Introduce Yourself to the Missional Community!

[James Nored]

Matt Brunk, my good friend from Liberty, MO, suggested that we introduce ourselves, since this site is drawing together people from various backgrounds and parts of the country. This will help us to know one another better.

You may introduce yourself here, or, perhaps even better, put down this information on your "My Page." On your "My Page," where it says "Text Box," click on "Add Text." Make the title of the text box "About Me" or something like this and write about yourself..

I would suggest telling us:
- Name,
- Vocation
- Any family information you would like to share
- What missional or spiritual topics you are interested in, experienced in, or are working in
- Any websites you would like to link to that would help us know you better (to link, type a site name, and then click on the paper clip looking link (next to the bold, italics, etc.) and then paste the site's "URL" (web address)
- Anything else you would like to share!

[Jason Whaley]

Name: Jason Whaley

Vocation: missionary, day laborer, husband, dad, music, health/fitness guru

Family info: Married Nicole January 2002 who gave birth to Ella July 2008. We first met at Moody Coliseum (Abilene Christian University) while Jason was a Biology major at Oklahoma Christian and Nicole was an Australian exchange student at Western Christian College (Canada). Jason was a missionary apprentice in Australia 1998-2000. He had Nicole fell in love and got married while teaching English in Japan 2000-2002.

Missional/spiritual topics of interest, experience, . . . I've always been madly interested in God, Scripture, and creation (besides sex and rock'n'roll). I never found an avenue of ministry in which I felt suitably fit, though, until now! We have found partners to send us and teammates to Australia, not to "set up a church" but to be missional and make disciples in new communities. We plan to move January 2009, but we're still looking for partners.

Websites: www.aussiemission.com, www.notasbigasiam.blogspot.com, www.jasonandnicole.blogspot.com

Anything else: I'm probably most famous, much to my chagrin, for a song I wrote and play called "The Cow Song", but I do other songs, too. I plan to put some songs on facebook soon.

[James Nored]

Jason, welcome to the community! We pray that this site might be a blessing to you, and you to us. Get those Aussie friends of yours over here, too! We need a little more "down under." That makes me think . . . Do you know that Down Under song? You could upload it as the song for your "My Page." :)

Jason Whaley said:

Name: Jason Whaley

Vocation: missionary, day laborer, husband, dad, music, health/fitness guru

Family info: Married Nicole January 2002 who gave birth to Ella July 2008. We first met at Moody Coliseum (Abilene Christian University) while Jason was a Biology major at Oklahoma Christian and Nicole was an Australian exchange student at Western Christian College (Canada). Jason was a missionary apprentice in Australia 1998-2000. He had Nicole fell in love and got married while teaching English in Japan 2000-2002.

Missional/spiritual topics of interest, experience, . . . I've always been madly interested in God, Scripture, and creation (besides sex and rock'n'roll). I never found an avenue of ministry in which I felt suitably fit, though, until now! We have found partners to send us and teammates to Australia, not to "set up a church" but to be missional and make disciples in new communities. We plan to move January 2009, but we're still looking for partners.

Websites: www.aussiemission.com, www.notasbigasiam.blogspot.com, www.jasonandnicole.blogspot.com

Anything else: I'm probably most famous, much to my chagrin, for a song I wrote and play called "The Cow Song", but I do other songs, too. I plan to put some songs on facebook soon.

[Hobby Chapin]

Hello All, My name is Hobby Chapin, I am a church planter in the northeast Denver Metro area at Higher Point Christ Fellowship. We are two years into this plant and intend to plant out again (Clay Neighborhood) in 2009. I am interested in missional hermeneutics and incarnational evangelism. I graduated from Harding University with a BA in Bible and HUGSR with an M.Div. I have been married for 8 years to my wife Jeri and have a son Jayden who will turn four this month. I am currently going through a Massage Therapy program. I intend to support myself financially in our next planting.

[James Nored]

Hobby, we are glad to have you be a part of this community! We have several church planters that have joined, and it is always great to find others who are sharing in our current experiences. And we have even more here who are supportive of church planters.

