Hi Prayer Warriors!
Tonight at 7:30pm Mike will be appearing before the planning board in Paramus regarding the approval of the proposal for what will hopefully be our future gathering place as the Lord wills!
Please pray for Mike and others on our team who will be testifying, that they will speak with humility, clarity and winsomely and that the board will be receptive and without prejudice.
We will be in touch when we receive news of the decision. We will prayerfully be celebrating with all of you!
Thank you for your love for the gospel, CaB and us tonight!
For the family,
Kristin
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
New Life In Christ
Friends & Family,
I know. We are way overdue for an update. God is continuing to blow our minds in His continued drawing, redeeming, saving and sealing of many to Himself and His Kingdom. Mike has been spending many hours working on the Paramus Project (see previous post for details), working with attorneys and town officials discussing plans for the future building in Paramus. A huge praise is we were able to officially file our full application to the town for approval of use of the building last week. This is a massive step in the right direction. We are now waiting to hear back from the town for a date where we will go and make our case as to why having a church in Paramus is good for the community and ask for a "variance use," which is simply a formal way of getting approval to use an existing warehouse to assemble in with people since that is not its current primary use. Please pray that the town would find great favor on us and that this would be one more stepping stone towards having a permanent home base for mission in the center of Bergen County.
On another exciting note, this past Sunday, we had the utter joy of celebrating new life in Christ through baptism. Below are couple of pictures to give you a feel for the day. It was an indescribable day, filled with joy, thankfulness, reflection, tears, laughter, and most of all, glory to Christ for His saving work in people's lives. Witnessing these additions to the Kingdom of Heaven on Sunday was a great reminder for Kristin and I in particular as to why God called us north, and to keep our hands to the plow with endurance, faithfulness and prayer.
Enjoy a few of these pictures, and please continue to pray for perseverance for us, that He might sustain and guide us in the months ahead. Jesus is building His Church in the Northeast.
I know. We are way overdue for an update. God is continuing to blow our minds in His continued drawing, redeeming, saving and sealing of many to Himself and His Kingdom. Mike has been spending many hours working on the Paramus Project (see previous post for details), working with attorneys and town officials discussing plans for the future building in Paramus. A huge praise is we were able to officially file our full application to the town for approval of use of the building last week. This is a massive step in the right direction. We are now waiting to hear back from the town for a date where we will go and make our case as to why having a church in Paramus is good for the community and ask for a "variance use," which is simply a formal way of getting approval to use an existing warehouse to assemble in with people since that is not its current primary use. Please pray that the town would find great favor on us and that this would be one more stepping stone towards having a permanent home base for mission in the center of Bergen County.
On another exciting note, this past Sunday, we had the utter joy of celebrating new life in Christ through baptism. Below are couple of pictures to give you a feel for the day. It was an indescribable day, filled with joy, thankfulness, reflection, tears, laughter, and most of all, glory to Christ for His saving work in people's lives. Witnessing these additions to the Kingdom of Heaven on Sunday was a great reminder for Kristin and I in particular as to why God called us north, and to keep our hands to the plow with endurance, faithfulness and prayer.
Enjoy a few of these pictures, and please continue to pray for perseverance for us, that He might sustain and guide us in the months ahead. Jesus is building His Church in the Northeast.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The Paramus Project
God has been moving in some profound ways among the people of Church at Bergen. I still find myself in disbelief at his provision and kindness through many of you, and others. As a way to most effectively relay information, you can go directly to our web page by clicking here to see where we believe God is leading us.
Please pray for us in this endeavor, that God would be glorified, that through this project many would come to know the saving grace found in Jesus, for the committee dealing with negotiations and lease agreements to be given wisdom, clarity and courage, and that we would continue to trust and rely fully on Jesus as He leads us.
God is moving in the northeast!
Please pray for us in this endeavor, that God would be glorified, that through this project many would come to know the saving grace found in Jesus, for the committee dealing with negotiations and lease agreements to be given wisdom, clarity and courage, and that we would continue to trust and rely fully on Jesus as He leads us.
