September 2009

Praise God for changing seasons and specifically for the cooler weather  God has created the seasons to regulate His creation and as we enter this new season may we listen and follow the instruction of God found in Hosea 10:12   Sow for yourselves righteousness,  reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you A2J Year II begins with Celebration    This month we invited friends & those who were part of our first year of ministry.  It was a great night focused on Jesus, sharing all He had done among us in this first year. God has brought further definition to the ministry:  We have developed into two separate communities, the Woodland community and the Brentwood community.  Each community is committed to going deep with God and loving our neighbor holistically in a way that brings transformation to our community.  We run an intensive training program that is rooted in the larger A2J community.  Continued Growth:  This year we have 6 young people going through the intensive training program.  There are another 20 or so who live in community with us, as well as a larger community that is dispersed around the city.  There are also 5 other developing A2J communities who are part of Antioch Network from Frisco, CO to Berlin, Germany.  God is on the move!		P.S. We are having our anual ministry update tonight at our house at 6:30 come by if you are free
Growing Partnership with local churches and ministries   God is continuing to strengthen our call to serve the Church by working towards unity and reconciliation as well as building bridges & partnerships within the body.  One of the beautiful qualities that God has given the A2J community is that there are 12 churches represented among us.  An upcoming ways we get to serve the body of Christ is by facilitating a weekend of prayer.  Here are the details:     The A2J ministry led by the Brentwood Community is taking the lead on an upcoming 24x7 prayer weekend at Crossroads Christian Fellowship (13th St. and Roosevelt) with the goal of drawing people into prayer for unity & community.  This will be a joint effort by several local ministries and churches who are focused on serving the inner city.  It will be October 2nd-4th.  Please come out and pray with us Spotlight on A2J Intern, Frederick Moor  Frederick has been a part of the community since returning from the Philippines last October.  He is in his second year of the A2J training program.  He is an intern, and gives leadership to the community by managing the A2J properties, and other key administrative tasks.  He is also the community gardener and handy man.  Besides these wonderful gifts he is a godly young man with a deep love and commitment to Jesus and in many ways sets the tone for the community by his diligence and character.
As always we are very grateful for your love and support to our family.  Your partnership in this ministry is bearing much fruit!  I leave you with this prayer from Richard Foster to help prepare our hearts in this new season!   Spirit of the living God, be the Gardner of my soul.  In the strong name of Jesus Christ, I dare to ask: Clear away the dead growth of the past, Break up the hard clods of custom and routine, Stir in the rich compost of vision and challenge, Bury deep in my soul the implanted Word, Cultivate and water and tend my heart, Until new life buds and opens and flowers. Amen.     With much gratitude, Ryan & Noleen Thurman