Wirt Prayer Team

Good Things Continuing Since Grand Opening!

2009-10-29T16:57:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to thank you for praying as we work hard to assimilate guests from Grand Opening into the family of ClearView. This has been going really, really well. We are thankful to God for many things, including the following:

Many guests from the community on Grand Opening Sunday have returned. We have had a really, really high return rate. It is hard to gauge accurately, because with so much sickness going around, some people that are planning on coming back have missed the last few weeks due to sickness. But, even so, attendance numbers are running about double our regular attendance before Grand Opening. Praise God!
Also, Trish and I hosted a get together this past Sunday evening for those new to ClearView. We enjoyed having almost 40 people in our house. This was a real fun time of getting to know new people, seeing those present enjoying making new connections, and for me to share with our guests the real heart of ClearView- a bit about the vision and values that drive ClearView.
Several new people are already asking how to get more involved and sharing excitement about helping ClearView move forward.
We've been doing a series (running in October and November) called Crazy Love: How God's Love Gives Our Lives Purpose. I have enjoyed studying for this series and am using it as kind of a base line to establish our foundation together (as a group of people that is primarily new) on the Good News of Jesus and how God calls us to share His love with others (mission). My hope is that this series seeds Jesus' key DNA (love) into us and stirs us to share it with others.

Please keep praying with us as we get to know these new friends, learn their life stories, find out where they are at on their spiritual journey, and ultimately become a church full of people in love with Jesus and on mission for Him. There is MUCH work to do...because God has been so good.

Thanks for praying with us!

Grand Opening Doesn't Disappoint

2009-10-16T21:25:00.008-04:00

Sunday, October 11, was a milestone for ClearView Church! After more than two years of hard work, our start-from-scratch church plant celebrated it's Grand Opening! The celebration was full of fun, new faces, great music, an official welcome to the community from Mayor Ferguson, and a message detailing why ClearView exists. We had a great day of energy...one that was truly a culmination of a lot of work and many answered prayers. God gave us a beautiful day outside for the festivities that followed- free pizza, grinders, salad and ice-cream along with activities for children (face-painting, games, and bounce houses). All-in-all, I think all of the 162 in attendance sensed God's presence and had a great time.

Personally, I'm not sure I've ever felt so satisfied (vocationally). The day was just a clear movement of God in many ways. I left feeling that I/we had so much to be thankful for and that God was/is just really, really good to us. Here are a few things I've contemplated this week that I give praise to God for:

I am so pleased with our ClearView team. I've been amazed, over the last few weeks, how people have come together, new people have plugged in, and we've made significant strides to improve all of our critical systems (Sunday worship, KidView, Wow Factor, Set-up/tear-down, etc.). There has been great energy, wonderful commitment, and excellence from people that are truly excited about ClearView's vision. In some cases, families that have only been with us a few weeks carried out vital roles to make our Grand Opening a success.
The decision of our team to rally and move locations has proved to be truly wisdom from God. Moving to New Albany High School has acted as a rallying cry for our crew and I believe God used this transition point to create a sense of urgency in us that was needed to make this final push towards the great goal of a large Grand Opening.
Things on Sunday went really smoothly. Considering that we just implemented sound and video into our services over the last 4 weeks (since we started meeting at the High School), we've had to train people, troubleshoot, and figure out our systems in these areas in a compressed amount of time. God was truly good to us in how well the program went. Also, our greeters and children's workers were on the top of their game and all facets I observed (and got comments on from others) were excellent.
We were pleased with the attendance. Even though I had prayed for 200, I think 162 is full of miracles. It was SO exciting to see a full house and so many smiling new faces. There was a great buzz of excitement in the air...and I think our team felt a great sense of praise to God for answering our prayers for a good turnout.
God worked through the marketing He helped us put together. Well over half the audience came due to a post-card or billboard or other form of promotion. It was exciting to see a lot of hard work in this area pay-off.
It was personally gratifying to me to hear a lot of positive comments about the message I shared. I loved putting this talk together because it was a simple explanation of our purpose statement: ClearView exists to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission. I shared from the Bible about why we work to love people (because Jesus did, God does, and mission requires it), that we want to love them to Jesus and then help them adopt Jesus' mission as theirs. I heard a response from several people that they felt compelled by this vision and want to help ClearView fulfill it! Praise God!

I'm sure there is more that I could share. But, if you are a regular blog reader and have prayed for us over the last 2.5 years as we've worked towards this special day- thank you. God has answered your prayers and done a great work. Ephesians 3:21.

New Attendance Record!

2009-10-07T11:28:00.002-04:00

We were elated and praised God that there were 63 smiling faces (4 guest families) at ClearView this past Sunday, October 4! This beats our previous high of 55. It was fun to hear stories of people finding out about ClearView through mailings, billboards, and our effort at Oktoberfest on October 3. God is good!

Please pray with us that these guests would come back and bring their friends, neighbors, family, work associates and pets (well, I guess that is overstating it a bit) this Sunday for our Grand Opening!

Pray Our Invites Hit The Spot

2009-10-02T14:28:00.006-04:00

One of the chief attributes that sets our Grand Opening Sunday apart from our typical weekly worship gathering is the significant push we're making to invite the community to participate with us. We've developed a multi-layered marketing strategy and are working hard to invite guests through personal invitations, Facebook Ads, newspaper ads, a billboard (see above), and three mailings (38,000 pieces each).

The three mailings are being sent out each of the the weeks leading up to October 11. That means one has already gone out, one should be in boxes today or tomorrow, and the last one will be sent out in the middle of next week. These are made possible by the generous support of our sponsor church, Northwest Chapel, that covered the postage, much of the printing expense, and assembled a team of about 20 volunteers that worked for four days to AFFIX MAILING LABELS ON 114,000 PIECES OF MAIL BY HAND.

Would you pray with us that this promotion hits the mark? To me, it's not about how many people show up to ClearView on October 11. What I'm asking God for is to, by His power and control over each detail in the universe, guide these promotional pieces before the eyes of spiritually searching people. I believe there are people in northeastern Franklin County that are asking spiritual questions. People that are sensing God's movement in their hearts. Maybe they're even looking for a church. Maybe they need some encouragement. Perhaps they know their life is missing something...and they're open to hearing about Jesus' intended purpose for their lives. Would you pray with me that God works through our marketing to help us love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission?

Please Pray For Our Grand Opening (October 11)

2009-10-01T16:17:00.005-04:00

Many of you know that Trish and I moved to northeast Columbus in February of 2007 with a mission- start a new church from scratch. As we've prayed and worked hard to plug into the community, we've met a lot of great people along the way. Through a lot of prayer and sweat, God has brought together a really, really great team that drives what is now ClearView Church. We're so excited and thankful for the people that now share our mission of building a church that will love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission.

On a quick side note- many of you have been reading this blog and praying with us from the point we first signed on as church starters (fall of 2006!). If you remember back to some of our early writing... we asked you to pray that God would bring us 25 families or around 75 people. This was the mark at which we felt we would be able to launch a new church with momentum. Yet, we found out the hard way that finding that number of families or people to help in a community where you don't know anyone... was next to impossible. This has been the great challenge of our journey- finding the number of people necessary to establish the initial systems of a healthy, baby church. Anyway- fast forward two and a half years. How many family units do you think are actively involved at ClearView? 25 :)

So, in God's PERFECT timing... we're ready for our Grand Opening Celebration. Complete with a new location, we've been working hard to use the resources God has given us to reach excellence in our Sunday morning worship environment, KidView (children's ministry), and Wow Factor team (guest relations). God is helping us make great strides in these areas. Would you please pray with us for God's work on October 11? Here are some specific ways to pray:

That God would lead spiritually seeking people to our Grand Opening event.
That God would move in the hearts of people the ClearView team is personally inviting.
That God would answer the prayers that have been prayed for many years by hundreds of people around the world for ClearView’s Grand Opening.
That God would be honored by our hearts and all that happens on October 11.
That God would use us to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission.
That God would burden us with a continued excitement and challenge over the call to love people to Jesus and figure out how to develop missionaries in our context (no matter what does or doesn't happen on 10/11…this is our mission).

Thanks!

Oktoberfest Is This Weekend!

2009-09-29T15:01:00.003-04:00

I'm looking forward to ClearView's presence at New Albany's Oktoberfest this weekend! This is a community event that runs all day on Saturday, October 3, from Noon-11p. The event features great food and drinks, all kind of activities for children and families, and Big Ten football on jumbo-tron-style TV screens. ClearView will be hosting a 10x30 booth space where we will provide free face-painting, colored hair spray (OSU colors!), crafts, Chulo the Clown, and the infamous "fish-bowl" game (where kids can win gold fish as prizes- we ordered 1,000 of them!). We are also providing two inflatable bounces houses for the event (thanks Special Event/Plane Things!).

Please pray that we have great opportunities to put smiles on many faces and invite families to our Grand Opening Celebration (the next weekend- October 11).
Please pray that we would find the staffing we need to make our booth run well.

Want to help? Contact Andy at 614.578.0676 or andy@clearviewgrace.com. We're looking for smiling faces anytime that day from 8a. (set-up) to 11p. (clean-up, etc.).

New Digs For ClearView!

2009-09-29T14:32:00.010-04:00

In the my absence on the blog scene, one exciting change that has kept me (and our team!) busy is the fact that ClearView has a new location for our Sunday worship gatherings! As of Sunday, September 20th, we are meeting at the New Albany High School (directions)! The Gahanna YMCA was a great meeting place for us...and we love the staff there. We will continue to work with the YMCA in creative programming that will impact people's lives. Even though the YMCA was a great spot for us...something in my spirit wasn't content with our situation. As I shared this with our team, we spent almost 2 months praying for God's direction.

Over the course of this summer, God seemed to bring some factors to light that convinced us He was leading us to search for another meeting location. Here are some of the ways we sensed God moving as we prayed:

God has opened up many exciting doors to serve in the New Albany Community. We enjoy positive relationships with the Events Board, Chamber of Commerce, and have coached, and served in the schools, etc. Since we are so active in the community of New Albany, it seemed to make sense to meet there. Pray that this move enhances our ability to invite people we serve at an event to join us on a Sunday morning at ClearView.
We're making a major push over the next few weeks to invite the community to our Grand Opening. As we invest resources in mailings, a billboard, and newspaper ads, it made sense to use this media to also communicate about a new location.
At some point, we will outgrow the limited space of the YMCA. At that point, a school in New Albany would have been our primary choice of location. So, why not make the change now and grow into a new space?
Our people were of one mind about the change in venue. I was shocked (forgive me Lord, for my lack of faith!). Usually, any change means challenges from a leadership perspective. However, as we prayed as a team... people were excited and communicated positive impressions. God has given us great unity around this decision! Praise Him!

As we have moved ahead with meeting in the school, I have been thrilled with the:

Increased space this gives us for our worship gathering (the mini-theater we meet in has seating for about 150- no setting up chairs!).
Increased participation from our team. Moving has served as a catalyst for us- new people are getting involved in serving. This has been so thrilling for me to observe: people are stepping up to leadership and others are filling in needed roles. Our critical teams (KidView- children; Wow Factor- guest relations; etc.) are fully staffed and people are jumping into new positions to help us get sound and video capabilities up and running. God has been meeting our needs for human resources.

Praise God!

An Apology and An Update

2009-09-29T13:26:00.002-04:00

Wow... it's been almost 2 months since I posted to this blog. I know the point of a blog is to keep it up-to-date with regular posts... or it quickly becomes irrelevant and people stop checking it.

I know we have some regular blog readers that are actively praying for our work and you check this site daily, or weekly, or monthly. If I were you, I'd be asking, "What is Andy doing?" :) So, to you that check regularly and you've seen no new updates in the past few months:

Thank you so much for caring about the Wirts and the development of ClearView Church
I'm going to post like crazy over the next few days and catch you up on what's been happening and what is coming in the next few weeks.
I'm sorry I haven't done a better job of giving you information to celebrate and pray for.

God has been good to us. There is a lot of exciting stuff going on...and many changes we want to communicate. More to come!

Please Pray For The Jay Baker Family

2009-08-05T11:37:00.003-04:00

Today I have the privilege of officiating at the celebration of life service for Jay Baker, 40, of Gahanna. Jay died unexpectedly this past weekend. I've learned much about him as I've met and listened to the family during the preparation process for the service today. I can honestly say he is a man I wish I would have known at a deeper level while he was alive. He was a special guy.

For those of you who follow our church development work and pray for us-- the interesting thing about this story is that I only met Jay, briefly, one-time. In the picture below, Jay is sitting to my right. This was taken on Friday evening, July 24. ClearView hosted a Family Fun Night in Gahanna and Jay, his wife, Michelle, and their two children, joined us for the event. We met there and enjoyed a good connection.

Then, Jay passed away about a week later. As Michelle was making funeral arrangements, she thought of ClearView and the funeral director called me this past Sunday evening and asked me to do the service. Of course, I agreed. We celebrate Jay's life today (Weds., 8/5) at 1p.

Would you pray with me for Michelle, her children, Jay's son, and their families? These good people are hurting and need our prayers for God's peace, comfort, and direction at this time. Please pray for me as I officiate the service. I want to be a visible presence of God's love and grace during this time of deep loss. Also, would you pray that ClearView would be able to wrap our arms around this family in the days ahead and show Jesus' love in a real way.

Blessings To My Heart

2009-07-22T15:09:00.002-04:00

As much as I try not to allow them to, sometimes the challenges of our work seem overwhelming. It is easy to allow yourself to get discouraged. I counter this by reading and re-reading God's words to a young leader named Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9). God's expectations are clear- move forward with faith in the work HE is doing. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (1:9, ESV). So, I often find myself asking God to forgive my lack of faith and fortify my heart with His perspective.

Sometimes I also ask for signs of His movement. Probably a bit foolish...because He is moving whether or not He chooses to allow me to see. But, I long to see evidence of His blessing and presence with us. Faith us defined by moving forward with trust even if you CAN'T see...but I still like to see! :) So, this past Saturday I spent much time in prayer just asking God for evidence of His work on Sunday. I just wanted to SEE something happening.

Sunday came and there was much to praise the Lord about! Again- God is good whether or not He chooses to show His work to me...but I like to see! Here is what I saw Sunday:

A full room at ClearView...even though it is summer and many are traveling.
A "Yes" from a couple I have been recruiting to join our team. They will be a BIG help to our effort to prepare for Grand Opening in October.
A good response to our July series: God and Country. I challenged our people on Sunday to envision themselves...the Church...as the greatest hope for real change in America. Our people were/are energized by this challenge.
A friend mentioned praying about a sizable donation to ClearView. This would move us forward in launch planning and maybe even be seed money for future church plants. Exciting. Pray they say "Yes!" :)

God is good all the time... and I'm thankful to SEE His good work when He sees fit. Praise God!

ClearView Is Gaining A Reputation...

2009-07-16T11:23:00.002-04:00

...and I think it is a good one. I've been excited about some recent conversations I've had with community leaders. Here are two examples:

ClearView is a member of the New Albany and Gahanna Chambers of Commerce. We've learned that there is an open door into the community by serving. Community leaders and event planners are ALWAYS looking for willing volunteers. We're trying to fill that void with smiling faces. A visible sign to us that we are accomplishing this segment of our mission is when people come to ClearView to help make community functions work. We volunteer wherever we can and work hard to muster the manpower to fulfill our promises.

I was attending a New Albany Chamber task force meeting a few weeks ago. This group is working to plan for the Chamber's largest fundraising event, coming up on August 18, called the Taste Of New Albany. On that day, several thousand people will fill the Market Square area in New Albany for good food, a fun community event, and a free concert by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. ClearView is volunteering to help set up, empty trash during the event, help host, and help clean up afterwards. It will be a long day...but fun...and with many great opportunities to serve people in our community.

