The Call - Resources

It was so encouraging to come together again from across our Relational Mission churches for our recent leaders conference!

God has given us a bold and courageous vision, calling us to be globally fruitful, to cross all the boundaries laid before us, making disciples and planting locally led churches.

In October 2023, over five hundred leaders from across our family of churches gathered together to worship Jesus, enjoy fellowship with one another, and be freshly envisioned for what God wants to do among us and beyond us.

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The Call - main session recordings

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Audio

Relational Mission · The Call 2023

Bekka and Jordan in San Francisco - May / June update

The last couple of months have been pretty full-on in ways we could never have imagined. The leadership in the church is going through a huge transition as the Shaw family, who currently lead the team here, are moving back to the UK and we have largely been helping the Church to walk through this and the leadership team to prepare for the next season.

Initially, when this news was delivered to us we struggled a bit to understand why God had held off making a way for us to be here until this point however the last couple of months have shown us he really does have purpose in his timings.

Being here through this season has meant that we have really been able to grow deeper and more intentional friendships as we have been able to share in the processing of the next season with members of the Church here. It has also enabled us to really lean into the things God has grown in us over the last 5 years in terms of Church knowledge, wisdom and other gifting's he has been building within us both as we help the core team build a plan and a vision for the coming months.

We love this Church and the people in it and feel blessed to be able to really dig into seeking what God has for them in the coming months. San Francisco needs the Church more than ever and we are confident that God will use Sanctuary in so many wonderful ways.

In May we had to come home briefly to sort out our VISAs and, what should have been an easyish process, turned into a real 'God this is in your hands' time for us.

The original VISA we were here on was a visitor VISA and we needed to apply for a volunteer VISA. We were told by legal advisors that the wait time for that was only 21 days so we didn't need to rush, HOWEVER, when we applied, the next interview date was the 24th July – Jordan returns to work on the 7th August so we would not have been able to get back here at all.

In faith, I sent an appeal to the embassy, we did not even slightly meet the criteria for expedition but God is bigger than the criteria!. Around a week later we received confirmation that our interview would take place on the 4th May!!

So, we got home. had the interview, and were approved!! We were told we would have VISAs in a week so booked our flights back. Sorted! So we thought...

The day before our flight we still had no VISA and were faced with having to forfeit our flights, book new ones and miss a lot in SF. We just made the call to try and change the flight when I received the email that our VISA was ready to collect! So, we headed to Heathrow that evening and Jordan rushed into London at 6am the next morning to collect them before our flight! God kept us on our toes but really did remain faithful!

Prayer Request

• The Church here - that we will be able to support them and build them up in the best possible ways to be ready for what God has next for this Church.

• Sending the Shaws - that as a Church we are able to support and send the Shaw family well and that they are able to enjoy their last 6 weeks in San Francisco with a smooth landing once they are back in the UK

• Future Plans - for God to make clear to us what he wants us to dig into for the future, we do not feel that our time here is done yet but we need some clarity and firm answers on this so we would love some prayer for guidance and wisdom on this

• Accommodation back home - there have been a few changes in what our plans had been meaning that when we land in July, we currently don't have anywhere to live. Our house is rented out until December so we need somewhere to live for around 4 months.

• Finances - As mentioned above, we are a little stretched as we come into the last few weeks of our time here. God has kept us going so far and we know he will sustain us but we could do with some prayer in this area.

May / June Highlights

• Experiencing Gods blessings andprovision whilst back in the UK getting VISAs

• Increasingly deepening friendships with people here enabling bigger and more challenging conversations

• Both helping to run, and being able to attend Alpha Marriage Course

• Growth in the Worship leaders that we are spending time alongside

• Celebration California Camp with other NF churches in California

• Yosemite trip with friends

Adventures

Whilst the majority of our time here is spent helping with the running of the Church and volunteering with the homeless, we have been so blessed to be able to experience some amazing things while we've been here.

We've been to Ice Hockey Games and Baseball Games, visited Alcatraz and Angel Island, watched adults roll down hills on kids tricycles and eaten ALOT of food!

