Praying for a missionary team

Dear Family and Friends,

 “Jesus understood what an awesome task was before Him, so He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.' “(Matthew 9:37. The Voice.)

 Please join us in prayer as we are asking God to provide 5 to 10 family units to serve in the North Corridor of Chicago land with us.

 The Chicago Tribune has used the term “church desert” to describe some places in Chicago land.   For instance, the suburb of Glendale Heights has a population of 34,000 but only 8 churches of any sort.   Along North Avenue in Glendale Heights one can drive 2 miles and see 1 mosque, 2 “Girls, Girls, Girls” signs, and more ethnic restaurants and stores than we can count before you see your first church building.

 Yet the census tracts in this corridor show 20 to 40% of the population is foreign-born. Some of these countries are ones that American missionaries would not even be allowed to enter. We are hoping that some of those who join us will be from these very countries and will now be missionaries to America.

 Pray for us as we are laying the foundations for an International church: Nations' Chapel Christian Church, a campus of Westbrook Christian Church in partnership with Ignite Church Planting.

The type of colleagues that we are looking for are:

1.      Immigrants as missionary church planters to America:  Young immigrant families fit the church planting profile better than almost any other demographic group in North America.  They pursue education, attend church, stay married, have larger families, and are entrepreneurial.

2.      Missionary kids:  Most we know are skilled at blending cultures and dissatisfied with American church experience.   Those dissatisfactions are frequently a call of God to begin something new.

3.      Missionary families who return to the United States:  There are few places available for them in traditional Christian ministry silos of North America.   Yet the church deserts are in desperate need for their skills and relationship network.

As you are praying, we ask if anybody comes to your mind to contact us and introduce us to them. “Getting the right people on the bus” as Jim Collins says is the crucial stage we are in. We have some ongoing conversations with a few. Pray that God makes His will known.

Thank you for journeying with us as we serve in the North Corridor,

Dave and Jana

P.S.  Our giving typically declines in the summer months.  If you would like make a contribution you can send it to:

Ignite Church Planting
P.O. Box 189
Schererville, IN 46375

Or online contributions can be made at http://www.ignitechurchplanting.com/donate.html.
Please use the 'Purpose' field at the top of the form to designate your gift: Jenkins - Multi-cultural Church.