Greenhouse Movement

Recent Blog Post: Canon William Beasley

Jubilee in July!
What brings our groups together? In short, the gospel! I first visited Penuel Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California, in 2011. Bishop Gregory Bowers pastors the church and also leads a network of 12 African American congregations across the United States. They have affiliated with Greenhouse in a covenanted association, with hopes that they will achieve a full union within the Anglican Church in North America in the future. As a branch of Greenhouse, they have named themselves Jubilee. They practice both adult and infant baptisms and .... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Barbara Gauthier

The Sending of the Holy Spirit
When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God. He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creati.... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Beth Thompson

Lay Leaders and Church Multiplication (What is Greenhouse? Part 2)
In the Global South, a “catechist” is a lay leader, a person who has the call and the gifting to gather others and start a congregation. We are following their example in the Upper Midwest (as well as other areas of North America). Here are a couple of real-life examples of catechists. Jacob, a junior in college, was attending Redeemer Anglican Church in Chicago when he expressed a desire to minister to people in nursing homes. Mike, then a catechist of Redeemer Anglican, encouraged him to start a congregation at the nursing home. Mike was .... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Jens Notstad

Small But Mighty
I have received many questions recently about the nature of our congregations in Greenhouse, specifically our Parish on the north side of Chicago and the Northwestern University congregation. Many of the questions go something along the lines of "Aren't you just a bunch of small groups?" or reacting to our size (about 15-20 regular attendees at this point) with "Oh, it's small." Yes it is. And it is also mighty. It's hard for our capitalist/Manifest Destiny/Texas-sized expectations to imagine good things coming in such small packages. I.... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Nate Beasley

On Mission at EIU
Twenty of us sat close together in a small room, listening to each person share what they were hoping for in community this semester. Some were committed Christians seeking fellowship, others were new believers excited to learn, and some were people who just came because their friends wanted to. This was our “informational meeting” for re-launching Eastern Illinois University's (EIU’s) movement. All of this took place on a chilly night in January after we had spent the day collecting 1100 surveys in an effort to find spiritually i.... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Rev Jonathan Kindberg

Convening Conventions and Other Such Meetings
People often ask me:” What is it that you do day to day?” or “What does being a pastor/church planter involve?” I usually answer, somewhat jokingly, in one word: meetings. In the Anglican church, which places a high value on leadership and voice, and in church ministry in general there are a lot of meetings: worship team meetings, vestry meetings, leadership team meetings, clergy meetings, all parish meetings, diocesan council meetings, and on and on. This last Saturday morning was a big meeting with a long and blood stirring .... Continue Reading

Recent Blog Post: Guest Blogger

Interview with Bishop Gregory L. Bowers, part 1
Interview with Matt Woodley for Greenhouse Greenhouse/Matt Woodley: Tell me about the journey of the Jubilee congregations. How have you moved to a more liturgical/sacramental form of worship? Bishop Gregory L. Bowers: There has always been a liturgical expression, whether formal or informal, within the African American community of Churches, particularly within the Baptist Church. Throughout history, a lot of the liturgy that is expressed within the Church is derived from Egypt and Africa, and so I believe that liturgy had an influence even on peo.... Continue Reading

Canon William Beasley
Barbara Gauthier
Beth Thompson
Jens Notstad
Nate Beasley
Rev Jonathan Kindberg
Guest Blogger

Amy’s Story Amy’s eyes filled with tears during our last discipleship meeting as I told her about all the ways that I’ve seen God working in her and through her over the past year. And the truth is, I’ve rarely met someone so humble, teachable, and excited to walk with Jesus! That hasn’t always been the case in her life. Coming into college, Amy knew she wanted to live with other Christians and grow in her faith, but was timid, and didn’t know what it looked like to live sold out for Jesus. This year, Amy says that one of the biggest things she’s learned has been the ....Continue Reading