Also, most recently, we got a chanced to visit Yosemite National Park with some friends from the Church and WOW what an incredible example of Gods INCREDIBLE creation!

Bekka is also still enjoying her times with the homeless community here, spending time making pancakes in the park for them and also working with food banks to help them put together grocery bags for people to collect. Getting to speak to them and support them in their journeys has been a real privilege.

Final Months

We are looking ahead now at what is the last 6 weeks out here and whilst we are very much looking forward to what God will do in this time, we are incredibly sad that our time here is coming to an end. God is really at work here and we are loving watching him move and grow in the Church, having to say goodbye to that feels very heavy on our hearts right now.

The Parkers and Nijmegen – the story so far.

Last June Redeemer said goodbye (sniff sniff) to the Parkers as they were sent to plant a church in Nijmegen, in east Netherlands, close to the German border. Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands (remind you of anywhere?!) and has a population of about 180,000. The Netherlands is an affluent country and most people are comfortable financially. This means comfort can be a big idol for the Dutch. As a result, there is an ambivalence to the church and Jesus. Like much of Western Europe, if people think about God at all, it is simply to think ‘why do I need Him?’

Plant Nijmegen, as it was originally called started life as four families called by God to step into this setting of ambivalence to show the people of Nijmegen the beauty of the church and their need for Jesus. To start with the focus was on the four families getting to know each other, building a team and getting themselves settled into a new country and city. Moving to a living in a foreign country involves a lot of life admin and logistical challenges. However,this allowed the team to all pitch in to help each other and strong personal bonds were built in this time, creating a strong foundation as a leadership team.

The church started life in September as small mid-week life groups and since the end of March has been meeting on Sunday under it’s new name, Novio church. There are approximately 20 adults and 20 children, which includes a core team of 18. The church is made up of a mix of Dutch and international families and includes some students. Services are led in Dutch with an English translation.

Traditionally, Dutch churches are more word focused and heavy on tradition so one of the challenges Novio faces is encouraging people to step into using the gifts of the spirit, both by modelling this and providing solid teaching. There is a mix of cultures, nationalities and life stages in the church and leadership team which has meant there is a real focus needed on building unity and church culture. An additional challenge for the Parkers is that they are planting a church at a very different life stage from when they planted Redeemer.

But it isn’t all challenges, God has been blessing the Parkers and the Novio church team abundantly. The Parkers moved to the Netherlands as a family of three, but are now a family of four, welcoming baby Eliza at the end of December last year. Jasper is as proud a big brother as you can imagine, gladly telling anyone within earshot that he has a little sister. Ben and Mikka have also both been blessed with the provision of jobs that they are both enjoying and feel fulfilled in. Rather than just being a means to get them into the Netherlands, both feel that their jobs are a part of the reason God has called them to Nijmegen.

They have also been blessed with great relationships with their fellow church planters. There is a strong team dynamic, but also a strong bond of friendship has already developed.

Please join us in praying for the following:

• For Eliza’s passport to come through quickly so the Parkers can visit the UK in the summer.

• That the church would see salvations early on and show the beauty of the church, to Christians and non-Christians alike

• For the good leadership team dynamic that has developed to remain strong and continue to build.

• That the Parkers would continue to learn how to balance to family life and church life well,

• For their jobs to be extended beyond current contracts

Ben and Mikka would like to thank everyone who has supported them with prayer, financial gifts, encouragement and practical help. They were greatly blessed by how well they were sent by Redeemer. Well done church!

Nijmegen - Autumn walks and fruit crumble - The Story so far

The Parkers

In June of this year, we sent our dear friends Ben, Mikka and Jasper to be part of Plant Nijmegen, in Nijmegen Holland. Plant Nijmegen is part of the Relational Mission family of Churches of which we are part.

It’s such a privilege to send some of our key members to support and strengthen other Churches and something we feel we have been called to as a Church.

Recently Mikka sent us an update letting us know how things are going and how we could support them in prayer.

