Hey our friend

What a wonderful week seeing our faithful father at work. One friend at the coffee shop got deeper breakthrough through studying the bible on his own. It is awesome to see him get more and more revelation by reading the bible filled with the Holy Spirit. During the week we also had 2 visitors from Germany who joined us for a prayer walk in the neighborhood. It was also great to have them meet some of our friends at the weekly game night. Keep praying for more breakthroughs with all the works that are going on right now. Friday and Saturday Jen and I and 2 of our coworkers went up to Redding for a SOZO meeting with Bethel. It was a really encouraging, refreshing, new revelation and healing time. It was also really nice seeing an amazing friend of ours and spend some time with him.

Week 8 Deal with Fear

A little while ago we saw a movie with Will Smith and one of the lines in the movie was “Danger is real, but fear is a choice”. I believe there is a lot of truth to that. Fear can cripple us and take away the great things God has for us. If you just look at the example of Moses, and this is just one out of many, you see it really well. When God called him to go to Egypt his first response was that he could not do it. Why did he say that? Probably out of fear that he would not be equipped enough and also his past in Egypt (He killed the Egyptian guard before he fled). He also probably didn’t totally believe that God could protect him. So the past and wrong believes can bring fear into our lives. But if you look at the rest of the story you see how God came through and showed Moses that He is with him. He used Moses in mighty ways to show His power.

I believe that fear is also one of the main things that is holding many of us away from things in our life. Some who read this might think I can’t run a group because …. But I tell you that is not true. God placed all the tools in you to do it and he brings all the healing from your past that you might think discredits you from a good future. Others who come to the group might be afraid of what people think of them if they come and if they are accepted. And that is another reason we need to pray for them and pray against fear. Again fear is a choice, but you can choose different. Keep your eyes on God and who He is and what he has promised. You will see how fear dissolves more and more from your life and how your faith grows. Practice this week. First ask God to show you fear in your life, ask him for forgiveness for living in fear and then ask him to give you revelation and faith to break it. It is a choice you have to make on a daily base but it will help you as well as your new friends.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. Last Monday we had a barbecue with our YWAM Family for Memorial Day. It was a wonderful time to catch up with everyone. On Tuesday our Summer Interns arrived. Please keep them in your prayers during this summer. Some of them will help with the work of the boys and girls club and other things in the neighborhood. During the week we had great opportunities to invest into the lives of many different people through the different giftings God has given us. It is always so humbling and wonderful to see how God is using our lives to bring hope and change to his children. We love it!!

Ask the right questions Week 7

Wow its already week 7 in our series and time is flying by quickly. Today we want to talk about the right question. A big part of the groups is to make our new friends think about God and help them to understand His love for them. But how do we stir the conversation towards God without making it awkward for the new friends? We need to ask the right questions. Questions that make people think and that really connect with them. If you look at how Jesus approached people you will see that it was often through a question as well. It always opened a door into the lives of people and it brought them into a place that they had to respond. Those questions can serve 2 purposes: 1. They open up the Conversation to talk more about God. 2. They connect us in a deeper way and give us better understanding of the new friends because they bring more depth into the relationship.

Here are some example questions that one of our Pastors is using.
Who has inspired you most in life and what have you learned?
Have you ever experienced a miracle in your life or did you feel god try to communicate with you?
If you could ask god any question what would it be?

So these are just examples but find the ones that are fitting in your situation. Think about questions that are not threatening to people but in the same way questions that are strong enough to make them think. Every time you try to come up with questions just pray and ask God to guide you since he always knows the best questions. Try it out during this week and see what happens.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

San Francisco summer is in full swing for a few more weeks which is really nice, since it brings us lots of sunshine. Thanks for your prayers against my cough. It got a lot better. During the last week we had the chance to spend time with many new friends of the neighborhood. We also had good times at the coffee shop. Please keep us in your prayers in this season for clear guidance on what things to do and what things not to do ministry wise. Thanks for all your prayers.

