Tag Archives: great commision

Invest in your neighborhood Part 2 Strategy

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strategyWE hope you had some time to look at the different areas in your neighborhood in which help is needed. This week we want to write about on how to be strategic in moving forward in those areas.

  1. Time: This is a really important point to plan a successful strategy. Think about how much time you want to invest each week. Plan realistically and don’t forget the areas that already use time in your planning(Family time, Church, Hobbies, Rest). Also think about how long you would like the project to go 1 year, 5 years etc.
  2. What do you need? In order to have a good strategy you need to realistically asses the things you have and the things you need. As an example, if you start helping out at a project that already exists you don’t need a lot. Or if you start picking up trash in your neighborhood all you need is some gloves and a trash bag. But if you are tackling a bigger thing, you might need more people and resources. Also think about if you can work on this project together with your family. Ok start thinking about what you need!
  3. Come up with a plan! Now you are at a point in which you have planned for resources and time but you haven’t come up with a schedule. To move things forward it is always important to have a plan, since often things that are not planned moved back on the priority list and eventually are forgotten. Write in your calendar the times that you want to do the work. Write down what you plan to do in those times, as an example: Thursday April 30th 5-6pm Prayer time for the new project, 6-8pm Work on the project, pick up trash on Ellis street.
    As more detailed you plan, as more you can make a difference. But really important, planning should always come out of praying. It is really important to get Gods heart and His plan! We often saw how God gave us different strategies then we planned during times of Prayer.

And now it’s time to start! Have a wonderful time coming up with a strategic plan!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. We had an event with a local neighborhood association we are involved with. During the evening the new President was elected and different other board members for various roles. Jen is still part of the board in her role as the social event planner. Please pray that we can keep being a blessing in every part we are involved.

May God give you a strategic week! Remember that you are amazing and loved!!

Markus and Jen

Seek his face to grow in faith!

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Hey our friend

jen markusWe hope you had a wonderful week. I (Markus) was in Redding last week learning more on how to teach on the father heart of God. This is such an important topic for each one since we live in a world full of orphans. It is not just important to teach but also to live. Let us show God’s father heart to others through the way we love and care for them. While I was in Redding Jen kept up all the local work. We are such a great team and she is just a gem! I just have to say I really love my wife. I could have not married anyone better!

Thank you for praying with us. Please pray for more open doors to share the good news with people.

We have almost 6 weeks left to reach our goal to be fully funded by January. Please consider partnering with us through becoming a monthly financial supporter. You can do that with $25, $50, $100 or any other amount you would like. Click on this link then choose under monthly giving the amount, under ministry Staff support and write under comments Markus and Jen. Thank you for partnering with us in Engaging a city with a loving God

Seek his face to grow in faith!

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord , I will seek. PSA 27:8 NIV

Last week we talked about faith and unbelief and what choice we make. This week I want to talk about how to get more faith. Faith actually grows by the way we know God and by deeper relationship with Him. David gives us a great example on how to grow closer to the father, it is by seeking his face. As more we seek God’s presence as more we get transformed. As more hope will come into our life and as more our faith will grow. As more we seek Him as more we know Him. As more we know Him as more we know His character and as more we know that He is good. So if He calls us to do something and step out in faith, we know that He will be right with us. We know that He is greater then anything that can stand against us. But then there is a second step. We actually need to step out in faith. Elija would have not seen fire coming from heaven and burning his sacrifice including all the stones of the altar and all the water he poured over it (1.King 18) if he would have not stepped out in faith. The lame man would still be lame if Peter would have not stepped out in faith and prayed for him (Acts 3). These are just 2 examples out of many, but both of them had 2 things in common they knew God, trusted Him and took action.

So faith needs relationship with the father but it also needs action. Which of those do you have to grow in? Pray and ask God to show you and then start investing in that area!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Faith or unbelief, what is your choice?

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Hey our friend

20141104_131144We hope you had a wonderful week. We had a more office focused week which is sometimes important too, but not necessarily our favorite. During this coming week I (Markus) will be in Redding learning more from my friend, a YWAM Teacher, on how to teach on the father heart of God. Jen came up with me for the weekend and we went to many church services.

20141108_144119_Richtone(HDR)Please keep praying along with us while things are moving forward and we see God move in many areas of the work. Pray especially for our students since they start leading Prayer walks which they created. Pray that God will guide them in there walks.

During the last week God brought in 1 new supporter and a couple who will pray about supporting us. Thank you God! Please pray about if God wants you to be a part of this work through monthly financial support. Our goal is to be fully funded by January first so that we don’t have to focus on fundraising in this new year and can just use all that time for ministry. You can support us with $25, $50, $100 or any other amount you would like. Click on this link then choose under monthly giving the amount, under ministry Staff support and write under comments Markus and Jen. Thank you for partnering with us in bringing hope to North beach San Francisco!

