July 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

July is finally here and with it comes the Chico heat. Although it doesn’t seem to be as hot as the previous years it is definitely warm enough to blow up the kids pool and have lots of fun summer water play!

Summer is very slow in Chico. The heat seems to slow down every ones pace and people tend to do everything they can to escape it. We learned when we first moved here that summer is not the time to make any big plans but to enjoy the slow pace before it kicks back up in the fall when all the university students return.

With that in mind we have some wonderful plans for the fall. We will begin a advertising campaign in the Chico News and Review which is a weekly paper that is very widely read. We are also praying about starting a free tutoring program for students who need a little extra help with their studies. Please pray with us as we continue to brainstorm new ways to reach the community. Jeremy is focusing on getting more active with the fire department as the Chaplin. He is also looking for possible part time employment to help supplement our income.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers for Gabriella and we are pleased to report that she is doing much better! Praise God!! The doctor has given her a clean bill of health with no follow up appointments necessary at this point! We are thrilled with the results and we are seeing a little girl who almost always had dark circles under her eyes feeling full of energy and of life! 

We ask that you continue to pray for Jerry who is adjusting to life without his wonderful wife Kay. He is showing an amazing strength and we are so blessed to have him here with us. Also please pray for our financial situation. We continue to fall a little short each month. It is great to see the wonderfully creative ways God is providing for us during this time! Thank you to those of you that have answered Him and sent extra money when you are able. We are deeply thankful for you!

            You may not be here in Chico with us, but we still consider you part of our planting team because without you we wouldn’t be here. We praise God for you! If you have not yet sent in your support for July please do so at this time. And if you are able to increase your support in anyway, please feel free to do so. We love you all very much. Please send us your prayer requests so that we can also pray for you.

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Dear Family and Friends,

Will we see an end to this rain anytime soon? We have been blessed with a late summer I am not looking forward to the heat. Despite the weather, all the other signs of summer are present. Most of the CSU students are gone and all of the churches have started gearing done for the summer. Summers in Chico are very slow but I am looking forward to all of the outdoor activities the summer brings.

We are very sad to let you know that one of the people that helped Fusion get up and running has gone home to be with Jesus. Kay Liston was a dear friend and helped us in so many ways, she was a master of behind the scenes ministry and she will be missed. I had met Kay back in 2003 as I started working at my fist full-time ministry position. She was on staff at the church was working at and she was an immense blessing. When her husband retired they moved up here to Chico and I was ecstatic. Her husband Jerry is still with us, he also has enabled the ministry of Fusion to take place.

Even though there is sadness there is also great joy. A young couple in Fusion is getting married in June. They are excited to start their life together.

We have also seen growth in Fusion over the past month. People are finding a home with us. Some for the first time in years are attending church. We are excited to see the people that God is bringing to Fusion.

My hope is to see many of the people that we have been praying for and loving on come to Jesus.  We have had many more opportunities to meet non-Christian families as Gabriella has started school and been involved in dance class. We are hoping that God can use our relationships to reach these people.

Please continue to pray for Gabriella as we try to discern how to help her with her GI issue.

Thank you for all of your prayers and financial support. We do pray for all of the prayer requests that we receive so if you have any needs let us know so that we can lift them up in prayer.

The ministry of Fusion would not be able to continue without your support thank you so much.

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com                                   

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com             

 

May 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Things are warming up as the seasons roll on. The weather forecast states that it may reach 90 this week! Yikes already!

Thank you for your prayers for Fusion. It means a lot that we have people praying for us.

This is an exciting time as we move forward. We are partnering with a local Church group to do some campus ministry in the next year. We are working together with university students to reach people who do not know Christ. We are attempting to be more intentional in reaching out. We are not going to start a worship service on campus we are going to work toward serving the campus… I am excited about this and will let you know more details as we begin working on this new part of Fusion.

