1 Kings 17 tells us about a man of radical faith. His name was Elisha. There is a story where Elisha is fed by ravens. He trusted God to provide and provide he did. Elisha was in need and God provided the food he needed through a very unlikely source and in a quantity that Elisha probably did not expect. He got bread and meat twice a day from a bird! Just enough to fulfill his need, by a bird! Because Elisha had faith God provided, through a bird!
Today as we went to the mail box and opened up an envelope with a $50 check inside I felt like Elisha. God is providing literally for our needs as they are needed. We had been praying that God provides us gas money as we have a lot of traveling to do in the next week. This check provided the money needed for a full tank of gas and then some. God is providing us our bread and meat in the morning and in the evening. We were praying over the weekend for God to provide us extra money to give to Blake so he had money for food in the airport. He left for Colorado last weekend for Young Life Camp (which God also provided the means to go). The day before he left we had no extra money to give him. Then God provided us $50 to give him through another family here in Puerto Rico. I share this to encourage all of you who are struggling financially right now. God will honor your faith. Trust him and ask for you needs. Gods hand is never short. Also know that God will provide your needs not what you think you need. Right now I feel like Elisha. I will to continue to have faith that God will provide so we can fulfill what he has called us to do. I pray that you experience what we are experiencing just like Elisha experienced. That is Gods faithfulness. God hears your prayer and he will provide.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Puerto Rico Missions 2015- Support
Dear
family and friends,
The
Lord says that he will provide all of our needs and that whatever we ask in His
name for the glory of the Lord he will provide. (John 14:14)
Today we write you out of financial need for
the purpose of continuing ministry in Puerto Rico. We thank God for the support
you have already given either through prayer or financial means. We believe
scripture leads us to the understanding that although we ask him and he can
miraculously provide, there is a role that we as followers of Jesus play as
well. Our family’s role as missionaries and ministers of the gospel message is
to humbly come before God and our brothers and sisters in Christ and present
our needs.
Our family has now been on the island for
almost 8 months. As we left Michigan we knew God was calling us here, but the
vision of how he would use us was not made clear. We knew that making disciples
was the main call but the means to this was unknown. As many of you know we
have connected with the local church in Dorado, The Center Church PR. CCPR is
currently where the Lord has us serving. As we are led by Pastor Efren Pena and
his wife Monica, the Lord is continuing to show us how we are able to fulfill
our calling here.
Over the past eight months our needs have
been met. Through this process we have been faithfully focused on our ministry
through prayer, faith and to be honest a little worry. The economy where God
has called us to allows very little available work. I (John) have applied for
several different positions at local businesses that are seeking English
speaking workers. The Lord has seen it fit to give no responses from those
applications and many phone calls. Jennifer has been blessed with her
nanny/cleaning position. This has yet to provide a steady income as she has
only worked one day due to her family she’s working for being out of the
country for the next 5 weeks. We plan on
staying in Cabo Rojo for two weeks where Jennifer will be a temporary nanny for
a family there. That will help with some immediate needs. We have also done
some minor work for CCPR that has paid enough to pay for some smaller needs.
This however will not be a reoccurring opportunity.
After looking over our basic needs, a
budget of $2000/month is needed in order for us to effectively continue
ministry here in Puerto Rico. Although we are blessed to receive one time
support gifts our real need at this time is monthly support. This allows us to
budget more efficiently so we can do ministry more effectively.
We ask you to join us in prayer about
financially supporting the ministry God has set forth for our family to fulfill
in Puerto Rico.
You
can send your support to:
Matthew
28 Missions
PO
Box 3616
Arecibo,
PR 00613-3616.
Tax
deductible checks can be made out to:
Love
God Love People Church of (LGLP) with Matthew 28 Missions written in the memo
spot.
(Know
that the address may change once we move to Dorado)
Again, we thank you so much for your love, prayers
and support. Without it our job here would be a lot harder than it has been.
Please continue to pray for the ministry God has planned here and that the
gospel message is heard and people on the island receive the message.
In Christ,
John, Jennifer, Blake, Dallas &Bridger
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Latest Update
Sorry for the late post....
So there is a lot going on this month for us and CCPR (The Center Church PR).
Jennifer and I attended our first leaders meeting at CCPR Sunday afternoon. It was great to see what CCPR is doing and planning for spreading the Love of Jesus.
Next week there will be VBS happening at CCPR all week long. Jennifer will be leading the small children (2yrs-3yrs old), I will be leading games and Blake and Dallas will each have their own group of kids to lead as well. We are all super excited for this event and opportunity to share Jesus with children.
This week we were supposed to be in Cabo Rojo house sitting for our friends, but due to our truck breaking down again we are unable to make it there. As of right now our truck is in the shop for the third time in two weeks. We are praying God provides us with a new more reliable vehicle.
We are supposed to go sign the contract for our house we are renting in Dorado tonight so we are praying our truck is fixed by then. We have found a nice upper level house 10 min. away from church! 3 bed, one bath with two outdoor living areas. We are truly blessed.
We will be having some visitors in July and August so we are excited about that as well. No funds have come in to travel to Georgia in order to speak at a few churches to raise support, so we are taking that as a sign that God does not what us to do that right now.
Jennifer has gotten a nanny/housekeeper job in Dorado and will be working 2-4 days a week there. We are also blessed to have this income and this is also what Jennifer loves to do!
The kids are done with school for the summer so they are happy about that. I however still have school. Lord willing I graduate this December with my Associates in Religion and I have been accepted for my BS degree for Religion/Evangelism. I will have three months off of school starting in December then back to it come March.
We are planning our next food handout for July and another in August. We are also hoping to do some street outreach in Cabo Rojo in August. I was part of a street outreach last month and it was amazing. In mid-July there is a group of 70 teens coming from Tennessee for a mission trip. Our family will be hosting this group as we make sure they get from point A to point B on time. We will be joining them in their work as well. There will be three days of VBS that the group will be doing in a poor community in Dorado, there also will be some painting projects and beach clean up projects as well. Jennifer and I will be coordinating between the Mayor of Dorado, the bus company, the chef and the campground to make sure things flow smoothly.