Standing Together as Greenhouse and as a Diocese We are not in this alone. We are part of a greater work in Greenhouse, in Chicagoland, in Illinois, in the Upper Midwest, in God’s kingdom. That was the reminder I felt as people from my church and parish gathered with people from other churches on April 26 and 27. God can work mightily when people gather in the same room for prayer, worship, and fellowship. On Friday, April 26, about fifteen leaders of Greenhouse congregations from the Chicago area and southern Wisconsin gathered at the Beasleys’ home for an informal time of conversation and prayer. We ate and talked with peop....Continue Reading
A Glorious Consecration The Rt. Rev’d Clark Lowenfield was consecrated first Bishop of the newly formed Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast on Saturday, April 20th. All of us here in the diocese are experiencing what we have termed, “post-consecration glow,” and our hearts are very grateful. With hundreds gathered in the sanctuary of The Woodlands United Methodist Church, clergy lined up for procession, acolytes nervously awaiting the start, and prayer teams lining the center aisle, the room suddenly went eerily silent. The shofar-blower walked out to the front of the chancel area and bl....Continue Reading
A Land of Many Immigrants Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be a guest of the Anglican Network in Canada’s Asian and Multicultural Ministries Conference. Bishop Stephen Leung hosted delegates from both native-born Canadian and immigrant Anglican churches for the conference at Good Shepherd Anglican Church. I met first generation immigrants from Hong Kong who have made Vancouver their home, a priest and parishioners from a Japanese church in Vancouver, a Singaporean priest leading a multicultural congregation in Toronto, a South African minister, a British pastor working with addicts in Vancouver, a Cantone....Continue Reading
Marc’s Story (in Marc's own words) I grew up in a Christian household and intellectually believed that Jesus was Savior, yet made sure to keep Church separate from the rest of my life. There was no way I was going to put Jesus in control of my entire life. The summer before college, I started dating a non-Christian who wanted to control my heart rather than share our hearts with Jesus. She and I began to push my family away and live in a sinful lifestyle. I ended a relationship with her over a year ago and knew intellectually that Jesus forgave me for my past sins, but I could not forgive mys....Continue Reading
Peter’s Story His freshman year of college, Peter turned away from his Christian upbringing and ran towards partying, girls, and fitting in with his friends. His story is not atypical. Most "youth group" kids, when they come to college walk away from their parents’ faith, either passively or intentionally. However Peter's story became atypical -- I was able to have lunch with him the first week of this school year, and he told me he wanted to repent and follow Jesus in community this year. He's done just that. This semester I've been meeting with Peter and two other students we....Continue Reading
Responding to God at the Anglican 1000 Summit Sitting here in snowy Chicago, having experienced the 4th Anglican 1000 Summit, my brain, although tired, will not rest from processing the many things it received over these past few days, and my heart, reminded again of the urgency of God’s missional call to His people, is full—very, very full, of thanksgiving for His faithfulness, His goodness, and His sovereign work of rescue in a world who is in desperate need of Him and His saving grace. There will be much that the Spirit will need to unpack within me in the next several days and weeks, but some immediate impressions of our....Continue Reading
Diversity in the Body of Christ The church that has started at Mather Pavilion retirement home looks polarized. Our congregation is a mix of Northwestern students and retirees, meaning that we lack a 50-year swath of the population. Some members struggle as they acclimate to independence; others struggle as they acclimate to dependence. Some members are used to organ, others are used to electric guitar. This dichotomy poses a challenge for running a service. How does one develop sermons and music that allow both groups to enter into the presence of God? That question has forced our church to rely on the basic foundation....Continue Reading
Margaret’s Story "I always thought I had to live up to a standard. But even if you keep striving and striving, you’ll never make it. It’s like a hamster on his little wheel.” One of my favorite parts of the week this semester has been meeting up with Margaret. Earlier this year, Margaret, a senior at the University of Illinois, came to understand the Gospel and became a Christian. Now she is full of questions and super eager to learn and grow. I’m meeting up with her to do a Bible study on the foundations of Christianity, and it’s been a privilege to see her animatedly proces....Continue Reading
