalyst Church of Monterey
P.O. Box 6
Monterey, TN 38574-0006
(not a typo, our box is really only 6)
Send us a letter! 1st piece of mail will be scanned and put up on this site.
We have even grown out of our first location (our home). 22 people in our living room is not very conducive for what we are doing. It was a little scary when we were all on the back deck at one time - the deck is 15 feet in the air and was moving every time someone would breath.
This week we begin meeting at the Whittaker Park Gazebos for potluck communion, worship, and great conversations (with God and with each other) .
It is the epicenter of community activities and will be a great environment to build our CORE team. You have to love a church with swing sets and BBQ grills!
a catalyst in Nicaragua...
A few weeks ago we sent out our first missionary church planter, Eli Covington. We had a commissioning service/cookout for him. He will be planting missional churches in Nicaragua out of a vocational training center where he is teaching woodworking. Please pray for him - I just found out today that he has already had his life threatened.
The PO Box was established...
The Catalyst Church of Monterey
P.O. Box 6
Monterey, TN 38574-0006
(not a typo, our box is really only 6)
Send us a letter! 1st piece of mail will be scanned and put up on this site.
CORRECTION: 1st piece of personal mail - I just checked the mail and we got a phone book (I don't think you want me to scan that and put it up here)
We have even grown out of our first location (our home). 22 people in our living room is not very conducive for what we are doing. It was a little scary when we were all on the back deck at one time - the deck is 15 feet in the air and was moving every time someone would breath.
This week we begin meeting at the Whittaker Park Gazebos for potluck communion, worship, and great conversations (with God and with each other) .
It is the epicenter of community activities and will be a great environment to build our CORE team. You have to love a church with swing sets and BBQ grills!
a catalyst in Nicaragua...
A few weeks ago we sent out our first missionary church planter, Eli Covington. We had a commissioning service/cookout for him. He will be planting missional churches in Nicaragua out of a vocational training center where he is teaching woodworking. Please pray for him - I just found out today that he has already had his life threatened.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Where to start?
It seems I have been traveling a lot this year. More so than I have in the last five years combined and obviously I haven't been blogging. So far I have gone to Germany, Guatemala City, Austin, Georgia, South Carolina, and back to Austin this past week. My second trip to Austin was for personal reasons and a very short one. I got in Tuesday night and left Thursday early afternoon. Of course I took advantage of being there and had BBQ at every occasion. In addition, I brought pork ribs, brisket, and beef ribs back with me. I had two suitcases for just that reason. One of them had my clothes, the other one the meat!
I can't believe we have been here almost 4 months already and how much has happened in those 4 months. Besides all the traveling both Bob and were bitten by a tick. We were tested for Lyme disease and although mine came back negative, the doc put me on antibiotics because I had been having headaches and backaches for a week. Apparently the test for Lyme disease when negative is often a false negative. My symptoms started before the tick bite but the doctor felt I could have been bitten by a tick sooner and that it fell off before I noticed it. The headache and backache which lasted 2 1/2 weeks finally went away Thursday - it was such a blessing!
Bob actually had some symptoms that occur during the initial stages of Lyme disease such as a rash around the tick bite and stiffness in his joints. His test results have not come back yet and he is also taking an antibiotic. I am still waiting on lab results checking for leukemia. When they ran my initial test they also did a standard lab work up and my white blood cell count was pretty low. I really don't think I have leukemia but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear.
Tonight is a big night for us. We have gathered a group of people that are interested in what we are planning on doing here in Monterey. We are going to have a "Vision Night" at Ay Chihuahua - Martha and Pedro's restaurant - to cast our vision for the church in Monterey. The people who have signed up for the Vision Night all want to help us in some way whether it's through a long-term commitment or being prayer partners. We are very excited!
As always we need your prayers for the church, the vision night, our health, and mostly that we would be sensitive to God's guidance.
I can't believe we have been here almost 4 months already and how much has happened in those 4 months. Besides all the traveling both Bob and were bitten by a tick. We were tested for Lyme disease and although mine came back negative, the doc put me on antibiotics because I had been having headaches and backaches for a week. Apparently the test for Lyme disease when negative is often a false negative. My symptoms started before the tick bite but the doctor felt I could have been bitten by a tick sooner and that it fell off before I noticed it. The headache and backache which lasted 2 1/2 weeks finally went away Thursday - it was such a blessing!
Bob actually had some symptoms that occur during the initial stages of Lyme disease such as a rash around the tick bite and stiffness in his joints. His test results have not come back yet and he is also taking an antibiotic. I am still waiting on lab results checking for leukemia. When they ran my initial test they also did a standard lab work up and my white blood cell count was pretty low. I really don't think I have leukemia but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear.
Tonight is a big night for us. We have gathered a group of people that are interested in what we are planning on doing here in Monterey. We are going to have a "Vision Night" at Ay Chihuahua - Martha and Pedro's restaurant - to cast our vision for the church in Monterey. The people who have signed up for the Vision Night all want to help us in some way whether it's through a long-term commitment or being prayer partners. We are very excited!
As always we need your prayers for the church, the vision night, our health, and mostly that we would be sensitive to God's guidance.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Loving Hands
We partnered up with Pedro, Martha, Josh and Janine (owners of Ay Chihuahua's Mexican Restaurant) to start what we are calling the "Loving Hands" Community Service group.
