New projects ahead

Dear friends,

Thank you for your goodness and faithfulness to us this past year. We depend on your prayers, and are very grateful for the year-end gifts. Over the last few years, we have come to depend on them more than before.

ETF Graduates 2017

Allow us to give a catch up over the last few months. There was much to be thankful for. Jack’s new course on Pastoral Theology went well. It is an in-depth course on pastoral care that challenged students to think biblically and theologically about their future ministry. In another course, Jack and students enjoyed an evening presentation of the Belgian Gospel Mission to encourage students towards church planting in Belgium. Students wanted to hear about BGM’s new strategy for missions. Students are currently now in the middle of exams.

As 2018 gets underway, Jack is harnessing his time to do more writing. Since 2012, Jack has met for encouragement with the pastors of evangelical churches in Brussels, Antwerp, Gent and Brugge, Belgium’s major cities. These pastors wanted to write their stories, celebrating 100 years of evangelical churches in these cities, but also honestly facing the difficulties to stay afloat in a dynamic and changing city culture. Jack will add chapters on church development in cities. The book targets young church planters as well as the people in city ministries. We hope to pass on valuable lessons and tips. The book is near completion and we are looking for a publisher.

Pat is planning spring and summer workshops as well as for Easter. During November and December, she has been unusually busy with 11 flower workshops. In the church neighborhood workshop, Pat had more personal contact with the ladies. Otherwise, flower business is very slow.

We waved Rebecca off to Melbourne, Australia on December 28th for a “working holiday.” She works at various jobs (in nursing so far), then travels in between, until June 1. It’s currently 103 degrees … and her hostel doesn’t have airco!

Our grandson Manuel delights us with his babbling and pointing.

If you’ve read this far … why not order specialty coffees from a Christian business and help support our ministry! Really, this is no joke!

 

Thanks for praying. Our prayer page has more prayer requests.