Multiplying Congregations in Midland, TX Perhaps Bill Granberry, the Sr. Warden of Christ Church Midland, summed it up best when he said that Canon Beasley’s visit couldn’t have come at a better time. It was definitely, he thought, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. For one thing it helped us begin to work through our grief at the closing of one of our church plants and to see this as not a failure but a learning opportunity to make a new start in a new way. A vestry member of the former plant also viewed the experiment in a positive way. There was a reason we were here for a season, he said, indicating that the plant had....Continue Reading
Wheaton College Advent Chapel This past Advent season, I had the privilege to return to my undergraduate alma mater, Wheaton College, to lead worship for a chapel service along with other members of the Albany Park Redeemer Worship team. Edman Chapel seemed overly large as we tuned guitars and moved pianos, preparing the stage for the service. As students filed in, I was reminded of how tired and frustrated I often felt approaching Christmas as an undergraduate, finals and papers overwhelming the sense of sacred wonder and excitement that the Advent songs we sang invoked. As we started the second song, In the Ble....Continue Reading
No One Stands Alone at HopePointe Church Marking the important moments of their lives, together in community, is a regular happening among the people at HopePointe Church in The Woodlands, Texas. One of the ways HopePointe lives this out is through their “Cross Wall,” or, “Cross Walls,” as they are now identified, given the increased need for space for more crosses. As new families, marriages, or individuals, after a time of prayer and discernment, answer yes to the call to become members of HopePointe, they do so by signing the church’s Membership Covenant during regular corporate worship on one of....Continue Reading
Brianna’s Story Brianna is a sophomore in the IT/Bromley Community Group. The other day when I asked her how she’s grown in college, she explained several things that just happened to perfectly reflect the 3 things we say that our Community Group is about. (I promise I didn’t tell her what to say!) 1. That she’s grown in her knowledge and love for God’s word – “I’ve really been encouraged to read the Bible more, and that has just made me realize how true and how different Christianity is from what the world says.” (Gospel) 2. How much she has grown to va....Continue Reading
Our Nursing Home Congregation Ministering at a nursing home is unlike any ministry that I have experienced before. Many nursing homes are filled with adults, not just seniors, who have been forgotten (accidentally and purposefully) by our society. However, that leaves a lot of room for the Lord to lead his body—the church— to fill in the gaps. I have only been worshiping at Heritage Anglican since the summer, but already I see a community and a church formed there and growing. During services, people come and go as they please, and the staff makes routine announcements on the intercom every once and awhile....Continue Reading
Our First Ministry Team Development Boot Camp Ministry Team Development (MTD) is the process of inviting people to participate in Kingdom work through their generosity. A number of Greenhouse catechists and staff members engage in MTD by asking people to commit their financial resources to the ministry of Greenhouse, so that these individuals will be freed up to use their time and skills to labor in vocational ministry. This past weekend, I experienced my first taste of Texas when Nate and I flew down to lead Greenhouse’s first ever “Ministry Team Development” Bootcamp for several new staff members in Houston. The we....Continue Reading
Multiplying Congregations in Wisconsin This past Saturday, I had the privilege of heading up to Kenosha, WI with Jens Notstad and Fr. William and Anne Beasley. There we met with several fantastic Wisconsinites who were interested in multiplying congregations in Wisconsin. I was immediately struck by the willing attitudes of everyone there. All of them clearly have a heart for the people of Wisconsin, and they lit up as we encouraged them in their desires and callings to multiply the church there. One of the couples present regularly helps out a congregation that is nearly two hours from their home. The story of Light of Christ ....Continue Reading