I was surprised at this meeting when another task force member raised her hand, stopped the flow of conversation, and said in front of everyone (in my paraphrase), "I'm not sure if you know it or not, but this new church, ClearView Church, exists to serve. They want to bless the community." I was so thrilled- people looking in from the outside can see the first level of what we want to be about. We want to love people... that begins with service.

On another note, ClearView has been the source of much positive conversation during local Events Board meetings. Our work in helping run the parade and provide activities for children at the 4th of July festival is recognized by others. It was my joy to begin our gathering this past Sunday by reading a thank you note from the Events Board thanking our people for their help in making New Albany's July 4th celebration a success!

Praise God that people are seeing these visible acts of love and associating them with our movement! Please pray that God would use these acts of kindness to open up doors for spiritual impact.

Thanks Powell Students!

2009-07-15T16:08:00.006-04:00

Last week we enjoyed a visit from a group of middle school students from Powell Grace. These sharp kids are studying leadership and theology and also serving at local churches this summer. We decided to get them out in our community and help us hang some door hangers in some neighborhoods where we have not done so before. In a little over two hours, this group of 10 or so was able to distribute around 700 door hangers and make new contacts for ClearView!

At the conclusion of the afternoon's work, ClearView provided a spread of ice-cream and sundae toppings as a small token of a appreciation.

Please join us in thanking God for these students and pray that the door hangers they distributed will land in the hands of spiritually receptive people. Thanks!

Important Meeting

2009-07-15T15:37:00.003-04:00

On June 30, we hosted our first ever ClearView team leaders meeting at our house. This was a connection time for those that are championing each one of our key areas:

Wow Factor (guest relations)
KidView (children's ministry)
Community Impact
Sunday Morning (teaching, music, audio/visual)
Set-up/Tear-down
Administration

We have identified these 6 areas as critical components for a successful grand opening. One of the main tasks of beginning a church is finding people to drive these areas and developing simple systems to help us impact people through these components.

At this initial meeting, we enjoyed visionizing around the concept and importance of our launch or Grand Opening Celebrations. We used the illustration of a flower (plentiful with landscaping around our patio...where the meeting took place). Before it blooms and displays it's beauty- it has to be planted, take root, be watered, and grow to the point it is ready to open up and impact those who smell it and see it. A new church is like that flower-- we are in the stage of putting the people and systems in place to be ready to bloom. We also updated each other on what was happening in our respective areas, what needs had yet to be met, and prayed together about these needs. We closed with some homework. Each team leader is to:

Find someone to partner with them as an apprentice in their area. We want to be about reproduction.
Gather their team for a time of vision, discussion, and improvement in their area sometime in July.
Recruit some of our newer people to join your team.

I also asked our leaders to pray about some key questions I'm asking. Namely, are we in the right location (YMCA?)? Should we adjust our service time? How do we deal with storage issues (trailer?)? If you'd like to pray about these important questions with us, we're seeking wisdom from the Lord in these areas. Thanks! Please also pray for these important people on our team- that God would use us to successfully launch ClearView Church.

Special Announcement!

2009-07-13T21:03:00.003-04:00

YOU'RE INVITED!

ClearView is excited to host Operation Barnabas (a traveling team of high school students) on July 24 and 25. The team will be helping us tell people in the New Albany and Gahanna communities about ClearView during each day and then putting on two programs- one on Friday evening, July 24 and one on Saturday evening, July 25. Both programs are at 7 p. Friday's will be in Gahanna at the Creekside Rotary Stage. Saturday's will be at Wexner Community Park in New Albany. Each program will feature FREE sno-cones, popcorn, games, and a program featuring puppets clowns and singing. This will be a FUN NIGHT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY.

If you are in the Columbus area (or want to make the trip!) PLEASE JOIN US AT ONE OF THESE EVENTS. If you can't make it, please PRAY THAT OPERATION BARNABAS WILL HELP CLEARVIEW LOVE AND SERVE OUR COMMUNITY WELL.

Fun Day and Big Impact

2009-07-09T19:14:00.009-04:00

Thanks to all blog readers that prayed for our July 4th work in New Albany. We had a great day! God provided plenty of help (see all the smiling faces in the above picture) from several churches to allow us to:

Hand out 1,950 balsa wood fliers (wood planes for children to put together with ClearView logo and website) to children along the parade route
Hand out over 900 invitations to ClearView's July message series: God and Country
Assist the New Albany Events Board with organizing parade participants and carrying community banners.

It was fun to walk along the parade route and see many familiar faces. People now call our names and look forward to see what ClearView will be doing during the parade. We had positive interactions with many people throughout the parade route.

God also worked through our team and friends at the pre-fireworks festival in New Albany on Saturday evening. We had a great time interacting with people and serving with love through face-painting, balloons, colored hair-spray, 4th of July related crafts, and tattoos for children. I particularly enjoyed talking with neighbors and other contacts we have made about our work at ClearView and inviting them to come and experience a Sunday morning.

There was much positive feedback from people about our involvement in the community. One mom said, "My kids spent the whole time at your booth." There were times when the line for face-painting was 50 people deep (and we had 5 people face-painting!). God is using us to lay the foundation for ClearView... loving people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission. Since it starts with love... July 4th was a great opportunity to go where people are and serve.

Please pray with us that God will use these efforts to lead us to people that are looking for a church or that are searching spiritually. Much thanks!

ClearView Father's Day Talk

2009-06-24T10:52:00.003-04:00

We haven't figured out the best way to podcast the talks at our weekly worship gatherings... so I'll settle for posting the manuscript I spoke off of here. This was a fun message to put together...because it is straight out of my heart on what God is teaching me about being a parent. I'm completely imperfect...but God is shaping me and this talk is what I want to become. I encouraged anyone present that influences children (biological or spiritual) to do the same.

Take a minute and see what you think: 3 Traits Of A Great Parent.

Have Some Fun AND Make An Impact on July 4th!

2009-06-24T10:35:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to let you know about a super opportunity to have fun and put a smile on people's faces in New Albany!

ClearView will be assisting the New Albany Events team with the parade on the morning of July 4th and then handing out toys to children along the parade route (10:30a.-Noon). That evening, we'll be serving kids and families at the pre-fireworks festival with free face-painting, colored hair spray, crafts, and balloons (6p.-dusk). Fireworks follow the festival.

Would you be able to help us at the parade? Festival? Both? Please let me know (post a comment here or e-mail: andy@clearviewgrace.com)- I'd be glad to get you more details...and I have a free t-shirt with your name on it for helping!

Want To Know What We're Up To This Summer?

2009-06-23T16:11:00.002-04:00

On June 14, I shared my heart with our group in our worship gathering. God laid some specific things on my heart that I feel we should be concerned with this summer. When you have a moment, take a look, and pray with us for God's great movement. Thanks!

Talk: A Vision For Summer (ClearView Church 2009)

Fun Way To End The Year

2009-06-10T14:38:00.006-04:00

We got a whim early last week- it was something like- "Let's host an end of year celebration party" for Seth's Kindergarten friends. So, we put together a list of every kindergartner we know- neighborhood, kids I've coached in the past, Seth's class, etc. and invited them to a party at our house last Friday evening. We want to try and create opportunities to expand our friendships with people and serve people in whatever way we can. The end of a great year seemed like a good gathering point.

It was a fun evening! About 10 families came out...almost 40 people. We did a cookout, played some games, and ended the evening with some Sm ores. It was so fun to see all the kids playing together, mostly classmates, and parents connecting. God is good and has blessed us with the opportunity to get to know some great people in our community!

We Have A Graduate!

2009-06-10T14:02:00.007-04:00

Last week, Seth "graduated" from Kindergarten. His class was part of a multi-class performance and then they read each graduates name and the teachers gave out certificates to each child. The ceremony was followed by a reception for kids and parents in Seth's classroom. It was really fun for us to celebrate this milestone with Seth.

We have much to be thankful for in Seth's first year in New Albany schools. He had a good, safe year of learning and social growth. In God's perfect sovereignty, He provided a GREAT teacher for Seth who, as it turns out, grew up in a sister church of ours. She cared for Seth well and brought the best out of him. God also gave Seth some great friends. It has been fun to watch him develop relationships with his classmates, and especially three other boys that have been affectionately dubbed "the posse". We have enjoyed connecting with the parents of children in Seth's class at birthday parties and school functions.

As we look back on it, sending Seth to public school was a real tension point for us. We want him to grow up knowing how to build relationships with diverse people of any faith. We also want him to have the foundation of a biblical worldview. Anyone that parents with these values knows the tension of how to balance what happens at home, with school, with church, etc. to do the best you can as a parent to produce a kid that loves God and loves people. It is a challenge...maybe one of the greatest as a parent. We know the environments we choose to allow Seth to spend time in are key to his development. All that being said, we are so thankful that God gave him, and us, a great year in Kindergarten.

Founder's Day Weekend A Win!

2009-05-21T16:22:00.008-04:00

Please join me in giving a big shout out to God for a great Founder's Day weekend (May 16-17)!

On Saturday, God brought just the right amount of people to hand out over 1,400 frisbees during the parade. Through a great brainstorm from God late last week, we decided to have an impromptu pizza party at our house on Friday night and attach our invite post cards to the frisbees. This allowed us to only hand out one thing instead of two during the parade. Obviously, this cut our labor in half and allowed us to get out all the frisbees sufficiently (without holding up the whole parade). It was fun to see children clamoring for something they wanted- one of our frisbees! This opened the door to give out invites to our Sunday gathering...and more importantly keep communicating to the community that we are here, we care, and we want to be a force for demonstrating the love of Jesus in practical ways.

After the parade, we hosted a booth at the Founder's Day festival. We again sponsored "Chulo" the clown (much to hundreds of children's delight!), painted hundreds of faces, and gave away many balloons. The most important part of this time was numerous positive interactions with people from the New Albany area. ClearView is becoming a fixture at community events...and people are noticing. One man said, "You guys are so community minded, I think that is really neat." A friend of mine commented, "ClearView has sparked some healthy controversy in our church leadership about why we are not more involved in the community." Perhaps God will use us to spark further mission and draw others out to where people are already gathered.

On Sunday, we hosted our May key gathering (a rallying point for our team to work extra hard at inviting guests) around the theme God's Stimulus Package: Real Hope For Turbulent Times. We had a great time together with 55 people in attendance. This is the largest gathering in ClearView's short history. We had great turn out from our team and several guest families. The mood was great, we enjoyed a good time of worship together, and people seemed to respond well to a talk from God's Word based out of Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus talks specifically on worry and how to overcome it through focusing first on God's agenda for our lives.

Specifically, I am thankful to God for:

Our ClearView team. These are busy weekends...many of our people gave significant time and even responded on short notice to help us assemble frisbees/invites. They are moving our work forward with less and less dependence on outside help.
Friends of ClearView that came to assist- friends from our neighborhood, other local churches, and even the mom of one of Seth's schoolmates! Special thanks to Jen, Emily, and Beth (each came from out of town and painted faces for 5 hours!).
Very positive interactions with people along the parade route and at the festival. Each appearance at community events seems to spark deeper interaction with people we've met through various contact making streams- coaching, school involvement (PTO), community events planning, etc.
A strong Sunday at ClearView. Our team was encouraged and I believe God was pleased.

Would you keep praying with us for spiritual movement from our involvement in the community? Only God can move someone from parade contact to Christ follower. But, we long to be part of that journey with those God calls. Pray with us for movement...

New Sport, New Team...New Contacts

2009-05-09T14:36:00.002-04:00

I've enjoyed watching Seth try something new this week- he started practicing t-ball for the first time. This has given he and I something new to do together. He loves for me to pitch to him while he learns to hit and we've spent much time in the last two weeks tossing the ball back and forth in the back yard. Last Saturday was Seth's first formal practice with the t-ball Athletics of New Albany's Little League. This was a great opportunity for us to meet 7 or 8 families, only one of which we'd ever met before. I'm not coaching this season, so I have the opportunity to hang out on the sidelines and interact with the other parents.

I'm thrilled that Seth is enjoying this new sport, is trying something new, and that we get to spend time working on new skills that both of us enjoy. Also, this is a new outlet for ministry relationships. Pray that God would lead me to spiritually searching people. We're studying Colossians 4 tomorrow at our ClearView gathering- pray Colossians 4:2-5 for me as I interact with the other parents of children on Seth's t-ball team. Thanks!

A Milestone For ClearView...And Our Family

2009-05-08T14:42:00.007-04:00

Last Sunday (5/3) was a real joy! ClearView celebrated it's first baptism. We baptized three people...of varying ages and with unique stories of how they came to follow Jesus. It was a thrill for me to see us carrying on an important function as Christ-followers- seeing people publicly express their faith by being immersed in water (meaning of baptism). Baptism is special because it is more than a ceremony or ritual...it is a physical means of obeying Jesus that doubles as a symbol of a powerful spiritual reality- heart transformation!

The first person ever baptized at ClearView is Kayla (13). She is a special young lady that visibly loves Jesus and others. It was a joy to have her family with us to witness this special day. Kayla shared that she was facing some deep challenges in her young life when her mom, Melissa, explained to her about Jesus' love and forgiveness for her. She has been learning to follow Jesus ever since.

Patrick came to know Jesus in his mid thirties. I had lunch with him the week before and was thrilled to hear his story. Patrick is a deep thinker and God used some key friends in his life and the writings of people like C.S.Lewis (Mere Christianity) to answer significant faith questions and lead him to a point where one night, he simply couldn't sleep. Patrick knew he needed Jesus to forgive him and lead his life, so he got up in the middle of the night and cried out to God, inviting Jesus into His heart. Patrick and his wife, Anne, have become an integral part of our ClearView team and family...so it was a joy for me to play a small part in his spiritual journey by baptizing him.

Sunday was also a thrill for Trish and I in that I got to baptize Seth! He has been asking us to be baptized for months. After talking with him more about it and seeing him grasp what it means to be baptized and why we do it, Trish and I decided he was ready to take this step in his spiritual journey. Jesus commended a child-like faith and we see this in Seth. From the perspective of a six-year-old, he fully understands who Jesus is, what Jesus did, his need for Jesus' forgiveness. It was fun to see his faith symbolized by him being baptized and I am so happy that I got to do it! :)

Praise God with us for this good day at ClearView. And, pray with us, that God would continue to shape Kayla, Patrick, and Seth into His followers and ambassadors. Thanks!

Help ClearView Impact People At Founder's Day (May 16)!

2009-04-30T17:07:00.006-04:00

Dear Friend,
Thanks for your interest in helping in the development of ClearView Church. God has opened amazing doors for us to be involved in our community. The next opportunity for large-scale contact making is coming fast, New Albany's Founder's Day parade and festival on Saturday, May 16.

I'm looking for people that might be willing to walk in the parade with us, smile, and give out 1,500 logo frisbees and hundreds of invitations to our next key gathering (May 17). The parade runs from 10a-Noon. I'm also looking for people that can help us put a smile on people's faces with free face-painting, balloons, crafts, colored hair spray, etc. at the festival, which runs from 12-5p. Anyone that participates at any time gets a free ClearView t-shirt (it would help me to know sizes up front).

Thanks for your help in finding volunteers. We want to have a major presence on this key day...we want to reach people where they are already gathered and show Jesus' love in practical ways.

Can you help? Bring a friend! Feel free to bring your kids and walk in the parade together! Let me know and I'll be glad to get you more details (timing, locations, etc.). Thanks!

Blessings,
Andy Wirt
ClearView Church
PO Box 629
New Albany, OH 43054
http://www.clearviewgrace.com
614.578.0676

A Strong Sunday at ClearView

2009-04-20T11:54:00.003-04:00

I was very thankful for our gathering yesterday. There is always such a good spirit among our ClearView family and I just enjoy being around everyone. There is a genuine care for one another and a willingness to love and serve that is contagious. Our worship, prayer time, and discussion around Colossians 1 moved me. We also had a strong attendance and several guests, three separate family units, which is always encouraging. I was particularly excited about a friend of mine from the community that came, enjoyed her time with us, and said she'd be back! I had an exciting conversation with her last week- the best kind of interaction- talking about who Jesus is and what He has done for us. I always find my own journey with Jesus is enriched when God gives an opportunity to talk with someone else about the complete love and hope we find in a relationship with Jesus.

