So much has happened in the last few weeks for our family. We have found out our seventh child is a girl, and she appears to be growing healthy and on schedule. Ray and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season with our family. We also began attending services solely at Pillar Church in Locust Grove, VA. This new group of believers is a church plant about 45 minutes south of our former church Pillar Church in Dumfries, VA. We had our first Sunday Morning service this past week and it was a wonderfully exciting time for all of us.
We have also partnered with a mission board that specializes in "tentmaking" missions. This is a special blessing for us as they will be able to help us in ways traditional mission boards cannot. You see many countries forbid missionaries entrance so traditional mission boards use the guise of "consultant services" to get many people in, this is risky and often ends up creating trouble down the road for missionaries when it becomes clear that they are not running successful businesses and are not contributing financially to the country. Many mission boards flat out said they won't work with the countries God is leading us too, they said it can't be done, and maybe they are right. It probably can't be done they way they are accustomed to doing it, that's why it so wonderful that their are other options. Tentmaking is not superior to fully supported missions or vice versa, but these two models of church planting used together enable many more people to be reached with the gospel than using one method exclusively. Countries much more readily accept qualified professionals already aligned with existing corporations, and it is technically illegal to enter these countries for missions purposes.
G.O., Global Opps, is a organization that specializes in assisting tentmaking professionals who have "surrendered their professions to Jesus Christ" they understand the many challenges and blessings of serving this way and we are so excited to be able to partner with such a wonderful group of Christians. We will be attending our first Missions Conference in March. We are very grateful for their help, and it's wonderful not feeling like the odd man out. Many godly Christians we know are still under the false unbiblical impression that tentmaking is not really valid vehicle for missions, and after being shot down by almost every mission board with whom we could doctrinally align ourselves, it is a real blessing to have found fellowship among these believers.
God has slowly been narrowing down His scope for us, he has made it clear that we are heading to the Eastern European Block, all of these post soviet countries were enslaved by orthodoxy until the last few decades, and now they face the onslaught of all forms of ungodly teaching and the immigration crusade of Islam. The cultures are very similar to each other. The main difference is the languages spoken. All of these countries are "closed" to traditional missionaries and within each of these nations there are gypsy tribes, which are unreached people groups who have no known bible in their language. There is little evangelical presence in these countries and we are excited about all these possibilities and are continuing to trust God has He leads us down this path.
Continue to pray for our family as God prepares us for all that lies ahead, and please praise the Lord with us for all the support we have found from G.O. and our local body of believers here in northern Virginia.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Goodbye, Hello, and a Few Tears along the way....
Today is bittersweet day for our family. This is our last Sunday at Pillar Church in Dumfries, VA. It's harder than I imagined it would be to say goodbye to such a special group of believers in Christ. It's also shocking to realize that we were only members of Pillar Dumfries for a little over a year. Our brief but blessed time at Pillar Church has been one the most fruitful years of our lives. As we found ourselves in fertile ground among so many Christians who have strengthened and encouraged us. This time has been such a wonderful time for our family, as God has been preparing our path for all that lies ahead. The relationships we have built at Pillar Dumfries will last us a lifetime and I know that these friendships rooted in our Lord will be an enormous encouragement to Ray and I in the years that follow. The sound and consistent preaching of the Word of God without apology I believe played a large part in giving Ray the courage to move our family overseas and begin church planting there.
Today is also an exciting day for our family, as God turns a page in our lives and we begin our time at Pillar Church in Locust Grove. We are so blessed to be joining Johnathan Davis and his family has he begins the church plant at Pillar Locust Grove, and we are honored to work beside such a wonderful family. It is Sovereign Providence, I believe, that we have been part of two church plants, and are now blessed to be part of a church plant in it's inception. The Lord has been so good to us in allowing us the opportunity to learn how this process works under the authority of such godly men.
Of all the things we hold dear, godly friendships are probably the sweetest earthly entanglements. But no matter how important our relationships are, we have to always be willing to lay aside our own desires and plans to follow the Lord's leading in our lives. We have no human desire to leave Pillar Dumfries, you could not ask for more God honoring group of believers to worship with. However as scripture states "to whom much has been given much, much is required" (Luke 12:48). As recipients of the good news of Jesus Christ and the support of Pillar church, Ray and I are beginning on this new part of our journey with great joy and anticipation. We pray that we will be good stewards of all the Lord and His people have given us. To Pastor Clint Clifton, the elders and their wives, and to all our brothers and sisters at Pillar Dumfries, I doubt you will ever know the depth of our appreciation for what you have invested in our lives, and we trust the Lord to increase your efforts tenfold through the faithful working of His powerful Holy Spirit.