Our Connections at the Fall Retreat The fall retreat reminded us of, and renewed in us, the connections we all have. These connections include our Common Worship and Liturgy, and our opportunities to serve alongside each other in the Greenhouse Movement. We gathered at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. We were blessed to have Bishop Frank Lyons join us from the Pittsburgh Diocese for the entire weekend. On Friday night lay catechists, lay evangelists and college ministers were blessed for the upcoming year of sharing and serving together. With all of us, on our knees, it was a powerful reminder t....Continue Reading
God’s Work in the Pacific Northwest Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the third annual synod of the Diocese of Cascadia in Tacoma, Washington. I was encouraged to see how much God had been doing through the leaders and people of the Diocese. Beginning in 2009 with just eight congregations, the Diocese has multiplied to encompass 23 congregations in just three years. Every person I spoke with was excited to share what God had been doing in His Church in the Pacific Northwest, and they were eager to learn more about multiplying their congregations further. While there were countless blessings throughout the ....Continue Reading
All We Have to Do is Show up and Be Willing Throughout the past year at Heritage Anglican Church, God has revealed to me many things about Himself and the way He works. One of the most common has been His faithfulness when we are inadequate. This past Saturday, God came through in a bigger way than I could ever imagine. Two weeks ago, Jacob Andrews, catechist and founder of Heritage Anglican Church, left Chicago to move to Milwaukee. Before he left, Jacob met with a few of us from the other congregations in our parish to give us some pointers in continuing the Church at Heritage Nursing Home. I knew that God had been working faithf....Continue Reading
If You Build it They Will Come - The Beginning of Children’s Ministry “If you build it, they will come.” Yes, that was first uttered in reference to a baseball field, but I think it equally applies to creating a children’s ministry.* Redeemer Anglican is a small and young congregation, which is part of the Redeemer Chicago Anglican Parish (www.redeemerparish.com). We are blessed by the presence of one amazing family with four small children. The members of our parish are fully involved in just about every aspect of our church so, why not include the youngest of our members? It’s never too early to begin spreading the “Good News.&r....Continue Reading
Miracle on 108th Street When I was asked by a local congregation to consider the pastorate of a church in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles, indeed I did not realize that I was going to encounter God face to face and embrace my destiny. After a year or so of being the new pastor at Penuel M.B.C., I relocated my family and purchased a home just three doors down from the church. One day I was sitting at my desk in the office next door to our home and my youngest daughter was playing in front of the house after returning from school when shots rang out! I jumped over my de....Continue Reading
CaLLiNG: The Body and the Blood The Eucharist is our connection to God, the wider church, other parishes in our nation, and our fellow Anglicans around the world. Father Stephen Gauthier enthusiastically walked us through the history and meaning of the Eucharist at the Beasley home in our latest CaLLiNG (Catechists and Lay Leaders in Nurture & Growth) teaching time at the Beasley home September 1st. About 25 Greenhouse leaders attended, along with participants from Florida and Chicago who joined by WebEx, live and online. Here’s what you missed. Did you know that “way back” in church his....Continue Reading
My Summer Internship: A Glimpse of the Kingdom This summer I was blessed to be able to serve with Greenhouse at Redeemer Anglican Church in Albany Park as well as Heritage Anglican Church in Edgewater. The congregation in Albany Park consists mostly of college and post-college young adults. The congregation in Edgewater consists mostly of post-career elderly folk. I suppose an argument could be made that there is a slight difference in the demographic of the two churches. Regardless, I can tell you that the Spirit of God is working in a truly beautiful way in both congregations. In the Albany Park community I have experienced the genuine....Continue Reading
Reflections of a Greenhouse Intern I am now staring my last two days of my Greenhouse internship in the face. I have automatically started to reminisce about my time here this summer and what I have seen God do in the lives of many people. This has served as a constant reminder of how God uses His church to fulfill the work that we are called to pursue as the body of Christ... From every dollar that I raised in support to every late minute that I spent with students and youth who are desperately looking for answers to hard questions; from being rejected to seeing those close to me turn their lives over to Christ, there are no....Continue Reading