God is moving in the northeast!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Attempting Great Things & Expecting Great Things - 2014
Mike and I are continually humbled by your partnership in prayer and giving for Church at Bergen. It feels like yesterday we were meeting with you at the Payne's sharing with you the calling God had laid on our hearts to faithfully labor for the gospel in Northern NJ. I remember those of you who prayed with us, shed tears with us and shared in our excitement. I remember those of you who came to help us move out of the same home you helped us move into only two years prior. We hoisted couches off the balcony with our homemade pulley system, a pick-up truck and snowboard gloves. We loaded our home into the Payne's basement. We packed our cars to the brim. We drove to NJ full of high expectations of what God would do. Then, we arrived at my dad's, moved into my old college memorabilia stamped bedroom, sat on the bed and cried. What had we done? We left everything that we loved in NOVA - a flourishing youth ministry, beloved faith family, all our 1st years married memories, deep friendships, discipleship, home. Our calling was sure, but the road ahead was uncertain. We had nothing to cling to except our faith in our faithful Heavenly Father. What a gift. Were the days easy? No. Did we know what the future held? No. But we did know this, Isaiah 55:11 promises "So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." God's promise to us: His Word would accomplish its purpose in us as He sanctified (and continues to sanctify) us through obediently following Him to NJ and His Word would succeed in the purposes for which He sent it to be proclaimed by Mike, our family & His church plant.
William Carey once said, "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." His words have been a huge encouragement to us as we have taken one step of faith at a time following His plans for Church at Bergen.
Thank you for your prayers. Along with us you have expectantly prayed for God's provisions and blessings on Church at Bergen and we are seeing the fruit of your partnership with us for the sake of the gospel.
Mike began a sermon series in Genesis beginning on Sunday, December 1st. Since then we have seen an explosion in the attendance at CaB as God brings more and more people to sit under the teaching of His Word each week. We are seeing believers growing more mature in their understanding of the gospel as seen in Genesis, new Christians developing an understanding of and hunger for God's truth, sin confessed, repentance, and nonbelievers/skeptics consistently coming and asking questions. I have finally put Jaxson in the nursery. Long overdue I know. Neurotic first time mama. As a result, I have been able to sit in service and actually pay attention to God speaking through Mike the past two weeks. I have been cut to the core by God clearly speaking of His power, mercy and love for sinners through Genesis. If you haven't gotten to listen to any of the sermons yet I encourage you to take sometime on your own or with your family to check them out.
In addition, God has been opening doors for us to have a permanent "home" for worship and continued growth. Please pray alongside us for His wisdom, leading and provision as we trust in His plans for CaB ahead. We are attempting great things for Him in 2014 and expecting great things from him.
Praise & Prayer Requests:
- Praise God for His work in making disciples at CaB
- Praise God His work thus far in providing people of peace to help as CaB moves toward finding a more permanent space to gather
- Praise for faithful saints partnering with us in VA and NJ (you & our CaB volunteers)
- Provision of finances for permanent building
- Protection over our marriage & family (especially since flu season scares me)
- Time management & balance for Mike as is wearing many hats in this season without a staff
With hopes of seeing you soon to share our joy in Him together,
Kristin for the family
Friday, November 22, 2013
Long Overdue!
We apologize for the long overdue update! God has been moving in extraordinary ways over the past few months up here in the northeast. Since our last post, God has been graciously growing and deepening the people of Church at Bergen. We have been worshipping in the larger space for quite some time now, and God is continuing to bring new people each week to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are currently looking and praying for a more permanent location to gather, so please pray to that end with us as the hotel has been a great place to start, however we are experiencing the limitations and don't want to stifle or slow down the work of God. We know He is ultimately in charge and knows what is best, so we are trusting in that as we move and make decisions.
Our community groups have been thriving as people have been gathering all over bergen county. I (Mike) just finished teaching through the core identities of Church at Bergen (Gospel Driven, Word Driven, Discipleship Driven & Mission Driven). It was a largely instructive past 9 weeks for our entire church body. We are excited to dive into the book of Genesis on December 1st and we are praying that the Lord would use this next sermon series to instruct, encourage, and give us a more full understanding as to why we exist, who God is, and most importantly what He is all about.
We have had the joy of hearing testimonies from CaB members over the past number of Sundays who God is transforming by His gospel. The stories range from heroine addiction, attempts at suicide, deep suffering, to nominal Christians who grew up hearing the gospel but never truly understood the implications of it upon their life. There are few nights that I don't fall asleep with tears seeing what was once a vision and a call, becoming reality as we experience the evidences of God's grace in building this church.
I (Mike) have been meeting with a group of men for discipleship and leadership development, who we pray will in turn become future elders, deacons, church planters, and leaders in Jesus' church. Kristin has been fostering sweet fellowship with a number of women at CaB for times of encouragement and prayer which has been a deep blessing for her.
Jaxson is a joy. He is growing up way to fast. We are delighting in him as it has created greater worship to Jesus because of this gift we have in our son. Pray for us to be faithful parents, and for God to protect Jaxson from our sins and grow him into a man who loves Jesus and is used for God's glory and fame.
