The Present...and the Future

It has been an interesting and busy adventure this summer here in the PNW. I have found myself on the constant move here serving at The Commons and working a part time (but full time) job at Best Buy. Life has definitely been on the fast track.

I write to "fill in the blanks" on where I am and what you may have heard or not heard.

At the beginning of October, I will be moving back to Birmingham, AL. The reason is for school. Since serving here at The Commons and in the PNW for almost two years, I have learned a lot about myself, my skills, and what it takes to be an effective minister/church planter. A month ago, I was re-reading a book called "Radical" written by a pastor named David Platt. As I was consuming each page, God began stirring within me some questions and thoughts.

"Can I effectively take someone from knowing nothing about Christ to knowing, believing, & growing in Him?"

"Can I train that person to do the same with people they come in contact with in their everyday life?"

"Do I have a solid grasp on what it means to effectively disciple someone to the point of where they can do the same?"

"Do I equip others well?"

I could answer these questions with a human response and say "yes" to all of the above, but I can't. With prayer and meditation, I concluded that to be most effective in other's lives, I would first need to be "equipped in equipping others". In 12 years of ministry, I have always been someone who does the watering meaning that I took others who have already had a foundation and I would tweak and build off of it. Here in the PNW, You have to be a planter/equipper/sender. I believe that I am not fully equipped yet to effectively be all of these. For me to do what God is calling me to do here, making disciples of Christ who make disciples of Christ, I will need to be better equipped. This equipping will come in the form of school. I plan to return to Birmingham, AL to get my masters (M.Div) in Church Planting.

Why Birmingham?

Prayerfully going back to my home state is far less expensive for me. I could take online courses here in WA, but the reality is that I couldn't focus on school, church, and a full time job at Best Buy. So moving back makes sense as well as being obedient to what God is calling me to do.

My plan is to sell all my furniture that I currently own, pack up a small U-haul trailer, and move back to AL. Once I arrive, I will immediately be looking for a full time job and enrolling to the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension there in Birmingham. My Goal is to finish school.

God has used me in so many ways and taught me so much while I have been here. It is definitely a tough move for me because my heart is here in the PNW and in The Commons. I have seen so many lives impacted by Christ and seen over 10 students (who were unchurched) give their life to Christ.

I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your prayers, encouragement, and your financial support. Thank you for being the "Church". Through your support, lives were eternally impacted and changed.

After October 1st, I will no longer ask you to support me financially, but will ask that you prayerfully consider supporting The Commons (discoverthecommons.com). We have been used in a tremendous way to impact the Arlington, WA area and will need continual prayer and financial support to continue to do what God has called us to do.

Again, I can not express how much your support has meant to me. The last 2 years of my life is a true testimony of what Christ can do through someone who is just willing to step out into the unknown and the uncomfortable. May He increase in us as we decrease.

I love you all.

-Cham McCutchen

Sports camp 2010

It's here nice again!!! We had 185+ kids this morning! More to come and blogged about this week.















-- Post From Cham's Phone

One day you will be hugged.

As I was talking with one of my best friends on the phone last night, a thought hit me. One day everyone of you who have supported me & The Commons in prayer, encouragement, & financial support will be hugged (if not tackle hugged) in Heaven. Why? Because you have been apart of God's ministry here in Arlington, WA that God has used to change lives. Those hugs (I promise you) will come from me and all of those here in this area who have been impacted by God through The Commons. Go ahead and get ready!

I have been thinking of all the incredible things God has allowed me to be apart of up here and the ministry that I have had the privilege of doing and it blows my mind. I have seen a lot of people and students come to know Christ as their savior. I have seen marriages put back together. I have seen believers revived and now on board with God's mission. I have seen God take a church with few ragtag people leading it and use them to impact a community.

It's surreal. It's all God. Get ready for your hugs. I have mentioned this before, but let me explain again. You are just as important in this ministry to the unchurch as anybody else. With no arm, how can a hand ever function? God setup the body of Christ for a specific reason.

So I just wanted to share with you my thought on a Monday morning. Get ready to be hug. I know there will be a line of students and adults ready to hug and thank you for being willing, sacrificial, and obedient to God in support me and The Commons. You are impacting and I thank you for that. Love and miss you all!