Chicago and Houston are All in the Family Father William is fond of asking the trick question, “How many churches are there?” The answer, of course, is one: God’s church. Last week, during New Generation Anglican Church’s youth mission trip, we got to be part of that unity, feeling the connection between the church in the suburbs of Chicago and the church in inner-city Houston. For Christians, church is the new family—a point Deacon Jonathan Kindberg (who happens to be my brother) has been trying to drive home to New Generation since the congregation first started through youth group activities and re....Continue Reading
Unity Event The Hispanic congregation of Santa Maria and Greenhouse Regional Church Movement hosted the third Unity event for the Upper Midwest on June 15. Clergy and lay leaders from all four groups gathered in the afternoon to consider the challenges of having a multi-cultural diocese that will include Hispanic and multi-ethnic congregations. How do we develop effective multi-cultural ministries? All of the discussion groups identified the same basic challenges. Differences in socio-economic resources, ethnic cultures and native languages are difficult to bridge. We decided that human resources are ....Continue Reading
All Those Who Suffer in Body, Mind or Spirit (original post on May 3, 2009) It's hard to find a church when you have a child with autism. Many of the symptoms are behaviors that look like those of an unruly kid with clueless or uncaring parents. Some people try to straighten him up beyond his ability. Others try to straighten us up. One church told us that we were welcome, but if he couldn't act like the other Sunday School kids, he shouldn't come. Once they learn that he has autism and can't help these behaviors, some expect us to just keep him quiet and out of the way. I've had a hard time feeling like ....Continue Reading
Camping for the First Time Recently, I was able to take six teenagers and two other leaders camping at Starved Rock State Park in north-central Illinois. None of the youth had ever been camping, so I was excited to lead them on their first camping trip! Upon arrival, we set up camp for our the first night and went hiking around Starved Rock, enjoying the nice view. After the excursions, we had to build a fire with damp wood (wet from the rain earlier in the day). This proved to be quite entertaining, considering all of the guys were worried we would be eating cold hot dogs for dinner! Eventually, we were able ....Continue Reading
Evangelismo Global en la Iglesia Local Uno de los conceptos muy importante en cuanto al ministerio de evangelismo en la iglesia local es que el ministerio no es solamente la función de un pequeño grupo de “fanáticos” que no tienen el apoyo abierto y constante del vicario o pastor laico encargado de la congregación. La congregación tiene que convertirse en una iglesia enfocada en la misión de traer las buenas noticias. No es decir que no va a hacer caso a los demás ministerios. Son importantes, también. Y una iglesia que se concentra solamente en el ministerio de evangeli....Continue Reading
Cover the Continent with Congregations One of my favorite photos of San Diego pastor, Gabe Garcia, shows him preaching with a Canadian flag in the background. It’s from spring 2009 when he joined William for a Christ Awakening gathering in Vancouver. So when I think of Gabe, I think of supportive friend, one who spans the continent to minister with you, from one end to the other. He has joined us for ministry in Chicagoland, and most recently, he joined Archbishop Duncan, Canon Lumanog, William and me in Los Angeles for the worship service with Jubilee. Immediately afterward, we joined Gabe in San Diego for worship on Jul....Continue Reading
Intern Training This past weekend, Greenhouse hosted a weekend-long training designed to immerse interested potential leaders in the "Greenhouse Model" of regional church planting and multiplication. Over 15 different folks gathered at different times to hear talks, join discussions, pray together, and (most importantly) actually participate in the works that are being raised up under both ordained and lay leadership. Five different congregations were visited, included two Spanish-speaking groups, as well as a church in a nursing home and a group mainly comprised of teenagers. The training was highly succes....Continue Reading
Jubilee in June! While my husband William and I flew from Chicago, representing Greenhouse on the last Friday of June, Canon Jack Lumanog and Archbishop Duncan departed from Pittsburgh and met up with us in Los Angeles for a momentous weekend. On Saturday we welcomed the Jubilee Fellowship of Churches into a yearlong covenant association with the Greenhouse Movement and the ACNA. Jubilee Fellowship includes about 12 predominantly African American churches that, in their words, “represent a myriad of Christian denominations that share a common bond and love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” an....Continue Reading