We covet each of your prayers, for perseverance, faithful obedience, and that the Lord would continue to lead us. We hope to plan another gathering down in VA for an update on the many more spectacular things God is doing in and through this new local church, Lord willing in the beginning of January. Stay tuned!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Pray for:
-Genesis sermon series
-Future gathering space
-Jaxson's health during flu season
-Protection over Mike & Kristin's Marriage
-For many more lost to be rescued and disciples to be made mature in Christ
Our community groups have been thriving as people have been gathering all over bergen county. I (Mike) just finished teaching through the core identities of Church at Bergen (Gospel Driven, Word Driven, Discipleship Driven & Mission Driven). It was a largely instructive past 9 weeks for our entire church body. We are excited to dive into the book of Genesis on December 1st and we are praying that the Lord would use this next sermon series to instruct, encourage, and give us a more full understanding as to why we exist, who God is, and most importantly what He is all about.
We have had the joy of hearing testimonies from CaB members over the past number of Sundays who God is transforming by His gospel. The stories range from heroine addiction, attempts at suicide, deep suffering, to nominal Christians who grew up hearing the gospel but never truly understood the implications of it upon their life. There are few nights that I don't fall asleep with tears seeing what was once a vision and a call, becoming reality as we experience the evidences of God's grace in building this church.
I (Mike) have been meeting with a group of men for discipleship and leadership development, who we pray will in turn become future elders, deacons, church planters, and leaders in Jesus' church. Kristin has been fostering sweet fellowship with a number of women at CaB for times of encouragement and prayer which has been a deep blessing for her.
Jaxson is a joy. He is growing up way to fast. We are delighting in him as it has created greater worship to Jesus because of this gift we have in our son. Pray for us to be faithful parents, and for God to protect Jaxson from our sins and grow him into a man who loves Jesus and is used for God's glory and fame.
We covet each of your prayers, for perseverance, faithful obedience, and that the Lord would continue to lead us. We hope to plan another gathering down in VA for an update on the many more spectacular things God is doing in and through this new local church, Lord willing in the beginning of January. Stay tuned!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Pray for:
-Genesis sermon series
-Future gathering space
-Jaxson's health during flu season
-Protection over Mike & Kristin's Marriage
-For many more lost to be rescued and disciples to be made mature in Christ
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The Holy Spirit is Moving
God is moving. Church at Bergen has experienced a significant move of the Holy Spirit through these early summer months. We are seeing skeptics, doubters, seekers, homosexuals, and deepening Christians enter our doors on Sundays to hear, see and taste the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are in conversation with the double tree hotel to expand our space beginning in September as we are at capacity in the current use of the ballroom. We are looking to rent more rooms for children's ministry and expand the worship gathering space to enable continued growth and discipleship at CaB. We praise Christ for His evident grace, mercy and blessing over what has been happening in this local gospel community.
We will be launching 9 community groups throughout Bergen County in September to foster greater community and mission among the people gathering at CaB. We have been hosting training for leaders of these communities during the summer in preparation to launch them next month.
We are finishing up our study in Colossians this Sunday. It has been an amazing 17 weeks marveling over the deep realities of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will then spend 4 weeks in the book of Haggai which will lead us into 4 weeks teaching the core identities of Church at Bergen as we launch into September.
Pray for Kristin as she continues to raise Jaxson at home during the day. She is an amazing wife and mom, and our son has been a deep blessing to us in the middle of all the Lord is doing up here. Pray for continued wisdom for me (Mike) as we continue to follow our Chief Shepherd and discern how He desires us to move, walk, live and interact as a gospel community in Bergen County. Pray for Church at Bergen as Paul did for the Church at Colossae, that "more doors may be opened to proclaim the mysteries of Christ."
Amen.
We will be launching 9 community groups throughout Bergen County in September to foster greater community and mission among the people gathering at CaB. We have been hosting training for leaders of these communities during the summer in preparation to launch them next month.
We are finishing up our study in Colossians this Sunday. It has been an amazing 17 weeks marveling over the deep realities of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will then spend 4 weeks in the book of Haggai which will lead us into 4 weeks teaching the core identities of Church at Bergen as we launch into September.
Pray for Kristin as she continues to raise Jaxson at home during the day. She is an amazing wife and mom, and our son has been a deep blessing to us in the middle of all the Lord is doing up here. Pray for continued wisdom for me (Mike) as we continue to follow our Chief Shepherd and discern how He desires us to move, walk, live and interact as a gospel community in Bergen County. Pray for Church at Bergen as Paul did for the Church at Colossae, that "more doors may be opened to proclaim the mysteries of Christ."
Amen.
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