We are also looking to start two more small groups using leaders from Fusion and people who are not connected to Fusion. This is a great outreach opportunity. Please pray that these groups will reach many new people.

Please pray for our family. Gabriella is going through some medical tests to determine what is wrong with her gastronomical system. They are giving her laxatives and we need to get x-rays. This involves us driving to Sacramento to see a specialist. Please pray for her, as we do not know what is going on.

We were able to receive our full salary this past month! Thank you so much for your generosity.

The ministry of Fusion would not be able to continue without your support thank you so much.

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com                                

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com            

April 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

It is sunny, everything is in bloom, and there is still a cold chill in the air… Spring is wonderful in Chico!

We truly have been blessed through the trying times. God has confirmed over and over again that we are doing the right thing. We have been seeing God working in the lives of unchurched people that we are spending time with. I have a friend who is seeking right now, please pray that I have more opportunities to share Christ with him. A young woman who refuses to attend any church returned for the second week in a row. After the gathering she shared with me that she hates church but loved our gatherings, she told me that she even blogged about our gathering the previous week.

I have recently partnered with a friend of mine who is former Muslim from Kuwait.  We are working together to reach a growing Muslim population in Chico. He recently shared his testimony with us and that can be found on the website http://www.fusionchico.com/sermons/message3-13-11.mp3 if you click on the link or enter it in your Internet browser the audio will automatically begin playing.

Gabriella is coming to the end of her first year in school. It is amazing to see her learning so many new things and reading on her own. Josiah has had a hard time adjusting to Elizabeth needing to spend so much time with his little brother. Josiah keeps asking when Titus will be old enough to play with him. Gabriella and Josiah both love their little brother and always ask to hold him. Titus is growing fast he is 3 months old and wearing 6 month clothes. He is smiling and laughing, every Sunday when the message starts and he hears his Dad’s voice he gets really still. It makes me think about when we hear the voice of our Heavenly Father how we get really still and feel safe.

If you could pray for one thing for the ministry, pray that the Churches in Chico will wake up. The believers here are asleep. There are so many hurting people in need of Jesus and there are only a handful of believers reaching out. Fusion is a community that gathers to equip believers and scatters them back out to do the ministry. I recently asked the mid-week Bible study what I value most. They answered, discipleship, outreach, and service. I cannot wait until they value those things well.

Please remember us in your prayers because we are still in a very hard place financially. Many of you have been able to give above and beyond your normal giving and I thank you. Please remember to send in your support each month and share your prayer requests with us we do pray for those as we receive them.

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com                                 

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com            

March 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Great things are happening in Fusion!!!

People that have been unemployed are finding employment. I am seeing others step into leadership for the first time and we are seeing new people connect with our ministry. Right now I am really pushing the idea of being fishers of men as we are going through the book of Mark. In the first chapter of Mark verse 17 Jesus calls Simon and Andrew saying, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Paraphrase ESV). In Greek Jesus is saying I will fashion you to exist as fishers of men. Fashion shows intension and art, you do not fashion something to be purely adequate. He also shows us the purpose for our existence, which is to do evangelism. We are given a purpose for our existence it is in following him and bringing him glory.  Exciting stuff!!!

Please pray! I have an opportunity after two years of ministry, to have dinner next week with a young man who does not know Christ. He was far from God when we met and he has been inching closer through our relationship. He believes that all roads lead to God. Also before he met me he thought pastors were creepy, angry and mean. Pray that he does not flake on our dinner and he is able to see Christ through me.

We are functioning as a family of 5 and loving it. Josiah and Gabriella love Titus and every morning they run up and give him a kiss and a hug. We are able to spend one-on-one time with each of them so that they understand Dad and Mom still love them very much. The Rhodes family is thriving in this season. Last week we were able to see some snow falling in Chico, which Gabriella thought was something special. The weather was not cold enough for the snow to stick but the mountains 20 min from Chico are covered with snow.