We'll look forward to hearing the story of your church. If you are interested in missional hermenuetics and incarnational evangelism, this is the place! There is also a lot of power and collective wisdom in God's people when they are drawn together. If you face some challenge or are looking for a resource, let us know and we'll do our best to help. And we'll draw on you for your insights as well. Great to have you join us.

Hobby Chapin said:

Hello All, My name is Hobby Chapin, I am a church planter in the northeast Denver Metro area at Higher Point Christ Fellowship. We are two years into this plant and intend to plant out again (Clay Neighborhood) in 2009. I am interested in missional hermeneutics and incarnational evangelism. I graduated from Harding University with a BA in Bible and HUGSR with an M.Div. I have been married for 8 years to my wife Jeri and have a son Jayden who will turn four this month. I am currently going through a Massage Therapy program. I intend to support myself financially in our next planting.

[Wilmer Christopher Rivera]

Wilmer Christopher Rivera
College Student studying Bible and Business
I helped start HOCC soccer team at Highland Oaks
I also helped start FCC (Fuerza Cristiana Conquistadores) or (Force of Christian Conquerors) at Highland Oaks

[Todd A. Spencer]

Todd A. Spencer
United Methodist Minister...to Youth and Young Adults
First United Methodist Church, Downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado
I have a beautiful wife, Debi, and two awesome sons, Lukas (7) and Ethan (5).
The most mission shaped thing I'm leading at FUMC, downtown Colorado Springs, is our Serve & Pray initiative. We gather about once a month, serve those in need in downtown (usually the homeless) and then retreat to our chapel for contemplative prayers and sharing. We end our time together considering the question, "So, in light of our serving and praying together, what is God's call on your life right now? ...what's your sense of God's call on us as the Body of Christ?" We have seen God work in some meaningful ways...

One of our Serve & Pray group has begun a new ministry, which is a partnership between our church and the Marion House (Catholic Social Services), down the street. It's called "Rooms 4 Rubbish" The gist of it is partnering up folks from our church with homeless folks, cleaning up part of the downtown of trash and then providing the homeless persons with vouchers for one night's stay at a local hotel we've partnered with...What a joy it is to find this connection and the relationships around it coming together.

Reading over what I've written above, I don't want to give the impression this all is clean cut and enormous...We normally have 5-12 people with our Serve & Pray...R4R is only 3 months old. So, we're really just puppies here...but it it all really is a joy.

[James Nored]

Todd, it's great to have you on the network. I love hearing about your Serve & Pray group. I am touched by anyone who does anything with the homeless, no matter what size. We have had our members take in 3-4 homeless people in the last few months, and it is having a transformative effect on our congregation as these stories spread.

The Catholic church has long had social justice ministries, and they we would be great for us to partner with as well on this kind of ministry.

My mother-in-law lives in Colorado. Maybe we could see you next time we pass through. Great getting to know you!

Todd A. Spencer said:

Todd A. Spencer
United Methodist Minister...to Youth and Young Adults
First United Methodist Church, Downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado
I have a beautiful wife, Debi, and two awesome sons, Lukas (7) and Ethan (5).
The most mission shaped thing I'm leading at FUMC, downtown Colorado Springs, is our Serve & Pray initiative. We gather about once a month, serve those in need in downtown (usually the homeless) and then retreat to our chapel for contemplative prayers and sharing. We end our time together considering the question, "So, in light of our serving and praying together, what is God's call on your life right now? ...what's your sense of God's call on us as the Body of Christ?" We have seen God work in some meaningful ways...

One of our Serve & Pray group has begun a new ministry, which is a partnership between our church and the Marion House (Catholic Social Services), down the street. It's called "Rooms 4 Rubbish" The gist of it is partnering up folks from our church with homeless folks, cleaning up part of the downtown of trash and then providing the homeless persons with vouchers for one night's stay at a local hotel we've partnered with...What a joy it is to find this connection and the relationships around it coming together.

Reading over what I've written above, I don't want to give the impression this all is clean cut and enormous...We normally have 5-12 people with our Serve & Pray...R4R is only 3 months old. So, we're really just puppies here...but it it all really is a joy.

