June Ministry Update 2021
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
I have some big news! In about a week I will be on my way to Michigan! I am going to be moving to Grand Rapids for the next few months. I have been working on these plans for a while now but I'm excited to finally be sharing them with you. It's honestly been a joy to be back home this last year and a half even though I didn't expect it would be this long. I'm really happy for all of the time I've been able to spend with my family and I've been blessed by the tremendous support and encouragement you all have given me here in Vermont. I've learned a lot too about myself, about waiting on God, and about ministry as I've worked with my home church. While that's all been great, it's started to feel like the doors for support have begun to close here. Most of my support in recent months has been coming from individuals and churches outside of New England.
A few months ago I learned about a church planting apprenticeship program that ReachGlobal, my sending organization, was trying to start in Grand Rapids, MI. Interested, I reached out to them and we started to talk about what it would look like for me to move out there and learn more about church planting while raising support. Since the Japanese borders are still closed until later this year and with the lack of support I was getting from staying in Vermont, I though this sounded like a good opportunity and something that would help further equip me for the ministry in Tokyo.
While the program's still new and I'm one of the first to join, I'm excited for what I am going to be able to learn. I know I'll be working with a church plant in Grand Rapids but there are still a lot of details to work out. Please be praying for those and for a good fit between me and the church.
Currently, the plan is to move out to Michigan for the next few months until I have raised the rest of my support. Once that is done and I've finished my work with the church, I'll come back to Vermont to say goodbye and then fly back to Japan. Depending on how support raising goes or if the Japanese borders don't reopen then things could change.
Before I leave for Michigan though I still have a lot to work on. Besides packing, I'm trying to finish up everything for my ministerial license and it's looking like I should have all the paperwork in very soon. My sister is also graduating high school this Saturday! I'm glad that I will be able to attend and see her graduate. I'll be leaving for Michigan at the end of this month and then she'll be leaving in the fall before I get back for Cedarville University in Ohio to start her freshman year of college, so I might not get to see her before I go to Japan.
I'm sure the next few months are going to go by quickly. It's a blessing to have so much going on and for God to be leading me in new directions, but it definitely can be a bit stressful too! Please be praying for all of this!
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With my move to Michigan, I'll have a whole new set of people and churches to reach out to. Thankfully, through my Japan and team connections I know a number of people in the state, so I'm looking forward to seeing where those can lead me in terms of support. If you know anyone in Michigan or in the surrounding areas such as Chicago then let me know! I'm planning to travel a bit when I can.
I'm at 61% of my support right now and I'm hopeful that God will provide the last 39% in the coming months. My new departure goal is to leave as soon as the borders reopen in hopefully September or October.
Please be praying for a fruitful time in Michigan connecting with people who are interested in supporting the ministry in Japan and for God to give the churches I come in contact with a desire to partner with me.
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I'm getting much closer to being done. Most of the paperwork has been submitted, and at this point and I just have to finish the 15-20 page theological paper. I already have about 15 pages written of it so far with only a few more questions to answer. Once I submit the paper and go through some edits, the final step will be to have the council meeting where I get to defend what I wrote. I'm a bit intimidated by that part, but I think it will be a good experience! If you are interested in learning more about this process or what to hear about what I'm learning from it then let me know! I'd be happy to talk about it with you. It's been very interesting for me!
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Prayer Requests
- Pray for my teammates. At the same time that I am moving, my teammates the Nakazawas will be moving back to Iowa from Tokyo for a year-long home assignment. Be praying for them and all the work they need to do to get ready for their move. I'm hoping to see them before I head back to Japan along with my other teammates the Lee's and Kim and Krystle who are all in the states as well. Pray for the Lee's as they are waiting for the borders to reopen to leave and for Kim and Krystle who are both still raising support.
- Pray for my support. Currently I have 61% of my monthly support and about 102% of my start-up costs. I still need about $2,600 in monthly commitments to reach 100%. My goal is to have 80 partners. Right now I have 55. Pray that God would place people and churches in my path that would partner with me and that these needs would be met in miraculous ways.
- Pray for my move. I'm going to be doing a lot of driving next week by myself. I'm breaking up the trip but it will still be long. Pray for me as I do that and for the stops I'm hoping to make along the way to visit a church and some friends. Pray for all the details of settling into Michigan as well. There's a lot I don't know and many things that we are probably just going to figure out when I get there! Please pray that it would all come together and that I'd be at peace with whatever happens.
- Pray for all the final details. With the ministerial license work, my sister graduating, and packing, the next week will be pretty packed. Pray that I could get everything done and that it would all come together well! Pray also that for good time management and rest.
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Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at adam.bailey@efca.org or by phone at 802-461-4771. You can also go to my website at adamintokyo.com. Thanks! - Adam Bailey
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