Jennifer has joined with a group of ladies from church and they gather for prayer every Tuesday morning. This has been an amazing experience for Jennifer.
God is reveling more and more to us every day about our mission not only here but anywhere else God sends us. We are learning a lot and are excited to learn more about the mission field and church planting.
We are trying to learn our place on the CCPR leadership team. What does pastor Efren expect from us and what is God calling us to do there? This is harder than I expected to be honest.Are we here to fill a role that needs to be filled or are we here for something more? These are things that we are praying through. We are great with what ever, we just want to do what God is calling us to. There is a lot going on in ou heads and our hearts right now and we are praying through it.
That is all for updates for now. Thank you for all your prayers and support!
Prayer requests
-Please keep our support in your prayers as the support we currently get very much needed. We have been blessed to bring in enough income to have all of our bills currently paid.
-Please pray for God to provide us a new vehicle that is reliable and can fit more than five people.
We frequently have people over and we have to send one or two people to the back of the truck and Jennifer sits in the back seat because there is no seat belt in the middle and she does not want one of the kids sitting without a seat belt.
-Please pray for more opportunities for us to share our story and share the gospel message.
-Please pray a pray of thanksgiving for all God is doing here so far.
-Please pray for a way to come home a visit this fall. We would really like to come to visit and take care of a few things with our house back in Hamilton.
If you would feel led to send support for what God is doing through us here in Puerto Rico you can send your support to:
Matthew 28 Missions
PO Box 3616
Arecibo, PR
00613-3616
For tax deductible support write checks to LGLP (Love God Love People Church) please put Matthew 28 Missions in the memo.
You can also send non- tax deducible checks to the same address just written out to John Hoogeveen.
So there is a lot going on this month for us and CCPR (The Center Church PR).
Jennifer and I attended our first leaders meeting at CCPR Sunday afternoon. It was great to see what CCPR is doing and planning for spreading the Love of Jesus.
Next week there will be VBS happening at CCPR all week long. Jennifer will be leading the small children (2yrs-3yrs old), I will be leading games and Blake and Dallas will each have their own group of kids to lead as well. We are all super excited for this event and opportunity to share Jesus with children.
This week we were supposed to be in Cabo Rojo house sitting for our friends, but due to our truck breaking down again we are unable to make it there. As of right now our truck is in the shop for the third time in two weeks. We are praying God provides us with a new more reliable vehicle.
We are supposed to go sign the contract for our house we are renting in Dorado tonight so we are praying our truck is fixed by then. We have found a nice upper level house 10 min. away from church! 3 bed, one bath with two outdoor living areas. We are truly blessed.
We will be having some visitors in July and August so we are excited about that as well. No funds have come in to travel to Georgia in order to speak at a few churches to raise support, so we are taking that as a sign that God does not what us to do that right now.
Jennifer has gotten a nanny/housekeeper job in Dorado and will be working 2-4 days a week there. We are also blessed to have this income and this is also what Jennifer loves to do!
The kids are done with school for the summer so they are happy about that. I however still have school. Lord willing I graduate this December with my Associates in Religion and I have been accepted for my BS degree for Religion/Evangelism. I will have three months off of school starting in December then back to it come March.
We are planning our next food handout for July and another in August. We are also hoping to do some street outreach in Cabo Rojo in August. I was part of a street outreach last month and it was amazing. In mid-July there is a group of 70 teens coming from Tennessee for a mission trip. Our family will be hosting this group as we make sure they get from point A to point B on time. We will be joining them in their work as well. There will be three days of VBS that the group will be doing in a poor community in Dorado, there also will be some painting projects and beach clean up projects as well. Jennifer and I will be coordinating between the Mayor of Dorado, the bus company, the chef and the campground to make sure things flow smoothly.
Jennifer has joined with a group of ladies from church and they gather for prayer every Tuesday morning. This has been an amazing experience for Jennifer.
God is reveling more and more to us every day about our mission not only here but anywhere else God sends us. We are learning a lot and are excited to learn more about the mission field and church planting.
We are trying to learn our place on the CCPR leadership team. What does pastor Efren expect from us and what is God calling us to do there? This is harder than I expected to be honest.Are we here to fill a role that needs to be filled or are we here for something more? These are things that we are praying through. We are great with what ever, we just want to do what God is calling us to. There is a lot going on in ou heads and our hearts right now and we are praying through it.
That is all for updates for now. Thank you for all your prayers and support!
Prayer requests
-Please keep our support in your prayers as the support we currently get very much needed. We have been blessed to bring in enough income to have all of our bills currently paid.
-Please pray for God to provide us a new vehicle that is reliable and can fit more than five people.
We frequently have people over and we have to send one or two people to the back of the truck and Jennifer sits in the back seat because there is no seat belt in the middle and she does not want one of the kids sitting without a seat belt.
-Please pray for more opportunities for us to share our story and share the gospel message.
-Please pray a pray of thanksgiving for all God is doing here so far.
-Please pray for a way to come home a visit this fall. We would really like to come to visit and take care of a few things with our house back in Hamilton.
If you would feel led to send support for what God is doing through us here in Puerto Rico you can send your support to:
Matthew 28 Missions
PO Box 3616
Arecibo, PR
00613-3616
For tax deductible support write checks to LGLP (Love God Love People Church) please put Matthew 28 Missions in the memo.
You can also send non- tax deducible checks to the same address just written out to John Hoogeveen.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Unsaved and serving?
Well I said I would share more on here about this weekends outreach event that I (John) was a part of. Jennifer stayed back and watched our kids and Stacy and Julios daughter.
I was greatly anticipating this past weekend as I knew our main goal was to reach local prostitutes for Jesus. However I was not expecting to see what I saw and am yet sure what to do with it.