Jon’s Story While playing video games, Jon overheard an invitation from his roommate to come to “Community Group” the first week of the semester. He came that night without his roommate. Then again the next week. Then the week after. One member of our community group asked why it was that he came each week. He promptly replied “because I want to know who it is that I talk to every night before I go to sleep." Throughout the semester, John asked question after question to investigate the claims of the Bible. The last week on campus, I ate lunch with Jon and listened to him explain where....Continue Reading
Soccer Camp I am a youth ministry major at Moody Bible Institute serving full time with Greenhouse as an intern. I am from a large family of eight in Minnesota (and therefore love hockey and the Vikings). I love God more than anything and I am following His lead in my life, which has led me to Greenhouse. Last year one of the Greenhouse congregations, Briar Street, did a soccer camp in the Briar Street neighborhood, but this year we decided to start another one in a totally new place: a low-income neighborhood in Carol Stream just up the road from where New Generation and Iglesia de la ....Continue Reading
ACNA Provincial Assembly 2012 In-Depth Coverage DAY 1 The first full day of the ACNA Provincial Assembly began with Morning Prayer and a wonderful Bible study from Bp. Rennis Ponniah on Isaiah 6:1-13. You'll find a summary of his talk below as well as an article on Ed Stetzer's presentation of the "Local Congregation as the Engine of Discipleship." In other news, Archbishop Bob Duncan presented Fr. Alan Hawkins as the newly appointed vicar general of Anglican 1000. Hawkins was previously part of AMiA and brings his church planting skills to the ACNA. The most dramatic moment of the day came during the afternoon Opening Eucha....Continue Reading
My Church’s Commitment to Mission Spend one month in our church and one thing will become clear; these people love the Lord and are not afraid to try new things in order to spread the good news of His Kingdom. I am a missionary with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Chicago. I take risks to share the Gospel with college students every day. But nothing has challenged me or shepherded me more than the fellowship and leadership of Redeemer Anglican Church. The church’s deep conviction to witness reminds me that I am a whole person, ministering in my job as a missionary and also in everyday life at home. The church&rs....Continue Reading
New Anglican Church Plant in the Northshore of Milwaukee For those who were so kind to pray for Carolyn and me regarding the church plant on the North Shore of Milwaukee recently, I wanted to give you a full report. We have named this plant: The Church of the Savior. The Holy Spirit showed the way to 28 people to find our home. It was unbelievable! We had all ages from an 81-year-old arriving on his motorcycle to two Concordia students and young kids no more than three or four years of age. We had several nationalities, both black and white. One of the most important attendees of all: our Mexican cleaning lady with her son. She had been let d....Continue Reading
There is No Failure in the Kingdom A few weeks ago, I attended a conference at the Great Lakes Diocese in Ohio with William Beasley, Beth Thompson and two other ministers, my friends Kate McDonald and Ben Williams. It was my first time officially representing the Greenhouse model of church multiplication, and it was a fruitful trip full of eye-opening speeches and meaningful worship. William, as he is wont to do, called us up to the front of a room full of clergy to serve as visual aids to help communicate the structure of parish networks, how lay-clergy are connected to leadership through meaningful relationships and a dir....Continue Reading
Greenhouse Spring Retreat When I was first asked to attend the Greenhouse Upper Midwest Spring Retreat, my immediate reaction was that I would be way out of my league. Here was a group of church leaders getting together to pray for their congregations and communities and to encourage one another as they moved forward doing the Lord’s work. However, I agreed to come, and I was richly blessed throughout the weekend. About 25 priests, deacons, lay catechists, and lay evangelists spent the weekend of May 18 in Northbrook, IL. We spent time discussing what God has been doing in each of our congregations and prayi....Continue Reading
