Happy New Year from the Segaar-Kings

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and support in 2018.  We wish you and your family God's richest blessings in 2019.

The Segaar-Kings

Christmas Family Update

Isaiah 55:9 says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”  As we look back on eighteen months in Michigan, we can certainly agree with Isaiah’s perspective.  God continues to surprise us with challenges and opportunities.  Sharon has enjoyed getting back into choral music.  As a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Choir she has sung several challenging pieces in concert halls this fall.  She has had opportunities to preach and sing in worship services as well.  Zach was on the road a lot this fall with preaching and ministry trips to Japan, Korea, Alberta, Ontario, Chicago and Orlando.  With four children going four separate directions, life can get pretty complicated in his absence.  Isaiah enjoyed soccer, band and playing his clarinet this fall.  Esther, our social butterfly, surprised us by playing lacrosse and basketball with her friends this fall.  Vivian continues to improve on her violin and make new friends at school.  Hannah, our oldest, has perfected feats of strength and dexterity such as the splits, handstands and l-sits (in addition to being a great student).  It seems that all of our children are enjoying their second school year at Grand Rapids Christian Schools, which is a huge answer to prayer.  Though we didn’t expect to finish 2018 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, God has blessed us tremendously.  May God bless you this Christmas!

My Favorite Thing

Pastor Juan Flores founded Christ’s Vineyard CRC in the Humboldt neighborhood of Chicago.  In the 80s when he began the ministry, the neighborhood was in the midst of economic crisis and increasing crime.    Christ’s Vineyard reached out to the economically and spiritually struggling residents of the neighborhood.  Because of gentrification, today the neighborhood is increasingly affluent and many long-term less affluent residents have been displaced.  Despite these changes, Christ’s Vineyard continues to serve the spiritually and economically struggling residents of its neighborhood.

CRC pastor Rick Abma founded a ministry called Good Neighbour Coffee in which he roasts Guatemalan coffee and serves it from an expresso bike (pictured above) in local neighborhoods.  Over coffee and conversation Rick builds relationships and takes advantage of opportunities to share Christ’s love with his neighbors.

Many people ask me (Zach) what I enjoy the most about my job.  Without a doubt, my favorite part of being the Director of Resonate is the opportunity to witness the amazing things God is doing in mission around the world.  Last October I shared the story of the Reformed Church of Japan. I want to share the stories of two pastors I met this fall: Rick Abma and Juan Flores.  Rick, who lives in Lacombe, Alberta, is a Resonate Local Mission Leader and part of Resonate’s Western Canada Regional Mission Team.  The second pastor, Juan Flores, has worked in urban mission in the inner city of Chicago for over thirty years.  Both Rick and Juan have an infectious passion for evangelism and mission which is a blessing to me and those they serve.

Building a Team for Mission

Resonate's Michigan and Ontario-based team.

At Resonate, we know that God uses teams for the work of mission. Jesus’ disciples were a mission team sent from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.  Building a team with a mission-focused culture is one of Zach’s primary tasks.  This fall, Resonate gathered its Grand Rapids and Burlington-based staff at Camp Geneva to reflect on Resonate’s core postures: prayer, listening, serving, learning, mutual care and accountability and peace-making.  At Resonate, we saturate all we do in complete dependence on God.  We listen to God’s Spirit and Word to discern where God wants us to act.  We encourage local leaders, congregations and communities by following Jesus in taking the posture of a servant.  We continually seek to learn from each other and others rather than presuming we have all the answers.  We seek to build mutual care and accountability into all aspects of our organizational life as well as ministry relationships.  Finally, we model authentic relationships of trust and respect across barriers that divide people.  Please pray that God will help us build a strong culture of mission at Resonate.

Segaar-King December Update

Esther enjoying a Michigan fall in 2018

Chicago is one of the key areas for Resonate's church planting work in the US.  Zach took this picture from the Hancock Building after spending a day learning about that work.

Dear Friends and Family:

 Our desires can be powerful vehicles to bring us closer to God and his mission for our lives.  Simeon, a devout Jew who “was waiting for the consolation of Israel” is a case in point (Luke 2:25-32).  The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before his desire was granted.  When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the Temple on the eighth day to be circumcised, there was Simeon, patiently and joyfully awaiting the fulfillment of his desire. Simeon held the baby Jesus and praised God, “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  May God shape our desires in 2019 as he shaped those of Simeon so that we may share God’s light and salvation with all people.  Merry Christmas!

