Winter 2015

December, January and February have been months of great celebration and exciting opportunities! We are so grateful for your support of our mission to the nations of the world, as people from around the globe come to Germany for study, work, or find refuge and begin a new life.

Darmstadt: Anyone who has lived in or visited Germany during the Christmas season will tell you it is a very special time.  Every city and village hosts their Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market), with seasonal foods and drinks, beautiful decorations, local handmade gifts and holiday concerts. Yet for many people whom we minister to, it is a difficult time, because they are very far from home. We do our best to gather together as a church family, inviting students and expats from all walks of life for meals, parties and worship. We were especially blessed to have gatherings at our flat and at other church homes for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. 

 
 

   

Our LIFE Groups continue to grow – we have new people in the groups nearly every week. In fact, on Thursday evening we had 18 in our flat – and seven of our regulars were missing!  We are excited to be starting a new group in February that will be meeting in a penthouse restaurant atop the tallest building in the city. We met a new friend, Mr. Chan, at a small Christmas Market in the courtyard of a tall residential building across the street from our apartment. He is a Chinese businessman, and a Christian. As we talked, he expressed that when he purchased the buildings, he had a strong desire to see them used for the purposes of God. He has agreed to host a new LIFE Group in one of the towers. It is a great location – near the center city, right at a tram stop. We've talked with Mr. Chan about our mission to reach out to the student and science communities in Darmstadt, and we hope to work together toward that goal. He has described a vision for a new property he is considering in Leipzig, a possible business venture with a church plant as part of the plan. Pray for this new opportunity!

Carol’s ministry is expanding greatly. She is busy almost every day of the week meeting with individuals or groups. She helps new arrivals get acclimated to life in Germany – things like shopping, spouse and children issues, cooking, and simply encouraging. She serves as surrogate sister and mother to a wide range of students, business people and their spouses. It is such a delight to see God using her gifts and caring spirit in our mission.

Church Planting Around the World!

 The last two months have proven to be some of the busiest yet for Bob in his role as Coordinator of the Church Planting Ministry Team for the IBC. During one week, for example, we were in Rome for the launch of our newest church plant. It was a great experience! We had been part of the feasibility study at the beginning of the process, and the assessment of the potential planting pastor and his wife. To be able to attend their first service was such a blessing! And Rome is...well, it's Rome!

We returned home from Rome on Monday. Tuesday was spent finishing up preparations for a Wednesday meeting in Dusseldorf of the Northern European LEAD Team – a regional group of pastors who meet to plan church planting efforts. We had 5 new pastors at the meeting – all enthusiastic about reaching Europe through the planting of new international churches. After an 18 hour day of travel on Wednesday, Bob found himself in Frankfurt on Thursday for a meeting at IBC headquarters. In addition, Bob meets weekly via Skype with the Church Planting Executive Leadership Team and the planter of our new church in Munich, who is raising funds in the US. We also conducted and interview with a potential new church planter from Texas via the internet.

Family Matters

We were not able to be in the US with our family for Christmas, but the Lord provided so that we could spend a few days with each of our children during the last week of November and the first week of December. We spent Thanksgiving with Nicole, Eric, Asher and Cayden in the Elmira, New York area.  



  

 

Then we went to Phoenix to see John – a great blessing. 

We visited the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater and Sedona. 

Then we traveled to Annapolis to visit with Andrew and Rachel. We had a wonderful time around the Naval Academy.  Then just this week we were blessed by the arrival of our third grandson – Levi Edward Marsh was born on Feb 16, weighing in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Mom, dad and baby are doing great!

Prayer Notes

Keep us in your Prayers!

• Pray for us as we plan a brief home tour.  In the fall we will be in the USA for a short time to visit churches and friends, sharing the vision for Darmstadt and beyond. Pray as we plan and schedule these critical visits.  If you would like to schedule your church for a visit during our home service, please contact us as soon as possible - ConvergeDarmstadt@gmail.com.

•  Pray for the church as we continue to lay a solid foundation for the years to come. We have appointed our first Deacons/Ministry Managers who will help to guide the work of the church. The Elders are focused on spiritual maturity and direction for the church, and preach on a regular rotation. Pray also for greater impact of our ministry among students at the university, scientists and support personnel at the Space Agencies, and business & military personnel from the US and around the globe working in the area and their families.

•  Pray for our financial support. The cost of living in Europe is very high, we are very blessed by solid support, but some has slipped in recent months. Pray that God will continue to supply.