So these last few weeks have been kind of intense. A lot of time put in selling cars, which seems to be paying off; a lot of time working on planting a church, which has been pretty cool; and a lot of time going to Long Island. Why Long Island? Well, there’s this girl… (it would seem that this conversation has been taking place more and more lately).
Last night I sent this to my email list:
Greetings to all of you!
It has been a few months since I last updated my life with you, and I wanted to say hello again, and let you all know what is going on with that Matt guy.
It has been a little over a year since I packed up and moved from North Jersey, and it has been quite the year. God has been doing some work in me, and I think that this has been one of the most spiritually stretching seasons of my life. I have spent a good bit of time over the last year seeking out where God is calling me to serve next, and in what capacity that he is asking me to serve him. As I wrestled through my calling and passions this past year, I came to realize that I am being called out of youth ministry, and into a different role. While it took me a little while to fully embrace this new calling, God has been patient with me (some of you know that I can be a little stubborn at times). When I last wrote, I told you that it appeared that I would be moving to Oregon to take part in a church plant. I was half right in that letter. Since that letter I have come to realize two things: God is calling me to plant a church, and Baltimore, not Oregon, is where He is calling me.
Over the past few years I have become friends with J, a youth pastor. Joel and I have known each other through an organization called Sonlife, and worked together on staff of events such as Merge and SEMP. A while back J mentioned to me a crazy dream that he had about planting a church in Baltimore that was passionate about building community and restoring the city to what her God created her to be. The church was to embrace an incarnational model of ministry, encouraging people to get involved in the restoration of the city by being Jesus to her residents, and actively working to bring the Kingdom of God to earth in Baltimore. Whether Joel remembers that initial conversation in the foyer of Johns Hopkins University’s Shriver Hall or not, I have no idea, but what I do know is that it has haunted me from that day on. Over this past year Joel and I have spent time talking and praying about what a church in the city of Baltimore could look like, and the more that we have spoken, the more we have come away with a similar vision, and the more our passions have been ignited.
After much talking, dreaming, and praying J and I are pursuing our mutual calling to church planting and Baltimore city and will be working to plant The Garden Community of Baltimore throughout the coming years. In June we started meeting with people in the Mount Vernon neighborhood for great discussions of life, spirituality, and Christ. It is our hope that from this group we will cultivate our core team. It is our intention to have our initial team moved into Baltimore by September of 2008, and to work towards opening our doors in early 2009.
It is my hope that over the course of the coming days (weeks, months, and years) that you would take time to remember us in your prayers. We are currently pursuing tax-exempt status, and shortly after that we will begin the process of raising support for this new ministry. It is our hope to be able to raise enough support to be able to cover the first three years of expenses while we work towards becoming a self-supporting church. We are also continuing to develop our discussion group, and looking for a core team to emerge from within that group. J and I are also looking for housing in Baltimore, which can be difficult for a single guy like myself, but is a little trickier when you factor in Joel’s wife *****, and his two young daughters **** and ****. Please pray for us in wisdom for the wheres and hows that are about to take place, and for God’s provision as we begin to seek out support for these next three years.
On a more personal level, I would ask that you pray for me as I look to find employment that will allow me the freedom to spend the time tending to The Garden while paying my bills. I have been selling cars for about a year now, and while I am good at what I do, it is a job that demands a lot of hours from me, and does not afford me the luxury of a Saturday off to go and raise support with partner churches. I am not exactly sure what God has in mind for my next job, but I would ask that you pray for clarity on that.
Over the next few weeks, I will be putting together a newsletter list for those of you who would like for me to keep you up to date with me, and The Garden. If you are interested in being on that list, please reply to this email… Also, we will be launching our website by the end of the week. Our site is www.thegardenbaltimore.com It is not active yet, but should be by Friday. You can also keep in touch with me through my Blog www.resilientemergence.com .
Thank you all for your continued prayer for me, and for your willingness to continue to pray for me on this next great adventure.
Love,
Matt
***This is a tad bit redacted to protect the innocent***
So, this is where I am. Last week found me in Atlanta spending time with friend of mine from the Crossroads, 12Stone days, getting a handle on what we need to be doing to make The Garden Community happen, and figure out what we are going to have to do to raise the support that we will be needing for the next few years.
I would ask that those of you who read this that are the praying sort to keep us in your prayers as we begin to pick up steam on this crazy vision of ours, that we may be clear on our priorities, and that we can build our foundation well… This is going to be a cool trip.
Filed under: Baltimore, For the record, The Garden Community, church planting, ministry, worship