 Please pray for:

1.       God’s wisdom and grace as Resonate enters into its budgeting cycle in January.  We will need that wisdom and grace to make difficult decisions about ministry priorities.

2.       God’s guidance as Resonate evaluates its church planting ministry in North America.  We have about 250 church planters, spouses, and parent church pastors who have given us feedback about the CRC’s church planting system.  Pray that God will give us courage to act wisely on what we learn.

3.       Peace in the countries where Resonate has mission workers.  It seems that civil unrest and government persecution of Christianity has increased in many places in the fall of 2018.

4.       Generous giving to mission from God’s people so that Resonate’s work can continue in 2019.

 Please give thanks for:

1.       A safe but intense fall of travel for Zach.  Zach was in Orlando, Japan, Korea, Alberta, Ontario and Chicago this fall for Resonate.  We appreciate your prayers and support for this ministry of leadership to which we have been called.

2.       God’s blessing on our family in 2018.  As we finish our first full year in the US, we give thanks for progress made adapting to our new home.

3.       The tremendous privilege to witness how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is changing the world in which we live.  In the attached newsletter you will read the story of two people that God is using “as a light of revelation for the Gentiles.”

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Serving with Resonate Global Mission

Family Update

"Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”  Based on the number of times this phrase occurs in the Psalms, this must have been the most popular praise and worship song for nearly a millennium.  As a family, we can join God’s people in this refrain.  It is a blessing to see our children building relationships and getting more comfortable in their new home. After having spent twelve years befriending Haitian children, it is not surprising that many of their new friends are from  diverse backgrounds.  We have enjoyed getting to know the parents of our children’s friends as well.  Hannah has begun her sophomore year and will soon be driving and looking at colleges.  Isaiah and Vivian are in seventh grade and Esther is in fourth (her final year of elementary school).  Sharon has stayed very busy managing the children’s activities and going through some intense physical therapy.  Zach’s travel schedule has sometimes been intense and the weight of learning about and leading the mission work of Resonate has often felt overwhelming.  We are all consoled by the fact that our souls, our bodies, our aspirations, and the work that God calls us to all belong to him.  We are simply stewards, co-laboring with the Holy Spirit.  We continue to depend on your prayers and enjoy praying for you, our partners in mission.  May God shine upon you this fall and give you his peace!

A Different Flavor of Mission

Church members begin cleaning moments after Zach finished his sermon at the Funabashi Reformed Church in preparation for an evangelistic service later in the week.  You won’t see that in Haiti!

Zach greeted the 73rd General Assembly of the Reformed Church of Japan in October and preached in one of its churches.

After  having spent most of our first two decades of ministry in Latin America and Africa, I (Zach) really had little idea of what mission looked like in the developed countries of East Asia.  In October, I got my first taste.  I visited two countries that are outwardly very similar—Japan and South Korea.  Both of these countries have had a significant missionary presence.  One of these countries has a large Protestant Christian population and sends out one of the highest numbers of missionaries of any country in the world.  The other celebrates Christmas and often uses churches for marriage ceremonies but only counts 2% of its population as believers.  The first country is South Korea and the second is Japan!  While the Christian Reformed Church doesn’t have a large missionary presence in Korea, 10% of the CRC is ethnically Korean.  In Japan, Resonate has had a long presence and has helped the Reformed Church of Japan plant 50 churches.  The passion of Japanese believers for Christ comes out not in the loud music and long sermons of Africa and Latin America.  It rather comes out in meticulously organized, harmonious worship services and the difficult life that Japanese Christians lead as a small minority in their

Segaar-King September Update

This scene (minus the green grass) could be from anywhere in Haiti.  Actually, it is from Orlando, Florida.  Zach got a chance to spend a few hours with members of Pastor Obelto Cherubin's church in Orlando (see below).