Thanks for praying for the development of ClearView. Please pray that God would bring us like minded people to help us bring our vision to reality and allow us to love on spiritually sensitive/searching people. Good things are happening! Praise God!

Healthy Kids Day At The YMCA!

2009-04-20T11:25:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, April 18, God gave us another great opportunity to connect with people in our community and put smiles on peoples faces. For the second straight year, ClearView staffed a table at the Gahanna YMCA's (where we meet on Sunday mornings) Healthy Kids Day. The event featured a whole bunch of booths and activities for children- focusing on health and wellness. True to the theme, we gave out over 100 bottles of water and ClearView logo Frisbees to children and parents. Special thanks to Dan Davis and Jen Hart who manned our booth, made great connections with people, and gave out many invites to ClearView.

Please pray that God would use these connections to link us to spiritually sensitive or searching people. We want to love people to a clear view of Jesus and mission. Our vision finds footing at these sorts of events. Thanks for praying with us that God would use us to share His love and hope with people in Gahanna/New Albany.

A Typical Day At The Wirt House

2009-04-20T11:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday it happened again! A whole bunch of bizarre events that you almost have to laugh at to keep sane (after you get done screaming in frustration!). We had just gotten home from a great morning at ClearView and were getting lunch together. The boys were messing around on the bench we use for them to sit at our table. Somehow Seth was on the bench and Silas was climbing onto it and all of a sudden there was this loud crash. I was in the basement, heard it from there, and knew it wasn't good. The bench had fallen on Silas' (shoeless!) foot. Instantaneously, Silas was screaming and Trish, first to the scene, was calling for back up. I ran upstairs to find Silas' sock red with blood in the "great" toe area. When I took off his sock to run water over the affected area, I knew what I saw was not good. So, we, for the third time in about a year (with Silas!), grabbed Silas, ran to the van, and hurried to the Children's Hospital Urgent Care in Westerville. We thank God for this place and the help they have been to our family it times of great stress and concern for our kids. Fortunately, by God's grace, Katie was home and could stay with Seth and Sara. Long story short, after three hours in the Urgent Care, we brought Silas home with 9 stitches in this toe and a diagnosis that includes a fracture and a probable tendon tear. To add to the joy of the day, when we got home, I couldn't find my wallet for two hours and Silas, potty-training, had an accident and soaked the dressing on his toe/foot and the boot he has to wear with urine. We've heard that if you're lost in the wilderness and you have an open wound, the best thing to do is pee on it-- the acid helps in cleansing. However, we weren't in the wilderness and were successfully able to change the dressing and re-cleanse the wound.

What in the world! How can so many things to wrong in such a short span of time? All you can do is laugh...and be so thankful that the God we follow and serve and TRUST has a perfect plan. Thanks for your prayers for our family- please pray for Silas for pain management (which has been going well, so far) and complete healing. We have to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon later this week. Please pray for Trish also as I am scheduled to be out of town this week for 3 days. Pray God brings help for her and that the kids are extra good for mom. Thanks!

God Speaks Through Silas

2009-04-15T14:48:00.003-04:00

Ever had an encounter with God while interacting with your kids? It is so bizarre, but there are times when God takes a conversation with one of my children and uses it to speak right to my heart. Monday was one of those times.

Monday's are my day off. I was processing our Easter weekend at ClearView. There was much to thank God for (see previous post). God worked in great ways through our community involvement and Easter worship gathering. Yet, as a leader and church starter, I had prayer goals for the day that were not met. I wanted to see more people present on Sunday and more response to the hard work and dollars our team put into inviting others (door hangers, newspaper, personal invites, prayer/fasting). Long story, short, I was disappointed with our numbers. Several of my prayers that morning consisted of something like this: "Lord, we worked hard. We invited. We invested. We were creative. We prayed. You promise in your word that if two or three agree, pray, you will do it. You promise that the smallest bit of faith can move mountains...why didn't more people respond to our invitations?"

In the course of the morning, Silas and I got in the van (it was raining) to drive to the bus stop to pick up Seth (returning from Kindergarten). Since it was just down the street and not on any main road (please don't turn me in!), I allowed Silas to sit in the front seat. When we stopped, he was messing around with buttons on the dashboard. One button he pushed was the rear window defrost button. If your car is like ours, when this button is activated, a light comes on. Silas pushed the button and the light came on, indicating the rear defroster was working. But...to Silas, things looked different. He said, "Dad, I pushed the button. It is not working. Nothing is happening." Of course, smart dad that I am, I said, "Silas, it is working, you just can't see it".

It was like a friend gently punched me in the gut. It wasn't a hard, mean, punch... but a soft reminder that something important had just taken place. I, almost literally, heard God say, "So am I working...You can't see it (or you can't see what you want to see)...but trust me, I am working!" AhhHahh... Just what I needed to be reminded of God's perfection and my limited perspective. Thanks God, for a timely reminder through this interaction with my precious boy!

Easter Weekend Report

2009-04-14T17:31:00.012-04:00

Thanks for praying for Easter Weekend at ClearView! It was a busy few days and I'm excited about many good things that God accomplished!

On Saturday, ClearView assisted the New Albany Events Board with New Albany's Spring Egg Hunt. God gave us a beautiful, sunny (although brisk!), day and several thousand people enjoyed this free, family event. We gave out free Tim Horton's hot chocolate and coffee, hundreds of invite cards to our Easter Gathering, sponsored "Chulo" the clown, and helped to set up and tear down at the event. It was great to partner with our community events planners, interact with many people, and "Chulo" was the hit of the day (a long line for balloon animals the whole event). I was especially impressed with our team. Last year, I worked this event with a friend of mine from Cleveland...this year, there were almost 20 of us involved with helping in some way or another. Praise God for a great Saturday in the community! Pray that those that saw us there or got an invite card would be touched by Jesus and that any looking for a church or encouragement in their spiritual journey would check out ClearView!

On Sunday (Easter), we enjoyed a great worship gathering at ClearView. There were almost 50 people in attendance (a great number for us) and there was a strong, positive spirit among the group. Wins for the day were using our "new" sound system for the first time, expanding our set up (we can fit more in the YMCA room we are using than we originally thought), improving our guest welcome system, and seeing a good response from the personal invitations our team gave out (many personal friends and family were present). Our team worked together well, gave of themselves sacrificially, and I believe God was pleased with the morning.

Thanks for praying with us for God to work through ClearView and our Easter ministries. Please continue to pray that God would work through the many door hangers that were hung and the many invitations that were given out. We are praying that these repeat efforts to let people know about an exciting new church in town will pay off in people checking out ClearView and/or allowing us the privilege of assisting them in their spiritual journey. Thanks for seeking God's favor with us.

4 Awesome Days

2009-04-06T16:53:00.009-04:00

This post is way overdue, but I wanted to take a moment and thank God for the opportunity Trish and I had to get away and rest in early March. Early on in Trish's treatment process for thyroid cancer, I wanted to give her something she could look forward to towards the end of the process. So, we made plans for what ended up being a short, but fabulous get away together. God made care for our kids available through grandparents and Trish and I spent 4 days on the beach and by the pool in the Dominican Republic. It was so wonderful to rest, be together, see new sights, experience a new culture, walk on the beach, and be refreshed spiritually. Praise God.

There were a few ways where God worked in my heart in particular ways:

I read The Shack. I have heard reviews on this book from people that loved it and people that hated it. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. I'm in the camp of "loved it!" I would recommend you read it... no matter what you've heard. Keep in mind, I read this on vacation...I didn't read it critically or study every word and nuance. I'm not advocating every bit of theology portrayed and I recognize that the story line is troubling (although gripping). However, I will say that I was moved towards intimacy with Jesus. I felt the author's portrayal of what it means for a person of faith to suffer and what it means to commune with God (and each Person of the Trinity) was enlightening. Bottom line, I felt the book enriched my journey with Jesus.
I read a portion of Undaunted Hope: The James Gribble Story. Gribble was a pioneer (first to a given people group) missionary in Africa in the early 1900s. I was so moved by this simple man's commitment to Jesus, absolute dedication to God's call on his life to share the Good News of Jesus, determination to go and work where no missionary had gone before, resilience in the face of insurmountable odds, and faith in God's goodness and perfect plan no matter what his circumstances were. In one of God's great ironies, this book, paired with reading The Shack, expanded my perspective of what it means to relate with Jesus intimately and follow Him wholeheartedly.
I felt God, very clearly, saying "Your vision is not large enough." For over two years now, I've been laser focused on working to launch one church, ClearView Church. It seems kind of funny, because there is still a lot of work to do for ClearView to be ready for Grand Opening and be self-sustaining. Yet, I sensed God telling me that it isn't enough to pray and work towards the launch of one church...or even a church that starts other churches (as we pray ClearView will). What does that mean? I'm not sure. But, I believe God said, "Think bigger!" Only by His grace and provision...
Trish and were moved by experiencing a bit of the Dominican culture. These are friendly people that, for the most part, live in poverty. Yet, many seemed happier than many Americans I know. Many shops we were in had Bibles in prominent places. We weren't there long enough to get an accurate feel for the spiritual climate there, but our hearts were burdened for the people of this country.

I'm not sure what God will do with any of these reflections. But, the trip was wonderful and I came home refreshed. One neat note...on our first Sunday back, I shared these same reflections with our ClearView family. Afterwards, one of our couple's approached me and we talked of their desire to return to their home country, Jamaica, upon retirement. They're dreaming of starting a church there. Perhaps ClearView could be a part of that! THAT would be a bigger vision! God is good! :)

A Great Saturday!

2009-04-06T16:39:00.005-04:00

Things were hoppin' at the Wirt house this Saturday... it was exciting! Throughout the day, almost 30 people stopped in to grab some door hangers and went out for a few hours to various neighborhoods to invite people to our Easter Gathering. We're working hard to get 2,000 door hangers hung, give out 500 seperate invites, and will be running our first newspaper add in this week's local paper. It was such a joy for me to have so much help from friends and people from several different churches to get over 1300 door hangers hung!

We also set up our new (used...DONATED!) sound system for a dry run in our garage. A few weeks ago I sent an e-mail to some contacts I was hoping would be able to help us piece together some parts and come up with a quality system for our weekly gatherings. God works in great ways! A member of our sponsor church, Northwest Chapel, heard of our need and donated a system to us that had orginally been bought for a past church start! Praise God! One of our team members, Phil, set it up on Saturday and blasted the neighbors (not really... but it sounded great)! God is good!

Please keep praying that God would bring people out for Easter and that several new families would join us to celebrate the power of God displayed through Jesus' resurrection! Thanks!

5 Ways To Pray For ClearView This Easter

2009-04-01T21:13:00.005-04:00

God has really done amazing things in ClearView Church in 13 months. Last Easter, March 23, we were praying for a worship leader, a children's team leader, and had 16 people in attendance at our gathering in our home. Fast forward to April of 2009 and God has brought a worship team leader, a KidView (our children's ministry) team leader (and staff for three age levels!), and we're averaging almost 40 on Sunday's in our gatherings in the Gahanna YMCA. Much has happened in our personal and ministry lives and God has answerd prayer in amazing ways. He's building ClearView with healthy, biblical, and missional DNA through bringing us quality people. We're poised for another vital season of outreach ministry into our community as festival and parade season sets in. We're looking forward to living out our mission: to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission.

A critical piece to our 2009 strategy is monthly rallying points we're calling "Sneak Peak" gatherings. In contrast to our regular weekly gatherings (which are more targeted towards prayer, team building, strategizing, and Bible study), these key monthly gatherings are pointed attempts to creatively and intentionally invite as many people as we can to check out a ClearView worship gathering. At these times, we'll work to put our best foot forward with atmosphere, guest relations, a relevant, biblical message, and a meaningful worship experience. We're hoping that people will get a taste of a fresh, exciting church that has a passion to love people to Jesus in our community and want to come back and be a part of something exciting that God is birthing.

Easter, April 12, is our next "Sneak Peak" gathering. We're going to push the limits for us... extra chairs, running a sound system (for the first time!), fuller worship team, new children's classes, etc. We've purchased 2,000 door hangers, 500 post-card invites, and a 1/4 page newspaper add (pic. above). We'll do our best to invite through social networking tools like e-mail and Facebook (our Friends of ClearView Facebook group is pushing 180 members, mostly Columbus people!). But, I know its all for naught if I, we, and you fail to pray. Would you be faithful to pray with us that God does something special, something Ephesians 3:20 like, on Easter at ClearView? Here are some ways I am praying... I'd love it if you would join me:

Pray that we would be able to get all 2500 invitations out (friends are coming on April 4 to hang door hangers and we're serving free Tim Horton's coffee and hot chocolate at New Albany's Spring Egg Hunt on April 11).
Pray that people would respond to our invitations and join us on Easter! Pray that 75 people would be in attendance (our previous high was 53 on March 8).
Pray that God would help me develop a message that is both pleasing to Him and a relevant communication of the blessings and challenge of Jesus' resurrection. I've chosen the title "Easternomics" because I believe there is a way to tie together the trouble in our economy/nation with the eternal hope and peace that Jesus offers.
Pray for our ClearView team- many are stretching themselves in new ways... sound system, worship team, children's team, guest relations team, set up team...all pushing the limits to stretch into what we believe God wants to do.
Most important- pray that several people would be loved to Jesus and begin a journey towards meaningful mission for Him.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Sara!

2009-04-01T17:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Sara's first year of life! What a year! It's hard to believe how much can happen in 365 days. Trials, victories, sickness, answered prayer... as we look back on the last year, we've experienced much. One constant and vibrant bright spot has been the beautiful and sweet-spirited little girl God gave us one year ago. Thanks for praying for our family...and especially our kids. Sara's now walking...might she learn to walk before God in the years ahead!

Got Any Used Sound Equipment?

2009-03-18T16:54:00.002-04:00

An extra piece sitting around your building might be our treasure! We're a new church forming in the New Albany, OH area and are looking to build a sound system from scratch. We've developed a list of things we're looking for and I wondered if you might take a minute, peruse it, and get back to me (andy@clearviewgrace.com) if you have (or have a lead on) a quality piece of used equipment that might fit the bill. We'd be happy to compensate you for the item(s). We're hoping to put something together by Easter, so your input in the next week or so is valuable to us.

To view our wish-list, click here.

Thanks for your help!

Opportunity to Help!

2009-03-18T14:03:00.004-04:00

Help Us Invite People To Easter!

Most of you know that ClearView Church is forming in the New Albany, OH area. We're working to gather critical mass and are praying that our Easter gathering will be an important step towards finding launch team members and ministering to our community.
You can help us get the word out!

When:
Saturday, April 4th (anytime!)

What:
Hang door hangers & pray while you walk

How:
Contact Andy Wirt for more information:
614.578.0676; andy@clearviewgrace.com

Happy Birthday, Silas!

2009-03-05T10:42:00.006-05:00

We had fun celebrating Silas' 3rd birth day (3/3) on Monday. We took Seth out of school and headed to an indoor water park (Fort Rapids) in south Columbus with Silas' friend Micah (Ward) and "the other Seth" (Mays) and their moms. We had a great time at this wonderful place. Silas enjoyed himself and loved all of his presents, cake, and the extra attention he got on his special day.

We're so thankful for the children God has given us and what a joy they are to our lives. Silas, especially, was a difficult baby, and, with that in mind, it is so awesome to see the pleasant and special young guy he is growing into. He's truly a nice, happy, young boy. Thanks to so many of you that prayed for Silas and all his sicknesses in the first two years of his life.