As we approached the streets of Mayaguez the stench of old buildings, urine and other detestable smells mixed with the smell of fried food and beer filled our senses I knew that it was going to be and interesting evening. Julio his wife Stacy and myself met a group of college students that are here as mission interns for the summer. We gathered to pray and made our way down the streets. Right away a 60 year old woman came up to us asking for what ever we had. We handed her a "gift pack" and prayed for her. Wow 2 min in and people are coming to us! What a night I thought. As we walked the director of the mission team shared some stories with us. He told us to look in dark corners and under steps as that is where most people hide/live. He shared a story of a young girl being forced into prostitution whom they shared Jesus with and she excepted a one way ticket back to the states where they had shelter for her. Last he knew she is doing great and no longer in prostitution! Praise Jesus! Wow, this is going to be an eventful evening filled with lots of prayer is what I thought. How great would it be to send a young girl back to the states to get her out of prostitution? Yet, we have only seen this one lady. As we walked farther we approached an old building. This building is know for Voodoo practice and other satanic worship. Local Police officers have found sacrificed animals on the second floor and symbols of all sorts. The director, Chad, went inside as there are usually people inside. There were none. I prayed over the building with the group and we moved on. Still no people. As we walked there were very few people out. Even Chad said it was odd. We prayed for a few people but no prostitutes were to be seen. We got to a point where we took a break for a drink. There were two kids/ young adults with us that were not with the group. They were kind of leading us to places they knew of. They were local to the area. I started talking with them at the table. They had so much enthusiasm and excitement for what we were doing, I wanted to know their story. What I heard shocked me, and not much does. As they shared why they did this I heard things from, I was rescued this way so I want others to be rescued this way too, I heard there was this mission thing going on and I wants to join and similar things. I was so excited to hear young men passionate for Jesus and sharing the freedom he offers. So I asked how and when they accepted Christ. To my shock their reply was, I don't believe in God and I really don't know, I do not think I believe in Jesus! WHAT???!!!!! How can this be? I was so confused, so I asked again to make sure I understood. They said very calm and confident with almost a smile on their face the same thing I heard prior. I was to say the least stunned.
So I continued to ask how this happens. Literally, I asked them how they can be out doing the Lords work and not even believe in him? As I heard their stories I was not shocked but saddened. Like so many young people here on the island they have a wrong idea and view of who Jesus is and what he offers. They see religion and not relationship. They see rules and not love. They see regulations and not freedom. Point blank they have been taught about a Jesus that does not exist. They have been taught wrong. I did my best to share who Jesus was to me and what I knew, it seemed to cause them to think but nothing more. No hostility, they just listened and moved on. I was left in shock and still am. For a few reasons. First this goes to show that actions do not lead to salvation and not all people doing good are followers of Christ. Second, we need to be sharing the GOSPEL and not only living it. We must live out the gospel as well as share it! I was able to share this with the group of students as part of the group went into a strip club to pray over the women there. (they did not go into the show area) I was able to share with them what I just shared with you. We must share the gospel message. We must preach Jesus. Doing good is not enough. It is only part of our job. I am convinced that when people hear about the Jesus I know and you know they will want him. We cannot sit in our ivory tower of goodness and think we are doing anything for the kingdom! No we must preach the name of Jesus and share the gospel message. Our good deeds and pretty faces will get us nowhere if we do not share Jesus with the lost! There are people right now next to you, in your family, friends, at your church that do not know Jesus, share him with them. Share your testimony of who Jesus is to you and let them see how Jesus rescues us. I too desire for people to be rescued the way I was rescued. However, man did not rescue me, Jesus did!
And the night just started. We continued to pray for a few more people when all of a sudden this man and woman come stumbling down the road. She looked half dead and had not eaten in days. We gave her food but she would hardly eat it. Her husband was walking her to the hospital, which was two blocks away. Three of us helped carry her there as she had lost almost all use of her legs at this time. We got her inside and she blacked out, down for the count. They got her right in. We prayed over her but then were asked to leave. Not sure what happened but her husband was thankful. We finished the evening with a group prayer. Those two young men that I talked about earlier, they came up shoke my hand and said thank you. And they were gone. What an evening! Praying for all those we encountered and those we were with.
GO, SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY WITH SOMEONE! GO!
I was greatly anticipating this past weekend as I knew our main goal was to reach local prostitutes for Jesus. However I was not expecting to see what I saw and am yet sure what to do with it.
As we approached the streets of Mayaguez the stench of old buildings, urine and other detestable smells mixed with the smell of fried food and beer filled our senses I knew that it was going to be and interesting evening. Julio his wife Stacy and myself met a group of college students that are here as mission interns for the summer. We gathered to pray and made our way down the streets. Right away a 60 year old woman came up to us asking for what ever we had. We handed her a "gift pack" and prayed for her. Wow 2 min in and people are coming to us! What a night I thought. As we walked the director of the mission team shared some stories with us. He told us to look in dark corners and under steps as that is where most people hide/live. He shared a story of a young girl being forced into prostitution whom they shared Jesus with and she excepted a one way ticket back to the states where they had shelter for her. Last he knew she is doing great and no longer in prostitution! Praise Jesus! Wow, this is going to be an eventful evening filled with lots of prayer is what I thought. How great would it be to send a young girl back to the states to get her out of prostitution? Yet, we have only seen this one lady. As we walked farther we approached an old building. This building is know for Voodoo practice and other satanic worship. Local Police officers have found sacrificed animals on the second floor and symbols of all sorts. The director, Chad, went inside as there are usually people inside. There were none. I prayed over the building with the group and we moved on. Still no people. As we walked there were very few people out. Even Chad said it was odd. We prayed for a few people but no prostitutes were to be seen. We got to a point where we took a break for a drink. There were two kids/ young adults with us that were not with the group. They were kind of leading us to places they knew of. They were local to the area. I started talking with them at the table. They had so much enthusiasm and excitement for what we were doing, I wanted to know their story. What I heard shocked me, and not much does. As they shared why they did this I heard things from, I was rescued this way so I want others to be rescued this way too, I heard there was this mission thing going on and I wants to join and similar things. I was so excited to hear young men passionate for Jesus and sharing the freedom he offers. So I asked how and when they accepted Christ. To my shock their reply was, I don't believe in God and I really don't know, I do not think I believe in Jesus! WHAT???!!!!! How can this be? I was so confused, so I asked again to make sure I understood. They said very calm and confident with almost a smile on their face the same thing I heard prior. I was to say the least stunned.