Faith or unbelief, what is your choice?

…everything that does not come from faith is sin.  Romans 14.23

One morning during our quiet time we read in the book of Romans chapter 14. One thing that stuck out to me was the verse above. Paul is saying here that everything we do without faith is sin. Why is that? Let me look at another story with you before answering that question. When David was King over Israel he started to count his troops. In a human logical sense there is no issue with that, but in a Godly sense there is. David assessed what he had so he could figure out how to fight the enemy and especially how big the enemy could be he wanted to fight. When David did that he started to keep God out of the picture. Instead of trusting God fully he started to trust in manpower. When he fought Goliath he attacked him with faith and even said you come with weapons but I come with the living God. The situation looked impossible, but he won, because his faith was in God. When he counted the troops his head faith might still be in God but in reality he had unbelief. And unbelief is not compatible with faith meaning it brings you to a place of worry and self-sufficiency. When we put all our trust and faith in God we are not depending on our strength but His. So however the end result will be the Glory will always go to Him since we did it through Him. If we don’t do that it is really easy to fall into pride which is sin and holds us away from our loving father. Lets asses our lives and see where we made decisions based on faith and where not. After we did that lets change things to move more and more into a lifestyle of faith.

Have a blessed week.

Markus and Jen

Lets look back to look forward

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Hey our friend

We hope you had a great week. Jen and I were teaching last week 100 Mission Adventures Students at the base. It was really exciting to see God move in the lives of the students and leaders. We also had some wonderful times here in North Beach. I was able to visit one of our first friends in the neighborhood and spend some time with him. Keep praying that he finds Jesus. We also had the graduation of our DTS Students which was in some way a happy moment, but in another way a sad moment since it was hard to let them go. Pray for their time of transition that God will guide them and refresh them.

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Lets look back to look forward

Over the last 10 weeks we looked a lot at how to make true friends and change the world. There are many more things to say about this topic and they will be said in the near future. But I also believe that when God gives us something he wants us to steward it well. So I want to make sure that we all press in into the steps of the last 10 weeks (you can read them all by just clicking on the last few months).

  1. Pray for the 6 people God has put on your heart for 40 days.
  2. Make sure that you have a solid foundation (meaning be plugged in well at church and small group).
  3. Start building the relationships and start connecting with the new future friends
  4. Encourage and love on your new friends
  5. Invite them into your home and make them feel at home.
  6. Make it a safe place so people feel safe to share without fear.
  7. Ask the right questions that lead to the right conversations.
  8. Deal with fear in your own life as well as the lives of your new friends.
  9. Find out what influences your new friends and help them to find truth.
  10. Get involved in your community and serve together with your new friends.

These are all some easy steps but tie wise they can be different for each group. So be patient and don’t give up. Keep moving forward. There are 2 billion Christian on the planet. If each of them starts to reach out to 6 people and brings them towards Jesus we have pretty much reached the planet. Just a thought. Also when we look at the story of the talents in Matthew 25 we see that God really called us to use the giftings he gave us to bring fruit. Lets do this together and Make true friends and change the world!!

Have a blessed week and start to reach out

Markus and Jen

Get involved Week 10

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Hey our friend

Remember today and during this week that you are amazing and loved!! We had a wonderful but also really busy week here in San Francisco. It was awesome to see God moving in all the different areas of the work. Please pray this week for the kids from the boys and girls club that they are encouraged since they are all out for a weeklong camp. Please also keep all our sick friends in the neighborhood in your prayers. The coming weeks are going to be busier than usual for me and Jen since we have different helpers coming in and many speaking arrangements. Pray for Gods guidance for us in this time.

Get involved Week 10

During the last weeks we focused a lot inward, but today I want to focus outward. After you build a solid friendship with everyone, start reaching out together to your community or start to support a project that is on the heart of you and your new friends. Some probably will ask themselves the question how can I serve my community. There are many different things you can start with. If you live in a city start with a clean-up event or help at a local program (like a soup kitchen, shelter etc.). The great thing about serving together is that it brings even closer friendships. It will help each one to see that every person has something to give. It will help you and your new friends to see that God placed value on you and that he wants to partner with you. When you look at Jesus and the way he did things with his disciples you notice that many times some kind of service was involved. If it was handing out food, or going out and heal the sick. I’m sure he could have done another miracle so the disciples didn’t have to do any work, but he wanted them to be involved. And it also gives back to your community and people will see that God cares about them as well.

I want to encourage you to research and find places where you and your new friends can serve and with that think about what would work best for you guys. Have a blessed week.

Markus and Jen

P.s. this is a picture I took a few days ago in our beautiful city

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