HodosProject

May Update

Last night, I turned in my final paper. Three hours later, I walked out of my final lecture. Three seconds later, I let out a huge sigh. I have relished the work, both in the classroom and out, that has come with getting a master’s degree, but I’m glad to be done. It is one more hurdle that is now behind us as we continue on our journey to a new church community in Austin.

The timing is good, because May is a busy month with lots to do and many decisions to make. Here is some of what is going on that you can be in prayer about:

• We will be aggressively trying to sell our house this month with lots of open houses and private showings. The market is really slow right now, and we are feeling the weight of that. Pray not only that our house will sell for a price that will help us get established in Austin, but that our kids can have some sense of consistency even as our home becomes a fish bowl with potential buyers looking in.
• I will be attending a church planting ‘bootcamp’ with the Ecclesia Network later this month. Pray that the time with other church planters and trainers helps bring new clarity in shaping the vision for this church that God is laying on our hearts.
• In February, I mentioned that our only connections in Austin were a handful of pastors. In our support team letter, I asked people to help us network with others. Thanks to friends around the country, we have had contact with three or four families that have expressed some interest in being a part of this new church community. Please keep talking about us and praying that God will connect us others who can be a part of getting the church started.
• Continue to pray for our fund raising. Pledges for monthly support have not come in as quickly as single gifts toward our startup costs. But, for each family or individual who has made a monthly commitment, I can think of at least one other who has told us they are considering it. Pray for those who are still considering what they are able to do. Pray about how much you might be able to give each month to the work that God is doing in Austin. The timing of this is becoming important. While I would like to be able to give myself full-time to the church, later this month we will need to determine if I will need to do some other work as well to support our family.
• We have been in conversation about joining a denomination that could provide some local relationships and funding. This is not something we take lightly as we think it is important to be in partnerships that can help us best pursue the ministry we feel called to. Pray for wisdom on both sides as we work through this process toward a decision.
• With our June moving date quickly approaching, we are beginning to look for a place to live in Austin. We plan to rent for the short-term, but we think that where we live from the start is very important. Pray that we find the place where our family can best settle in and begin to make new friends in Austin.

And one final note…we will continue to post updates and prayer requests here on the blog fairly regularly. But we are also building a more formal prayer team who we can send more specific and intimate requests to via email once or twice a month. And we want to have a lot of people on that list! If you want be a part of that team, please let us know so we can officially add you to the list.