Dear Friends,
We wanted to update you on where we are with God’s leading. We are praying God would open the doors for us to return to the Northwest, most likely the Lacey, WA area which we have been kind of scoping out. We have committed ourselves to staying here in Fort Smith at least through the summer (mid August), because Jenna and I have planned obligations with her music lessons, and also with the Beginning Band that I am praying will be a good draw and start to a ministry that someone else will continue in the community after we leave. Our hope and prayer is however that the home would sell by the end of the summer and that we would be able to move.
Our hopes are high for what God will do in Lacey. Jenna will pursue developing a roster of private voice and piano students. We also really have a vision to begin a music academy that would allow me to combine the two things that I love and love to teach the most; Christ, and music. Our vision is for an academy that would teach beginning band, jazz bands, and perhaps a combo or two primarily to home-school children (this would allow us to keep it in the day time), but we would also offer some late afternoon classes for students in private or public school who just want top notch music ed. The Academy would essentially flow right out of my book (which I pray will be done by the time we leave) and teach music from a Christ-centered worldview. I believe that in about a year it could develop into a missional academy that would both reach many, many students for Christ as well as teach them music.
Finally, we also intend to plant a missional church. Our experience with Cross Community (now Community Bible North) has been wonderful on so many levels. It has also helped us realize what we need and want to be a part of, which is a biblical church. Sadly, there aren’t many of those around. The good news is, we don’t need them to be, that’s why Christ makes disciples; to go and make more. I believe wholeheartedly that one of the most practical and effective ways to make disciples is through His local community churches. We intend to, by God’s grace and enabling, fall forward in trusting Him as to what this will look like. I can assure you that it is probably very little like what you imagine when you read the word “church,” but that everyone within commuting distance of Lacey will be welcome.
Would you support us with genuine support in prayer, thoughts, and remembrance? We will have many needs which you may be able to help with, not financially, but by way of legwork, connections, and networking. This means if you no someone, someplace, something, please consider us. Some of these concerns that we would ask you to keep in mind, prayer, and remembrance are:
- The sale of our home
- Location, location, location. We will need a temporary place to stay when we first get to the Northwest, and also a location for the academy, perhaps a willing local church or business would allow us to borrow space for little to nothing. Long term we hope to lease a property that would house a few bands, some practice rooms, maybe a little coffee lounge.
- People: The academy will need students and Jenna will need students, the more the better. I will gladly send out details on what I have mapped out for the academy to those interested. Praying for three classes (1 jazz, two beginning bands) semester one (20 students each), which hopefully we would launch within six months of arrival.
- Resources in the NW: We do pray that the academy would reach not just people that can afford music lessons/classes ($20 per week), but also those that cannot. Our prayer is that people who love children and music, and especially if they have a heart for the Great Commission going forward, would support the academy by sponsoring a student.
- Resources in getting to the NW: We are praying that God would sell our home for enough, or enough resources would come in w/ Jenna’s lessons, my work, and my beginning band to get us back to the Northwest.
- A publisher for my book, I am praying to have it released by the end of the summer.
Again, we really do ask for your prayers and remembrance as we wait on God’s open door and trust Him in moving forward.
In Him,
Sean-David