So I continued to ask how this happens. Literally, I asked them how they can be out doing the Lords work and not even believe in him? As I heard their stories I was not shocked but saddened. Like so many young people here on the island they have a wrong idea and view of who Jesus is and what he offers. They see religion and not relationship. They see rules and not love. They see regulations and not freedom. Point blank they have been taught about a Jesus that does not exist. They have been taught wrong. I did my best to share who Jesus was to me and what I knew, it seemed to cause them to think but nothing more. No hostility, they just listened and moved on. I was left in shock and still am. For a few reasons. First this goes to show that actions do not lead to salvation and not all people doing good are followers of Christ. Second, we need to be sharing the GOSPEL and not only living it. We must live out the gospel as well as share it! I was able to share this with the group of students as part of the group went into a strip club to pray over the women there. (they did not go into the show area) I was able to share with them what I just shared with you. We must share the gospel message. We must preach Jesus. Doing good is not enough. It is only part of our job. I am convinced that when people hear about the Jesus I know and you know they will want him. We cannot sit in our ivory tower of goodness and think we are doing anything for the kingdom! No we must preach the name of Jesus and share the gospel message. Our good deeds and pretty faces will get us nowhere if we do not share Jesus with the lost! There are people right now next to you, in your family, friends, at your church that do not know Jesus, share him with them. Share your testimony of who Jesus is to you and let them see how Jesus rescues us. I too desire for people to be rescued the way I was rescued. However, man did not rescue me, Jesus did!
And the night just started. We continued to pray for a few more people when all of a sudden this man and woman come stumbling down the road. She looked half dead and had not eaten in days. We gave her food but she would hardly eat it. Her husband was walking her to the hospital, which was two blocks away. Three of us helped carry her there as she had lost almost all use of her legs at this time. We got her inside and she blacked out, down for the count. They got her right in. We prayed over her but then were asked to leave. Not sure what happened but her husband was thankful. We finished the evening with a group prayer. Those two young men that I talked about earlier, they came up shoke my hand and said thank you. And they were gone. What an evening! Praying for all those we encountered and those we were with.
GO, SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY WITH SOMEONE! GO!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Unity in Christ or Unity in Denomination?
As I study this morning I am going over four major views/ denominational views if you will. As I study these views the Holy Spirit is revealing something to me. It is amazing really. God has given me the vision of church unity for the last 3 years. I'm still not sure what he wants me to do with that vision. Anyway, He is showing me that all denominations for the most part are right and yet wrong at the same time! How can this be you say. The main argument for at least the four I am studying are all biblically true. However, they each insist that their way is the only way. How can this be? If each main view is biblical how can only one be right? God never intended for denominations. God intended for a unified Church. Jesus prayed for a unified Church in John 17. The problem comes when we take our view and rest on that view thus taking scripture out of context and not looking at what The Bible is really saying, in turn not allowing Gods Word to work. They all argue with Bible versus, this seems silly to me. If you all use Bible versus, and you say the other is wrong, are you not in essence saying the Bible is wrong? Or are you so egotistical that you actually think that you have the one and only full understanding of Gods Word? Gods word was meant to be used together. Not individual sections used for your own personal belief system that matches the kind of life you want to live or think other should live.
Why don't we take the truths of the Bible and use them how they were meant to be used...together! lets unify as the Church and stop all this petty arguing over what we think and let God speak to us through his Word.
Its not that one denomination is right or wrong. The problem is that each of them use one or two sections in the Bible, often times one or two verses and base their whole denomination on that! I don't know about you, but to me it seems that if God only wanted us to use part of the Bible he would have only given us the Bible in part.
Unity in Christ as the Church does not mean doing the same thing everyone else does. It means understanding that Christ is the only way to The Father and understanding that church A and Church B may practice things a little different. However, that does not mean they are wrong. Each denomination I am studying has its purpose and that is great! Non of them are leading people away from Christ which is also great! (some of them may be in danger of leading people to Christ without giving them the expectation/commands that God has for followers.)However, non of them are unified as the Church. Can you imagine for one minute, pastors, elders, lay leaders, ministers of the gospel, CHRISTIANS, if we would all come together for the sake of Jesus Christ. If we could all see that our view may be correct but not exclusive. That God will use our understanding for one and another understanding for someone else? Yes maintaining a biblical view is important, if there was only one view there would be no need for the Bible to talk about unity as there already would be. There would be no need to talk about the Church being one body but many members doing different things. It seems denominations think that the Church should be one body with many parts doing the same thing! This just is not possible! Come on Church, Jesus calls for unity so lets unify together to build Gods kingdom and bring other people into His kingdom through Christ.
Now don't get me wrong, I do feel that there are some major flaws in some denominations caused by the lack of understanding context and/or only using one set of scripture for their whole view of sanctification and justification. We should never just assume that all are right. However, this does not mean that their scriptural content is wrong, just misused. Their view, although different from ours must match up with the entire nature of God and context in which sanctification and justification come. It seems that these four denominational views do use scripture, however all four of them seem to have taken scripture out of context just enough to exclude other views. It would almost seem more appropriate to combine all four denominational views under the correct understanding of each other. The I feel each denomination would see that each view is correct to a degree because they are all based off of scripture, thus causing the Church to unify under the proper understanding and removing what is not biblical. The issue is we have become so pig headed about what we feel is right , that we are not even willing to consider the view point of another. In turn giving the other denomination a good reason to believe that they are right because we are proving their point for them. It is a big circle. Wont you be the one to stop the never ending circle of denominational debate? Won't you stand for what God's word teaches in whole?