Dear Friends and Family:

Sometimes the wisdom of God seems like foolishness to us.  In 2007, soon after our arrival in Haiti, Pastor Obelto Cherubin immigrated from Haiti to Orlando, FL.  From the beginning of Resonate’s work in Haiti in the 1980s, Obelto was a key leader and founder of our national church partner, the CRC of Haiti.  At that time I didn’t realize how important Obelto was, but his absence became more and more apparent over the course of our next eleven years in Haiti.  Last week things came full circle.  During a visit to Orlando, I stopped by Obelto’s church, called the “Haitian Christian Reformed Church.”  Under Obelto’s leadership and the Spirit’s blessing, the congregation has reached out to many Haitian immigrants who have come to Central Florida to work at Disney World and the other big amusement parks.  What was a loss to me in 2007 became a gain for the CRC in North America—a vibrant and growing congregation in the middle of Orlando’s Haitian community.  God’s wisdom can be surprising!

Please pray for:

1.       A long trip to Korea and Japan in October.  While Zach is looking forward to seeing Resonate’s ministry and partnerships in East Asia, it will be exhausting, especially as Zach has to attend (and lead portions of) denominational board meetings the day after he returns.

2.       The church in China as it faces increased opposition from the government including seizure of property and harassment.  While specific info cannot be published on the Internet for security reasons, we can rejoice that God continues to protect the staff members and ministries we are connected to.

3.       A concussion that Isaiah sustained at school.  After two weeks of full and partial day absences, it seems that Isaiah is improving quickly.

Please give thanks for:

1.       A great three-day meeting of Resonate’s Leadership Team in Detroit, Michigan.  During our meeting we had a chance to visit Hesed Community Church in the heart of Detroit.  It was amazing to see what God is doing in inner city Detroit through church planting and community engagement.

2.       A successful retreat for the Grand Rapids, MI and Burlington, ON based team.  About 44 Resonate staff members prayerfully reflected on the six core postures of Resonate: prayer, listening, serving, learning, mutual care and accountability, and peacemaking.  One of Zach’s greatest privileges is to be involved in building a God-honoring culture at Resonate.

3.       School is off to a good start this fall for our kids.  It feels like “year two” is going to be an improvement over our first year back from Haiti.

 Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Serving with Resonate Global Mission

Segaar-King August Update

Remnants of the ping-pong sized hail that totaled our car while we were on vacation in July.

Our children at Custer State Park in South Dakota

Dear Friends and Family:

On this Friday before Labor Day weekend, we reflect back on this summer and what God has done in our lives and ministry.  We give thanks that God allowed all four of our children to successfully complete their first full school year in the United States.  I (Zach) had an opportunity in June to travel to Costa Rica and see the tremendous work Resonate Global Mission is doing in developing leaders all around Latin America through the Faith and Life training program, based in San Jose (Costa Rica).  Our family had a wonderful vacation driving (and tent-camping) cross-country to the Black Hills (South Dakota), Yellowstone and the Grant Tetons (both in Wyoming).  By God’s grace, we survived a terrible hailstorm that totaled our van!  Finally, we give thanks that school has started again and we have officially begun “Year Two” of life after Haiti!

Please pray for:

1.       Resonate’s Leadership Team Retreat next week.  A big part of Zach’s work building strong leadership in Resonate!  Resonate will also be having a Grand Rapids (MI) and Burlington (ON)-based team retreat on September 27.  Pray that we would grow together for God’s glory.

2.       Haiti and Nicaragua:  Two of the most economically challenged countries in Latin America have had separate incidents of civil and political unrest this summer.  Pray that our mission staff and national partners in these two countries would be Christ’s light in difficult times.

3.       A successful school year for our children.

Please give thanks for:

1.       God’s grace at the Synod (annual assembly) of the CRC back in June.  Resonate presented a document calling the CRC to focus on prayer and spiritual renewal as the first step to making the CRC’s church planting and evangelism efforts more effective.   Pray that this would take root!

2.       Resonate’s first birthday as the CRC’s new mission agency.  We give thanks for the members and churches that have supported the work of mission through Resonate faithfully despite many changes!

3.       Sharon has been accepted into Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus.  We give thanks that she will have an opportunity to sing this fall, winter and spring.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Serving with Resonate Global Mission

Using the Right Tool

A large part of the Costa Rican population, including the capital of San Jose, is located in a beautiful valley in the center of the country.