For our first project together we are focusing on hungry people. God hooked us up with a bread distributor who is giving us a truck load of bread, bagels, muffins each week. We put out flyers all over town inviting people to come and recieve. Please pray with us as we strive to be the loving hands of Jesus to our little community.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Guatemala PDF
CLICK HERE to see a 2 page pdf with pics and a blurb about our trip. The pics are from the Guatemalan national newspaper and yes on one of them we made the front page - Go God.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
oops
Well...
It has been almost exactly one month since our last post and we are sorry.
This has been a crazy month, but that is not a good excuse.
To fill you in a bit and catch you up...
1. Guatemala was incredible. God used this trip to confirm and affirm what we have been called to do. He also connected us to some amazing leaders who are really excited about our work here in the US, reaching our to their people.
2. Kristina was called to go back to Austin for a project launch that she has been working on for a while now. They went live yesterday. This is a big deal for the city of Austin. Please pray for her and all the other tired, stressed, and under appreciated people she works with. She is set to come home next Monday.
3. We started our first outreach to the people of Monterey. God hooked us up with a bread distributor who was willing to give us some of their product that would normally be sold in their "day old" bread stores. We partnered up with the Mexican restaurant up the street and together we are serving needy families by providing free bread and bread products on Monday and Tuesdays from 2-7pm. Please pray for the needy families, this project and for the Family who has opened up their business and is taking a financial risk in order to serve the community.
4. It is finally getting a little warmer here. It has not snowed in over a week. It is actually sunny and almost non-windbreaker weather.
5. I have started a consulting job in Nashville with a great group of leaders who are wanting to plant a church that reaches out to East Nashville. I will be working with them for probably the next 6 months. Not only will this be a great opportunity for us to help out in the area of church planting, but also an answer to prayer in regards to our finances. My hope is that we will have enough consulting clients that we will not have to depend on donor support. We are not there yet, but maybe that is God's plan to keep us humble and dependent on Him.
6. I'm sure I have forgotten something.
It has been almost exactly one month since our last post and we are sorry.
This has been a crazy month, but that is not a good excuse.
To fill you in a bit and catch you up...
1. Guatemala was incredible. God used this trip to confirm and affirm what we have been called to do. He also connected us to some amazing leaders who are really excited about our work here in the US, reaching our to their people.
2. Kristina was called to go back to Austin for a project launch that she has been working on for a while now. They went live yesterday. This is a big deal for the city of Austin. Please pray for her and all the other tired, stressed, and under appreciated people she works with. She is set to come home next Monday.
3. We started our first outreach to the people of Monterey. God hooked us up with a bread distributor who was willing to give us some of their product that would normally be sold in their "day old" bread stores. We partnered up with the Mexican restaurant up the street and together we are serving needy families by providing free bread and bread products on Monday and Tuesdays from 2-7pm. Please pray for the needy families, this project and for the Family who has opened up their business and is taking a financial risk in order to serve the community.
4. It is finally getting a little warmer here. It has not snowed in over a week. It is actually sunny and almost non-windbreaker weather.
5. I have started a consulting job in Nashville with a great group of leaders who are wanting to plant a church that reaches out to East Nashville. I will be working with them for probably the next 6 months. Not only will this be a great opportunity for us to help out in the area of church planting, but also an answer to prayer in regards to our finances. My hope is that we will have enough consulting clients that we will not have to depend on donor support. We are not there yet, but maybe that is God's plan to keep us humble and dependent on Him.
6. I'm sure I have forgotten something.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Another first...
Kristina and I have said many times that we want people (you) to feel welcome in our home. More so, we want people (you) to simply feel welcome. Welcome to just stop by (even without calling). Welcome to open our fridge without asking. Welcome to... you get the picture. But, how will we know whether we are in fact making people feel welcome if you guys don't tell us.
Well...
Our new friend Tammy just stopped by unannounced to sit and chat for while until it was time to pick up her daughter from school.
This may not seem like a big deal to you, but we are strangers here and for someone to trust us enough or feel safe enough to just stop by is pretty encouraging. We've only been here a short time and Tammy's visit today lets us know we are on the right track here.
Lord, we thank you for uninvited guests. May we never be too busy, too distracted, or too selfish to cherish every moment you give us to share with others. May we always be available to listen, serve, or whatever else you may need us to do.
To everyone:
In case you don't already know this, consider yourself informed - you are always welcome in our home, at our table, on our couch, in my office, to use our bathroom.
Wait, do I really mean everyone?
Perhaps in my next post I should give a comprehensive list of everyone who is and who is not welcome at our table.
Well...
Our new friend Tammy just stopped by unannounced to sit and chat for while until it was time to pick up her daughter from school.
This may not seem like a big deal to you, but we are strangers here and for someone to trust us enough or feel safe enough to just stop by is pretty encouraging. We've only been here a short time and Tammy's visit today lets us know we are on the right track here.
Lord, we thank you for uninvited guests. May we never be too busy, too distracted, or too selfish to cherish every moment you give us to share with others. May we always be available to listen, serve, or whatever else you may need us to do.
To everyone:
In case you don't already know this, consider yourself informed - you are always welcome in our home, at our table, on our couch, in my office, to use our bathroom.
Wait, do I really mean everyone?
Perhaps in my next post I should give a comprehensive list of everyone who is and who is not welcome at our table.
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