This is a huge subject I know. To big to fully dig into here. It is more of book material than anything. This is just the outline of what The Holy Spirit is revealing to me. I know it is not complete and He will show the Churh more.
Why don't we take the truths of the Bible and use them how they were meant to be used...together! lets unify as the Church and stop all this petty arguing over what we think and let God speak to us through his Word.
Its not that one denomination is right or wrong. The problem is that each of them use one or two sections in the Bible, often times one or two verses and base their whole denomination on that! I don't know about you, but to me it seems that if God only wanted us to use part of the Bible he would have only given us the Bible in part.
Unity in Christ as the Church does not mean doing the same thing everyone else does. It means understanding that Christ is the only way to The Father and understanding that church A and Church B may practice things a little different. However, that does not mean they are wrong. Each denomination I am studying has its purpose and that is great! Non of them are leading people away from Christ which is also great! (some of them may be in danger of leading people to Christ without giving them the expectation/commands that God has for followers.)However, non of them are unified as the Church. Can you imagine for one minute, pastors, elders, lay leaders, ministers of the gospel, CHRISTIANS, if we would all come together for the sake of Jesus Christ. If we could all see that our view may be correct but not exclusive. That God will use our understanding for one and another understanding for someone else? Yes maintaining a biblical view is important, if there was only one view there would be no need for the Bible to talk about unity as there already would be. There would be no need to talk about the Church being one body but many members doing different things. It seems denominations think that the Church should be one body with many parts doing the same thing! This just is not possible! Come on Church, Jesus calls for unity so lets unify together to build Gods kingdom and bring other people into His kingdom through Christ.
Now don't get me wrong, I do feel that there are some major flaws in some denominations caused by the lack of understanding context and/or only using one set of scripture for their whole view of sanctification and justification. We should never just assume that all are right. However, this does not mean that their scriptural content is wrong, just misused. Their view, although different from ours must match up with the entire nature of God and context in which sanctification and justification come. It seems that these four denominational views do use scripture, however all four of them seem to have taken scripture out of context just enough to exclude other views. It would almost seem more appropriate to combine all four denominational views under the correct understanding of each other. The I feel each denomination would see that each view is correct to a degree because they are all based off of scripture, thus causing the Church to unify under the proper understanding and removing what is not biblical. The issue is we have become so pig headed about what we feel is right , that we are not even willing to consider the view point of another. In turn giving the other denomination a good reason to believe that they are right because we are proving their point for them. It is a big circle. Wont you be the one to stop the never ending circle of denominational debate? Won't you stand for what God's word teaches in whole?
This is a huge subject I know. To big to fully dig into here. It is more of book material than anything. This is just the outline of what The Holy Spirit is revealing to me. I know it is not complete and He will show the Churh more.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Update...
Good morning. I'm just gonna get right to the point today. I'm gonna be as honest as I can with you all. This is John writing. I have been struggling in some since, for a few reasons. I know, as someone who knows people in the mission field and follows what they do I want to hear about what they are doing. Therefore I want to be able to give you all great feedback on what we are doing here in Puerto Rico. I want to share about all the people being saved, rehabs we are going into, missions we are on and evangelistic outreach events we are part of. However, in all actuality we are doing very little of that. We have our food handout once a month and that is the only regular thing we do concerning physical mission work. To be honest doing very few of those things is driving me nuts. I know what you must be thinking right now, but let me share with you what has been happening.
God's ways are not my ways. Everything I shared with you above, that I had hoped to be sharing with you, are things that we thought we would be doing. We came down here not part of a church but part of The Church. No church sent us,however Seven Hills Church was our "sending" church, The Lord called us here. We were as some say, "Lone Rangers." To some this was crazy, to others this was amazing. Some thought we were nuts, others were shocked by our faith. The reality is it was a little of both neither of which are bad. Let me tell you a little back story.
In Michigan I was never, "under" another ministry officially. I had no accountability for what I did. Not that what I was doing was wrong just that I had no one that would step in to tell me if I was doing it wrong, so I guess it could have been. Most people I did ministry with thought the same way I did and acted in a similar manner as I did. Our church home in Michigan has gone through so many changes in the past 5-6 years that I do not have a strong relationship with any of our pastors, with the exception of the Global Outreach Pastor,Brian.Brian is more of my mentor than pastor. Just when I thought I had a relationship they got let go or left. So needless to say, our home church had little to do with the ministry God has us working in and I was not held accountable to anyone there or was I under the leadership of any pastor. It may be that they really didn't know what to do with me as I can be rather radical for Jesus and do crazy stuff. Like walk to Washington DC to Pray for Obama and move my entire family to Puerto Rico with no money, no job and faith that God would provide, all because He said so. I was led by The Holy Spirit and I was good with that and still am. My leader is The Holy Spirit and my orders come from God. God has used me and my family in amazing ways because of our willingness to submit to Him and do as he asks. However, there comes a time in ones life where the Lord asks you to learn how to sit under the authority of a Holy Spirit led human pastor. Now, I must say this did not appeal to me at all! I did not want to sit under anyone who would hold me back from what God would have me do.
Over the past 5 months our family has been through a lot. Trying to fit in, learn a foreign language, find a church, make friends, being apart from family, figuring out what God has us here for specifically, college classes for me, learning home school for the kids and Jennifer learning how to teach, and so on. God has been faithful through it all and we have all grown because of this. Over the last 3-4 months we have been attending The Center Church Puerto Rico. As we have stated before we fell in love the second we walked through the door and God told us that this was our home church her on the island. Through several conversations with pastor Efren and other leaders of the church it was clear that God wanted us to not only attend this church but be part of this church. We were excited! Pastor Efren approached Jennifer and myself to be part of the leadership team, we again were excited! God was giving us work! So after praying about this we accepted and became unpaid staff at CCRP as part of their core leadership team. This is where I was challenged and growth began.