Wisconsin Unity Event 1+1+1+1= One Plus The One Plus equation undergirds the Anglican unity events in the Upper Midwest. Twin Cities area (1) plus Wisconsin’s SEWAAC (Southeastern Wisconsin American Anglican Council) (1) plus Anglican Mission Upper Midwest congregations (1) plus Greenhouse Movement congregations (1) equals (1+) ONE new enriched diocese—a diocese with synergy—one that will, Lord willing, multiply into many more dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America. And that is why last Friday morning 4 of us loaded into Beth Thompson’s SUV to dr....Continue Reading
Karen’s Story To share her story I will show you the facebook status Karen posted today: To all my Glen Ellyn, Lombard, and Wheaton friends: This semester my life was truly changed by getting involved in CRU, a Christian community group at U of I dedicated to gospel, community, and mission. For those of you looking to experience God and your faith in a whole new way, I encourage you to come check out the Western suburbs community group this summer... It was hard to look at that Facebook Status and not just praise God! Although Karen was not involved in Ch....Continue Reading
Growing on the Gulf Coast "It is with humility and thanksgiving that we recognize that it is our Lord who has brought us to this place, this moment," The Rev. Clark W. P. Lowenfield, Dean of the Trinity Convocation of the Anglican Diocese of the South, said as he addressed the inaugural synod gathered Saturday, May 5th, in The Woodlands, Texas. Texas and Louisiana congregations came together this past weekend to adopt what is to become the founding constitution of the Anglican Diocese of Christ the King, a diocese in formation within The Anglican Church in North America. "We believe the Lord is birthing this new dioc....Continue Reading
Easter in the Barn It was a cool, sunlit Easter morning on East Church Road this past Sunday as over 100 people gathered in a barn to worship the Lord and celebrate His glorious resurrection! Those in attendance varied from members (plus some family and friends) of Bread of Life Anglican in Madison, community members from the Cambridge/Utica/Stoughton area, connections from Redeemer Northwestern, and family and friends of the Notstad family, who hosted the service in the refurbished 130-year-old structure. This is the third service of its kind there, following an October worship held at the end of a Re....Continue Reading
Cesar’s Passion for the Gospel Cesar grew up in a family that rarely attended Church. However, his sophomore year of high school a classmate of his befriended him and invited him to go to church with him. Mormon church. So, Cesar went to Church with him for a year, which included going to Mormon “seminary” with him for an hour before school started every day. One day Cesar felt like some of the stuff that he was hearing was pretty weird. So, literally, he looked up churches in his hometown to see if everybody believed those weird things. By God’s grace, Cesar ended up at ....Continue Reading
The First Midwest Unity Event On March 21st, I had the joy of sitting through a several hours’ long meeting in a church basement on a truly glorious, sunny March day. I didn’t begrudge a moment though; it was that good. Anglicans came from Chicago and across Wisconsin to the Twin Cities of Minnesota to talk about coming together in a diocese. This is heavy stuff for people who want to be Anglican Christians. Organization around geography as opposed to organization protecting doctrine is a distinctive Anglican response to that same organization of the churches described in our New Testament....Continue Reading
Multiplying a Congregation in a Storefront On Easter Sunday, Logan Square Anglican officially opened its doors to the neighborhood for the first time. Exactly which doors that would be was the question on our minds for a long time. After much exploration, we finally found our spot: an abandoned pizza parlor, which has been converted to a great community space. We are thankful for Frank, who after a three-minute negotiation offered us the use of his space for a very generous rate. The space is not just a place to meet; it's an important indicator of our ministry. Logan Square is a multi-faceted neighborhood. Two of the demograp....Continue Reading
Review of Anglican 1000 Summit 2012 On Tuesday, March 6th, four leaders from the Greenhouse Movement traveled to Plano, TX to participate in the third Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit. In response to Archbishop Duncan's call for 1000 new churches in 5 years, the conference exists to encourage, equip, and send church leaders and planters in raising up new congregations. For Canon William Beasley, Deacon Mike Niebauer, Jonathan Kindberg, and Jens Notstad, the trip had a slightly different end in mind. Already being firmly engaged in the work of a region of multiplying congregations, our goals were as much to teach as t....Continue Reading
