In addition to catching you all up the great things that have been going on, I wanted to give you a glimpse of my upcoming months and invite your prayers...
As I think about who I am and the mission I've been charged to lead, I'm seeing that my my two primary callings are to function as a visionary and a teacher. These are the things that give me the most life, that call the most heart, courage, and passion out of me, and which consistently prove to be the most fruitful activities of my life; the more I vision and teach, the hungrier I become to do them exceptionally well, so I'm asking for your prayers toward that end.
Teaching
In the next few weeks, I'll be speaking at William Penn (10.2), Central College (10.3), Grinnell College (10.9), Drake University (10.31), and again at Central (11.7). As such, I'd like to invite your prayers in two ways.
1. Pray that I would speak with power, authority, and wisdom: that my teaching would cause students to encounter Jesus in life transforming ways.
2. Pray that I myself would encounter Jesus in life transforming ways as I prepare. (Teaching is usually one of the ways I learn most effectively).
Vision
At the same time, I'm going to be continuing to lead our area in a strategic visioning process. I am so pleased with the work we have done so far, but as I mentioned above, the more I taste, the hungrier I become! Please pray:
1. That God would aid us in the creation of an organic, adaptive team culture that is marked by four pairs of values: "Innovative and Visionary"; "Communal and Interdependent"; "Joyful and Celebratory"; "Healthy and Mature".
2. That God would entrust us with a vision that would make us gasp because it is so compelling, gripping, and "heart-enlisting". (You can pray too that we would have the courage to follow Him!)
Thanks in advance for your prayers and partnership. I look forward to sharing the fruit of our (yours and my!) sacrifices!
With Expectation,
Jon
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Rejoicing...
Hello again everyone!
I'm glad to report that I'm writing at a far more reasonable hour this time, and that the pace and strain of ministry on my family has been noticeably better since I last wrote. Thank you to those of you who have prayed for our family; I believe God has been at work! In particular, the last 24 hours or so have been incredibly sweet: Elijah is sleeping much better, is constantly saying "dac-to" (aka "tractor"), and can now take 5 unassisted steps before he dives giggling into our arms. Parenting can feel a bit paradoxical at times, but it is such a joy to love our little boy. :)
On the ministry front, we are emerging from a season that is known as NSO (New Student Outreach), and there are fantastic things to report from all across our area:
* Since I last wrote, we've seen at least two people choose to follow Jesus for the first time: a Chinese international student from Coe College, and a freshman guy from Drake!
* We had 150 students from Iowa in attendance at our first-ever Regional Fall Conference (FC07)! In two cases (William Penn and Coe), the number of students at the conference actually exceeedthe number of students in the chapter at the beginning of the year!
* Grinnell College is enjoying their best Bible Study launch ever. One of their studies had 18 students attend the first meeting!
The stories literally go on and on, as I only hear bits and pieces from my staff, but join with me in thanking God for the work he's doing on the campuses of Iowa!
With Joy,
Jon
I'm glad to report that I'm writing at a far more reasonable hour this time, and that the pace and strain of ministry on my family has been noticeably better since I last wrote. Thank you to those of you who have prayed for our family; I believe God has been at work! In particular, the last 24 hours or so have been incredibly sweet: Elijah is sleeping much better, is constantly saying "dac-to" (aka "tractor"), and can now take 5 unassisted steps before he dives giggling into our arms. Parenting can feel a bit paradoxical at times, but it is such a joy to love our little boy. :)
On the ministry front, we are emerging from a season that is known as NSO (New Student Outreach), and there are fantastic things to report from all across our area:
* Since I last wrote, we've seen at least two people choose to follow Jesus for the first time: a Chinese international student from Coe College, and a freshman guy from Drake!
* We had 150 students from Iowa in attendance at our first-ever Regional Fall Conference (FC07)! In two cases (William Penn and Coe), the number of students at the conference actually exceeedthe number of students in the chapter at the beginning of the year!
* Grinnell College is enjoying their best Bible Study launch ever. One of their studies had 18 students attend the first meeting!
The stories literally go on and on, as I only hear bits and pieces from my staff, but join with me in thanking God for the work he's doing on the campuses of Iowa!
With Joy,
Jon
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Midnight in Early September
This time of year, it's all too normal. Midnight hits, and I'm still plugging away at any number of things, hoping that my son sleeps well (he's awake with Steph at the moment), and fighting off sleep. Thankfully, this pace is an exception rather than the rule, but to be honest, it's been an incredibly full last few weeks, and I'm feeling it.
On the one hand is the work on campus. Chapters are launching into a year of new freshmen, inexperienced leaders, technical glitches, and transformed lives. I experience these things much more second-hand now than I used to, so I find myself cheering on my staff by phone as they tell me about this great new freshmen they've met, or the leader who is really stepping up to the plate and owning their responsibility in the Kingdom. It truly is an incredible time of year, so filled with hope, expectation, and sometimes disappointment. Though it's incredibly difficult at times, it's this time of year that reminds us why we do this job: we love Jesus, we love the campus, and we are convinced that it is incredibly strategic in God's kingdom.