As the weeks went by I started to see that CCPR had a vision for their church. A vision God had given them. I loved the vision. The vision was to plant three more campuses on the other three coasts of the island. The focus of these churches would be pockets of English speaking people who do not have a church to go to. There are very few actual English speaking churches on the island. When we were asked to pastor one of these churches or help plant all three we were very humbled. No one had ever asked us to do this before, nor had we ever done it. How would I pastor or plant a church? Little did we know God was about to teach us both a lesson, mainly myself. I started to realize that God had put us in a church with an amazing vision and they were not willing to budge from what the Lord told them. That is a quality many people do not have and I loved it. However, that meant that I had to stay within the vision God gave them! Once I realized this I was frozen. After a conversation with Pastor Efren, I told him that submitting to their vision would be hard for me because I have never needed to do that in the past. I did what God told me to do, not someone else. I was a little confused at what God was doing to say the least. Once I returned home Jennifer and I talked about what Pastor Efren and I had talked about and we both were still very confused and a little discouraged to be honest. How are we do do what God called us to do and continue to do things that God asks us to do if we are under the authority of Pastor Efren and the vision of CCPR? What if God asks us to do something outside of CCPRs vision? I was scared that I was about do move in a direction that would put a halt on the Holy Spirit in my life. ( I think I actually thought my actions could do that. Really John? Really?) With that being said, Jennifer and I prayed about it. God spoke very clearly to both of us at separate times. He told us that He would not ask us to do anything outside of the vision He gave CCPR for the season we are with them. God knows my heart and my willingness to be obedient at a moments notice. This does not men I will be lack in my boldness or passion for Jesus. God knows I will not relinquish my desire to serve him in bold radical ways nor is He asking me to do so. God asked me a question that shocked me to the core, "John, how are you going to lead if you are not willing to be led?" Furthermore, although we are not doing much physical ministry work, there is a lot of internal work and spiritual growth happening. I wish I could share more amazing stories with you but the reality is God has just not opened those doors and this is not the season for that right now. God has us in a season of growth. I am learning to submit to Holy Spirit through Holy Spirit led leadership, to submit to God through the vision God gave another church and to realize that God uses other people to lead me and the Church. A friend of mine,Pastor Britton, said this to me and it hit home. "Being part of a spiritual family you have to understand that it is no longer you and the Holy Spirit, it is you, the spiritual family and the Holy Spirit and you all have to learn how to hear the Holy Spirit together."
So this is what God has been doing and in part why we have been so lack on giving updates. I am sorry and ask for your forgiveness in that. We will try to keep you as up to date as possible but know that God is growing us and challenging us to learn how to lead from being led. You should know that when God says jump we will jump. Our orders come from God and not man. If this is ever jeopardized we will not stand for it. Some of you may not understand this, others of you may. However, it is not my job to make you understand but to follow God's voice and do as he instructs. I can only share what The Lord is doing in our lives. The Holy Spirit will guide the understanding. When God says our time is up under CCPR then we will leave. Until then, we are fully committed to the vision God has given them and what God is going to do while we are there and support them 100%.
God's ways are not my ways. Everything I shared with you above, that I had hoped to be sharing with you, are things that we thought we would be doing. We came down here not part of a church but part of The Church. No church sent us,however Seven Hills Church was our "sending" church, The Lord called us here. We were as some say, "Lone Rangers." To some this was crazy, to others this was amazing. Some thought we were nuts, others were shocked by our faith. The reality is it was a little of both neither of which are bad. Let me tell you a little back story.
In Michigan I was never, "under" another ministry officially. I had no accountability for what I did. Not that what I was doing was wrong just that I had no one that would step in to tell me if I was doing it wrong, so I guess it could have been. Most people I did ministry with thought the same way I did and acted in a similar manner as I did. Our church home in Michigan has gone through so many changes in the past 5-6 years that I do not have a strong relationship with any of our pastors, with the exception of the Global Outreach Pastor,Brian.Brian is more of my mentor than pastor. Just when I thought I had a relationship they got let go or left. So needless to say, our home church had little to do with the ministry God has us working in and I was not held accountable to anyone there or was I under the leadership of any pastor. It may be that they really didn't know what to do with me as I can be rather radical for Jesus and do crazy stuff. Like walk to Washington DC to Pray for Obama and move my entire family to Puerto Rico with no money, no job and faith that God would provide, all because He said so. I was led by The Holy Spirit and I was good with that and still am. My leader is The Holy Spirit and my orders come from God. God has used me and my family in amazing ways because of our willingness to submit to Him and do as he asks. However, there comes a time in ones life where the Lord asks you to learn how to sit under the authority of a Holy Spirit led human pastor. Now, I must say this did not appeal to me at all! I did not want to sit under anyone who would hold me back from what God would have me do.
Over the past 5 months our family has been through a lot. Trying to fit in, learn a foreign language, find a church, make friends, being apart from family, figuring out what God has us here for specifically, college classes for me, learning home school for the kids and Jennifer learning how to teach, and so on. God has been faithful through it all and we have all grown because of this. Over the last 3-4 months we have been attending The Center Church Puerto Rico. As we have stated before we fell in love the second we walked through the door and God told us that this was our home church her on the island. Through several conversations with pastor Efren and other leaders of the church it was clear that God wanted us to not only attend this church but be part of this church. We were excited! Pastor Efren approached Jennifer and myself to be part of the leadership team, we again were excited! God was giving us work! So after praying about this we accepted and became unpaid staff at CCRP as part of their core leadership team. This is where I was challenged and growth began.