-cham

Among the busyness...

We have a ton going on at The Commons. We are scurrying around getting the weekly things accomplished, building and investing in relationships, and getting Sports Camp together. God has really been blessing the church and the ministries that we are doing. As mentioned in my last blog, I had the privilege of leading 8 middle school students to Christ. Completely incredible!!!

I type this blog asking you to keep us all in your prayers. As a church plant, we are funded through those who financially partner with us. Due to the economy, many church plants are taking a hit in funding. A few of us on couple of us on staff (including me) have sought after part time and full time positions to make ends meet so we can continue doing ministry.

I recently took a part time job at Best Buy to help with low funds. I love the job and people, but it still doesn't provide enough financially to help with the low funds.

I mention all this to ask you to pray for me, our staff, church, and other churches here in the PNW. It is an exciting and scary time. We get tread through the unknown, but at the same time we get to see the provisions of God first hand.

Bottom line, we are willing to do what is ever necessary to continue ministering here in the PNW. Our desire is to connect people outside of this area (in different ways) to the ministry going on here. Some of those ways are: prayer, financial support, mission trips, or even moving out here. However God leads someone to help reach the PNW is our desire because it becomes a blessing to all.

If you would like to help in any way or get your church involved, then please contact me at cham@discoverthecommons.com

Thank you for following, praying, and supporting me.

Because of your sacrifices and support, we are able to continue

experiencing fruit in the lives of people here.

Cham

"So why did God give up Jesus?"

The title of this blog was the very question that a middle school girl asked me during the bible study and it was a question that impacted many.

The night started off with energy, spaghetti, and a whole lot of new kids. As you may or may not know, I decided to split the middle school and high school up on two separate nights. Last week, I had a total of 4 middle school students. I challenged them to bring friends and they came through. I had 12 students tonight! That was huge, but not as big as what was to come.

I started off interacting with the students as normal. I do my dumb cham stuff that breaks the ice and helps connect others with laughing and what not. Soon after, I begin the bible study. Of course, I started with a object lesson..."Name that baby food". Who knew what was about to happen?

After the object lesson, I began to run over Matthew 5:13-16(msg). Quite to my surprise, we didn't stay on that long. I had a young girl raise her hand in the middle of the lesson with a baffled look. I pointed to her and said, "do you have a question?" She said, "So why did God five up Jesus?" I heard a bunch of "yeahs" very low under other's breathes. I responded, "great question..let's look find out."

So at that point, I walked through John 3:16 & Romans 3:23. I explained to them why Christ had to die and came to die for the world. I went through why we fell short and how Jesus can fix that. The girl then followed up by asking, "So how do you come into a relationship with Jesus?" I grinned and I took the group through Romans 10:9-10. I explained to them about asking Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. I explained my testimony quickly and what Christ did for me.

At that point, I asked the entire group to bow there heads. I simply said, "If you would like to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior then just make eye contact with me." 8 students looked at me and I about lost it. I walked them through a how to get saved.

Can I say that TOTALLY ROCKED MY WORLD!!! Everything, the ups and downs of church planting and sacrificing, totally paid off. I got to experience God moving first hand. It is still surreal to me. I plan to follow up these next weeks with them. God rocks my world!

Please keep these students, me, the student ministry, and The Commons in your prayers. God is doing some incredible things here. Come be apart of it in some way.

-Cham

PS. I didn't edit check this content b/c I'm worn out. Please forgive any mistakes or type-os.

Crawlin' with a purpose...

One of the cool things I get to experience is watching people jump on the mission that Christ has called us to. I have had the privilege to hang out with some incredible guys that are passion about "muddin'/crawling" and also their relationship with Christ.

Recently the group's name and mission, "Crawlers 4 Christ", was birthed out of these two passions. It consist of a few guys from The Commons and from a few other churches. Their desire is to reach out to people with the love of Christ and to build community around one of their favorite hobbies. It's totally legit with cards to hand out and everything. It has just been pretty cool just watching it form through all the talk and rides that I have been own with these guys.