Silas' birthday is always a reminder for us of God's work in our lives and family. We actually got out some home movies of Silas' first birthday party- which was just a few days after we moved into our home here in Columbus. I just remember feeling so alone and so scared of what was to come in this new journey we were on to begin a new church, from scratch, in a new place. And, now to look back 2 years, and celebrate all God has done- meeting, literally, hundreds and hundreds of people; good, strong ministry presence in the community; a growing team at ClearView; financial provision; and so many answered prayers. We have such a long way to go...but God has been so good. It's fun that our little boy's birthday is a reminder of God's faithfulness!

"God, Make Us Transformists!"

2009-03-03T14:52:00.008-05:00

I'm celebrating good things God did for us this past Sunday at ClearView. We were excited to host Kary Oberbrunner, author of the new (Zondervan) book The Fine Line. Kary shared about three types of Christ-followers:

Separatists separate themselves from the world and "wordly" people or "secular" things for the purpose of maintaining holiness. The problem is that they end up looking like the Pharisees (adding a bunch of rules to Jesus' two commandments- love God and love people) and loose the opportunity to have a significant influence in the lives of those Jesus loves that don't yet know Him.
Conformists go to the other extreme. They so want to relate to people that don't share a biblical worldview that they dive fully into everything the world offers in order to be "relevant". In the end, they don't look any different from someone that doesn't follow Christ and also loose the opportunity to influence people towards Jesus.
To the contrary, Transformists walk the fine line. They are "in the world...but not of it." They are vitally linked to those that don't yet know Jesus through showing genuine love. They are used of God to transform culture...by living with both grace and truth in their spheres of influence.

Obviously, at ClearView, we want to build transformists. I was excited for our launch team and many guests to hear this important message.

Other fun and exciting things:

47 people were present (our second largest gathering)! I was praying for 50...so we were just a few off.
We used the special circumstances to push the capacity of the room we are in at the YMCA to see how many it would seat. It was a fun time for our people to rally around a big Sunday and work hard to welcome guests and tune up for a fall Grand Opening.
Most important: our team had positive interactions with people that are searching spiritually. In one case, Dan and Katie had the opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with a man that had come into the YMCA to work out. They encountered him in the hallway and had an interesting conversation around spiritual Truth. This is a public blog...so I'll leave it at that...GOD IS WORKING!

Please praise God with us for a special Sunday! Thanks for praying with us!

Big Sunday- 3/1

2009-02-25T16:52:00.002-05:00

We're excited to host my friend and author Kary Oberbrunner at ClearView on 3/1 (9:30a., Gahanna YMCA). Kary is the author of an important new book called The Fine Line. Here's a teaser on the talk he'll be sharing with us:

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: Embodying the Kingdom Jesus prayed a bold prayer to His Father hours before going to the cross. He pleaded that His followers would be "in the world, but not of it." Although this short phrase sounds simple enough, it's laced with tension.

Certain times throughout history Christians avoided this tension and the church and the world suffered because of it.

Other times Christians ventured into the unknown—celebrating the tension instead of suppressing it.

Every generation must answer the most basic ethical question of the Christian faith, "What does it mean to be in the world, but not of it?" Answering correctly yields relevance, something the world deeply desires, but rarely sees. The Fine Line re-envisions what it means to integrate Christianity with culture.

We all have questions. It just depends upon whether or not we're honest enough to admit it. Author Kary Oberbrunner is your tour guide through the tension and into life on the Fine Line.

If you're in Columbus, or want to be, join us! We're praying for a new attendance record at ClearView and that this important Sunday will move our team forward in mission AND be a gathering point for future team members.

Great Discussion On Mission

2009-02-25T16:27:00.005-05:00

I was pumped after our gathering at ClearView this past Sunday, 2/22. Several aspects excited my heart:

Numbers aren't the most important thing...but they are important. With only 1 guest, we had 38 in attendance. It's amazing to believe that last year at this time we were basically two families (about six people) and now we're close to 15 family units attending regularly. It's fun to think that when everyone is there we're right around 40 people.
We had a fabulous discussion on the theme of mission. We looked at Luke 5:17-26 where 4 faith-filled friends broke through a roof to lower their paralyzed friend to what he needed most: Jesus. We used this passage as a foundation for a pivotal discussion on the challenges each of us face in our personal mission endeavors and the opportunities that we have to help each other in our most important task...leading our friends to what they need most: Jesus.
Our group dynamics are healthy. Our people enjoy being together, are deepening relationships with one another, and share freely in group gatherings. It is fun to see our team gelling and uniting together around the purpose of loving people to a clear view of Jesus and mission.

Thanks for praying for the development of our team. Please continue!

Celebrate With Us!

2009-02-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

We finally (after 10 days!) got a call from Trish's endocrinologists' office yesterday... They communicated that her final scan showed no indication of cancer. Yeah, God!

Please praise God for gifted health care providers.
Please praise God for healing for Trish from thyroid cancer!
Please continue to pray for Trish's recovery...especially that she'd be able to wake up one day soon and say, "Wow...this is what it feels like to feel good again!".

Thanks for praying with us through this challenge!

To Trash Or To Fix?

2009-02-25T16:11:00.004-05:00

That's the question we're trying to answer about our 1999 Pontiac Montana mini-van. We found out a few days ago that it's afflicted with a blown head gasket. That means squat to me in terms of mechanical function... but I know enough to know that it does mean significant $ from our tight finances! Fortunately, we have a local friend that could do the fix for hundreds less than a commercial shop...but still...we're in that unenviable position of "do you fix a 10 year old vehicle that has loads of small problems and has 130,000 miles on it"? The upside of fixing it is that, if it even lasted one year longer, it would be much cheaper than one year of car payments. So...I think we are leaning towards fixing but are nauseous at the thought of putting big money into an older vehicle.

If you would, pray God would give us wisdom to make the smartest choice and make provision for whatever He leads us to do. Thanks!

Exciting Things In Columbus!

2009-02-17T15:50:00.011-05:00

Many people may not know there are 5 different Grace Brethren church starts taking seed right now in the greater Columbus area. I've enjoyed building relationships with each of these men, have learned from their efforts, and admire them as leaders willing to take risks for the expansion of God's Kingdom.

Last Thursday, we gathered with about 25 other Grace Brethren pastors from central Ohio and had the opportunity to give updates on the happenings in each of our church starts. It was good to hear all that God is doing in developing teams, creative ministry ideas, and strategic plans.

I was excited to share about ClearView. I talked specifically with the men about the special people God is bringing to our team and how God has worked through some of our recent challenges (especially Trish's thyroid cancer) to lead us to push back the date of our Grand Opening Celebration (sometime Fall of 2009). If you're interested in reading more, see the text of my remarks here.

I was also thrilled to hear of what God is doing through my comrades in other parts of greater Columbus. Sean Spoelstra shared about the extraordinary things God is doing in Encounter Church, starting in the Jerome Township/Dublin area. God has blessed them with over 25 family units on their launch team and they are holding preview gatherings leading up to a Grand Opening month in April.

God is also working in the heart of Columbus through the conception of Capi tal City Grace Church. Pastors Larry Totske and Eric Miller are forming a launch team and planning for a Spring launch. Be sure to check out their blog and a Columbus Dispatch article about the Totskes' efforts to meet people through bowling. Good stuff.

My friend Sean Kaeser is working out in Plain City. Shawn and his wife Tracie are working on starting Darby Grace from scratch. God is blessing and over 40 people are attending worship gatherings weekly.

Last but not least- Doug Shotsky and Tony Webb are working together on a unique and effective approach to church starting in the Mt. Sterling area. Doug is a Gatherer- he works at making connections in the community and telling people about the new Sterling Grace. Doug shared that they are anticipating a special weekend where they will host a special dinner for couples and watch the Fireproof movie together. 24 couples have already registered!

As you read...please pray for my brothers and their special work. What they are doing is not easy, is driven my mission, and has potential to change the world. If you know anyone looking for a church in any of these communities...please refer them to these new churches.

Progress Report: Trish

2009-02-17T15:38:00.002-05:00

Thanks to so many that have prayed for Trish and supported our family in so many ways. We've been so blessed by so many- people have sent cards, helped with kids, given gift cards, set up play dates for our kids, called, e-mailed, sent Facebook messages, etc. THANKS!

Since my last blog post, Trish has:

Finished the treatment regimen for thyroid cancer, including a 4-day period of isolation while undergoing radio-iodine treatment.
Resumed taking thyroid medication...very important for normal functioning!
Undergone a final, full-body scan to determine the effectiveness of the treatment process (we don't have the results from this test yet).
Maintained very positive spirits...

Now onto recovery...from everything she has read and talked with others about, it will take a good 4-6 weeks until she begins to feel "normal" again. She continues to have periods of great weariness...but her stamina improves a bit each day.

So, thanks for praying. And, please keep praying. We'll get final test results sometime this week and, Lord willing, will celebrate all cancer gone. Please pray that Trish will feel stronger than ever and continue to sense God strengthening her body.

Isolation, Day 2

2009-02-07T22:26:00.003-05:00

I took the boys over two times today to see Trish, briefly. As long as we don't touch her, stay about 6 feet away, and don't spend a long time in the same room, we are aloud to see her. That meant a lot to all of us. Trish felt pretty crummy most of the day with extreme weakness and upset stomach (periods of nausea and just plain uncomfortable). She's having difficulty getting good sleep. However, she is developing incredible prowess on Facebook (send a friend request to Tricia Wirt) and is enjoying keeping in touch with the outside world through that medium.

Please keep praying-- for good rest, for good spirits (it is torture for her to not have stimulation from live conversation with other people), and healing. Thanks to everyone that has sent her an e-mial or posted something on her wall (Facebook). Two milestones are upcoming- she can resume normal diet tomorrow night and come home on Tuesday morning.

Isolation, Day 1

2009-02-06T14:50:00.002-05:00

Trish is doing well today! Thanks for praying. We went to Riverside Hospital early this a.m. and she took her radio-iodine pill. By God's grace and an answer to your prayers... the required dose was less than we expected and she only has to be isolated for 4 days. Trish is now resting by herself at a friends house, within a mile of where we live (Thanks Mike and Tiffany!). This makes it easy for me to take food (she's still on a special diet) and other things she needs.

God has been good to us in many ways:

Ideal place for Trish to stay, close by.
Weaker dose than originally thought necessary
Trish is dealing with the treatment well (no nausea or other noticeable side affects to this point)
Family and friends have been a huge help to us over the last several weeks.
Trish has a computer...so feel free to send her an e-mail (twirt@sbcglobal.net) or Facebook message and let her know you're thinking of her.

Thanks for praying!

Exciting Sundays!

2009-02-05T16:33:00.005-05:00

I want to try and do a better job of sharing here what God is doing at ClearView during our Sunday gatherings (Gahanna YMCA, 9:30a.). Good things are happening! We continue to experience strong attendance for a start-from-scratch church start and there is a very positive energy among the people present. God has brought us fabulous teammates, and I couldn't be happier about the group HE is assembling. We're continuing to build our children's ministry, KidView, and will soon be expanding to three age levels. Recently, we've been focusing on our core value of prayer- how to be people of prayer that seed this important spiritual discipline into the DNA of ClearView Church- and discussing Craig Groeschel's book, IT.

Please continue to pray for us as we develop as a team, form the DNA of a healthy church, and seek to impact our community. Thanks!

ClearView At New Albany Business Expo.

2009-02-05T16:21:00.003-05:00

On January 15 (yes, I'm behind on my blog posting... .like everything else in my life! :), ClearView was well represented at a business expo. sponsored by the New Albany Chamber of Commerce (and, yes, that's me in the picture, taking the picture, because we were in a room surrounded by mirrors!). This was an exciting time of networking with business leaders from our community, meeting some new people, and making some excellent contacts. I enjoyed conversations with members of the New Albany Rotary, YMCA representatives, Mayor Ferguson (New Albany), and several other community members.

Please pray that God would continue to seed ClearView in people's minds as an exciting new church that shows love in REAL ways. This branding in people's minds is an important predecessor to more wide-reaching marketing and invitations we will extend as our Grand Opening draws near. The more buzz we can build now... the better response to our future invites. THANKS!

Update on Trish and Family...

2009-01-30T16:47:00.003-05:00

January has been a challenge! Silas' face in this picture says it all! In addition to Trish beginning the treatment process for her thyroid cancer, Silas has been to the urgent care for stitches (January 1...hello new deductible!), Sara had tubes put in her ears (she's had double ear infections since early December and went through four rounds of antibiotics with no relief), and all of us, but Seth, have had the stomach flu. Sara's virus continued for 9 days. Indeed, God has been testing us.

However, we've also seen multiple signs of God's goodness in these challenging days. Trish, despite real weariness and some uncomfortable side effects of being off all thyroid medication, is holding up pretty well. Her spirits are high and she is pressing through her treatment period with real endurance. She has been overwhelmed by the kindness of our ClearView family, help from our biological family, multiple offers to help with kids, cards, Scriptures, and gifts that people have sent. Thanks!

Please keep praying for her... as each day gets progressively more difficult. Next week, she has tests at Riverside Hospital 4 different days, including two full body scans. These will affirm (we're praying- God willing!) that the cancer was confined to the thyroid region (and removed at surgery) and determine how strong her radio-iodine pill will be. She will take this next Friday and the strength of the pill will dictate how long she must be isolated (she will basically be emitting radiation and has to follow special instructions to not affect people around her). So, the next two weeks will be a real challenge for her and our family. We appreciate your prayers for physical strength, spiritual encouragement, and the challenges this creates for Trish and our family. Keep the cards coming... they are a great blessing...and will be, especially, when Trish can't be around people for about a week. See January 13 post for address.

Send Trish A Card!

2009-01-13T16:32:00.002-05:00

I have a special request for you... As you think of Trish in the coming weeks, would you take the opportunity to send her a card of encouragement? I think it will perk up her spirit on a tough day to be flooded with cards from those that are praying and thinking of her. Maybe you want to send one a week for the next 4 weeks... So much of what we do anymore revolves around a keyboard and screen... but Trish won't have consistent access to technology...especially from 2/6-2/11 or so. So, I'd love to see her get a deluge of old-fashioned snail-mail.

You can send notes to:
Trish Wirt
c/0 ClearView Church
PO Box 629
New Albany, OH 43054

Thanks!

Treatment Begins...Please Keep Praying

2009-01-13T16:07:00.002-05:00

Thanks for praying for Trish as she recovered from surgery on 12/15. She is doing pretty well and she has been touched by the care and concern and prayer of so many of you.

Tomorrow Trish begins a series of adjustments to her medication and diet that will culminate in some tests and procedures in early February that will determine the strength of nuclear medicine treatment she will undergo. As we understand it, the treatment sequence involves going off of all thyroid medication (beginning) tomorrow, beginning a no-iodine diet towards the end of January, and then undergoing a series of tests leading up to taking a radioactive pill on February 6th that will require Trish to be isolated for 4-8 days (depending on strength of treatment necessary to kill any remaining cancer or suspicious tissues). We're hoping that Trish can resume taking thyroid medication and enjoying a normal diet sometime the week of February 9. We covet your prayers in the following ways:

Pray for complete healing. We're trusting God that full-body scans on February 5 and 6 will reveal no cancer anywhere else in her body and that any remaining tissues around the thyroid area can be treated with this treatment.
Pray for physical and emotional strength for Trish. Research she has done indicates that she will be extremely tired and battle a range of emotions and other side effects as she is off all medication that would normally perform thyroid functions.
Pray for wisdom about how to best approach the period of time that Trish can't be around people. We need to make plans to keep the kids away from mom, rearrange sleeping arrangements in our house, make special meals, and care for Trish as she won't feel well.
Pray that I would be a good husband and dad first and not allow the pressure of this significant time in our ministry journey to dominate my thoughts. Pray I would find a balance and strength to love my family well and advance ministry projects at the same time.
Pray God would use us as a strong testimony for Jesus as we interact with people in our community.

Thanks so much for standing with us on this leg of our journey.

Pray For Our Gathering Tomorrow!

