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JourneyNote: Transition

May 10, 2011 — 6 Comments

 

Courtesy of abbey*christine/flickr

This past Sunday, The Bridge‘s lead pastor, Rick Cox, shared about a coming transition within our new church;  last week, Sarah and I shared the following note with a few of you about this same transition and now we’re sharing it with anyone interested:

At the end of this month, Sarah and I will complete our time of service with The Bridge. We are celebrating the great things God has done which he has graciously allowed us to be part of, including our continued partnership with the Coxes. As of right now, though, we have no clear direction of ‘next’ for us and are diligently seeking God. We know we love the people here and God has given us a deep, passionate love for the city but we are also aware that though we try to set our path, God determines our steps. That said, we would be honored if you would make our next step and our need for provision a serious matter of prayer.

Though this kind of transition has been planned from the inception of The Bridge and our leaders have been aware of this timeline for awhile now, we had to keep things close-to-the-vest in order to guard agenda harmony and momentum. So, while this may seem to be coming out of nowhere, rest assured this is something good, right, and well thought out. With that in mind, we want to make sure you’re aware of a few things we’re really thankful for in coming to this point:

The Bridge is a ‘Sending’ Church: One of the things we have seen the Holy Spirit instill within the spiritual DNA of The Bridge is the nature of a ‘sending’ church. We have already been part of sending a short-term missionary on a trip, have active parishioners at community events, and have seen The Bridge grow in excitement about partnering with future church plants and international ministries. Our transition is an act of faith on their part just as it is on ours as they ‘send’ us out to whatever God has in store.

The Bridge is a Generous Church: Even though they were under no obligation to do so, and despite shortfalls in our personal fundraising needs/goals, The Bridge has generously provided a housing allowance for us during the past few months to help make sure our needs were cared for as we lived and ministered here.

The Timing is Right: The needs of a church before it has officially launched are different than the needs of a post-launch church focused on remaining missional while caring for the regular cycle of weekly worship gatherings. That said, The Bridge doesn’t need two ‘lead’ pastors/planters at this stage of her development and all along the plan has been for the Gomezes to be sent out while Rick Cox remained the senior pastor at The Bridge. It’s time for this transition to take place and is a good & healthy thing for everybody.

Personally, we’re very thankful, greatly excited, and more than a little anxious about what’s next as we hand off ministry, get our affairs in order and deal with the reality of all three of our jobs coming to a rapid close. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, and work in the right place at the right time (finding employment is a very real, very urgent need). […]

Things are swiftly moving and not long after we originally sent the note above, a clearer picture of ‘next’ has begun to take shape–we look forward to sharing what that is as soon as we’re able. In the meantime, we’re celebrating what God has done through The Bridge and what it means to be part of a District so focused on using every available means to reach those who don’t know Jesus. We are, indeed, honored that you are part of our continuing journey and ask you to keep praying!

Thanks for journeying with us,
Jeremiah, Sarah, and Jubilee

(Have you seen the pictures of our latest outing with Jubilee? Be sure to take a look at them here.)

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August JourneyNote, the Final Installment!

August 14, 2010 — Leave a comment

Image: Timothy Cox

A few days ago, we shared with you jus a few of the ways we have seen that the Holy Spirit is undeniably at work in Pittsburgh (I still can’t believe we get to be part of what he’s doing here!).  We also shared our very real need for individuals, groups, and churches to support us as missionaries here.  Yesterday we sent out a few ways you can help make sure we’re funded, and we genuinely thank you for prayerfully considering how God might use you to help us live and minister in Pittsburgh.

We are committed to the work we’re doing in Pittsburgh, and I am in the process of finding outside employment.  That’s where this final installment of the “Help Jeremiah and Sarah with Funding” JourneyNote miniseries comes in:

With church planting is my primary vocation, a ‘second job’ in order to make ends meet needs to be one of a much more flexible nature than traditional employment.  Given my experience as a writer, copywriter & editor, as well as with some design work, we are looking for opportunities to use this skill-set to serve people and businesses who may know what they want to say but not quite how to say it.  If you know someone in need of a skilled (ghost)writer with marketing and branding experience, please send them our way (we’ll be updating jxgomez.com as a point of contact for this).  Keep in mind, I am also available to speak at churches, camps, and other meetings…and would be happy to furnish samples and references for the afore-mentioned services.  By using the gifts of communication & preaching that God has blessed me with, and hopefully some creative time management, we expect to find ourselves more active and fulfilled than ever!

Again, here’s the contact information for sending support (make sure ‘Gomez” is in the memo line!):

The Bridge
℅ 264 Shawvlle Hwy
Woodland, PA 16881

We thank God for you and the part you’re playing in His story for Pittsburgh.