It’s November, autumn season - we’re enjoying the beautiful coloured leaves on or off the trees, long walks in the woods (covering short distances with a toddler), lots of homemade soups and fruit crumbles. Life can be busy and hectic but we’re still trying to give ourselves quite a lot of grace and space as we continue to settle in and adjust to Dutch life, whilst also anticipating another big change that takes us from a family of three to four!

Just to recap about our chaotic, multi-step move (it’s not necessarily how most people would choose to move!) - Ben and I both started our jobs in the Netherlands remotely on 1st June. We left Colchester, our home for the last 7 years at the end of June 2022. We jumped on the overnight ferry from Harwich and arrived the following morning with just a carload of our stuff. We stayed in two airbnbs - one right by Nijmegen Centrum, the other in Loosbroek, on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

In mid-July we finally got to our house (miraculous provision during the Dutch housing crisis) but with hardly anything - it was like camping. I found this week the hardest so far, Ben was drowning in admin, particularly the stressful customs paperwork. On 22nd July we celebrated Ben’s 30th birthday with friends at the Vierdaagsefeesten (Google it) in town think festival vibes with 40 music stages and food trucks all over the city. The following night he went back to the UK to fill up a van with our stuff with the help of friends and then he drove back via Calais with the legend that is James Mulholland.

“Be encouraged, he can meet your every need and he is with you too!”

We’re so thankful to so many people who helped us get here - we honestly couldn’t have done it without them. From people housing us, to helping pack up and clean our old house, to going to our Colchester house and helping arrange stuff with our new tenant as well as a wonderful send off from Redeemer Church Colchester. There were also very generous financial gifts - it cost about £10,000 to move and we definitely didn’t have that in our savings so we’re very grateful for the help to set up home here and deal with all the initial upfront costs. We’re so thankful to God for getting us here and the evidence we’ve seen and experienced of his grace and provision for us - I’m reminded of how he’s been with us every step of the way! Be encouraged, he can meet your every need and he is with you too!

So now we’re here - fast forward and I can’t believe it’s November! Ben is doing well in his job at the Eindhoven University of Technology, enjoying commuting twice a week, Dutch language lessons as well as additional European travel for work. He’s done super well and already passed his first Dutch exam with a great result! Jasper is enjoying what we call ‘Kindy-Nursery-House’ for 2 ½ days a week - it’s just over the road so super convenient and nice that he gets to be with other kids, his Dutch is coming along too - he has the essential toddler words ‘nee’ (no), ‘ijsje’ (ice cream) and ‘meer kaas’ (more cheese).

I’m working for a Christian charity called ‘Navigators’, particularly looking out for International

Students here in the city - it’s a self-funded role so I’m currently doing Ministry Partner Development (MPD) to raise my salary and build a team of partners to pray and support me in this work. At times, I’ve found it hard to be motivated but relationally it’s been a very rich time for me - I’ve loved all of my conversations with potential partners and getting to share my story and the stories of others, that they might catch the vision and join in this ministry with us. It’s been such a joy to know that they believe in and see such value in investing in the lives of these international students.

We’re feeling a bit more settled here in our home and in the city - we love living a 2, 4 and 10 minute bike ride from the other families in the church plant team and are enjoying getting to know each other better. We meet every other week as a team on Zoom so all 8 of us can be there as well as gathering a wider group of people who are interested in joining us. We’ve done a mixture of socials and prayer/ worship times together - we’re a real mix of Dutch/ Internationals/ you’ll often hear at least 3 different languages! We’re looking at starting to meet on Sundays from February/ March 2023 so watch this space.

• Highlights: Holiday with friends in Zeeland, NL // Family time and exploring the city // Core Church Plant Team Family weekend away // Visits from friends & family from the UK

• Challenges: Admin for life in NL and navigating that with our level of Dutch // Inconsistent capacity and energy levels // Missing people

• Prayer points: Safe delivery of baby #2 // Continued progress with Dutch language // Wisdom for us as a church plant team as we continue to gather people and work towards Sunday morning meetings