If you are like me, you often try to make due with whatever tool is at hand when you need to make a quick repair.  So, when I need to tighten a Phillips-head screw, I will just try to manage with a flat-head screwdriver.  The problem is, I often strip the screw and make life a lot harder.  The same is true in the area of theological education.  Often we use a didactic, lecture-orientated presentation style to train adult students who really don't benefit at all from this approach.  Recently I was in Costa Rica where I spent a few days with Resonate missionaries, Jim and Ruth Padilla-DeBorst.  Jim and Ruth do theological education through a program called Faith and Life in English or CETI (Comunidad de Estudios Teologicos Interdisciplinarios) in Spanish.  Instead of trying to communicate a defined body of information didactically, CETI focuses on inviting dialogue, asking the right questions, and participative learning.  Experience has shown that this method of learning provides better results for adult learners--the kind that Resonate often engages in theological education.  Like many of the other training tools that Resonate uses, CETI focuses on application of learning and reflection on experience.  This means that theology doesn't remain theoretical.  It actually gets used in everyday ministry and the results become opportunities for further prayerful reflection and learning.  We at Resonate are very thankful to have the opportunity to use CETI/Faith and Life in our theological and leadership training ministries.  It is the right tool for the job!  For more information, see http://www.ceticontinental.org/portal/

A Place to Call Home

Resonate's Director (Zach) and a CRC Finance colleague battle to remove some rotted fence-posts.

Weeding the sandbox and repainting the playground equipment make a more attractive place for Resonate's missionary children to play.

Moving from host country back to home country for deputation and support-raising is challenging for Resonate's missionary families.  We know that well from our many years of work in Haiti.  Resonate owns four duplexes in southeast Grand Rapids where its missionaries and guests can hang their hats for several months at time during their visits to Michigan.  As you can imagine, however, the duplexes need plenty of repairs and cleaning so that they can accommodate our missionaries.  This week, the Grand Rapids-based staff of Resonate took an afternoon to serve our missionaries by cleaning and repairing the duplexes.  We replaced a fence, pressure-washed the siding on several units, weeded, painted, cut-down brush and did some interior cleaning.  It was a blessing to enjoy a beautiful summer day together as a staff.  If you would ever like to bless the missionaries of the CRC, please consider volunteering to help us maintain and clean the duplexes.  Thanks!

Sharon's Summer Reflections

With one year under our belts in the USA we’ve seen all the seasons. We experienced the radiant burnt oranges and sunshine yellows of autumn leaves.  We nearly froze to death this winter. Our kids were enamored with the bursting floral beauty of spring.  Now with 90 degree temperatures in the forecast, we embrace a warmth that reminds us of our home in Haiti.  We have experienced reverse culture shock as we’ve relearned American expectations for shopping, eating, greetings and friendships.  When we first came to Michigan from Haiti, we were in survival mode.  We needed to buy a house and furniture, enroll the kids in school, musical instrument lessons and sports.  Even speaking English all day long has been a change.

I feel like the survival stage passed at the end of 2017.  Now we are in the renewal stage.  For me this has been physical renewal through exercise and intentional spiritual growth. For others in the family, this renewal is happening through exploration.  For example, Esther tried out new things like tennis while Vivian was on the swim team—opportunities that did not exist in Haiti.  Hannah has embraced her love for dance and flexibility while Isaiah has persisted in his life-long love of soccer. 

Zach has completed his first year in a new job.  This is an accomplishment because his work is big and humbling.  Under his care, God has entrusted both the international and domestic mission of the Christian Reformed Church—now known as Resonate Global Mission.  This means he gets to be part of the amazing blessings and growth of the church, but also must work through the challenges.

I have worked “very part-time” for Resonate since returning.  This arrangement ends in June.  For the rest of this summer I am going to let my kids embrace their new life in Michigan by chauffeuring them around to camps and sports.  However, soon I will begin the process of looking for a job in which I can use my gifts in ordained ministry for God’s kingdom.  I have a deep sense that God has called me to be renewed because He has plans for me.  I am confident that he will reveal them to me in his perfect timing. 