As the weeks went by I started to see that CCPR had a vision for their church. A vision God had given them. I loved the vision. The vision was to plant three more campuses on the other three coasts of the island. The focus of these churches would be pockets of English speaking people who do not have a church to go to. There are very few actual English speaking churches on the island. When we were asked to pastor one of these churches or help plant all three we were very humbled. No one had ever asked us to do this before, nor had we ever done it. How would I pastor or plant a church? Little did we know God was about to teach us both a lesson, mainly myself. I started to realize that God had put us in a church with an amazing vision and they were not willing to budge from what the Lord told them. That is a quality many people do not have and I loved it. However, that meant that I had to stay within the vision God gave them! Once I realized this I was frozen. After a conversation with Pastor Efren, I told him that submitting to their vision would be hard for me because I have never needed to do that in the past. I did what God told me to do, not someone else. I was a little confused at what God was doing to say the least. Once I returned home Jennifer and I talked about what Pastor Efren and I had talked about and we both were still very confused and a little discouraged to be honest. How are we do do what God called us to do and continue to do things that God asks us to do if we are under the authority of Pastor Efren and the vision of CCPR? What if God asks us to do something outside of CCPRs vision? I was scared that I was about do move in a direction that would put a halt on the Holy Spirit in my life. ( I think I actually thought my actions could do that. Really John? Really?) With that being said, Jennifer and I prayed about it. God spoke very clearly to both of us at separate times. He told us that He would not ask us to do anything outside of the vision He gave CCPR for the season we are with them. God knows my heart and my willingness to be obedient at a moments notice. This does not men I will be lack in my boldness or passion for Jesus. God knows I will not relinquish my desire to serve him in bold radical ways nor is He asking me to do so. God asked me a question that shocked me to the core, "John, how are you going to lead if you are not willing to be led?" Furthermore, although we are not doing much physical ministry work, there is a lot of internal work and spiritual growth happening. I wish I could share more amazing stories with you but the reality is God has just not opened those doors and this is not the season for that right now. God has us in a season of growth. I am learning to submit to Holy Spirit through Holy Spirit led leadership, to submit to God through the vision God gave another church and to realize that God uses other people to lead me and the Church. A friend of mine,Pastor Britton, said this to me and it hit home. "Being part of a spiritual family you have to understand that it is no longer you and the Holy Spirit, it is you, the spiritual family and the Holy Spirit and you all have to learn how to hear the Holy Spirit together."
So this is what God has been doing and in part why we have been so lack on giving updates. I am sorry and ask for your forgiveness in that. We will try to keep you as up to date as possible but know that God is growing us and challenging us to learn how to lead from being led. You should know that when God says jump we will jump. Our orders come from God and not man. If this is ever jeopardized we will not stand for it. Some of you may not understand this, others of you may. However, it is not my job to make you understand but to follow God's voice and do as he instructs. I can only share what The Lord is doing in our lives. The Holy Spirit will guide the understanding. When God says our time is up under CCPR then we will leave. Until then, we are fully committed to the vision God has given them and what God is going to do while we are there and support them 100%.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Next Steps, Gods continuing work.
Good Morning! It has been a while since we last posted. Jennifer's mother is here visiting so we have been busy showing her around the island. The weather here is getting HOTTER! It has been 90 for the past few days. We literally take two or three showers a day.
This past weekend we had our monthly food handout. We made 60 meals and handed out 50 before our transportation broke down. It is amazing how fast 50 meals go! So far every time we have made food we did not think we would have enough to make all 50 meals. Every time we have had more than enough! It is like the Lord multiplied what we had! (didn't this happen before?) This month not only did we buy and make the food, two women from Armando and Jeanette's church also made food! We had food coming from everywhere! It was amazing to see how God not only provide for us but for all those we came into contact with that afternoon as well. Jennifer's mom was with us too, we were excited to have her here to see in part what God is doing here.
A couple weeks back Jennifer and I sat down with Pastor Efren to talk about the future Rincon Campus plant and what our involvement may/or may not be. After hearing what he had to say and him sharing his vision that God has given him and the leadership of Center Church PR he laid out some things for Jennifer and I to pray about. In a nut shell, the leadership of The Center Church PR would like us more involved with the functioning and church planting that The Lord is leading them to. After much consideration and prayer we have made a commitment to be involved with the Rincon campus plant. We sat down with Pastor Efren Sunday morning and we will be hitting the ground running. Over the next few months we will be spending a lot of time with Pastor Efren and his family. With this comes recon work on the West Coast, which is where Rincon is located. Lord willing this week I will be meeting with Monty, the leader of Christian Surfers of Rincon to begin building relationships with people of influence in the Rincon area. There also is a high probability that we will be spending the month of June in Cabo Rojo, which is about 20 min from Rincon. Our friends, Julio and Stacy are headed back to the states to raise more support as they too are here for missionary work. They have offered to have us house sit while they are away. This will give us a good chance to meet more people in the area and begin the relationship building process.
As I have informed you all already, my job here ends May 30. We have been praying for what we should do for support. We have been led to start an Island Guide business/ministry. We are just launching so there is no income as of yet. However, we know God will provide, He always has and always will. We have been keeping posts going on Instagram, Twitter and a Facebook page and have been getting a lot of response. You can find us at: on Twitter @Footprints_pr , on Instagram footprints_pr and on facebook www.facebook.com/footprintspr
All costs are by donation only. We are already connected with a fishing/snorkeling tour ministry that we will be taking people to. As we travel the island and discover more amazing places God has created we will be finding new places to bring people all while taking the stress out of trying to figure out how to get there. We are also still seeking support from those of you back home who support the work God has us doing down here. As we get more and more involved with the church in Rincon, which is 1.5 hours from our house, we will be traveling there more often. We will also be commuting to and from our church in Dorado which is about 45 min from home. Of course, we still have our monthly bills to cover as well. So far the money from support back home combined with the money I make from work has covered all our needs. As my job comes to a close and God launches our business there may be a short lull in income. We ask that you please pray about supporting us and the work God is doing here in Puerto Rico. If you feel led to send support there are ways to do so below.