Please remember us in your prayers because we are still in a very hard place financially. We have recently seen God redefine our ministry here in Chico. We are called to more than plant a Church but work with others not involved with Fusion to see God transform Chico. I work with many local Christian leaders to function as the Church in Chico not just local congregations. Also, God has placed me in a unique place to work with disillusioned Christians who will not come to any church. This new ministry is very time consuming and tiring. I know that this work is very close to the heart of God. My concern is that if I am able to get a part time job that it will take time away from these new ministries. If you know of anyone who is interested in supporting some missionaries in Chico let us know. If you are able to give more in this new year that would also be very helpful. Do not worry Fusion is growing and I am not taking time away from Fusion for this new work.

Please remember to send in your support each month and share your prayer requests with us we do pray for those as we receive them.

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com                                      

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com            

February 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

We had the first Sunday meeting in our new place!!!

A big thank you to everyone who was able to give toward supplies. The place was in some disrepair. We had to replace the floor, paint the walls, paint the ceiling, replace some ceiling fixtures, replace the baseboards, hang some curtains and change the heating vents. It was a lot of work but some great bonding took place as we did all the work ourselves.

For the first time we were able to set up and leave the equipment out when we were done. We also had a lot of fun in extended fellowship afterwards. We are very blessed to have a location that we can use on a daily basis.

We also marked our first anniversary meeting on Sunday mornings!

We look forward to another year of God working through the ministry of Fusion.

 Elizabeth is recovering quickly and Titus is doing very well. Gabriella and Josiah are enjoying having a baby brother. Gabriella wants him to stay a baby forever and Josiah wants him to grow up and play with him. We are enjoying having a baby in the house again. We are adjusting to being a family of five but loving every minute of it!

Thank you for your support over the past two years. We have seen God work in amazing ways and we have been able to share and celebrate with you. We would not be able to get this work done with out your generous support.  If you have not yet sent in your support for February please do so at this time. Thank you again! God bless!

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com             

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com            

January 2011 Rhodes Family Church Planting Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Titus Rex Rhodes is here!!! He was born on December 27 1:22am and weighed 9lbs 2.5 oz, 21.5 inches long. He was newsworthy you can fin the story in the Chico newspaper.

http://www.chicoer.com/ci_16955525?source=rss_viewed

Elizabeth and the Titus are doing well. Elizabeth is recovering quickly and Titus is learning how much he is loved. Gabriella is in love with her little brother and is holding him every chance she gets. Sometimes grandparents have a hard time getting Titus away from Gabriella. Josiah has held his little brother a couple of times but he is content to sit back and watch him. They both love their little brother dearly and are a great help for their Mom.

We were very blessed in this advent season as a family and as a Church. We celebrated our first Christmas as Fusion and since we are a mobile Church, setting up and tearing down each week, we could not do a Christmas or Christmas Eve gathering so we got creative and released a YouTube Christmas message. It is just under 9 min. long and there is a link to it on our website www.fusionchico.com

Please pray for us in this New Year as we are taking a drop in support. If you know of anyone who would be interested in supporting us please let us know or if you are able please pray fully consider increasing your giving. We would greatly appreciate it and we know God will bless you. We are confident that God will supply our needs whether it is by new support or by Jeremy securing part-time employment.

Fusion has been blessed with the opportunity to meet in an office space for free. We are very excited about this opportunity but we need your help. The place is in desperate need of Paint and new flooring. Our people are willing to work but we need some funds to cover the purchase of paint, painting supplies, flooring and hardware. We are a small church and due to the economy many of our members are unemployed. If you can help us with a one-time donation towards paint, flooring and supplies we would very grateful as a community.

Thank you for your support over the past two years. We have seen God work in amazing ways and we have been able to share and celebrate with you. We would not be able to get this work done with out your generous support.  If you have not yet sent in your support for January please do so at this time. Thank you again! God bless!

Blessings!

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com                                   

Blog: http://rhodes-project.blogspot.com/           

Church Website: www.fusionchico.com