The other day as the group was leaving the trails, we met a guy who was needing help with his 4x4 truck. The guys spent and additional 2 hours in the dark trying to fix the truck so that he could get home. They met his physical needs and also talked to him about Christ as well. The guy was super thankful because most people wouldn't have stopped and taken the time due to fear of being tricked or robbed (the trails can be a shady place). As mentioned earlier, it is just a cool privilege to be around guys from The Commons and other churches that have a passion for Christ and to help others. God is doing great things here in Arlington, WA.

-cham

When going to prom pays off...

Why I go out of my way to do things...

As you may or may not know, I had the privilege of taking about ten students to the prom a couple of weeks ago. It started off with just a van ride down, but I couldn't leave it at that. I decided, "why not provide free pictures for them instead of them paying for one at the school?" So I did.., and it paid off. Just getting the chance to serve, hanging out with students, and going the extra mile was worth it. Last week was when I separated the Middle School and High School on two different nights. To my surprise, a few of those students from the prom outing showed up and loved it. It was totally worth my time, effort, and talents. I am always reminded about how Jesus tells us to go the extra mile for others, so we can impact them. Well, here is the proof. I have students who before prom, may would have never considered or connected with The Commons Student ministry.

So when are you going to prom?

-cham

Prom...would you go back?

Prom::.

Prom is one of those special moments in a student's life. The dresses, the tuxes, flowers, food, and fun. If you had a chance to go back to prom (no matter your age), would you? Well, in my case, YES! Tomorrow I grab the church van, 10 high school students, my photography camera, and we head off to prom. Are you going to be at the prom? Technically no, but I am driving some of my students and their friends to Seattle for their prom. One of my students came to me weeks ago and asked me if I would be interested. I was totally cool with it. So I will be the "limo driver" for the group. I thought to myself, "Why not give them some free professional photos as well?" You would have thought I hung the moon. All of a sudden, I had other students contacting the one who asked me trying to get on board. The chaos i create.

I share this with you to encourage you to take those extra steps to impact others. I get a chance to hang with some students that do not attend the student ministry and probably has never been to church too. What a great opportunity to interact with those students and provided them with great memories through photos and to show them the Love of Christ. God has called me to a cool ministry and I love every minute of it.

-cham

Easter Sunday

Easter:

We had an incredible day yesterday at The Commons. We had over 141 people at our Sunday Morning Worship service. It was a cool time just seeing new faces, excited kids, and people looking to connect with others and with Christ. We decided to keep it simple yesterday in the service and it worked out well. Tim, our pastor, brought a passionate message on the love of Christ and the Gospel. We had a ton of people give up their place in the service to meet the needs of childcare in the other rooms. It was an incredible time. I am excited to here some God-stories to come out of yesterday.

My PNW Family:

One of the biggest loves I have for The Commons is the real authentic community and family vibe that we have going on. Over the past few days, I received multiple calls from different families inviting me to eat with them for Easter. They wanted to make sure that I as well as other team members had a place for Easter since we live way far from our families. It was such an overwhelming sense of love that I felt from each phone call, text, and face to face invite. So...I spent yesterday hanging out with multiple families and enjoying some incredible community. It's just a beautiful thing. I even ended up learning how to weave a basket when I hung out with my friends from the Tulalip Tribe (check it out pics on my facebook fan page). I had such a great time yesterday. Days like yesterday just confirm that I am where I need to be. I am so blessed

Big Week:

This week has a lot going on:

Men's Group Tonight:

I am always excited about this. The guys in The Commons have really stepped it up and I am so privileged to be among such an awesome group of men. I am expect some more new faces tonight. Plan to watch a little NCAA action with them afterwards.

Community Groups Kick-off:

This is the week where the Commons kicks-off new community groups. The awesome thing is that they will be lead by other Commons family members and not the leadership. This is such an exciting time. I can't wait to see such incredible things come out of these groups.

Students:

We are watching the Passion of the Christ this week in the Student Ministry. It has become a tradition for us. It puts things in a visual perspective for my kids. I am praying that questions and life changes will arise after this Wednesday.

Also, I am preparing for the big split. Next week, I will begin splitting Middle School and High School up. The reason is that I am loosing a lot of High School students b/c they want to tackle some deeper things that we could not necessarily go into with Middle School. I am really praying and expecting some great things to come out of this split. Change for some is never received well at the beginning, but over time I think this will extremely be beneficial to all.