2009-01-10T08:43:00.002-05:00

Sorry to not have posted in so long. Where does time go!

If you're reading this today... please pray for our gathering tomorrow (Gahanna YMCA, 9:30a.). I'm praying our whole team and even some people we've been inviting for some time will show up. I'm planning to share a specific plan that I feel God has put in my heart to prepare our group to launch ClearView Church strong on April 12, 2009. The days are short, there is much to be done, and I know there will be challenges for my family and others along this journey. If we can work this plan God had given, I am confident we will be prepared for God to do something significant on Easter! Please pray that I would communicate clearly and that our team would respond with unity and excitement around God's direction.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

2008-12-23T13:05:00.003-05:00

If you prayed for us and/or sent us a note of encouragement in the last week, I hope you see this so you can know how blessed we have been by you! God has been so richly at work through people and has blessed us with countless, visible displays of His goodness and love as new and old friends have prayed for us and with us, brought meals, watched kids, helped us with lagging ministry projects, and written notes on online forums or good, old-fashioned cards. We have been truly blessed by our ClearView family, local friends, and out-of-town friends and family. THANKS! We felt God's peace through your kindness.

Many of you have asked for an update on Trish. She is recovering well. She is able to get back to normal functioning a little more each day. She feels excessively tired and is experiencing some unwanted side effects of medicines she is taking, but we imagine both of these, while undesirable, are to be expected. Her spirits are good and she's been hard at work ensuring a special Christmas for our family. Please keep praying for her recovery, healing, and for increased energy levels.

A final item for prayer is complete healing from cancer. We are trusting God that the surgery removed all harmful tissues and that medicine will round out this treatment. We're not sure exactly what that means yet...but Trish meets with a doctor tomorrow that will help us better understand upcoming treatments. Thanks for keeping this in continued prayer.

Finally, please forgive us if we have not responded to your comment/post on Facebook or this blog or returned a phone call or e-mail. Know that we have gotten your blessing and take great meaning from it...we're just overwhelmed with all that is happening in our lives, the wonderful aspects of the Christmas season, and moving ministry projects forward. Please keep the good words coming! :)

Merry Christmas! Luke 1:37-38

New Season Of Prayer For Trish

2008-12-17T11:56:00.007-05:00

Hi faithful prayer friends. Please keep praying for Trish. She is recovering nicely...just tired and sore. However, we did find out today that her thyroid (removed on Monday) WAS cancerous. Lymph nodes around the thyroid that were also removed WERE NOT cancerous. So, there is good news:

We know surgery was the right thing to do and are thankful that God provided a quality surgeon to do her thryroidechtomy quickly.

This sort of cancer is highly treatable due to surgery and treatment options. Her surgeon seems to feel strongly that complete cure is quite likely with medicine she will begin taking soon.

Obviously, the bad news is that cancer is cancer and no one wants this. Please pray for:

Wisdom for Dr. Tallo (endocrinologist) and Dr. Sivard (surgeon/endocrinologist) as they devise Trish's treatment plan.
Complete healing.
Peace for Trish and our family.

Thank for praying. I believe God that "the works of God (will be) displayed in (Trish)" as He heals her (see John 9:3b, ESV).

Trish's Surgery Went Well... Please Keep Praying...

2008-12-15T11:42:00.005-05:00

Hi Friends,
Thanks for praying for Trish this a.m. Technology is amazing... so I can keep you posted on what's going on via blog and Facebook status updates. I just spoke with the surgeon... He said that:

Surgery went as well as could be expected.
He could see three of four para-thyroids (which is good. You need one to function properly...and Trish has at least three healthy ones. Danger is that sometimes these can be entwined in the thyroid...so at removal of thyroid it is necessary to remove these also...so the fact that they could be seen/not removed is a blessing).
He could clearly see the nerve that ensures vocal functioning. One concern in this surgery is that if this nerve is hidden...it can accidentally be cut or nicked and inhibit vocal functioning. So...he's confident this is not a concern in Trish's case.
Here's where the praise/prayer requests merge: When the doctor removed the nodule that is growing on Trish's thyroid...they sent this to the lab to test for cancer. Results of these preliminary tests came back "inconclusive". This is not a surprise...because this is one reason Trish chose to have the thyroid removed. So, I'm thanking God for clear discernment that we did the right thing. Surgery was necessary. PRAYER REQUEST is that the doctor said many times these inconclusive tissues are sent to specialists at the Mayo Clinic or John's Hopkins to try and really tell if the tissues are cancerous or not. It's too close to call at this point. They aren't normal but they aren't obviously cancerous either. So, pray that there is no cancer.
The doctor also removed some suspicious lymph nodes around the thyroid. He felt that these looked abnormal and if, by chance, there is some problem...He didn't want to have to do a second surgery.

So, bottom line is that Trish came through the surgery well, is in recovery now, and we ask you to please keep praying for 1) recovery, 2) acclimation to the medicine she'll have to take from this point on, and 3) a cancer-free report when tests come back in a week or so.

Thanks for praying!

Take a Look and Be Encouraged!

2008-12-12T14:22:00.003-05:00

I'm excited about this video that a team member made (pro-bono!) for us. If you're on this blog, I know you pray for us (THANKS!) and this video will give you food for praise to God for all He has done this year. It also gives some practical tips for how you can continue to help us in 2009.

Trish-Surgery on 12/15

2008-12-10T22:58:00.000-05:00

Our family would appreciate your prayer for Trish as she is scheduled to have her thyroid removed on Monday, December 15. She learned recently that biopsy results showed atypical cells and after several recommendations from different doctors, Trish has opted to have it removed.

We understand that surgery should take a few hours, she will stay over night in the hospital, and come home the next day. Recovery is supposed to be pretty quick with minimal pain.

Please pray with us:

To thank God for making a reputable surgeon available on a favorable time basis.
That the surgery would go well. Risks are that the thyroid sits on top of vocal cords. Pray for great skill for the surgeon.
That God would bless Trish with a speedy recovery and help doctors to regulate medicine quickly that will take over important thyroid functions.

2 Breakthroughs Today!

2008-12-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

We need some breaks from God. Launch day is drawing close (about 18 weeks!) and we need to see our team grow. Simply put...we need to see some decisive movement from God. So, I'm trying to pray that way! I'm praying for breakthroughs.

God gave two today:
1. A friend, that is now chairperson of her church's missions team, called to say this church is going to send ClearView a donation before they close out this budget year. This is an unexpected surprise!
2. Another friend called with a referral. He has been helping a man from Gahanna in his spiritual journey and told this gentleman about ClearView. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to minister to him and invite him to join our team.

Praise God for this movement today. Please pray with us for similar daily breakthroughs in coming weeks!

Help My Friends Plant Churches!

2008-12-06T14:27:00.002-05:00

Know anyone that lives in any of these areas? If they're looking for a church or need a spiritual influence in their lives...refer then to one of my friends planting around Columbus. I know we'd love for people to get out the word about ClearView... so I'm trying to do my part to assist my fellow church planters. Thanks for your assistance!

We're Almost Two Years In...

2008-12-04T21:51:00.002-05:00

A veteran pastor in our district asked me for a summary/update of our church starting journey to this point. So, I wrote him a quick report of highlights that came immediately to mind of our first (almost) two years in starting ClearView. Sometimes it's better to just write what comes out without a lot of filter or over-contemplation. Thought you might enjoy the summary. If you follow this blog or get our monthly (sometimes :) updates, you know this info. But, maybe you just want to skim and give a quick "Praise God" and prayer for God's continued movements to finalize our team and help us prepare for launch. Below is report:

December 2008
ClearView Church Update

My family and I (Tricia, Seth-5, Silas-2, Sara-8months) moved to northeastern Franklin County, OH (northeast Columbus) in February of 2007 to begin a new Grace Brethren Church from scratch. We felt led to this area for multiple factors:

There are thousands of people that don’t know or follow Jesus in every direction, all around us.
There was once a GBC in New Albany (one of our principle target communities) that closed. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and much prayer was invested in Rocky Ridge GBC by Northwest Chapel and the NCO district… so we felt it would be an opportunity for God to answer prayers prayed many years ago by beginning a new, thriving, GBC in New Albany today.
Our sponsor church, Northwest Chapel, desired to see a GBC on the northeast side of town. God called us to church planting and meshed our path with NWC.
We love the people of northeastern Franklin County.

Since moving to the area just under two years ago, we have sought to ingrain ourselves in the community. ClearView Church’s mission is to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission. A central value of this mission is to go where people are already gathered and be the light and hope of Jesus in those places. Significant highlights of this mission to this point are:

150 people in our backyard for an Operation Barnabas program this summer.
Over 70 people at the block party we hosted this past September.
Participation in numerous key festivals in our community where we have assisted community leaders with set-up/tear-down and served/loved people through offering free face-painting, hot chocolate, balloons, crafts/games for kids, water, etc. God has given us the opportunity to touch thousands of lives in New Albany and Gahanna through acts of kindness.
An invitation for me to be part of the New Albany Events board and help plan community activities.

As we have seeded our family into the activities of the community, God has opened doors and is teaching us how to be more effective missionaries. We look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus and our work with ClearView through being active in the community. God has opened the following doors to make contacts:

Serving as a block-watch captain in our neighborhood.
Serving as a room parent in Seth’s kindergarten class.
Coaching soccer in the community.
Hosting Backyard Bible Clubs and other events in our home.
Actively participating in Gahanna and New Albany Chamber of Commerce events/meetings.
“Renting office space” at gathering places like Caribou Coffee or Panera Bread.

Over the last 2 years, we’ve met and interacted with thousands of people. We’ve hung over 10,000 door hangers, participated in community events, worked our own contact making streams and worked hard to show Jesus’ love…making the most of every opportunity. Through these contacts, God has been building ClearView’s Launch Team. We currently meet for weekly worship gatherings at the Gahanna YMCA on Sunday mornings. On average, just over 30 people participate with us and we count 11 family units currently on our team. Together, we are preparing for ClearView’s “Grand Opening” gathering on April 12, 2009 (Easter Sunday).

We’re excited to see our team develop with quality, friendly people that jump in and serve freely, invite, give, pray for, and own the vision of ClearView Church with our family. As God brings team members, we’re seeking to build the infrastructure of a healthy Sunday morning ministry (in preparation for our launch service). God is providing leaders in the areas of worship, children’s ministry, guest welcome services, administration/finance, and set-up/tear-down. Praise God for the people He has brought to team ClearView!

As we move towards April 12, our family and our baby church could use your prayers in several targeted areas. Key requests for the next few months would be:

Spiritual intimacy for our family and launch team members.
That our family and our team would make a tangible difference in the spiritual climate of our target communities (we want to see people come to Jesus and lives transformed).
For adequate funding for 2009 salary and ministry and for adequate health insurance for our family.
That (a minimum) of 10 more families would join our team by the end of March, 2009.

If you would like to learn more about ClearView Church, check www.clearviewgrace.com. To learn more about our family and regular ministry updates/prayer requests, please visit: www.wirt-prayer-team.blogspot.com. To receive a monthly prayer update via e-mail, e-mail me at andy@clearviewgrace.com and put “add me to the prayer team” in the subject line.

Thanks for praying with us!

Worth Some Thought...

2008-12-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

Please pray for Trish

2008-12-04T11:18:00.001-05:00

Faithful blog readers... this is a note I sent to our ClearView team today. I'd appreciate your prayers as well for Trish! Thanks!

Would you pray with my family about some significant issues? Some of you know that Trish had a biopsy on her thyroid several weeks ago. This is a condition her endocrinologist has been watching for some time. Fortunately, cells on a large nodule growing on her thyroid are not cancerous at this time, but were diagnosed as "a-typical". The doctor feels this is a real danger and that her thyroid should be removed. Obviously, we are concerned about this for a variety of reasons and would ask you to pray with us...

Should Trish have surgery? Please pray for wisdom.
Naturally, Trish is very concerned about having to be on medication the rest of her life and potential, life-long side effects of having her thyroid removed. Please pray for comfort and peace.
As I shared a few weeks ago, our family needs to find new health insurance, beginning 1/1/09. We're looking into a variety of options...but, obviously, with the disclosure of a looming surgery, it is impossible to buy a personal plan and group plans are "max-rated". We feel pressured to try and have surgery before the end of the year... but also don't want to rush a decision on such an important issue. Please pray for wisdom and God's provision.

New Prayer Card Available!

2008-11-11T15:31:00.005-05:00

We'd love to get this in your hands to help you remember to pray for us daily or weekly. Please let me know (andy@clearviewgrace.com) how many you'd like and where to send it (them). Feel free to ask for enough to hand out to your small group!

Highlights From The Last Month or So...

2008-11-11T14:45:00.007-05:00

God is good and continues to open doors for us in northeastern Franklin County. Here are some highlights of recent ministry opportunities:

Seth finished his soccer season on October 13. He did well and had a lot of fun. We also connected well with families. Of special note was that we adjusted our end of season party plans (last year we tried to invite families to our home and it didn't work well). We decided to invite everyone to go to a pizza place together after the last game. 5 out of 7 families joined us for pizza and fun. This was a great chance to deepen relationships.
We've enjoyed good connections with neighbors. Standing at the bus top together and trick-or-treating have opened doors for communication. Trish is part of a group of ladies that go out to dinner together each month.
Trish and I enjoyed dinner with members/spouses of the local events board I am part of. This was another great opportunity to connect with people on a deeper level and share about our work with ClearView. The door was opened to discuss our work because ClearView was recognized and praised for significant involvement in community events. The board recognized and thanked us for our partnership in the Oktoberfest event.
As room parent in Seth's class, my job is to plan 3 parties per year and act as a liaison between Seth's teacher and other families. This has been a great privilege and opportunity to get to know people in the PTO, Seth's teacher, and other parents in his class. Our first party was on 10/31 and by all accounts, it was a success. It was great to work with other parents to pull this off (I'm not crafty, have little idea about games for kids, and my idea of a healthy snack is a pretzel...so it was great to have other parents lend input and help!).
As you know, 11/4/o8 (Election Day) was a significant day in our nation's history. ClearView handed out free Caribou Coffee at the YMCA polling location. It was exciting, for the first time, to be able to communicate to people that we meet at the Y every Sunday and invite them to join us. We had positive interaction with many people and gave out about 150 cups of coffee (around 15 gallons).
This past Saturday evening (11/8), ClearView held a team time. I was thrilled at the participation of this meeting. 10 out of 11 families on our team were able to attend the meeting, there was much positive interaction, and much excitement over ClearView's vision and what God is doing. These people get it, they are plugging in, and we anticipate a great movement of God together. GOD IS BRINGING US THE RIGHT PEOPLE to accomplish the vision of beginning a new church.

Thanks for praying... God is working!

We're Still Alive!

2008-11-11T14:33:00.003-05:00

Hey friends and prayer partners,
Sorry it has been almost a month since our last post. It's difficult to explain...but I've been so busy that this is one important area that has fallen by the wayside. Thanks to several that have inquired to see if this is still an active blog and if we're still in business! :)

We're here... working hard...continuing to make inroads into our community and build our launch team for ClearView. God has been good and continues to open doors and build our team. We're thankful for steady progress and what we believe is an exciting future.

I'll try and do a better job of posting regular news and prayer bites... thanks for being faithful to pray with us. God is working through your prayers!

Creepside Wasn't So Creepy!

2008-10-16T12:01:00.006-04:00

Our team had a great time last night at Gahanna's "Creepside" event. This "trick-or-treat" event for kids and families was sponsored by the Parks and Rec. department and hosted at Gahanna's new and beautiful Creekside park area. Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the warm weather and 50 booths/shops that participated. It was a great time of connecting with hundreds of families.

