November 2009

It is now four and a half years since joining Antioch Network, and we thank God for this incredible privilege and for you who have loved us by investing in, praying for and financially supporting us along the way.  Thank You!  We are experiencing such joy and fulfillment in our lives as we live out our God-birthed dreams and passion.  The first two years with AN gave us rich opportunities to serve in places like Senegal, Cyprus, Germany, & Bosnia. These experiences revealed to us the great need for Christians of depth and wholeness.  We also saw the opportunity for new models of discipleship community that could be fruitful in any culture.           Apprenticeship to Jesus (A2J) is one of many creative expressions of Christian community throughout history and today who desire to combine the passion for intimacy with God with the desire to love the world around us, our neighbors.  We often get asked,  "what is A2J about?"  Giving mere information about A2J is very limiting.  It is best portrayed in the beauty and grace of the stories of the people involved, who desire above all else that God will create in them the same qualities, passions and faith that is in Jesus.   It is a community who have been captured by the vision of God 'with us' Who's purpose is to bring healing & restoration not only to our community, but communities everywhere.           This passion for depth in God and for the world is what moved us to birth A2J. We believe that this is a model of discipleship community that can spread beyond the Woodland and Brentwood communities to the ends of the world making disciples and bringing restoration and hope to people everywhere.  As A2J matures we believe God will allow us to help birth more of these communities overseas where He originally planted the vision within us.  We hope you are as excited as we are to be on this journey.   To learn more about the ministry of A2J visit apprenticeshiptoJesus.org

What we are doing:

A2J training program-We have two first year apprentices and four 2nd year amazing interns who we mentor.  They increasingly share in the daily responsibilities of the ministry as they grow in Christ-like character and leadership gifting.  We also give leadership and mentoring to about thirty others who are part of the Woodland and Brentwood communities    Some of the A2J Community Refugee Ministry-God has given us a 4-plex property for providing affordable housing to refugees. We partner with several organizations, who referr to us refugee individual(s) and families that are the most vulnerable and in need, who for a variety of reasons have very limited resources and significant challenges.  We have the goal to create a training program for these refugees that would offer the assistance they need in language acquisition, life-skills and job training that will help them in their new life here.   our kids w/ Fatima and Abdalla our other kids Woodland Restoration Project-The 17 of us that live and serve together in the Woodland Community in downtown phoenix and our friends are committed to working and praying for the restoration of our neighborhood and hope that will arise as God's kingdom comes more fully among us.  We are exploring asset based community development as a tool begin to get to know our neighbors better and begin to partner with them to see positive changes take root.

Ways you can partner with us  1. Join us for events-see our calendar of eventshere 2.  Pray for us 3.  Financially support us

Thurman Family-Our personal salary and the needs of the A2J ministry are provided through the gifts of God's people.  God provides for this ministry through committed monthly gifts, one-time gifts, and sometimes through creative part-time work on our part(I am currently working part-time selling books).  Our monthly giving base is currently at 40%.  We are asking God to strengthen this so we can be devoted full-time to giving leadership to this work.  Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us in this way?   With gratitude and love, The Thurman family-Ryan, Noleen, Ethan, Keilah, Micah & baby (due in 2 weeks)