I hope everyone had an incredible Easter Weekend. I encourage you to impact those around you and support those who need help in and out of the Body of Christ. Please keep me in your prayers as I walk through some potential job situations. My prayer is that it helps and not hinders what I do here at The Commons.

-cham

Everybody has a story...it just takes a second to listen.

It has been interesting the last couple of weeks. I have met some very interesting people with some really cool stories.

Last week, I was interviewed by a general manager at a local retail store here in the area. Come to find out, he was a PK (Preacher's Kid) and a former student pastor. It was pretty cool considering that I live in a unchurched area. We ended up sharing stories, struggles, and life. I was amazed at this encounter and I think he was too.

Yesterday, I had to go to a local Lab Testing Facility for a infamous drug test required by potential hiring companies. I met a doctor there that turned out to be a church goer at a local church. He was fascinated with my name which lead to my move up here which lead to me sharing why I was here and what I do. He shared about his life and his move as well as his journey as a believer. He was a really cool guy with a fascinating life and background.

I share this to encourage everyone to stop.., look.., listen.., and connect. If we stop in our busy worlds for a moment, we find that there are real people created by God with interesting stories. From there, we need to look for those moments where we can strike up a conversation. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but try it. Then we need to listen. You will be amazed how interesting the world outside of your world is. Last, we need to connect. Connecting in the sense of impacting that person. Leaving them with a blessing of some sort. In most conversations, I always ask in my heart, "Ok...God. How can I bless them or What do You want to do through me to bless or impact them?" Then I do it.

I just share this because there are so many people with fascinating stories that we can reach out to, bless, and impact. We just need to stop, look, listen, and connect.

-cham

Excited...

Past Sunday...

This past Sunday went great. To catch you up to what I am talking about, we had over 50% of the leadership team out for Spring Break. This left us we a few "stay-behinds" and a lot of volunteers to make Sunday happen. I just want to brag on everybody and say it was a "HOME RUN!" Volunteers brought their A-game and helped us get things set up, tore down, AND helped in ministry related areas such as preschool, children's min, and greeting. I can't express how awesome it is to see some many people connect just through serving. I had the opportunity to co-lead worship and then speak. This was a 1st. I am usually my worst critic but I had a lot of feedback on the message that God lead me to share. It was a great Sunday for us, the Commons, and for the leadership knowing that they can have a vacation free of worry.

Small Groups...

Just in a couple of weeks, new community groups will be starting. The exciting part is that our own family members will be starting/leading them up. In the past, we either had all the adults meet at the Corbin home or we created multiple groups with someone from the Commons leadership leading it. So to say we are excited is an understatement. It is awesome to see everybody excited and passionate to reach out to there community, friends, neighbors, and family.

Students...

In the student ministry, I am working on tweaking a few things. We are at a point in students where we need to possibly split up Middle School and High School. We have been averaging over 20+ students consistently, but the majority have been 6th-9th. I am processing the option of having middle school meet one night & high school meet on another night. Upfront, this will open up a lot of possibilities, draw more students, and ultimately meet the needs of each age group. So please keep me in your prayers as I look at the logistics of possibly doing this.

On April 7th, I will be showing the students the Passion of Christ movie. Last year, I showed this and it open the eyes of a lot of students. I am praying for a great impact this time around.

Update on Financial Support...

In the my last blog, I mentioned where my financial support currently was. My support is still very low for me to continue relying on it alone. Currently, I have sought after a part-time or full time job to help sustain the different. I have some opportunities that look very favorable, so I am praying for God's will. I am always looking for new supporters. If you would like to contribute, then you can find the info on the right side of this blog.

Thank you again for your prayers, encouragement, and love. It has been an incredible journey and I am expecting great things this year. Love and miss you all!

-cham

Reality...

Definition of a Church Planter (taken from Wikipedia):

"A church planter and family move into a new location to start a church from scratch. The planter has very little connection with or existing support within the new area. The planter and their family are “pioneering” new territory. Where there is great risk, there is great reward, but this approach is not for the faint of heart and requires a person particularly gifted in personal evangelism. Advantages of this approach include flexibility, and the ability to reach otherwise unreached areas. The disadvantages might be the effort required to integrate with a new community, and possible lack of financial and personal support."