I am praising God today because I felt this was one of our most effective outreach efforts all year. Because of the type of event that it was (children stopping by our table to grab some candy and a glow-in-the-dark toy), it was natural to hand an invitation to our gatherings (or the Main Event) to the parents. We had many positive interactions with people! Many read the information on our card and several expressed interest in checking out one of our Sunday gatherings. It helped that the YMCA (where we meet on Sundays) is a visible location in Gahanna. I was also able to meet and have extended interactions with two opposing local representatives that are running for state representative offices from this district and meet several of the staff members of the Parks and Rec. offices (all good connections for future inroads into the community). In addition to the 500 or so invitations that we handed out, we were able to further relationships with several existing contacts.

Please pray that God would transform several positive interactions from last night into 1) people that would experience ClearView on a Sunday a.m. and 2) people that we can further impact for Jesus.

Thanks For Praying For Oktoberfest!

2008-10-08T14:48:00.013-04:00

Praise God for a great opportunity to serve and love people at New Albany's Oktoberfest on October 4. Here are some highlights from the day in pictures:

The day began with loading up our van with stuff we used for our booth and items we were loaning to the New Albany Events Board for use throughout the day. It was a special privilege not only to do our thing (see below), but also help provide resources for the event (tents, coolers, snow cone machine, etc.).

To thank ClearView for our partnership in providing resources for the event, the Events Board bought and placed a 3x5 banner on the main stage! What a blessing!

At the event, God provided the opportunity for us to sponsor 3, FREE!, inflatables for children to enjoy! Special thanks to John and Sandy McDonald (Plane Things) of Northwest Chapel for making this possible for us!

In addition to the inflatables, ClearView sponsored a booth that included face painting, colored hair spray, and array of OSU Football and fall tattoos, balloons, and crafts for children to enjoy.

We were able to connect with many people (some new and some existing contacts) and give out numerous invites to our Sunday gatherings and the Main Event!

I was personally elated at several factors of the day:

God provided amazing help for the activities we sponsored. Over 40 different people from at least 6 different churches helped us pull off this large scale outreach event. I was so proud of our team, again, as almost every member volunteered in some form throughout the day. Even though we had numerous activities going in several locations, everything ran smoothly and there was always adequate help to get the job done well.
Through the connection God has opened for me to serve on the Events Board, we were able to have a significant and visible presence at the event. ClearView is gaining a reputation in our community as a new church that loves and serves (two things Jesus was known for) freely.
As our team debriefed the next morning, the story was told of a child that came through our booth and enjoyed face painting and crafts. She then participated in several other attractions at the festival and returned to our booth to another craft saying, "This is the best booth at the whole event!"

I know that many of you are praying regularly for us. Thanks! As always, our continual prayer is that 1) God would use us to influence people towards Jesus, and that 2) God would lead us to people that would be willing to share our vision of beginning a new, Bible-teaching, mission-oriented church in northeastern Franklin County. Please be persistent in begging God to continue moving in these areas.

Slideshow of Oktberfest Pictures

Could We Love 10,000 People In 30 Days?

2008-10-08T11:30:00.005-04:00

A thought dawned on me last week...and quickly became a prayer. Once again, God has opened up doors for astronomical impact for our growing ClearView team from October 4 to November 4. This past Saturday, ClearView had a major presence at New Albany's Oktoberfest. Several thousand people attended this event and most came through our booth or were directly affected by our service. On October 15, we will be ministering to children and families by giving out free glow-in-the-dark toys and candy at Gahanna's Creepside event. Over 2,500 children are expected at this event. On October 27, we're serving as a sponsor for the Main Event (see previous blog post), where 15,000 are expected to attend. Finally, on Nov.4th, we'll be serving free Caribou Coffee to thousands of voters at the Gahanna YMCA polling station.

Each of these opportunities present great opportunities to tell people about ClearView and invite them to one of our Sunday gatherings. We could easily have the opportunity to directly touch 10,000 people in this 30 day period! Please pray with us that God would use us as a loving reflection of Jesus, help us plant seeds of Jesus' love and grace, and find people to round out our launch team. This 30-day period of time is absolutely crucial for us to touch many lives before winter hits and people hibernate until Spring.

ClearView To Sponsor Main Event

2008-10-08T11:13:00.005-04:00

This is one time where this Nittany Lion backer will be rooting for some Buckeyes! The Main Event, on October 27, features 3 popular, current Ohio State football players and Coach Jim Tressel sharing their testimonies and faith in Jesus Christ. The biblical message of forgiveness and hope through Jesus Christ will be clearly presented by these stars. When the event was held in 2006, 13,000 people attended and organizers are praying for 15,000 this year.

As a church sponsor, our role is to try and get out thousands of invites and door hangers, pray for the event, provide people to be trained in follow-up, and to follow-up with people assigned to us from the New Albany/Gahanna area that make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ at the event.

Praise God with us for the opportunity to co-sponsor this great event. Please pray with me that God would use this event to train several people from ClearView in how to share the Gospel and begin a discipling relationship with people...and that we would be able to follow up effectively with new believers that live in our target area. Wouldn't it be incredible to glean new team members from fresh Christ-followers as a result of God's work through the Main Event!? Pray with us...

You Need To See This Movie!

2008-10-05T19:13:00.002-04:00

Pray For Oktoberfest

2008-09-18T23:08:00.010-04:00

I'm excited about ClearView's participation in New Albany's Oktberfest festival on October 4th. This is a great family event with lots of fun things for all ages. Last year's Oktoberfest was the first event we hosted a booth at and we connected with many people. I'm hoping for even greater numbers of connections this year. Our plans are to provide inflatables, tattoos, colored hair spray, crafts, balloons and more for children at the event.

We've probably bit off a bit more than we can chew ... so I need you to pray with us that God will provide needed resources so we can touch thousands of people with Jesus' love.

We have a contact that has volunteered to provide inflatables to us for the event. This is a great blessing... but there are some details that need to come together for this to work out. Please pray that God works out these issues.
Pray that we find enough volunteers to help us cover the events we've promised to provide.
Please pray that God would lead us to teammates and be a positive testimony for Jesus in our community.

Thanks for praying with us! For more information on Oktoberfest (or to volunteer!), click here.

Room Mom! YEAH!

2008-09-17T16:33:00.005-04:00

I found out yesterday that I got selected (most likely, no one else applied! :) as the "Room Parent" for Seth's Kindergarten class by the PTO leadership team at Seth's elementary school. I'm sure it's a bit unusual for a man to fill this post... but I'll give it a shot. Anyone have creative party ideas?

I'm not sure I can plan a great party for Kindergartners... but I'm really excited about the opportunities this will give Trish and I to connect to other parents of children in Seth's class. When it became apparent that Seth would need to attend public school, Trish and I made a commitment to be involved. Praise God for this open door to get to know new people and be sure we know what's going on in Seth's classroom.

Would you pray that God would provide opportunities to share Jesus and find teammates for ClearView from these new contacts? Thanks!

Block Party A Success!

2008-09-17T16:15:00.006-04:00

We praise God for a great block party this past Saturday (9/13). Blessings from God were:

Participation. Over 70 people were there at some point throughout the evening.
A diverse crowd. We had people from diverse ethnic backgrounds and religions. Our neighborhood is truly a melting pot and it was interesting to see people of Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Indian, and Hispanic origins mix. We also were able to connect on a deeper level with atheists, Hindus, adherents to Sufism, Mormons, Roman Catholic, Christ-followers, and irreligious people. What a joy to try to be a light for Jesus and cultivate deeper relationships with many people that don't know Jesus.
Help. Several of our friends and teammates pitched in to help provide food, set-up, and clean up.
Positive feedback. Here are comments from two neighbors:

Thank you so much for have the block party! it was great! sorry we had to leave. the twins needed a bath and go to bed! We had a really nice time!

Andy and Trish, thanks so much for hosting such a great event tonight. The kids were just worn out from their playing excursion and went right to bed without our normal 20 treks downstairs for "one more question!"...It was nice for (my husband) and I to get an opportunity to met some more neighbors too so we really appreciated it. It's great to have neighbors like both of you around.

Please praise God with us for a great turnout and successful event. Please pray with us that God would use us to lead people to Jesus in our neighborhood.

Block Party This Weekend!

2008-09-09T21:08:00.004-04:00

We'd appreciate your prayer for the block party we're hosting this weekend. We're looking forward to hosting our neighbors and friends in our backyard for a cookout, some games, and good conversation. We hope to build on last year's success (about 50 people) and meet some new people, deepen existing relationships, and build credibility with people we see almost every day. Many of them now know of our work... so this is a great opportunity for us to show people we are real people that care about them and want to serve them with love.

Please pray that:

many would come...
God would be pleased with our efforts to love people in a practical way...
relationships would be deepened...
foundations would be laid for sharing the Gospel with those that don't know Jesus...

Pray for Changed Lives

2008-08-20T13:15:00.002-04:00

I'm amazed at all the things God has done and all the prayers He has answered this summer. We have had absolutely amazing ministry opportunities, have loved thousands of people in practical ways, seen our team continue to develop, and are enjoying weekly worship gatherings in our new home at the YMCA. God is good and has been doing significant miracles.

In case you're wondering (and even if you're not)...here's an honest look into Andy's heart. As excited as I am about all God is doing (and much more that we can't even see or understand)...I'm constantly haunted by the question, "When are we going to see multiple people come to Christ and see real fruit in changed lives/disciples made?" Part of me knows that this is a process--relationships take time to develop and a missional church takes time to get off the ground and train missionaries to impact their world. But, another part of me fears that all of our activity might be just that...activity. I don't want to look back on this year and see a lot of great community involvement and not be able to see evidence of numbers of people coming to Jesus.

In that light, I'm amazed at the opportunities God continues to bring to build relationships with people (most of whom I'm confident don't know Jesus):

the doors are wide open for involvement with community event planners and business leaders...
soccer season is starting up and I have the privilege of coaching Seth's team again
Seth starts Kindergarten next week which will open the door for us to connect with countless new people through his school
our team is growing...each of them have a web of relationships we want to work through
we're planning a block party in September...

There was a time in my ministry where I had to work to think of people in my network of relationships that were unchurched. I'm ashamed to say there were times when I couldn't think of more than 5 or 6 people. Now I could list hundreds. I'm thankful for the connections God has given us and the significant doors He has opened.

Would you pray with us that God would help us get to the next level with people that don't yet know Jesus?

Pray for redemptive conversations.
Pray for deepened relationships.
Pray for opportunities to show Jesus' love to people in times of pain or transition.
Pray God would lead us to spiritually searching people.
Pray that ClearView wins people to Christ and takes shape as a church full of changed lives.

ClearView Impacts The Taste Of New Albany

2008-08-20T12:43:00.009-04:00

Our team enjoyed the opportunity to help set up, serve as hosts, and clean up at New Albany's annual Taste event this past Sunday (8/17). This was a beautiful evening of great food, people enjoying spending time with each other, and a great jazz concert.

In order to keep building relationships in our community, I served on the Chamber of Commerce's Taste planning team. I wanted to be of service, so I volunteered our team in some areas that needed covered. What I didn't anticipate was that those that were slated to help clean up wouldn't show. I was so proud of our group as they went right to work to clean up over 600 chairs and 60 tables and collecting trash from the event. Our group worked tirelessly...several of us being there from 1p. until almost 10p.

Between the Taste Event and concert, there were several thousand people in New Albany's Market Square area. Our purpose was to serve with love in a practical way. This was a phenomenal opportunity to greet, in some cases talk with, and get drinks for people we want to love to Jesus. Many of us had good opportunities to interact with people about ClearView. We met new people and deepened connections with some existing contacts. Praise God!

Please pray with us that God would connect us to teammates and spiritually searching people we can minister to as we serve with love in our community.

FREE Promo. For ClearView!

2008-08-11T11:39:00.002-04:00

God has opened another phenomenal opportunity for us to promote ClearView church...FREE! A few weeks ago, I was contacted "out of the blue" by one of our local AM Christian radio stations (WRFD 880 AM, Columbus) and asked if I would be willing to be featured as one of their "pastors of the week" in August. Easy question! The opportunity for ClearView is this- one of the benefits of this program is that I was interviewed for 5 separate 3.5 minute spots that will air each day this week (respectively) at 3p. Each spot features several mentions of ClearView's website and information about our weekend gatherings at the YMCA. PRAISE GOD!

In their promotional material, WRFD mentions that up to 40% of their audience does not attend a local church. WOULD YOU PRAY WITH US THAT GOD WOULD USE THESE RADIO SPOTS THIS WEEK TO CONNECT US WITH UNCHURCHED PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY?!

To listen in, feel free to check out WRFD's "Pastor Of The Week" link. Scroll down until you see my picture and the ClearView logo and then click on each day of the week. Pray as you listen! Thanks!

Current Prayer Items...

2008-08-01T16:26:00.002-04:00

We'd appreciate your prayer for...

An appointment we have set for Sunday evening to follow up with a man that committed to follow Jesus at our Operation Barnabas program on Monday night. Pray that God would overcome language barriers and help us clearly communicate what it means to be a Christ-follower.
This Sunday's gathering. Pray for new people to check us out as a result of our significant outreach efforts in July.
Saturday night and Tuesday morning, we have the opportunity to meet with two different families that are praying about joining our team. Pray God would move their hearts to join our mission and give us wisdom in communicating clearly the vision God has given us for ClearView.
Saturday (tomorrow) morning, I am speaking to a group of men at the Grace Brethren Church in Pataskala. Pray that God would work in me and through me as I communicate with these men.
In the interest of our family and continuing to focus on building a team for ClearView, Trish and I have decided that I will not accept a contract as a school bus driver for the '08-'09 school year. This is good for my schedule... but also means we're asking God to provide through other means for shortfalls in our family budget and fund raising for ClearView. Pray for wisdom in looking for other work that would be less of a time commitment than bus driving (25 hours per week!)...and fruitful fund raising efforts this fall.

Thanks!

Amazing...

2008-07-29T16:24:00.023-04:00

It's hard for me to describe the impact Operation Barnabas (OB) had on me, my family, our teammates and our community in their short visit here this past Sunday and Monday (July 27-28). It was unique in that Trish and I have spent 11 summers (combined) being ON Operation Barnabas serving other churches and communities where we've traveled. To have them here, packing our living room, mixing with our teammates, and loving people in our community-- it was great to be on the receiving end of their ministry.

Much of my summer has been spent dreaming and planning for these two days. That may sound a little dramatic, but I knew that we needed this visit from them and that if we planned well and God answered prayer (which we knew He would)... we could really love thousands of people in Jesus' name and advance awareness of ClearView in a significant manner. So...here's what happened...

OB arrived on Sunday afternoon. They met our family and we quickly got out in the community serving and loving people. A group of 5 or so went through businesses in a local strip mall and asked to clean bathrooms or windows. They had some excellent interactions and were able to pray with a few people. Another group served snow cones at the YMCA and had a great time interacting with families and Y staff. A large group helped us assemble 1,000 summer fun bags (ClearView info., invitation to Monday's program, flavored teas, and candy) to give out door-to-door on Sunday night. Just to tell you how much a group of motivated teenagers can get done... they mowed through this project in about 2 hours and were looking for more things to do before the afternoon ended. We were actually able to get an additional 500 piece mailing together as well (BONUS!). When we did similar bags in the winter, it took my family a whole week (literally) to assemble about 700 bags! During this time, the rest of the team was out in 3 different neighborhoods handing out ClearView information and inviting people to come to our Family Fun Night on Monday.

Dinner consisted of lasagna, salad, and bread. We've never fed almost 50 people (including some of our teammates that stopped by for dinner) at one time... so this was fun. Trish did a great job coordinating cooking in our and 3 neighbors' ovens and the food was great. Our family and our team enjoyed interacting with these quality young people. Their attitudes are great, they pursue people in conversation, they help with chores like cleaning up, they are wonderful with children, and they exude love for Jesus. It made it easy to remember why I invested 5 summers of my life leading OB teams... these students are the leaders of tomorrow and each one of them has the potential to change the world.