We appreciate your continued prayers and thoughts.  Transition is not a one time event.  Our experiences in Haiti and elsewhere have forever changed us.  This is a good thing and yet it makes us see in a different way. We continually have to work through who we are as God’s children in this different part of His kingdom.

A High-Light

The new group of volunteers participated in a commissioning service led by Resonate's volunteer ministry.

One of the high-points of Zach’s job as Director of Resonate Global Mission is to play a small part in the sending of volunteers and long-term missionaries overseas.  This spring Resonate orientated over twenty new volunteers who are going out to serve Christ around the world.  During the commissioning service we noted that we are sending the group to both serve, learn and listen to what the Holy Spirit could be saying about a future in Gospel ministry.  There was tremendous diversity in this group.  Several retired couples were commissioned along with several newly graduated high-school seniors.  In fact, one of the volunteers going out as a volunteer is the son of a missionary couple who hosted and mentored us when we served as missionaries in Nigeria fifteen years ago.  Please remember to pray for all our volunteers.  Pray specifically that God will use these experiences to shape them for future callings in Gospel service.

A Hope for the Future

On this mountainous piece of land the Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education hopes to build a office and training center

During Zach's recent return visit to Haiti in May, he got a chance to visit the property where the Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education (CRECH) is hoping to build a new office and training center.  CRECH is a ministry partner of Resonate which trains Christian school teachers, produces curriculum and advocates for Christian schools throughout Haiti.  Because of the disordered state of the public education system, privately and church-owned Christian schools educate the majority of Haitian children.  Thus, CRECH's work is absolutely essential to raise up a new generation of young people of faith ready and willing to act on their Christian beliefs for the good of society.  If you or your church would like to be involved in this project, please contact Cody Zuiderveen, one of Resonate's missionaries in Haiti at the following address: czuiderveen@crcna.org.

There Is a Time for Everything

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... (Ecclesiastes 3:1)."  The Teacher of Ecclesiastes wrote these words while searching for a deep order in the creation, or as we might say today, "The meaning of life."  The Teacher reminds us that in his inscrutable providence, God has appointed beginnings and endings along with limits and transitions in our lives and in our world.  A big part of wisdom is knowing when we run up against these moments.  Our first year back from Haiti came to an end this month.  We are thankful that God made it clear to us that our moment of new beginning and transition arrived last summer.  God helped us to realize that the "the time had come" and gave us the courage to follow the Spirit into new opportunities for kingdom service.  People often ask us what the first year back from Haiti has been like.  Sometimes it feels like people want us to say that this first year has been great.  The reality is that through it all--the ups the downs, the joys and the tears--we can honestly say that God "has been in it," patiently pushing, prodding and stretching us.  All things have happened in God's time.

Zach had a chance to return to Haiti last month for a strategic reflection on Resonate's work over the last few years.  We spent an afternoon discussing this work in Furcy, our family's former hangout in the mountains above Port-au-Prince.  This environment is perfect for farming carrots, lettuce, potatoes and other tubers (see below).  It is also good for growing decorative cut flowers to sell in the big city below.

As the mists float over Haiti's mountains, one gets a sense of the vastness of time and of the limit of human life.  There is a time for everything , and a season for every activity under heaven: A time to be born and time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal..."

Impacting Young Leaders for Mission

Written by Kevin Schutte, Resonate's Leader for Church Planting

In the 2017-18 academic year, Resonate Global Mission was privileged to partner with Calvin Theological Seminary by sponsoring a 2-semester church planting course at CTS. Designed to provide both theological and practical learning, the course was led by Cory Willson, the Jake and Betsy Tuls Assistant Professor of Missiology and Missional Ministry, and Geoff Vandermolen, the Director of Vocational Formation and also an experienced former church planter.

Students learned about various aspects of church planting, covering biblical foundations, theological concepts, practical strategies and skills, and spiritual disciplines. Two class trips to visit multiple church plants in Ontario and Arizona provided opportunities for on-site learning from local church planters in a variety of church plant models, giving the students a glimpse into church planting that wouldn't have been possible from the classroom.

