Hello once again from Nashville! We hope and pray that this letter finds you blessed and full of God’s love, hope and peace. We are doing very well… or as I’ve heard others say many times in life, and it is so true; we are doing “Better than we deserve”. 😉 God’s grace is awesome. Good things are happening here. Our church is up and running full speed ahead, lots is happening with the family, and we’ve got a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT at the end, so please read ALL the way through!
The Alley
We “officially” began holding services at “The Alley” on Easter Sunday, April 20! God has blessed tremendously. We had a great turnout that weekend, and have been meeting with regular services since. We don’t have a huge amount of people for the Sunday services yet, between 20 to 30 people, but our influence is much larger than that. We meet regularly with quite a few others, and we hope to incorporate them into the church very soon! Our core team has gotten larger, and stronger. With them, we have some incredibly large dreams! God has truly blessed us with some great people.
God has put us here to impact this city, state, nation and beyond for Him, and we believe that it will happen! We serve a REAL GOD, and He truly wants to bring new life, change, love, freedom, healing and SO MUCH MORE to this world! The core values that describe clearly who we want to be as a church are:
- Real God (We follow a real, all-powerful God who loves the world & gave all so that we can have an abundant life & eternity)
- Real Faith (Living in Christ, trusting in Him, sold out for God, living with Jesus as our example)
- Real Involvement (Everyone is called to be a part of this mission)
- Real Transformation (Wherever God touches, there must be REAL transformation… Lives, Families, Cities, Countries)
- Real…ly Far! (Multiplying small groups and churches to the entire city, country & world!)
We are so excited for what God is going to do in the upcoming months. Please keep us, our core team AND all those to whom we will be reaching out to in your prayers!
Family
All is good with the family! The kids finished school last week and are now out on summer vacation. Jordan and Derrick both played baseball this year for the first time. They loved it! Jordan will go into 4th grade next year and Derrick 1st. Erynn, it’s hard to believe or accept, is going into HIGH SCHOOL next year! She will be doing cross country in high school, and they have already begun their practices. They are doing conditioning practices five days a week, running 45 minutes a day. She has also been working tremendously on her singing. Last Saturday evening she and her friend Bella had their first official “gig” at a coffee house in Madison, TN (North Nashville). They are awesome! From time to time I will post their songs on my youtube channel, so check it out when you get a chance. http://www.youtube.com/jasonaskipper.
Norah had an amazing opportunity to travel to Argentina & Bolivia last month (May). The church that we have been working with in Argentina blessed us tremendously by paying her tickets. She was gone almost three weeks; spending a week in Buenos Aires, five days with our church in Santa Cruz, five days with our church in Sucre, and the rest of the time in La Paz with her family. She enjoyed herself so much, coming back energized and ready to conquer the world (and put up with the family again too)! Our churches there are doing very well, although they miss us a lot (as we do them)! Please, always keep them in your prayers!
This is a picture of the church in Argentina praying over Norah and the United States.
Life AFTER Apple – ANNOUNCING “Skipper Innovations”!
Two years ago, after moving to the Nashville area, God blessed me with a job at Apple. Wanting to plant the church, we had been praying for a job that would give me the opportunity to get to know the culture better and to meet as many people as possible. From the beginning it was clear that He was behind it. It was the perfect place to reach all of our goals. I loved it and was quickly promoted… twice! Over these past two years I have grown: as a person, in leadership and in my understanding of the culture.
Still, with the church now growing, I was faced with the realization that in order for us to move forward as a church, I needed to dedicate more time and energy to it. With full time retail (weekends and evenings included) and driving an hour each way to and from work, I was completely sapped of time and energy. It was a very hard decision to make, but after much prayer, we felt that it was God’s timing for me to move on. I advised my managers in early April, and my last day was the day before Norah left on her trip to Argentina/Bolivia.
How are we going to Live?
Good question! At this point the church is not at a point where it can support us… yet. That day will come! Because of your gifts, we are still receiving some from The Hand of Hur. It’s not enough to live on, but it’ll pay a few bills! We thank y’all (I’m blending in to the southern culture now! ;-)) SO MUCH for continuing to give. You have gone ABOVE and BEYOND anything that we have ever imagined or asked for. Please know that GOD IS GOING TO TRANSFORM THOUSANDS OF LIVES THROUGH THIS MINISTRY!!!! We believe that with all of our hearts. God will multiply your gifts here and in eternity! If you can continue to give, please do. We love you and appreciate it greatly.
Announcement:
Still, we need more to live on. With my decision to leave Apple, I have also decided to start a small business on the side. This way I can manage my time more freely, but not have to depend completely on the church to live. Announcing Skipper Innovations!
The idea behind this is basically to help churches and businesses use technology to the fullest. I have SO MUCH experience in website and graphic design, app creation, audio systems, lighting systems, training, and video creation. I know that this experience and expertise can benefit others greatly.
The website is ready, and we are open for business! Now, ALL THAT WE NEED IS WORK! Check out our website, and if YOU or SOMEONE that you know needs ANYTHING technology related done for them… please let me know! It doesn’t matter if it’s here or there; it can be anywhere.
Thank you so much for everything! May the Lord bless you richly. Please keep us always in your prayers, and we hope to hear from you soon!
Love,
Jason, Norah, Erynn, Jordan & Derrick