Make it a safe place Week 6

During the last 5 weeks we talked about Prayer, how to get yourself on a solid foundation, how to build solid friendships, Encouragement and how to invite them to your home. This week we want to talk about a safe place. The best foundation for any friendship is trust. Trust is being built over time but also needs a safe place to grow. So it’s really important that your dinners are a place of openness and safety. Make it clear with your new friends that things that are shared in here aren’t going out to the public (Facebook etc.). Our culture and media is all about gossip and making fun of others, so it is important to set clear guidelines early. When you notice that people start being sarcastic with each other, encourage them to have a more positive and uplifting conversation with each other. I know sarcasm is a big part in our today’s society but often we are not aware of the fact that people are actually getting hurt by it and start closing themselves up. Also another important thing is that you open up and share about your life. That will open a door for others to share and being vulnerable. When they share make sure to listen and try to understand what is going in their lives. Also make sure that no one makes funny comments about things they are going through. Another important point is to make sure that you don’t share too deep things too fast. If you do that, it might scare people away. Share each week a little bit more and go each week a little bit deeper so people get used to it. But don’t feel it is a required thing either; sometimes it’s just not the right time to share. As more you keep going in that direction as more depth you will have in your dinner times and as deeper and stronger of a foundation will be build. You are the one who set the tone how things are going.

When you look at the story of the adulteress (John 8.1-10) that was about to be stoned you see how Jesus put safety around her. He knew what was going on in her life and who she was. Instead of knocking her down he showed everybody else in the crowd that none of them was perfect either. And at the end he tells her that He will not condemn her either but instead challenged her to live a sin free life. When we share openly about faults in our own life it breaks down the thinking many have of Christians as being hypocrites and being better than anyone else. It will give people the chance to start seeing the truth about Jesus and that he came to save the sick and not the healthy.

Think about how you can implement all of that into your group or future group and ask God to give you clear revelation on how and what to share.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

A busy but wonderful week went by in like no time. We had coffee shop meetings with a wonderful bible study, great moments with events at the Italian community center, a meeting with a community organizer from the city and a wedding of our good longtime friend Mikel and Tami. Another great thing we did last week was prayer times were many Christians from San Francisco covered all the different intersections of the city. We started inviting Gods presence and the Holy Spirit into those places so that people will be touched by Gods love and hope. We want to encourage you to get the different churches in your town together and to do the same.

Invite them Home

This week we want to talk about how to further your new build friendships. After you had your new friends over at your house for a shorter time like a coffee time where you got to know them better, organize a dinner where you invite all 6 of them together. Make sure to pray before the people come and invite the Holy Spirit to guide the night. People that are coming to a home always feel more special because they are invited in your personal space. When you do that make sure to stir conversation between all the new friends. Its really important to start helping them build relationships between each other. That way they are always connected and things are not totally depending on you. A dinner together at a dining table is a great way to do that. When you look at Jesus and his life you see many times how he used a dinner to connect with people in a deeper way. You will have interactions between different people and you are also able to move a conversation in a certain direction. Make sure to have those dinners as a time of encouragement and hope. If you notice that the conversation is just going in a negative direction move it back to an encouraging and loving conversation. You are the host and the one that can help to make those dinners a place of hope. Pray and think about ways on how to make those nights exciting. Maybe go with a special theme like a Mexican theme with tacos and Mexican music. Be creative. Dinners like that will help you to go into a deeper relationship with your new friends.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hello our friend

We are so blessed to have you in our life!! Friends are a true blessing from God. During our last week we started talking about another alpha course here in North Beach. We are praying about the timing. Please pray with us for Gods guidance. We are also moving into the summer season with more interns which is a big help. Through that we are able to help the boys and girls club in a deeper way which is a huge blessing. Last weekend we celebrated our 1 year anniversary and it was awesome. God brought us so much closer together over the last year. He is so faithful. We absolutely love it to be married.

Week 4 Encouragement

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1. Thessalonians 5:11

Over the last week we looked at different ways on how to make true friends and change the world. We talked about Prayer, how to look at ourselves and things we have to change and last week how to build friendships. This week we want to talk about encouragement. When you look at todays times and all the negativity we get presented with on a daily base you see more and more the need of encouragement. Many times I hear people that are telling others more about how they didn’t do good instead of telling them areas where they did really good. What about you start doing that with the new friends? Speak words that give life to them. As an example if someone has a beautiful garden compliment them on that. Or if you saw one of your new friends when they look sad, spend time to listen to them. Let God guide you in how to encourage people. Pray and ask for the best way to encourage one of your new friends. You might be the only person that ever speaks life in to them. True encouragement can help a person to become more of who they are. Practice Encouragement with some good friend, spouse etc. and start doing it daily. As more you practice as easier it becomes and as more it becomes something you do automatically.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen