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.