On Sunday evening, we loaded the whole team on the bus and went out to 3 different neighborhoods around the YMCA where ClearView meets. In about an hour and a half, OB hung about 800 of our Summer Fun bags on doors and had some good interactions with people they encountered. Again, it took me over a month to get out the winter bags we had prepared...so I was elated to touch so many homes in such a short time. At this point in our church planting work, we're in the business of mass contacts... and God provided a way to get this done big time with OB! After a busy day, we enjoyed some Graeter's ice cream in our back yard ("Thanks," Mark Brock!).

Monday was just as fast-paced and eventful. When the team arrived in early afternoon, we split them into groups again. One team finished hanging the remaining 200 bags and several hundred additional door hangers, helping us make repeat contacts in several neighborhoods. Another group went to the YMCA and served there- some painting, some landscaping, and some giving out free snow cones. A final group worked for the Village of New Albany service department, helping with a brush clearing project. I enjoyed watching the students working with smiles, always willing to go the extra mile to help, and interacting with those around them (inviting them to the program, asking if they could pray for them about anything, etc.). After a hard afternoon of work, we enjoyed dinner together at a local restaurant.

Monday night was the highlight of OB's visit. Our family had worked together with friends Beth and Luke Fields to invite as many people in our neighborhood as we could to what we billed a "Family Fun Night". The event would include an Operation Barnabas program, games, a water slide (thanks Powell Grace!), and free snow cones and cotton candy. I e-mailed many contacts I've made in the area over the last year or so, and I even figured out how to create a Facebook event and used that as a tool to invite people! We also made up 1,000 fliers and by the time OB was done on Monday afternoon... all had been distributed in local neighborhoods.

It was an amazing scene... by the end of the evening there were more than 150 people in our backyard! God came through big time and people showed up from all sorts of networking streams. Our friends invited friends that came. People from soccer teams I had coached, people that we met at the pool, people that had gotten fliers, people from the neighborhood, even a family I met at Creekside all came. Everyone had a great time. Parents were elated at free stuff for their kids. The children present enjoyed the free treats, loved the OB program, and enjoyed the water slide...even on a cool evening (for July!). The most important event of the evening was spiritual movement in people's lives... at least 8 children and one adult invited Jesus to forgive them of their sins and lead their lives. Praise God!

As I reflect back on OB's short visit, I'm so thankful for many things:

Our neighbors noticed...It's not every day there is a large blue bus pulling in and out of our street several times. They were impressed by the students and OB enhanced our credibility with people as they played with their kids. One neighbor came up to me and asked (out of the blue)... "At the end of your e-mails every week, you put 'Looking for Teammates'...what do you mean by that?"
It was really neat for our team to see such a turn out at one of our events. We sense God is at work and there is real excitement about the movement we have seen this summer.
So much was accomplished... helping us reach large goals for contact making that we can't meet on our own. Plus, their hard work for community organizations advanced our relationships with these important people and helps us lay a foundation for future ministry possibilities.
People in the community are noticing us... As he was getting a snow cone, one child at the YMCA pool remarked to an OB student... "Oh... so you are the same church that put candy on my door last night!"
Heaven rejoiced at the result of Monday's program! Pray for wisdom and opportunities as we follow up with those we know of that made decisions for Jesus!

Thanks for praying for this weekend's ministries. There is MUCH to praise God for!

OB Makes An Impact

2008-07-28T23:44:00.002-04:00

It's late and I'm exhausted... so I won't write much now. But, I know many of you faithful blog readers have been praying about Operation Barnabas' visit to ClearView's target area and I wanted to give you a quick update. I'll try and be more complete tomorrow with pictures, etc.

In a nutshell, God did amazing things in the last two days. Thousands of contacts were made, much work was done in expanding our partnerships with community organizations, we had over 150 people in our backyard tonight for a Family Fun Night, and there were at least 8 people that accepted Jesus as their Saviour as a result of tonight's program.

If you were praying for OB's visit/ministry with ClearView... please praise God. He worked in great ways...beyond our expectations, and did amazing things. More tomorrow...

PRAISE GOD!

Pray...OB Visits ClearView on 7/28!

2008-07-25T11:44:00.003-04:00

We are working hard to plan for Operation Barnabas' visit this coming Sunday and Monday. We're preparing to give out THOUSANDS of fliers and give aways and do servant evangelism type projects in our community. Perhaps the biggest event (we'll see how God works...) is a program we're planning in our back yard on Monday night (7/28 at 7p.). If you're on Facebook, check out the event details here. I'm asking God for 200 people to pack our back yard that evening and show the neighborhood that God is really up to something at ClearView. We've invited tons of people that may not know Jesus and tons of churched friends from all over Columbus.

Please pray with us for God's great work on Sunday and Monday. Pray that fliers and literature would land in the hands of spiritually searching people... or those looking for a church. Pray that OB would tangibly impact the community as they serve with Jesus' love. Pray that many would come to the program on Monday night and that Christ followers AND curious people would be touched for Jesus. Thanks!

I'd appreciate your prayer...

2008-07-22T16:13:00.002-04:00

I don't often mention personal matters here... but this is an easy one. This afternoon I got one of those dreaded calls from a company that thought someone had used my credit card fraudulently. Indeed, someone has my name, address, and the number of the credit card I use for ClearView expenses. Thank God this person caught this and called me. I went immediately to my bank and found out that I will have about 4 or 5 charges to dispute. I'm not sure about how much as this information is not available yet (charges have been approved but not posted...so we can't see how much they are actually for).

I have a busy week this week... I'm trying to get ready for this weekend's gathering AND do tons of stuff to prepare for Operation Barnabas' visit to our target area. Please pray that God will help this distraction pass easily with minimal cost and time. Thanks!

Thanks, Grace Church Ladies!

2008-07-22T14:06:00.006-04:00

We enjoyed spending time with some ladies from our previous church in Macedonia, OH this past weekend! The ladies "divided and conquered" and helped us with two important ministry projects:

Cindy, Peggy, and Roseanne helped Trish and I hand out around 350 Snow Cones (over 150 pounds of ice!) at the YMCA pool on Saturday afternoon. It was fun to bless people with a free gift that they really wanted (something cold) on a hot day. The staff at the Y was also excited about our work. We made many positive contacts and put smiles on hundreds of faces!
Two of the ladies stayed back at our house (with my sister, Katie) and put together an over 900 piece mailing. We are sending letters and information about our work to each member of the Gahanna and New Albany Chambers of Commerce. Having Dorothy and Darlene help Katie with the mailing was a huge time-saver for our team.

It was a blessing to also have these women with us in our Sunday morning worship gathering. Thanks for a great weekend, ladies!

Please pray that the contacts we made this weekend would result in people moving forward in their spiritual journey and joining ClearView's team!

Pray For Outreach Efforts The Next Two Weekends

2008-07-18T16:45:00.003-04:00

We have a ministry team coming in each of the next two weekends. Pray for effectiveness.

This weekend, a small group of ladies from Grace Church (Macedonia, OH) will be spending some time with us on Saturday and joining our worship gathering on Sunday. We'll enjoy these fun ladies and this blast from the past. On Saturday afternoon, they are going to hand out free snow cones at the YMCA pool and help us assemble a 950 piece mailing to local Chamber of Commerce members. Pray that snow cones and letters land in receptive hands. We're hoping that the opportunity to serve and love people at the YMCA will enhance our ability to invite people to our worship gathering...since it is also at the same facility!
Next weekend, Operation Barnabas will be helping ClearView make contacts in our communities on Sunday and Monday, July 27-28. Obviously, this is a huge opportunity for us to make thousands of contacts. Pray God gives the best plan and provides the resources to use these quality young people most effectively. Pray many positive contacts are made for Jesus...and ClearView.

Thanks for praying... exciting days now... and exciting days ahead!

New High!

2008-07-13T15:57:00.002-04:00

I want to give a HUGE public praise to God for the attendance at our worship gathering this morning. 40 people joined us at the YMCA (our second Sunday there) for worship, teaching, and fellowship. A few special notes:

2 ladies came that received an invitation from some Driven Conference participants.
1 couple came due to an invitation they received from a woman that attended Driven. These ladies work together in Gahanna.
Several friends we've been inviting came to visit for the first time.
Several well-wishers from other churches came to see what we were up to at the YMCA.

All in all it was a great morning. Guest worship leader, John Ward, did a great job; kids loved the children's ministry; people enjoyed meeting new friends; and people seemed to connect to the teaching from John 8:1-11.

As you finish reading this post, would you just take time to praise God for the favor He showed us today? Please pray we'd be wise in follow-up and that God would assimilate some of those there today onto our Launch Team. Thanks for praying with us. God is moving...

Fantastic 4th!

2008-07-08T10:37:00.013-04:00

It is hard for me to even summarize all my thoughts about God's work through our July4th ministries in New Albany. God was present in such a real way, so many prayers were answered, and hundreds (maybe thousands) of lives were impacted. It would probably be best for me to just walk through the events of the day as briefly as possible.

We started at 9a, with about 7 of our ClearView teammates helping the New Albany Events Board organize parade participants as they arrived. We helped entrants find their place in the parade formation, helped with traffic control, and got our own group in the right place and ready to walk in the parade. Cherylin and Beth helped people get oriented, David ended up being one of the marshals along the parade route, I got to play traffic cop for an hour (a great way to meet people! :), and Doug and Stephanie ended up carrying the lead banner through the parade (complete with ClearView t-shirts!). This all was an amazing opportunity to connect with the Event Board staff. They raved about our people and what a great help we were to the day.

After helping to set up the parade, our team and friends then enjoyed walking the parade route as part of the parade. We carried our new banner advertising our gathering time at the YMCA (see picture at top of page), handed out hundreds of communication pieces about ClearView, gave out over 1300 4th of July themed super-balls to kids, and 1,000 pieces of 4th of July candy. This was a great opportunity to connect with new people and people we have met in the past. There were several times throughout the weekend where people commented on our involvement in the parades and community activities. New Albany residents our beginning to know who we are and that we love the community and want to serve people in practical ways. How exciting.

God saved the best part of the day for last. Through our growing partnership with the New Albany Events Board, ClearView's booth was the main attraction for children at the pre-fireworks festival. God led us to plan big and it is a good thing we did. Here are some of the amazing stats. and ways God worked in the 3 hour festival:

We gave out over 500 balloons and went through over a full tank of helium
4 ClearView team members/friends painted faces non-stop. The line outside of our tent for face-painting was a constant 50 people deep.
2 ClearView team members/friends went through over 40 cans of colored hair spray (see model, Seth).
2 ClearView friends put on 4th of July related tattoos on kids for almost 3 hours.
Hundreds of kids enjoyed making simple crafts we provided (beaded bracelets, coloring flags, 4th of July sticker projects, etc.)

All in all, we loved on over 500 kids and their families, had countless positive interactions with families, and accomplished the first part of our mission (loving people!) in Jesus' name.

My heart was overfilled with praise to God for this amazing outpouring of His grace on us. A few musings:

Last year our family attended the parade and pre-fireworks festival. I remember being amazed by the thousands of people that enjoyed these events and wondering "how do we get involved here and impact all of these people?" Fast forward one year... not only did God give us the favor to be involved in these events...He allowed us to be integral in their success.
A major highlight and breakthrough for me came in the form of strong indication that we are penetrating New Albany. While the parade was setting up, Ron, the Events Board chair, pulled me aside and invited me to join the board. What a miracle. Since we moved here 15 months ago, I've been praying and looking for God's direction in how to break into a community like New Albany. Here it is. The Events Board is filled with influential people and the events they plan are the times during the year when the most people from the community are gathered. Being invited onto their team is a huge victory of God and an open door for influence with the influencers in our affluent community.
Our relationships with people are deepening. One story involves one of the friendliest people I have ever met. We met at the pool last year and renewed conversations this year. We saw this woman on the evening of July 4th, and Trish was able to have a significant extended conversation with her. She shared deep struggles in her life and she and Trish were able to connect at a personal level.
God supplied help to us for these events in supernatural ways. Our team is stepping up huge to help make these things happen. However, with several of our families out of town for the holiday weekend, and such large projects undertaken... we needed significant help from people outside of our team. In an amazing miracle, God brought 10 people to help on Friday evening...some of whom I had just met the weekend before at Driven...some of whom I had never met before! There is no way Friday night's ministries could have happened without these new friends!

What a day. My dad, as I was relaying the events of the day to him, summed our 4th of July well. He said, "Sounds like God is really answering prayer." Yep! Praise God!

ClearView Moves Into The YMCA!

2008-07-08T10:23:00.006-04:00

It has been a LONG time in coming, but this past Sunday we enjoyed our first worship gathering at the Gahanna YMCA! What a joy it was to utilize this new space and fantastic facility. It was great to see our team arrive early, work together, and be done setting up in under 15 minutes! This is such an ideal facility for us to meet in... it's affordable (about $125/week!), visible in our target communities, has dedicated children's areas already set up for what we need, there is plenty of space, and chairs and tables are already present. All we have to do is arrange some things, bring in signage, and eventually we'll need to find/buy an audio/visual system. Would you join me in praising God for this great facility!

The challenge now becomes filling up the space! Would you pray with us that God would fill our empty chairs? Pray that

God would bless our outreach efforts,
That we would see people come to know Jesus,
That people that have said they would come see us at the YMCA would,
That we would effectively serve and love the staff and board of the YMCA (picture at right is me with YMCA Ex. Dir. Chris Angellatta),
and that God would lead us to teammates.

Thanks!

Some Godworks For July 4th!

2008-07-01T14:54:00.002-04:00

I'm stoked (not a word I usually use...and probably too outdated to be "cool"...but its how I feel so seemed appropriate!) about Friday (July 4th). In short, ClearView is walking in New Albany's parade that a.m. and serving at the pre-fireworks festival that evening. This is New Albany's largest annual event and event planners are estimating 20,000-30,000 people in the town center area that evening.

Some praise notes:

God is bringing together plenty of help for our efforts. I was concerned about this because several of our families are out of town. But, our team is stepping up to the plate big-time and God is bringing new friends to us that are willing to help...some that I just met at Driven this past weekend. Amazing.
We have the opportunity to serve our city while communicating about ClearView. We will be loaning out 5 people to events planners to help organize the parade participants that morning AND I just found out that two of our people will have the opportunity to carry the LEAD New Albany banner along the parade route! It has been so fun to serve those in charge of these events. They are not accustomed to people offering to serve unsolicited...I love that we can do that and meet a need in Jesus' name.
We'll be one of the main attractions for kids and families at the festival that runs before the fireworks. We have some free giveaways and will be doing face-painting, tattoos, colored hair spray, crafts, etc. Should be fun and a GREAT opportunity to interact with many families.

God has truly given us favor in the lead up to this big day. I praise Him for this. My heart is full of thanksgiving. Would you pray God would use us to touch many lives for Jesus and lead us to teammates?

Movement In Teammate Area?

2008-07-01T14:38:00.004-04:00

You're tired of hearing me ask for prayer for teammates. I understand! But, I just talked to our team about praying persistently this weekend (see Luke 11:5-11)... so I better keep at it.

I've learned to be slow to think I can put my finger on what God is doing in building our team. It is an intricate process fraught with ups and downs. God is working on His time table and perfect blending of people. I have learned that its not up to me what happens or WHEN it happens.

However, I sense, over the last 6 weeks or so, God is up to something. There is more interest in and awareness of ClearView than ever. This is true among churched and unchurched people in our area. More Grace Brethren people in our community now (finally) know we're here. Our friendships are growing with other believers that we can network through to find teammates. And, we've made more contacts with people that Jesus loves that don't yet know Him than in any period of our (short) history. There are people out there thinking and praying about teaming with us... I can sense it.

Please pray that God would draw people to us that He's appointed to our work. To paraphrase Matthew 9:37-38...The "harvest" truly is great...and the workers truly are few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of drawing people in northeastern Franklin County to Himself and ask Him to to send out more workers for His fields. By God's grace, those He brings to us will work in His fields. We just need to see God move to gather His team.