The definition above pretty much sums up the basic core of what I do. All parts of it have become a reality that I have experienced while here serving at The Commons.

My present reality is that I am severely short of funds to continue to serve full time. Today marks the 2nd time that I have not received an entire paycheck to sustain my living here. As mentioned before, I have begun the process of looking for a full time job to "keep me afloat". I do not plan to quit or move on from The Commons, but I am forced at this point to take a job no matter what conflict it has with my schedule at church.., meaning I could quite possibly miss Sundays and/or Wednesday. I definitely am not fond nor pleased with this possible reality, but I do have to sustain living some how.

I tell you all this because I believe in transparency and firmly feel that this is apart of the "journey" that most people are always afraid to discuss openly. The reality is that with any missionary, church planter, or church planter it takes financial support to allow them freedom to fully focus on carrying out the mission/ministry that God has called them to.

Currently, as mentioned in a previous blog post, I am only supported by a few individuals and a couple of businesses. I have no "Home Church" or "Missions Organization" that backs me. So I do not get a guaranteed amount every week. This is one of many risk that a church planter takes.

So, I am communicating to you the reality of my ministry right now. I have been praying, fasting, and seeking God's wisdom on finding either the financial support of job that will continue to allow me to effectively serve at this church plant. I have no doubt that God will provide, no matter how uneasy it gets. He is doing amazing things at the Church and with the people who we impact.

Please keep me in prayer as I walk through this unknown situation.

-cham

Very Excited Times...

Tonight starts an exciting 3 weeks for The Commons. We begin a 3 week training for our family members on how to start their own community group. The group will consist of 2-3 families from The Commons. From there, they will begin inviting family and friends to join in. Through this, the Commons' family members will build authentic Christian community, work through a weekly bible study, have a mission project, and impact those that they are reaching out to within the community group. Exciting & scary at the same time. We have never done this full throttle, and so leadership feels that it's time. Please keep us in prayer as we begin to work through this. We are excited as well as the family members.

On a side note, the students are serving in childcare for 3 weeks as every possible adult goes through the training. I have incredible kids who are willing to sacrifice and serve for the Kingdom. God is awesome!

-cham

A lady's response to the Student "Couple's Night Out"

Below is an e-mail that I received from one of our ladies that goes to The Commons concerning the "Couple's Night Out" that the student ministry provided.

"Thank you so much for hosting the Common's Parents Night Out. We used to be better about scheduling time for us as a couple, but in the past two years so much has changed. While we were out enjoying our dinner out, we were reflecting on how little time we have been able to get some alone time without the kids. Since Grant was born (he is 20 months) Mark and I have only been able to get a sitter and get out 2 times. That is crazy!

For almost a year and a half Grant has been struggling health wise. The first symptom came when he was about 4 months old when he would scream bloody murder every 30 -60 minutes thru the night. We went from doctor to doctor, enduring trial medications, exams and tests never to find an answer as to why he was seemingly in so much pain. During this time he was also being seen for a tumor that had grown to attach to his spine. No specialist thought that these two problems were related.

During this time our relationships had to take on different roles. We went into survival mode. We realized it was bad when everyone in the family other than myself and Grant had moved downstairs so they could escape the screams in order to get some sleep. Realizing that Mark needed to work to sustain the family, I would hold, pat and rock Grant all night upstairs trying to find something that would alleviate his pain and not ask for help. While we know this is not the best model of a marriage, our medical bills were racking up and we had to do what we had to do to get by.

As you know, this month Grant had surgery to remove his tumor and miraculously has slept thru the night ever since. It turns out the tumor had infiltrated to the nerves of his spine and that likely was the reason he would scream all night. We still have a long road ahead, medical bills to pay, and a years worth of chores and projects put on the back burner, but we are excited that with Grant's renewed health we will be better able to conquer those.

I think our marriage had turned into more of a partnership than a relationship. While in our heads we know we are married forever, but we had gotten to a place where we were not expressing our love to each other. If we could make time to get away, then we were faced with finding a sitter to watch all 4 children, and then the expense of a sitter, it often seemed like an overwhelming task to coordinate.