School is going great for the kids. They are learning a ton of new stuff and seem very eager to learn, which is an answer to prayer. Jennifer is doing a great job teaching the kids even though it can be challenging at times. The kids say she is a much better mother than a teacher. She agrees! It can be challenging to be a teacher and a mother. Right now it's the best choice for us. We have found a great school supply store that has pretty much anything we could possibly need for school! School for me is going great as well. I am coming to the end of this semester and have A's in both classes. God sure has my hand here! No stopping, I go right into my next semester in two weeks. Lord willing I will graduate in December.
The kids are growing fast! We look at pics of them taken just last year and the change is amazing. Dallas will be 13 years old this Friday!!! Two teens in the house!!! Pray for us :) Bridger tries to act like one so.... He says he is growing his hair out until we leave. I think he may rethink that as the heat continues to rise. HAHA.
Our truck is running better than ever. I have done a lot of work to it to get it running good but it was worth it. We really enjoy the truck God provided for us. I'm not sure if we like the truck or the looks we often get while driving it more. LOL
God has been good and he has heard your prayers for us and His work here. We thank you all for you support no matter what that support may be. Our lives are forever changed because you have been obedient to the support God is leading you to. We could never do this without your love and your prayers. As we continue to be obedient to Gods call on our life, the more and more you all will be involved in Gods work in expanding His kingdom here in Puerto Rico and the world. We love you all and pray for you often. God is good!
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
John, Jennifer, Blake, Dallas and Bridger Hoogeveen
This past weekend we had our monthly food handout. We made 60 meals and handed out 50 before our transportation broke down. It is amazing how fast 50 meals go! So far every time we have made food we did not think we would have enough to make all 50 meals. Every time we have had more than enough! It is like the Lord multiplied what we had! (didn't this happen before?) This month not only did we buy and make the food, two women from Armando and Jeanette's church also made food! We had food coming from everywhere! It was amazing to see how God not only provide for us but for all those we came into contact with that afternoon as well. Jennifer's mom was with us too, we were excited to have her here to see in part what God is doing here.
A couple weeks back Jennifer and I sat down with Pastor Efren to talk about the future Rincon Campus plant and what our involvement may/or may not be. After hearing what he had to say and him sharing his vision that God has given him and the leadership of Center Church PR he laid out some things for Jennifer and I to pray about. In a nut shell, the leadership of The Center Church PR would like us more involved with the functioning and church planting that The Lord is leading them to. After much consideration and prayer we have made a commitment to be involved with the Rincon campus plant. We sat down with Pastor Efren Sunday morning and we will be hitting the ground running. Over the next few months we will be spending a lot of time with Pastor Efren and his family. With this comes recon work on the West Coast, which is where Rincon is located. Lord willing this week I will be meeting with Monty, the leader of Christian Surfers of Rincon to begin building relationships with people of influence in the Rincon area. There also is a high probability that we will be spending the month of June in Cabo Rojo, which is about 20 min from Rincon. Our friends, Julio and Stacy are headed back to the states to raise more support as they too are here for missionary work. They have offered to have us house sit while they are away. This will give us a good chance to meet more people in the area and begin the relationship building process.
As I have informed you all already, my job here ends May 30. We have been praying for what we should do for support. We have been led to start an Island Guide business/ministry. We are just launching so there is no income as of yet. However, we know God will provide, He always has and always will. We have been keeping posts going on Instagram, Twitter and a Facebook page and have been getting a lot of response. You can find us at: on Twitter @Footprints_pr , on Instagram footprints_pr and on facebook www.facebook.com/footprintspr
All costs are by donation only. We are already connected with a fishing/snorkeling tour ministry that we will be taking people to. As we travel the island and discover more amazing places God has created we will be finding new places to bring people all while taking the stress out of trying to figure out how to get there. We are also still seeking support from those of you back home who support the work God has us doing down here. As we get more and more involved with the church in Rincon, which is 1.5 hours from our house, we will be traveling there more often. We will also be commuting to and from our church in Dorado which is about 45 min from home. Of course, we still have our monthly bills to cover as well. So far the money from support back home combined with the money I make from work has covered all our needs. As my job comes to a close and God launches our business there may be a short lull in income. We ask that you please pray about supporting us and the work God is doing here in Puerto Rico. If you feel led to send support there are ways to do so below.
School is going great for the kids. They are learning a ton of new stuff and seem very eager to learn, which is an answer to prayer. Jennifer is doing a great job teaching the kids even though it can be challenging at times. The kids say she is a much better mother than a teacher. She agrees! It can be challenging to be a teacher and a mother. Right now it's the best choice for us. We have found a great school supply store that has pretty much anything we could possibly need for school! School for me is going great as well. I am coming to the end of this semester and have A's in both classes. God sure has my hand here! No stopping, I go right into my next semester in two weeks. Lord willing I will graduate in December.
The kids are growing fast! We look at pics of them taken just last year and the change is amazing. Dallas will be 13 years old this Friday!!! Two teens in the house!!! Pray for us :) Bridger tries to act like one so.... He says he is growing his hair out until we leave. I think he may rethink that as the heat continues to rise. HAHA.
Our truck is running better than ever. I have done a lot of work to it to get it running good but it was worth it. We really enjoy the truck God provided for us. I'm not sure if we like the truck or the looks we often get while driving it more. LOL
God has been good and he has heard your prayers for us and His work here. We thank you all for you support no matter what that support may be. Our lives are forever changed because you have been obedient to the support God is leading you to. We could never do this without your love and your prayers. As we continue to be obedient to Gods call on our life, the more and more you all will be involved in Gods work in expanding His kingdom here in Puerto Rico and the world. We love you all and pray for you often. God is good!
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
John, Jennifer, Blake, Dallas and Bridger Hoogeveen
Ways To Send Support
For a tax deductible donation Please send check written out to Seven Hills Church- Memo line Hoogeveen Missions to:
Seven Hills Church
c/o Hoogeveen Missions
661 East 24th Street Suite 100
Holland, MI 49423
(Seven Hills deposits into account by the 7th of each month)
For a non-tax deductible donation online go to:
(There is a small fee attached to this method. You can choose to pay the fee or have it taken out of your donation to us)
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