We will praise God upon every remembrance of you,
The Via Family
Today is also an exciting day for our family, as God turns a page in our lives and we begin our time at Pillar Church in Locust Grove. We are so blessed to be joining Johnathan Davis and his family has he begins the church plant at Pillar Locust Grove, and we are honored to work beside such a wonderful family. It is Sovereign Providence, I believe, that we have been part of two church plants, and are now blessed to be part of a church plant in it's inception. The Lord has been so good to us in allowing us the opportunity to learn how this process works under the authority of such godly men.
Of all the things we hold dear, godly friendships are probably the sweetest earthly entanglements. But no matter how important our relationships are, we have to always be willing to lay aside our own desires and plans to follow the Lord's leading in our lives. We have no human desire to leave Pillar Dumfries, you could not ask for more God honoring group of believers to worship with. However as scripture states "to whom much has been given much, much is required" (Luke 12:48). As recipients of the good news of Jesus Christ and the support of Pillar church, Ray and I are beginning on this new part of our journey with great joy and anticipation. We pray that we will be good stewards of all the Lord and His people have given us. To Pastor Clint Clifton, the elders and their wives, and to all our brothers and sisters at Pillar Dumfries, I doubt you will ever know the depth of our appreciation for what you have invested in our lives, and we trust the Lord to increase your efforts tenfold through the faithful working of His powerful Holy Spirit.
We will praise God upon every remembrance of you,
The Via Family
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Prayer Requests for Nov. 2010
After a few weeks of praying and asking questions, Ray and I have formulated a list of areas in which we need the most prayer support right now. For those who have partnered with us in prayer, please realize how vital you are to this journey, we can do nothing without the Lord's strength and the support of fellow believers in Christ. We hope that you will always know how we treasure your prayers, and how grateful we are for your faithfulness. These are our most pressing requests:
1. That God would fill the positions at Pillar Dumfries, VA that we have currently been occupying. Ray does sound support almost weekly, I play the piano/sing, and our older children help set up nursery, classrooms, and chairs for services every week. We have a generous eldership who have graciously "released" us from our ministry there as of the Jan. 2011. We are asking that the Lord will bring forward people to assume these areas of service, so that we may work with them over the next few weeks, and aide in a smooth transition.
2. Pray for the Pillar Church plant in Locust Grove,VA .We will be part of the core team involved in that church plant. This will be an enormous opportunity for us to learn and grow. Pray that the Lord will give our Pastor Johnathan Davis, his family, and the other elders working to train us wisdom in their instruction, and that we would have clarity in understanding what is being taught. Pray that we will be teachable, flexible, and that the Lord would use this time to show us "how it's done".
3. Pray that the Lord will reveal the country He intends to send us too, so that we may begin to learn the language. We have a little over two years at our disposal stateside and we have been told by other people who have gone overseas that learning the language and culture during this time is essential in making the transition smoother for our children, as well as enable us build relationships faster once we arrive in the country. We have some leanings at this point, but we are desperately seeking prayer that the Lord will narrow that down by January 2011, so that we may incorporate learning that language into our homeschool and daily life.
4. Lastly please pray for our family, this is a process we will go through together with our children. Pray that the Lord will show us many teachable moments for us as a family throughout the journey. Pray that we would never attempt to move in our own strength or wisdom, and that we would wait on the Lord's timing in all things. Pray that God would protect our family and give us each unselfish hearts.
Thank you for your prayers, it will forever be the most necessary part of our ministry. I would like to leave you with a verse,
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. "
Philippians 1:3-5
Blessings,
Ray & Shannon Via
1. That God would fill the positions at Pillar Dumfries, VA that we have currently been occupying. Ray does sound support almost weekly, I play the piano/sing, and our older children help set up nursery, classrooms, and chairs for services every week. We have a generous eldership who have graciously "released" us from our ministry there as of the Jan. 2011. We are asking that the Lord will bring forward people to assume these areas of service, so that we may work with them over the next few weeks, and aide in a smooth transition.
2. Pray for the Pillar Church plant in Locust Grove,VA .We will be part of the core team involved in that church plant. This will be an enormous opportunity for us to learn and grow. Pray that the Lord will give our Pastor Johnathan Davis, his family, and the other elders working to train us wisdom in their instruction, and that we would have clarity in understanding what is being taught. Pray that we will be teachable, flexible, and that the Lord would use this time to show us "how it's done".
3. Pray that the Lord will reveal the country He intends to send us too, so that we may begin to learn the language. We have a little over two years at our disposal stateside and we have been told by other people who have gone overseas that learning the language and culture during this time is essential in making the transition smoother for our children, as well as enable us build relationships faster once we arrive in the country. We have some leanings at this point, but we are desperately seeking prayer that the Lord will narrow that down by January 2011, so that we may incorporate learning that language into our homeschool and daily life.