"Big Give" Turns Out HUGE For ClearView!

2008-07-01T14:08:00.008-04:00

I was elated on Saturday (6/28) as 56 participants from the Driven Conference assisted ClearView with contact making in the New Albany and Gahanna areas. In a nut shell, the concept was this: each person was given $10, formed into groups of 5, and then each group was challenged to creatively invest their collective $50 to make as many contacts for ClearView as possible.

I'll be honest... I didn't expect that many of these fantastic young adults to participate. This event was held during their afternoon free time, and they could have just as easily headed to the gym, took a nap, or enjoyed some time with new friends. Yet, in the end, most of the conference participants served in the Big Give in some way. Groups decided on their own what to do- some bought water, others Popsicles, one group even included some treats for dogs. Then they found places where people were gathered (ball parks, shopping centers, YMCA, etc.), smiled, and gave out the free stuff with ClearView information attached.

I had the privilege of hearing their stories when they returned. I praised God as I heard stories of groups that worked as a team, people that persevered when they were persecuted, and young people that stepped out of their comfort zone. Some groups were able to pray with people they encountered and many, many people were blessed. I'm sure at least 500 ClearView info. pieces were given out!

I was blessed to interact with these young people and so excited about their work for Jesus and ClearView in our community. Two neat stories:

I got a note from one of my friends and contacts at the YMCA sharing about how blessed they were to have one of the Big Give groups there washing windows and taking out trash, etc. I've been sharing Jesus with this friend and it was so neat to hear his excitement over these young people.
Another group was buying ice cream for people in downtown New Albany. They ended up buying a cone for the neighbors that live behind us. I've shared Jesus with the husband of this family and the daughter was impacted by our Bible Club last year. We've been inviting them repeatedly to our gatherings. It was so great to have them blessed by someone else as well!

Praise God for the Big Give. Please pray that this effort would translate into guests at our first few gatherings at the YMCA (beginning this Sunday, July 6) and that God would continue to form ClearView's launch team.

The "Big Give" Comes To The New Albany Area

2008-06-23T16:57:00.002-04:00

Be praying this Saturday... A group of young adults from the Driven Conference are going to be coming over to the New Albany area for the "Big Give". In a nut shell, each participant will be given $10, grouped into teams of five, and each team will be challenged to invest their collective $50 to impact as many people and make as many contacts for ClearView as they can.

Pray for great experiences for each participant and that God would lead them to bless people in Jesus' name in our community. Pray for positive contacts for ClearView.

For more information, click here.

ClearView At Creekside!

2008-06-23T16:41:00.003-04:00

Gahanna's Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival is Gahanna's largest annual event with an estimated 50,000 people enjoying great music, food, and vendors throughout the third weekend in June. I'd been praying about how to be involved and communicate about ClearView with this huge audience. God answered this prayer when I found out about the Gahanna Area Chamber of Commerce's Business To Consumer Expo. held this past Saturday afternoon from 12-6p.

ClearView set up a booth and had a great time interacting with hundreds of people. I was able to meet and communicate about ClearView with many people and connect with some previous contacts. There was great excitement among several people about a new church in the area and God allowed me to talk with several families that are looking for a church. It was thrilling to be able to invite people to the YMCA for our first gathering there on July 6th. I'm hoping this will enhance our ability to attract people and be able to connect with people for the first time.

Of special note: God gave me the opportunity to further our relationship with the Chamber's leadership team by sharing our helium tanks with them.

Please pray that God leads these contacts to check out one of our gatherings and join our team. Thanks!

New High!

2008-06-02T15:42:00.002-04:00

Praise God for 25 people at ClearView's worship gathering (in our home) on 6/1!

Please pray for our group as we have our first official Launch Team planning meeting next Sunday 6/8. We're excited to communicate vision, share our strategy/process, invite involvement, and get input from our group on strategic decisions we must make in coming months as we move toward a "Grand Opening" this October. Pray for each family to be able to attend and other guests to come and just check out what we're doing.

We Need Miracle-Grow

2008-05-30T12:25:00.003-04:00

I've been dreaming about a goofy, but hopefully effective, summer prayer campaign.

I just (finally!) finished the spring landscaping at our house. I made the mistake of planting way too many small, weak, begonias. I should have bought fewer flowers and invested in bigger, healthier plants. I'm left with some tiny sprouts that are going to struggle without just the right light, water, and hefty doses of MIRACLE GRO throughout the summer.

It didn't take long for my bright mind (?) to make the connection between these beautiful little flowers and ClearView Church. These small plants have much potential to be spectacular with the right care and some MIRACLE GRO. Without the right care and fertilizer, they'll wilt under hot sun and the little feet of two young boys tramping all over them. Like these begonias, ClearView has a start, is growing, is seeing God move, and has much potential. But, we also need a healthy dose of MIRACLE-GROW this summer.

Would you pray with us for Ephesians 3:20 type miracles? Specifically, pray:

that God would provide us with the right worship leader.
that God would help us build a great children's ministry.
that God would lead us to the right location for worship gatherings.
that God would bring us a family from New Albany in June.
that God would bring us a family from Gahanna June.
that God would add 50 people to our team by end of September.
that God would bless our extensive outreach efforts with the fruit of teammates and changed lives.

Answers to these prayers will all be miracles. We need God to dump His magic formula all over us. Certainly He is able. We'll, with you, give Him the glory. Please pray for miracle growth and that God would put the right pieces in place to move us toward a healthy launch this October.

This Made My Day

2008-05-30T12:22:00.003-04:00

I was encouraged Wednesday by the opening line of an e-mail I received from the vice president of New Albany's Events Board. I've been corresponding with her about the July 4th parade and ClearView's involvement. She opened her note with:

Hi Andy,
The relationship between the New Albany Community Events and ClearView Church is one that we wish to happily continue.

Praise God for the favor He has given us with key leaders and community organizations! Pray with me that this translates into people loved to Jesus.

Great News!

2008-05-23T12:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday's lunch meeting was a good one! I met with a family that has prayed with us and is now communicating that they are excited to join ClearView's team. Wow... God is good. This is a huge victory for us and a miracle-level answer to prayer!

Those of you who know me might find this amusing. If you know me, you know I'm pretty reserved (to put in mildly). So, as Trish and were talking about this meeting before it took place, she asked, "How are you going to react if they say 'Yes'.?" She was encouraging me to be sure and show my excitement (which is genuine).

So, when our new friends said "Yes," I made a point to get out of my seat and jump up and down right there in the restaurant. :) Praise God!

Pray for more...

Great, Great Weekend!

2008-05-19T08:14:00.011-04:00

God came through for us big-time this past weekend. Thanks for praying! ClearView participated in the New Albany Founder's Day celebration by marching in the parade and running a booth at the festival. Highlights included:

Many good conversations. We were able to share about who we are and what we are doing with several curious/seeking families. We were able to make good connections with other believers that could be sources for referrals.
We put smiles on many faces. Our objective was simple- put smiles on faces and associate the smiles with ClearView Church. I believe Jesus was pleased today as we ministered to hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, people.
We gave away all 750 of our ClearView logo Frisbees before the parade was two-thirds over. We should have brought about 1200! It was fun to see kids scrambling all over the parade route to grab one! We had something everyone wanted! There was only one casualty (woman getting hit...buy one of our ADULTS tossing one after telling the kids not to!).
We had GREAT ownership from our team and friends in helping during the parade and at our both. Friends drove all the way from PA and Cleveland to help paint faces. These two ladies sat in a chair for 5 hours and painted hundreds of faces. The line for face painting was almost always about 15 kids deep. Friends also came from Northwest Chapel and Polaris GBC to help during the parade. And, our teammates showed up big-time and pitched in to help with smiles. My sister and mom helped with our kids so Trish and I could serve during the day. I was pleased.
We painted hundreds of faces and gave away hundreds of balloons.
We were able to make many repeat contacts (seeing people we've initiated relationships with from other venues (festivals, pre-school, etc.) and further conversations.

All in all Saturday was a great day. Praise God. Please pray that these contacts would translate into 1) people we can minister to and/0r 2) teammates. Thanks for praying.

To top it off, Sunday we had our highest ever attendance at our home for our worship gathering (24). We're excited to see new faces and praying we can gain another family or two for our next milestone moving towards public launch this fall- getting out of our house and into a rented facility. Praise God for movement!

And, the best for last, Sunday night, Trish and I were able to go out to dinner to celebrate our 11-year wedding anniversary. It was fun to talk and dream together about what year 12 of our marriage could hold. Thanks, my best friend, for your steadfastness in our journey. Our dreams for our family or our ministry would never be reality without your hard work and perseverance!

Founder's Day

2008-05-15T20:01:00.003-04:00

Pray for us this Saturday, May 17. We'll be walking in the Founder's Day parade and handing out 750 cool frisbees to children and a new communication card to adults (see above). Then we'll man a vendor's booth during the Founder's Day Festival and offer free balloons and face painting. Pray for positive interactions and team building opportunities.

Update To NCO Ministerium

2008-05-15T18:10:00.005-04:00

Today I shared a 10-minuted update on ClearView with my fellow GBC pastors in our district. I thought some of you might be interested as it provides a bit of a window into my heart about where we are at today. Here's the manuscript I used in preparation (minus a few names taken out for privacy). Thanks for your interest!

Recently, I’ve done a lot of thinking and soul-searching about why we’re doing what we’re doing. In this process, God keeps directing my mind to faces of people...faces of people I’ve come to love and care for as I follow God down the bumpy road of church-planting. My wife and I took this faith step with the desire to reach people for Christ. That passion is what keeps us moving forward.

ClearView Church exists to reach.... ....is in a management position at the local organization and is one of the most gifted networkers I have ever met. As our friendship has grown, I’ve learned that he has studied many religions and knows quite a bit about Jesus and the Bible. He just doesn’t believe...

I’m excited about ClearView Church because it is being planted to reach Carolyn. She’s a good mom and key influencer of ladies in our neighborhood. While our kids were playing together one day, I learned that to her, organized religion is a farce and the Bible is unreliable.

ClearView exists because of the Maurice’s of the New Albany area. Maurice is an extremely friendly, intelligent Ohio State professor. He’s also a Sufi... an adherent to an offshoot of Islam. As we’ve eaten breakfast together several times, he’s shared how the Bible is a great source of inspiration but of little value when it comes to Absolute Truth.

I’m excited about ClearView Church because it’s being planted to reach Joan. I met Joan while watching my 5-year-old, Seth, taking swimming lessons. She’s a friendly, sweet lady. She believes that Jesus lived but that it’s impossible He could have been anything more than a admirable man.

ClearView Church is needed in northeastern Franklin County because of the 40 homes on my street, of which I’ve met and talked with every family except 1, there are only 3 families that regularly attend church.

I’m excited about ClearView Church because, even though some of Columbus’ largest churches are in our target area, no church plays a significant, discernible role in the cultural or religious fabric of the communities we are trying to reach. Despite the handful of mega-churches within a few miles of us, most people that I meet (like the 6 I mentioned above) don’t have a commitment to a local church or, more importantly, a relationship to Jesus.

I see a need for ClearView Church because as we’ve served coffee on voting days, or participated in community events and festivals, or as I’ve participated in Chamber of Commerce networking functions- ClearView is the only church present where thousands of unchurched people are.

Two years ago, God began building a passion in my heart. It was to be able to echo Paul’s words in Acts 20:22-24:

22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit[a] to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

I want to finish the work that I believe God has assigned to me-- the work of loving...Carolyn, Maurice, Bobby, Jamie, Joan and thousands of others to a clear view of Jesus and His love and grace. In 5 or 10 years, I dream of looking out on an audience where ...’s and Carolyn’s are now Jesus-followers. They're in community with other believers. Their lives have been transformed. They’re now missionaries to their own spheres of influence. They are making a tangible difference in the community by being the church where people are already gathered. They are planting churches or resourcing church plants in some way.

I believe God is laying the foundation for something special in northeastern Franklin County. He may be laying it slowly, but it is solid. We have a clear calling and a good strategic plan. We have almost 400 people around the world praying with us. We’ve integrated ourselves into the fabric of the community through coaching soccer, Chamber of Commerce activities in Gahanna and New Albany, bi-vocational work, our children’s activities, neighborhood ministries, etc. We’re consistently meeting and serving many people at community activities. We have 5 family units committed to our work. In March, we started weekly Sunday gatherings in our home. These have been going well and are a time of visionizing, worship, teaching, and team-building.

Our hope is to gather one or two more families and then find a public place to rent for weekly gatherings. We’re asking God to provide 40-50 people for our team in order for us to be ready for “Grand Opening” services in October.

Today, I humbly but boldly ask for your help. As my sons (5 and 2) were in the car last night, 2 fire engines sped past with lights and sirens blaring. This is big stuff to my boys. A word picture hit me as I was thinking about this morning and trying to explain to them why two Plain Township (New Albany) trucks were rumbling through a Columbus jurisdiction. I explained that there must be a big fire somewhere- something big enough that Columbus fire had to call for help from another squad.

Think of me as a brother, better yet- a co-laborer, calling you in as another squad today. To me, the vision is compelling. The need is clearly discernible. A good plan is in place. Foundational work has been done. This being said, we’re a start-from-scratch work. The next few months are critical for us. We need people to team with us to bring this vision to reality. We’re working hard to find them, communicate the vision and need, and invite involvement. However, we’ve discovered the people that we are looking for are the proverbial “needle in the haystack” type people. Not everyone wants to plant a church.

Would you pray for us? Would you consider finding a way to communicate with your people about our work. I believe there is people that you know...or people that you know that know people... that God has appointed to help us. Would you tell them about ClearView?

Relay For Life!

2008-05-15T17:50:00.004-04:00

ClearView had a strong team and showing at Gahanna's Relay For Life last Friday (5/9). Despite cold rain, we were able to personally give out a few hundred bottles of water and leave a few hundred more for people to grab throughout the event (it was an all-night event). Positive points were:

Getting involved in a key event in Gahanna (one of our first in this community).
Seeing some new teammates assist us in serving others.
Positive interactions with several people.

Thanks for praying. Please pray that God would use this positive impression and translate it into spiritual movement in people's lives.

What Seems Like A Bad Day Could Just Be Bad Perspective

2008-05-15T17:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday stunk. I'd like to use stronger language than that...but this is a prayer blog! :) Here's a taste:

In the early a.m., I found out I would not be paid (as I had been told earlier that I would) for the 40 hours or so I had put into being trained as a bus driver. Trish and I were counting on this money for bills and some extra things we want... but we'll leave that up to God.
Later, I received some feedback from an influential person in my life that was less than positive about my giftedness for church planting and potential to gather people and communicate a compelling vision for people to buy into. In this person's opinion, we would have seen more growth at this point in our work if I were a more gifted leader. Wow... hard to hear. True? Maybe. All I can do is keep moving forward in the calling God has given me and trust God to overcome my shortcomings with His power and grace. Thank God for Romans 8:26 and 2 Corinthians 12:9. I'm stinging from the hurt of this conversation, but trying to find the learning points and asking God for miracles. Pray for discernment.
Post this conversation, the bill for Sara's stay in the hospital (at birth) arrived. Enough said!
Finally, to top it all off, Seth's soccer team lost their first (and last) game last night. This is 4-5 yr. old level, not the world cup. So, nothing earth shattering, but still disappointing.

Here's the point: as I processed yesterday, and was feeling a little sorry for myself, God put me in front of FoxNews.com and pictures of the devastation in China (following the earthquake). I saw pictures of people who had lost their lives. Pictures of people who's loved ones were missing. Pictures of mothers clinging to dead children.

My day was nothing compared to this level of suffering. Our work seems hard...but not like that. I have a wonderful family. God is working around us. I have hope for eternity. I'm blessed to live in America. I have much to be thankful for. God is good. One way that He is good is shifting my attention off myself and to others- praying for victims... for comfort, for provision, for life, for Jesus to draw them to Himself.