Stories from Northwestern University I first met Wilson in the fall of 2010 at a gathering to start a ministry to Chinese graduate students. There is such fertile soil here: dozens of students from China come in yearly, most without any sort of religious belief but with a great interest in Christianity. Wilson and I connected well, and we started a Bible study, meeting weekly to read through the Gospel of Mark. Since then, through studying Scripture together we have had many conversations about faith, Christ, and the Gospel. Also, he has become connected with our community, attending services (usually the ones with home-c....Continue Reading
“True satisfaction comes from Jesus Christ” This is Brett's incredible story in his own words. I entered my college very much living for myself. I had grown up in a Christian home but I had decided along the way that I didn’t want a part of it. I decided that I wanted to seek satisfaction in things that I thought made me happy: friendships, school, and relationships. The more I sought satisfaction in what I wanted, the unhappier I became. This led me to live a life that I knew I didn’t want. In the beginning of this year, out of a desire to find more in life, I got involved in the Champaign Private Community ....Continue Reading
Carried Along by the Spirit: On Mission in El Paso “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Luke 10:17 In January 2012 a Greenhouse team from Chicago (William and Anne Beasley, Jens Notstad and I) went to El Paso, TX to lead a workshop for the Southwest Diocese In-Formation on church multiplication. It was quite exciting to see a whole Diocese desire the expansion of the church. I was also there for the formal launch of Rey de Paz, a Hispanic congregation at St. Clement’s church led by catechist Ken Hanna, who I have been coaching. It was a great privil....Continue Reading
Christmas Eve in the Barn On Christmas Eve 2011, Bread of Life Anglican and Church of the Redeemer at Northwestern hosted an evening church service in my family's 130-year-old dairy barn near Madison, Wisconsin. The barn had been out of use for around 40 years until this past summer, when the interior was renovated to host an October wedding reception. In late October, we took advantage of the renovation and held a church service in the barn for family, neighbors and Northwestern University students to culminate our fall retreat with Rev. William Beasley and Rev. Matt Arndt leading the....Continue Reading
Nursing Home Adventures: “I’m Jehovah God” I walked into Heritage [Nursing Home] one Saturday, and on my way to the rec room, I saw a lady I'd seen several times, maybe said "hi" to once or twice. This time she seemed a lot more open, so I stopped to chat with her for a while. "So, what's your name?" “Mickayla.” "What a nice name!" “Mickayla Jehovah God." "…Oh." "Do you know who Jehovah God is?" "Well… I'm Jehovah God." &n....Continue Reading
From the lips of babes… From time to time children in our neighborhood spring some rather loaded and surprising questions at me which I’m not really sure how to begin answering: such as the time when I was I was just getting in our neighborhood swimming pool only to have “Are you going to be the Pope someday?” launched at me by one kid followed in very short order by “Why do you have so much hair on your chest?” by another kid. This week in the midst of arranging transportation for our 40 or so kids on our soccer team plus their families to our away game I got the classic: “Are....Continue Reading
“My Life Was Missing Something” As a UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) student home for the summer, my former next door neighbor, Robert, started coming to our Summer Community Group although he had not been in a Christian community for 6 years. One night the Holy Spirit spoke to him so deeply in his heart that he was moved to the point of tears. I recently had an opportunity to follow-up with him and this is what he said: "My life has been missing something, and it was at the community group that I realized it was Christ." I asked him to repent of his sins and commit to follow Jesus as his Lord and Sav....Continue Reading
Youth Retreat In October 2011, I led a youth retreat with the youth from Santa María (that I lead on Sunday mornings in Franklin Park, IL) and from Iglesia de la Resurrección (in Wheaton, IL). The Spirit’s presence was powerfully at work softening the hearts of the youth, and the Lord answered many prayers for our time together. Thank you all of you who were praying! The main Scripture for the weekend was Psalm 95 with an emphasis on invitation (“come”) and on the One who is giving the invitation, the Good Shepherd. For many of these youth, this was their first time away ....Continue Reading