4. Lastly please pray for our family, this is a process we will go through together with our children. Pray that the Lord will show us many teachable moments for us as a family throughout the journey. Pray that we would never attempt to move in our own strength or wisdom, and that we would wait on the Lord's timing in all things. Pray that God would protect our family and give us each unselfish hearts.
Thank you for your prayers, it will forever be the most necessary part of our ministry. I would like to leave you with a verse,
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. "
Philippians 1:3-5
Blessings,
Ray & Shannon Via
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
What does Living Sent mean?
So just what does "Living Sent" mean? It's the term Ray and I have coined to describe our bizarre situation for the next few years. We are still pulling in an American paycheck, living in the suburbs, Ray is working on his MID online, we are driving the proverbial van, and we look like the typical American family. But were not, our hearts have been radically changed by a God that sometimes asks for big changes in return. Ray and I have committed to moving overseas by 2013 and becoming church planters and facilitators for church planters. Well that doesn't sound so odd, you say? Well not until you hear this part, we are trusting God to use the talents He has blessed Ray with to finance the whole thing. So far so good, Ray's secular company is paying for his Masters in Divinity, how about that? We will be moving overseas, without going on deputation (other than prayer support), without the red tape of a mission board, and frankly without many pioneers to show the way.
It's not that we eschew traditional missions, we have dozens of friends on various continents serving as traditional missionaries. We were first presented with lay missions by a friend who has a similar career to Ray's, he moved his family to a muslim country to work for a paycheck and work for God at the same time. This country wanted this man's skills and tolerates his church planting efforts, in exchange for his expertise. It may seem strange to us today, but one of greatest missionaries that ever lived, the Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, but much like most first century Christianity, such practices have been abandoned by the church.
Which leaves us in a quandary of sorts. I can read books for pastors, pastor's wives, missionaries on deputation, missionaries on the field, but there is very little out there for people who have committed to the call and are in preparation mode, other than traditional deputation. We are actively learning church planting on the ground here in the suburbs of D.C.. For more than the next two years we will be learning at the feet of church planters, Ray will finish school, we will begin to learn a new language, and every decision we make takes into account that we are not going to be here long. We are living sent. When we think about furniture, we think what we could squeeze into an small house in the European block. When our second fridge died, we decided we might as well learn to live with one now. We are constantly thinking about everything through the lens of going instead of staying. Never has the realization been more real that heaven is our home and not earth. I feel like a nomad, I'm here but only in order to transition to be "there" and we are not even completely sure were "there" is.
Right now our orders from God are training orders to prepare ourselves to learn, we are on maneuvers if you will. We are calling this our academic mode, where your passion meets training and becomes something more than visionary chaos. We know that the Lord has given us a heart for the Slovak nations particularly. We also know that we would like to position ourselves to eventually work with a UPG (unreached people group). Many of the gypsy tribes spread across the European block are UPGs. The praise in all this uncertainty, is that this crazy peace that we have amidst all the unknowns serves as a confirmation that God is in control, and He will tell us our marching orders in His time. For right now we are in limbo, we are living sent......
It's not that we eschew traditional missions, we have dozens of friends on various continents serving as traditional missionaries. We were first presented with lay missions by a friend who has a similar career to Ray's, he moved his family to a muslim country to work for a paycheck and work for God at the same time. This country wanted this man's skills and tolerates his church planting efforts, in exchange for his expertise. It may seem strange to us today, but one of greatest missionaries that ever lived, the Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, but much like most first century Christianity, such practices have been abandoned by the church.
Which leaves us in a quandary of sorts. I can read books for pastors, pastor's wives, missionaries on deputation, missionaries on the field, but there is very little out there for people who have committed to the call and are in preparation mode, other than traditional deputation. We are actively learning church planting on the ground here in the suburbs of D.C.. For more than the next two years we will be learning at the feet of church planters, Ray will finish school, we will begin to learn a new language, and every decision we make takes into account that we are not going to be here long. We are living sent. When we think about furniture, we think what we could squeeze into an small house in the European block. When our second fridge died, we decided we might as well learn to live with one now. We are constantly thinking about everything through the lens of going instead of staying. Never has the realization been more real that heaven is our home and not earth. I feel like a nomad, I'm here but only in order to transition to be "there" and we are not even completely sure were "there" is.
Right now our orders from God are training orders to prepare ourselves to learn, we are on maneuvers if you will. We are calling this our academic mode, where your passion meets training and becomes something more than visionary chaos. We know that the Lord has given us a heart for the Slovak nations particularly. We also know that we would like to position ourselves to eventually work with a UPG (unreached people group). Many of the gypsy tribes spread across the European block are UPGs. The praise in all this uncertainty, is that this crazy peace that we have amidst all the unknowns serves as a confirmation that God is in control, and He will tell us our marching orders in His time. For right now we are in limbo, we are living sent......
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