On the other is family and core relationships. Though it can go unnoticed (and unappreciated!) my family feels as much of the burden as I do, and they sacrifice along with me for the sake of the mission.
To be honest, it has been a difficult season for my family. Both Steph and I are in the midst of ministry launches, which costs time and heart and attention. Elijah continues to sleep poorly, which wears on us physically. In addition, I've been pounding away at a grad school course that is due in just over a week (mainly between 9p-1a). (BTW, it should have been done long ago; apparently, I'm not done procrastinating school work...) Those factors (among others) have been taking their toll on our relationship.
Toward that end, I'd like to ask for your prayers.
1. Pray that Steph and I would make the most of the time we do have; that we'd be able to "check our work at the door" and be more fully present to one another.
2. Pray for Elijah's stomach and intestines, that they would stop waking him up all the time and that he would rest peacefully.
3. Pray for my capacity. I'm finding that I really do need Jesus' help to be a great dad and husband. (Go figure!)
4. Pray that we would be able to push through "functionality" into genuine intimacy.
Thanks for "bearing with" us in this way. We are so grateful.
Learning,
Jon
On the one hand is the work on campus. Chapters are launching into a year of new freshmen, inexperienced leaders, technical glitches, and transformed lives. I experience these things much more second-hand now than I used to, so I find myself cheering on my staff by phone as they tell me about this great new freshmen they've met, or the leader who is really stepping up to the plate and owning their responsibility in the Kingdom. It truly is an incredible time of year, so filled with hope, expectation, and sometimes disappointment. Though it's incredibly difficult at times, it's this time of year that reminds us why we do this job: we love Jesus, we love the campus, and we are convinced that it is incredibly strategic in God's kingdom.
On the other is family and core relationships. Though it can go unnoticed (and unappreciated!) my family feels as much of the burden as I do, and they sacrifice along with me for the sake of the mission.
To be honest, it has been a difficult season for my family. Both Steph and I are in the midst of ministry launches, which costs time and heart and attention. Elijah continues to sleep poorly, which wears on us physically. In addition, I've been pounding away at a grad school course that is due in just over a week (mainly between 9p-1a). (BTW, it should have been done long ago; apparently, I'm not done procrastinating school work...) Those factors (among others) have been taking their toll on our relationship.
Toward that end, I'd like to ask for your prayers.
1. Pray that Steph and I would make the most of the time we do have; that we'd be able to "check our work at the door" and be more fully present to one another.
2. Pray for Elijah's stomach and intestines, that they would stop waking him up all the time and that he would rest peacefully.
3. Pray for my capacity. I'm finding that I really do need Jesus' help to be a great dad and husband. (Go figure!)
4. Pray that we would be able to push through "functionality" into genuine intimacy.
Thanks for "bearing with" us in this way. We are so grateful.
Learning,
Jon
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to Jon's Epistle, Blog Edition!
I've never written a blog before, so this will be a work in progress, but by way of introduction, I wanted to lay out a few of my hopes for this experience.
1. I hope that utilizing this tool creates more opportunity for me to share about the ministry of InterVarsity in Iowa. I'm hoping that this will continue to feel trendy enough to help motivate me to update you all more regularly. :)
2. I hope this paints a somewhat "unvarnished" picture of the real ins and outs of doing this job. Communication to hundreds of people four times a year can be helpful, but there's only so much you can say in a page or two. My hope is that this blog feels closer to the action.
3. I hope it enables a greater level of connection between you all and our ministry, both through keeping you more current on what's going on and how I'm doing, but also enabling feedback and interaction.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm hoping to post every couple of weeks. If you'd like to receive an email when I post, please drop me a quick message, and I'll add you to the list. I believe it's also possible to "subscribe" to this blog using the hyperlink below, but to do that, I believe you'll need to create a user ID (if you don't have one already). If you have any difficulties with the site, please let me know, and I'll do what I can to fix it.
Thanks again for checking in, your care and support mean so much.
With expectation,
Jon
I've never written a blog before, so this will be a work in progress, but by way of introduction, I wanted to lay out a few of my hopes for this experience.
1. I hope that utilizing this tool creates more opportunity for me to share about the ministry of InterVarsity in Iowa. I'm hoping that this will continue to feel trendy enough to help motivate me to update you all more regularly. :)
2. I hope this paints a somewhat "unvarnished" picture of the real ins and outs of doing this job. Communication to hundreds of people four times a year can be helpful, but there's only so much you can say in a page or two. My hope is that this blog feels closer to the action.
3. I hope it enables a greater level of connection between you all and our ministry, both through keeping you more current on what's going on and how I'm doing, but also enabling feedback and interaction.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm hoping to post every couple of weeks. If you'd like to receive an email when I post, please drop me a quick message, and I'll add you to the list. I believe it's also possible to "subscribe" to this blog using the hyperlink below, but to do that, I believe you'll need to create a user ID (if you don't have one already). If you have any difficulties with the site, please let me know, and I'll do what I can to fix it.
Thanks again for checking in, your care and support mean so much.
With expectation,
Jon
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