I may not be able to fully express my gratitude to you, the teens and all involved in coordinating Saturday night. We were able to go out, enjoy a dinner that did not include french fries, nor did anyone spill their drink. We were able to take our time, to talk to each other, to take our time talking to each other, all while knowing that our kids were safe, having fun, and not stressing about having to pay the sitter. We spent more time talking to each other Saturday night than probably the last year combined. We were able to just be, to escape with each other, and we were able to forget about the bills, the garage that needs to be cleaned, the yard that needs to be weeded. You gave us the best gift we could have asked for, you gave us time.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank you all,"

Immediate Prayer

Please keep me in your prayers. As with most church planters, I have come to a place financially where I need to take immediate action. As you may or may not know, I am currently serving full time at The Commons through financial giving from a couple of small businesses and individuals. I have no home churches or organization such as North American Mission Board financially supporting me.

Due to economy, high cost of living in the PNW, and lack of funding, I am having to pursue a full time job (which i am not opposed to). The potential downside of this is that I will have to take what is offered no matter what the time schedules are. This action could possibly remove my full time availability to serve and minister at The Commons. This could/would drastically affect the mission that God has called me to carry out here.

I ask that you would pray with me on God's guidance and provision. It is a very interesting time for me. For me to continue serving full time on financial support I need to raise $3,000 a month. That covers the basics of life: Living, Auto, & insurance.

At this point, I am continually in prayer and pursing the first available full time job. I asked that you continue to pray with me and ask God how to help. Thank you for all your support.

-cham

March E-letter

I finally figured out how to get the E-Letter color & photos included on an "off-line files". So if you do not get my Monthly E-Letter, then you can download it---->> here

Please note that the links on that file do not work.

If you would like to receive this e-letter monthly in your inbox, then please e-mail your name & e-mail address to cham.i.am@gmail.com

Thank you for all your support!!!

--cham

Over 20 students feeding the homeless

Yesterday, we took a massive group of people downtown to feed the homeless. We had the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ by handing out sandwiches, bottle water, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo & lotions, chips, clothes, & other perishable items. It was exciting to see over 25 students so engerized to meet the needs of others. The group I led gave out almost all of our items in about 15 minutes (aka a large area of poverty). It was moving to see the smiles and gratitude in the faces of those who we were helping. One guy even pulled out a little pocket Bible and read us some verses and encouraged us. Below are just a few pics...













-- Post From Cham's Phone

Summer Missions

If you are looking for a mission opportunity, then prayerfully consider our Sport Camp this summer.

The Commons Sports Camp has been a major outreach and connecting point for us in the Arlington Community. The idea of the camp is to teach a 1st-5th grader 5 different sports throughout the week for only $10.00. The first year that we did this, we had 50 kids participate. Three years later and by word of mouth, we hit around 215+ this past summer. Thats a lot of kids. During this camp, we break the kids up into small groups for bible studies. They love it. It is a great opportunity to spread the love of Christ and the Gospel to these kids.

So how can you be involved? COME SERVE. There is no way that we can handle 200+ kids by ourselves. Each year, we have had a few church groups come and serve. They love it! It is a great experience and eye-opener to those that are unfamiliar with this unchurched region.

You can come as an individual, a group of friends, or a church group. We can use you. You get to invest in kids, see the incredible PNW, and connect with what God is doing here in this area.

If you are interested or have questions, just give me a call or e-mail at cham.i.am@gmail.com

-cham

Scripture that I am praying for The Commons...

This was apart of my 1 year Bible reading this morning:

Matthew 9:37-38(NLT):

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

21 days of focused prayers...

I have committed to pray 21 days for a few specific things that involve the ministry I am apart of here in the Pacific Northwest. I am taking 21 days to really spend some time focusing on praying and seeking God for direction and answers. Below are a few things that I am praying for.

1) Closer Intimate Relationship w/ God - Our relationship with God is a journey. So we are constantly being worked on, changed, and seeing growth through our relationship with Christ. That is my prayer. That God take me to a deeper level, so that the overflowing of that will pour into our church and community.

2) Rental Home - I am specifically praying that God will give me clarity on renting a 3 or 4 bedroom home. I can't afford it, which makes things interesting, but I can't get it out of my head. The rental home has a multitude of reasons behind it.

