In the last couple years we have seen Arise grow, we developed a few new communities around the US (keep in mind, Arise is a network of 7 micro churches in the US and abroad). But in particular, Monica and I have been investing in (1) our neighborhood, (2) the Denver metro area, and (3) global partnerships as the Lord has given opportunities (via Forge’s Global ministry, and also because of both of us having international ministry background in about 40 countries, we aim to stay in touch with many that we have served in the past, or partnered with in the past). In our neighborhood we are most active, we doing acts of kindness and care for neighbors and we keep a small log of our work here, so I can give some real averages: we average about 30 acts of care / kindness / generosity in our neighborhood per week, we spend about 20 hours investing in the lives of neighbors per week, we are interacting with about 20 neighbors per week but this can easily go up or down. We host events in our neighborhood twice per month and get an average of 30 attendees per event. These events are “secular” events but we use them as missional opportunities to connect with people.
The Lord has also opened doors in our neighborhood for us to share Jesus with gentleness, wisdom, and boldness about 10 times per month. That being said, we also have what we describe as “spiritual conversations” (where we are able to begin planting seeds) about 20-30 times per month. Our acts of kindness range from all sorts of things (giving out snacks, giving out gift bags to new neighbors who just moved in, providing LOTS of meals, watching movies with people, playing games, going for walks, swims, or rock climbing with neighbors … the list keeps going).
In the Denver metro area we have seen excellent ministry opportunities grow because of our work with Pando Denver (20-some leaders in the Denver area). We are keen on equipping and encouraging leaders in their growth and development of missional outreach, but also in their walks with the Lord, that they never forget Jesus as their First Love! We also have a partnership with Renovare which opens a lot of doors for us to minister to church leaders in the region – all of this is “extra curricular” for us, but an overflow of our passion for the Bride of Christ.
Globally we stay connected with Forge Global, Arise’s Global Partners, and others, but this typically only amounts to a trip overseas once per year at this point.
In the last couple years we have published our book, The Art of Missional Spirituality, which has impacted thousands (praise the Lord for this), and we republished our first book, Kingdom Contours, which has just crossed the threshold to reach about 1000 readers! These books are overflows of our passion for Jesus and desire to help people walk intimately with Him. We use them as curriculum in our teaching, micro church work, and equipping of other leaders.
While there has been numerical growth (we gained a few new micro church communities), there has also been local growth (we are initiating – right now – a new community in Littleton), and then there has been spiritual growth. Signs of spiritual growth that we see: members are deepening in their prayer lives, members are responding to each other and others with more grace and love and patience than we had seen in the past, members are trusting the Lord through trials, this list could also go on! Do you have a testimony or story of impact you could share?Impact, yes! Praise the Lord for how He is at work! We have been pouring into leaders especially through Renovare, and two years ago, a renovare related leader from Atlanta, Georgia came to visit us here in Littleton in our neighborhood. He met some of our neighbors and saw the missional work we were doing here. We continued to develop a relationship with him and it was very mutual – we encouraged him and he encouraged us. His name is David Kim and he had a transition in his life this past summer and we invited him to come out and serve alongside us in the ministry work here! He prayed about it and he and his 11 year old son moved INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! How cool is that? He has been an amazing partner, praying with neighbors, serving people, sharing his faith in a gentle but wise way, and helping out with all our events here. David, Monica and I all poured into a local family that is a bit older and the lady told us one night, “I have never lived in a place where I have been more loved and intentionally seen and cared for than this place, and it is because of the vision that you all have for this neighborhood, it is a vision for neighbors to actually be friends and to love one another, and it is working!” This lady has repeated this a few times and, humorously, she even left a review saying this much on the neighborhood google reviews page! (you can look it up, Mariposa is her name)
Here is her actual review, but slightly edited down for size:
“I have lived in many neighborhoods in my decades of life, […]. Though physically pleasant in ways, the community environments have been isolating and transactional. This is apartment living community is truly on a different level of quality. Jeremy and Monica […] work to bring people together through regular events at the clubhouse. As a result of these meet ups neighbors become familiar and some become friends that assist and look out for each other. Berkshire Aspen Grove becomes more than a place to live. It is experienced as a community of people who are connected through neighborliness and an enjoyment of a well maintained campus and warm social environment. […]”
In the coming season, the biggest prayer request for Arise would be this new micro church in our neighborhood. There are 6 (maybe 7) of us who are committed to meeting regularly, praying for our neighborhood and investing in this community. Pray for peace, wisdom, and that we will keep a good pace amidst all the opportunities, truly listening to the Lord as we discern what we should be taking on.