[Paul Moore]

Hey all,

I shall introduce myself:
-Name: Paul Moore
-Vocation: Minister/Church Planter, Group home worker/anything that pays the bills
-Family info: I am alone in the world :) No wife/kids
-Topics: Everything. Seriously, everything.
-Websites: My blog (enter only if you want to see the crazy go nuts mind of me)
-Anything else: I think this networking site is a cool idea. My gratitude goes to who(m)ever the creator(s) is(are).
-Also I am Canadian, just to warn you.

[Jorge Daniel Garcia]

¡Hola Todos!

It is great to see this forum. Missionaries need to use the latest technology to reach new communities and learn about best practices. I hope I can do my part here.

I am from Cancun, Mexico. After finishing high school in Mexico, I came to the U.S. as a student of Abilene Christian University. As I grew up, I never expected to study in the United States. Now I know that God brought me to ACU for a reason. As an ACU student, my mind, my faith, and my character were all challenged to strive for excellence. What's more, I made friends for a lifetime, including professors, who I know will be there for me in the years to come. I also had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, even from countries I didn't know existed! Thanks to the diversity at ACU, I learned about many different cultures and, in the process, learned much more about my own values, beliefs, and culture. It was here where I discovered the true diversity of the Body of Christ.

A year after graduation, I came back to ACU as the Multicultural Enrollment Marketing Specialist. In other words, I work to help diverse families to understand the importance of a college education and to find the ways to make this possible. I believe that for us to change our families, communities, and nations, we need to prepare the best of best in every field, so from positions of influences Christian can make a difference.

Please contact me is I can help with anything.

Que Dios los bendiga.

[James Nored]

Jorge, thank you for sharing your story! It sounds like you have had quite a journey, as have we all. As you have seen, there is a lot of interest in hispanic outreach and leadership on this site. We will be very glad to hear your perspective and insight on this. Please let us know if we can help you in any way as well.

Jorge Daniel Garcia said:

¡Hola Todos!

It is great to see this forum. Missionaries need to use the latest technology to reach new communities and learn about best practices. I hope I can do my part here.

I am from Cancun, Mexico. After finishing high school in Mexico, I came to the U.S. as a student of Abilene Christian University. As I grew up, I never expected to study in the United States. Now I know that God brought me to ACU for a reason. As an ACU student, my mind, my faith, and my character were all challenged to strive for excellence. What's more, I made friends for a lifetime, including professors, who I know will be there for me in the years to come. I also had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, even from countries I didn't know existed! Thanks to the diversity at ACU, I learned about many different cultures and, in the process, learned much more about my own values, beliefs, and culture. It was here where I discovered the true diversity of the Body of Christ.

A year after graduation, I came back to ACU as the Multicultural Enrollment Marketing Specialist. In other words, I work to help diverse families to understand the importance of a college education and to find the ways to make this possible. I believe that for us to change our families, communities, and nations, we need to prepare the best of best in every field, so from positions of influences Christian can make a difference.

Please contact me is I can help with anything.

Que Dios los bendiga.

[Bledar Valca]

Greetings!

My name is Bledar Valca. I am graduate of the SIBI's associate school in Albania. Currently, I am studying with NationsUniversity on a Master of Religious Studies. I am one of the four preachers for the Tirana Church of Christ.

Currently, I work with World Vision Albania as a Coordinator for Christian Witness Initiative.

I am married and we are expecting our first child on May 2009.

God bless you all.

[James Nored]

Hi Bledar. Welcome to the Missional Outreach Network! Thank you for sharing with us. We'll be eager to hear your perspective on things, being in Albania. I'm also interested in hearing more about the "Christian Witness Initiative." Can you tell us about this? Great to have you on the site.

Bledar Valca said:

Greetings!

My name is Bledar Valca. I am graduate of the SIBI's associate school in Albania. Currently, I am studying with NationsUniversity on a Master of Religious Studies. I am one of the four preachers for the Tirana Church of Christ.

Currently, I work with World Vision Albania as a Coordinator for Christian Witness Initiative.

I am married and we are expecting our first child on May 2009.

God bless you all.