1. 1st- Know that I am perfectly content with my little apartment. So to clear any misconceptions that Cham wants bigger. I don't apart from this vision.
2. I want to have a place that can provide authentic community (small groups, gatherings, cookout outreaches, and more) - can't really do that in a 900 sq. ft. apt.
3. I want to have a place that houses & connects people and mission groups to the Pacific Northwest. If people experience what God is up to here, then that cast major vision. It also cheapens room and board cost. I want to be a blessing & people not bear burdens.
4. I want to have a place that can be a refuge. A place wear people can heal or recover. If a pastor is down on his luck and needs a get-a-way place or a place to live to be restored, then I want to provide that. I want to reach out. Even if it means housing the whole family, I will not turn anyone down.
5. Place for the student ministry to hang and grow.
6. A place where I can invite the neighborhood over and build new relationships.

So that is a few reason why I am praying for direction on this God-potential resource. I don't have the money to sustain a rental home, so it will definitely be a God thing.

3) Student Ministry - I am praying for an uprising. I have now been here a year and have seen everything that involves my students. I am now praying for specific vision and direction. I am praying for salvations, growth, and a young generation to rise up starting with the ones in this student ministry. My heart is for them to impact the community with their relationship with Christ.

4) The Commons - Praying that God will continue blessing us. We have grown so much in so many areas in 2009. We are at a defining moment right now, and praying for guidance, resources, and ultimately God's vision and provision.

5) Praying for an awakening in our area.

6) Praying for the awareness, response, and needs in the Pacific Northwest specifically the spiritual needs. This is a very unchurch area. I will be honest. It is tough for someone to understand that coming from another area of the US. It was tough for me until I moved here. I am praying that God will place what He is up to in the Pacific Northwest on the hearts of those outside of this area.

These are just a few things that I am investing some serious prayer in. I encourage you to pray for these as well. If you know me, then you know that I want what God wants and not what Cham wants. That is why I place these items on a blog for you to partner-prayer with me. I am taking these prayer items seriously.

I love you all. Thank you for everything...prayer, encouragement, e-mails, financial support. It is hard to think, but today a year ago I stepped out of a Penski truck and call this place "home".

-Cham

Happy 1st Anniversary!

This time last year I shut the door to a 26 ft. yellow Penski truck, turned the key, and began my trek across this massive nation to Seattle, Washington. I wasn't sure about where I was going to live, finances, ministry, & life. It was such a mystery and adventure that any other time in my life, I would not of attempted it without the proper safety nets. I had a song in my heart, a passion for God in my soul, and a step of faith into the cham-unchartered world of God's will for my life. I can tell you today, 1 year later, that I DO NOT REGRET IT ONE SECOND!

2009 goes down as one of my, if not the most, God-memorable times of my life. Tough? Yes! Challenging? Yes! God all over it? YES! YES! YES! I can/can't believe it that I have been here a year. It seems so quick. So much has happened. I could never explain it all. I can only sum it up by saying "God!". That's all. As mentioned in previous blogs, I am stoked about 2010. I'm not sure what is to come, but I know/& expecting great big God things. God has definitely blessed and had His hand on The Commons. I still can't believe that I get to be apart of such an incredible church that is reaching out to the unchurched, the broken, the hurt, etc. I have had the privilege to be used in so many different ways. Student ministry, Sunday morning teaching, men's ministry, women's ministry (childcare lol), and on and on. God has also used me in other church plants here in Washington by helping them in the media-side of things. He has used this apartment to connect people from other places to the mission of The Commons and at the same time has used it as a place for refuge & healing for those hurting and looking to be restored. 2009's theme was definitely "God!".

I celebrate this all with you! If it were not for your Love for God, obedience to Him, love for me, and your support, then this God story could have quite possibly never existed. I celebrate this day with you. I am a result of your love, trust, and hope. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to say "Thank You!" for everything. May we step into this year with greater God-expectations than ever!

-cham

2010 Vision

I am pretty pumped about tonight. We have a leadership meeting which will talk about the vision for 2010. I am excited about what is to come this year. 2009 was an incredible year. I hope to give you some celebrating statistics soon from all that God did last year (ex: Baptism, etc). Thank you for your partnering with me, prayer, and love. Spread the word about what God is doing here. Its not about us, its about Him and His Kingdom.

-cham