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August JourneyNote, Part 2

August 12, 2010 — Leave a comment

Good evening, fellow Sojourners!

Yesterday, we sent out a brief update about some of the exciting things happening with The Bridge; we also shared our need for financial support.  As promised, here are a few of the ways you can help:

Pray for God’s continued and unique provision; ask him to stir the hearts of donors and to create income opportunities for us.  We know God alone is our provider and has proven himself more than faithful time after time.  The way he provides often surprises us, and we’re thankful for the ‘willing vessels’ he is already using.  Please also pray that we would have eyes that see the opportunities which come our way and the courage to jump into them!

If you have committed to give but have not yet followed-through on that commitment as an individual, group, or church, please do so now; if you will be unable to fulfill what was promised, please let us know.  Many of our issues with shortfall have to do with the fact that promised support has not yet been delivered.  Just having those who already said they would give do just that would be a tremendous blessing.

If you have been waiting for the right opportunity to give, genuinely seek the Holy Spirit to see if now is that time–the Spirit of God is moving and we could use your help!

If you have been looking for a different way of providing resources to The Bridge, perhaps you can use our ministry catalog to give practical gifts toward our ministry.  The catalog can also be downloaded from The Bridge’s website here.

As you provide personal support, please make sure “Gomez” is in the memo line of your check and that it is sent to our bookkeeper at:
The Bridge
c/o 264 Shawville Hwy
Woodland, PA 16881

Thanks, again, for taking this journey with us.

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In a year, everything can change…

August 11, 2010 — Leave a comment

Bridge Launch Team

... If you’re looking for proof, just look at the post Sarah penned here.

We continue to see God do amazing things like connecting us with community members through a recent volleyball clinic, allowing significant relationships to be built, hosting our first service in the Penn Hills library, and incredible ministry opportunities with Indian & Nepali refugees.  We find our passion growing for the development of a network of church-planting churches which are loving, learning, and living Jesus.  The reality of a second church plant scheduled to take root in June of next year is beginning to settle in and the excitement of preview services beginning next month is almost overwhelming.  We continue to pray for twenty people to come to know Jesus as a result of our ministry this summer.   Simply stated, we have been floored by the faithfulness of our God and King as he leads us.

If I had space here, I would write in detail about the many prayers God has already answered–but many of those are stories best told over a hot cup of coffee, anyway.  The gist of it all is that being part of this journey of faith has been an incredible joy for Sarah and me–we never would have imagined a year ago that our lives would be as full of adventure and expectation as they are today.  We also know we could not do what we’re doing without you.

To those of you who have so faithfully prayed for and given to the ministry of The Bridge, we say thank you!  You are helping the dream of seeing greater things come to Pittsburgh become reality.  In order for us to maintain our current pace and focus of ministry in Pittsburgh, however, we need increased financial support or additional employment.

Over the course of the next few days, we’ll be sending out some suggested ways that you can help.

Thanks for being in our corner and bringing greater things to Pittsburgh!

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Prayer/JourneyNote

June 24, 2010 — Leave a comment

The cat is out of the bag.

While I’m not sure just where that expression came from (or why we take it to mean a secret is not-so-secret anymore), we have some news to share.

At our District Conference last monday, our District Superintendent shared The Bridge’s plan to daughter a new church in June of next year.  Sarah and I will be the lead planters in what we’re affectionately, for now, calling ‘Bridge 2.0’ and are excited about that next move.  This is definitely a big step, but it’s part of an even bigger dream of developing an urban church planting and training center from which church planting teams are prepared and sent throughout the region, nation, and globe.  It’s an impossible vision that will take the activity of God’s own Spirit to accomplish–and that excites us to no end!

For now, we ask you to pray for us as we identify the people and place where the next church will be.  We have some ideas, but we need to be doubly sure we are focused on where God is already moving rather than just choosing something based on selfish desire.

In the meantime, we’re fully engaged with The Bridge and are ramping up to a busy summer ministry season.  Please keep the following dates in mind as you pray for us and the ministry of The Bridge:

  • Sunday, June 27: Sharing at First Wesleyan in Shippensburg, PA
  • July 7-July 11: Youth volleyball clinic with the women’s volleyball team from Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Our largest event of the summer will be a free Family Fun Day at a local park on Saturday, August 28th; already churches and groups are signing up to take part in helping us offer a meaningful, engaging and totally free event that allows us to serve our community and get to know our neighbors as well as (hopefully) building momentum for our first preview service in September.

Thank you for taking this journey with us and praying for us.

We’re honored to have you in our corner.
Jeremiah, Sarah, and Jubilee

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