The student feedback from the course was very positive. One student said this was the most impactful course he'd taken at CTS, and a few students are now considering that they may be called to church planting. In a letter after the course, one student wrote: "...this class gave me a clearer picture of who God has shaped me to be as a leader. I now know that I am called to those considered outside of Christianity." Another student wrote: “I came into the course expecting to learn different models of church planting - maybe to have notes on a few structures or discipleship plans - but my expectations were blown away. Not only did I form deep and lasting relationships with other peers and professors who were asking some of the same questions I was asking, but it felt like we became more aware of what God’s Spirit was doing in and through each of our lives."

Resonate and CTS are excited to be renewing this partnership for another church planting class in the 2018-19 academic year

Calvin Theological Seminary's 17-18 church planting class.  The class visited Arizona and Ontario to learn from church planters.

Segaar-King April Update

Spring Break in Michigan feels a lot different than Haiti.

We spent a few cold Spring Break vacation days in a cottage near Lake Michigan.

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti!  This is my (Zach) first time back to Haiti since leaving on June 6, 2017.  Needless to say, there are many ambivalent feelings swirling in my soul.  We deeply miss our friends and colleagues with whom we have sweated, suffered and celebrated together for twelve years.  At the same time, we recognize that God sent us onward to a new chapter of global mission-work.  Please pray this week that God would help Zach to be a great encouragement to our mission staff in Haiti.

 Please pray for:

1.       Wisdom, grace, and good words as Zach and other Resonate staff explain some of the key changes that need to happen within Resonate to make it sustainable for the future.  Pray especially on Thursday, May 3, as Zach will be talking with some key CRC leaders.

2.       A collaborative reflection by leaders from the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church of America on church revitalization that Resonate is organizing in Chicago on May 2.  We hope to clarify the characteristics of a church that God is renewing for mission.

3.       A meeting of Resonate’s fourteen Regional Mission Leaders from around the world in Chicago in May.  Pray that God would clarify strategies and goals for our mission work.

4.       A good finish to the school year for our children.

Please give thanks for:

1.       Johnny and Kim Gryglewicz, Resonate’s new missionaries to Haiti, who arrived in March to begin their ministry.  Praise God for his provision of new staff members to continue the work we left behind.

2.       Success for Calvin Theological Seminary’s church planting class sponsored by Resonate.  Yesterday Zach had a discussion with four students in the class who have said that it is their favorite class and are considering planting churches and working in international mission.  Praise God for raising up a new generation of mission leaders!

The blessing of being able to serve in mission.  Sometimes the transition to Michigan feels overwhelming.  Sometimes the task of leadership at Resonate seems heavy. Despite all this, it is a huge blessing to know God is working his will to fruition through us.

Segaar-King Open House

SAVE THE DATE:

Segaar-King Open-House

from 1:00-4:00 pm on Saturday May 19, 2018

at Fuller Avenue CRC, 1239 Fuller Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

Come celebrate twelve years of ministry in Haiti and new opportunities for mission with Resonate Global Mission!

If possible, RSVP to segaarking@yahoo.com

Segaar-King March Update

Dear Friends and Family:

 When the angel appeared to Mary in Luke 1:38 to announce Jesus’ birth, she responded, “May it be to me as you have said.”  Three decades later in the moments leading up to his betrayal, suffering and death, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).  God used Mary and Jesus’ costly obedience to save humanity.  What kind of costly obedience does God call us to this Good Friday and Easter?  The work of mission is costly--sacrificing financially to support missionaries and church planters; taking time out of your busy day to console a hurting neighbor; or serving in a situation of material poverty and human suffering.  All of these things are costly.  But God can use them for results that we never dreamed possible. 

Please pray for:

1.       Safe travel and success as Zach returns to Haiti for an evaluation of the ministry in April.  Please pray that God will give wisdom and discernment as we consider the future.

2.       Wisdom and grace as Resonate enters into its second budgeting cycle as a joint agency.  Please pray that we will be attentive to God’s will as we invest critical resources in mission.

3.       A collaborative reflection by leaders from the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church of America on church revitalization that Resonate is organizing in Chicago on May 2.  We hope to clarify the characteristics of a church that God is renewing for mission.

4.       The ongoing adjustment to life in Michigan for our entire family.

Please give thanks for:

1.       Johnny and Kim Gryglewicz, Resonate’s new missionaries to Haiti, who arrived in March to begin their ministry.  Praise God for his provision of new staff members to continue the work we left behind.

2.       Great opportunities to meet key pastors, mission leaders and donors in Chicago and Florida in March.  God is doing some amazing things.  Recently, Pastor Obelto Cherubin, a key leader we worked with in Haiti, was ordained in Florida as a pastor in a Christian Reformed congregation near Orlando.  Pastor Obelto immigrated to Florida in 2007.

3.       The blessing of being able to serve in mission.  Sometimes the transition to Michigan feels overwhelming.  Sometimes the task of leadership at Resonate seems heavy. Despite all this, it is a huge blessing to know God is working his will to fruition through us.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Serving with Resonate Global Mission

Renewing the Church by...Listening?

In February Zach visited Sunlight Community Church in Port St. Lucie (FL).  Sunlight connected with its community and grew as a congregation by opening a preschool inside its church.  The idea presented itself to Pastor Scott Vanderploeg when a local preschool asked to rent the church building after a hurricane damaged the school's facility.   By God's grace Scott and the other leaders of Sunlight listened to God and discerned the need (post-hurricane) for a preschool in the community. 

A major challenge confronts the church in North America today.  Many churches resemble islands in their communities with little or no connection to the neighborhoods.  Such congregations have remained the same while the communities have changed around them.  As the years pass, these churches slowly dwindle in vitality until it becomes abundantly clear that something must change or the church will close its doors.  What can be done? 
We believe that the solution to this problem is listening to God and listening to the community.  By listening to God we come to understand how our brokenness as a church had made us an island unto ourselves.  If we listen to our communities, we discern where the Holy Spirit is already at work in our neighborhoods and we can find ways to join in.  Nothing about the process of listening to God and community is easy.  Quite often it can be painful and slow.  But listening to God and community is the surest way for a church to be renewed.  When a church is obediently listening and doing the work of mission in its community, a new wave of vitality will wash over God's people in ways they cannot imagine.

The Familiar Third Ward

The Third Ward has a surprising but gritty beauty much like Haiti, which is also a place where freed African slaves for forced to inhabit by colonial powers.

The stained glass windows of a church in the Third Ward recount the emancipation of  Houston's slaves.  A union general appeared in Houston (pictured above) after the fall of the Confederacy in 1865 to proclaim release for all slaves.  Houston's African Americans were soon forced into ghettos like the Third Ward by Jim Crow and other Segregationist laws.

The future home of Square Inch ministries, a property in the neglected portion of the Third Ward.

John Eigege stands in front of a "Shotgun House"--a small house built by the Third Ward's African American population during the era of Segregation.  The "shotgun house" was so small that a shotgun could be shot through it (hence the name).  Today, the houses are museums to Houston's racial and socio-economic legacy.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of spending the day with some amazing missionaries working in Houston, Texas.  It was uplifting to see a local CRC pastor, Andy Sytsema, who by God's grace has encouraged a movement of church planting among Hispanic and African pastors working in Houston.  I spent the afternoon in Houston's historic Third Ward, where under post-Civil War Segregation and Jim Crow, the African American population was relocated by Houston's white population.  Today's Third Ward, like a certain Caribbean country where I spent twelve years living, is an example of extremes.  On the side closest to downtown Houston, the Third Ward is "gentrifying" as residences are being torn down and/or rehabilitated for upwardly mobile urbanites wanting to live closer to their downtown jobs and avoid traffic.  The other side of the Third Ward has been completely and utterly neglected and the still predominantly African-American population has almost no infrastructure including sidewalks, streetlights, and basic services.  While human suffering is easy to see in the Third Ward, so is tangible evidence of God's grace.  For example, John Eigege, a Nigerian who moved into the Third Ward as a "community chaplain" (affiliated with Resonate), has built a robust mission network.  He hopes to build a ministry house where he and others can mentor, teach and serve the youth of the Third Ward.  John is convinced that every square inch of the Third Ward belongs to Jesus Christ (hence, he has named his ministry "Square Inch").  Pray for John, Andy, and others who are working in the challenging places of Houston to concretely share the love of Jesus.