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Small Group Launch!
The last week of October marked our first major milestone as a church plant: we launched our very first small group! Seven of us gathered around a table at a Panera Bread in the city to eat dinner together, talk, and get to know each other. It was a fantastic beginning towards this new endeavor of planting a church in the heart of the city!
Already we have made several other connections with people and have been inviting them to join with us in our small group and there seems to be a great deal of excitement surrounding this new church. I can't begin to tell you how amazing it is to see God at work and drawing people together from all over the city to create a new community of believers intent on reaching the city and helping people find their way back to God. God is up to some amazing things and I can't wait to share many more stories as we journey down this path.
Introducing the Forsythe's
It is my [Aaron] pleasure to introduce you to Justin and Shkendie Forsythe. Justin will be taking on the role of Creative Arts Director for the San Francisco Project and we couldn't be more excited to have him on board. Justin and Shkendie moved from Chicago-land where Justin was the Student Community Director and Creative Arts Director at the Shorewood Campus of Community Christian Church. We're excited to have both Justin and Shkendie as a part of the team and wanted to give you the opportunity to get to know them both a little through this newsletter.
Q: Where did you move from and why are you moving to San Francisco? (Tell us a little about yourself...)
Well, we moved from Plano, Illinois. It’s a little blip on the map, located an hour west of Chicago, Illinois.
I (Justin) was born and raised in Sandwich, Illinois. I have been an avid musician since the early age of five. Growing up, music and church were a way of life. From an early age, I noticed how powerful a role music played during a worship service. As I grew older, I began playing in bands for “fun”. Even though the experiences of playing music for fun were great as well as memorable, something lacked. I soon put my finger on what was missing. I now have adapted a phrase for my favorite musical endeavors: “music with a purpose.” The purpose of singing songs about God’s love, or songs that inspired you to have a change in your heart seemed to outweigh the desire to pursue being in a band just for the love of music.
I (Shkendie, pronounced sh-ken-dee-ah) was born in Ontonagon, Michigan. I lived there five years until my parents moved to Bolingbrook, and then Braidwood, Illinois. I began playing the saxophone and singing from and early age. I spent much of my time doing theatre performance as well. Music and the Arts were always a big love of mine, but like my husband, I enjoyed using my passions in these areas to positively impact peoples lives. I enjoy playing guitar and singing with my husband. In other words, he doesn’t sound as good without me. (He wrote that part…)
Q: What excites you the most about living in San Francisco?
I (Justin) love new places because that means meeting new people. The opportunity to network with musicians in the SF area excites me greatly. I truly believe that God has brought us here to show our love for Him through music and the arts. Who wouldn’t love helping people experience life change through one of their biggest passions?
I (Shkendie) am very excited to be in an area where I have even greater possibility to use and develop another one of my passions, foreign languages. I hope that God continues to opens doors for me to study, develop and use these languages.
Q: What are your dreams for what this new church can accomplish in the city of San Francisco?
We want to see a great and overwhelmingly apparent growth of community in the city of San Francisco. We dream of small community events that begin to grow exponentially, and their impact is felt throughout the entire city. We dream of needs and prayers being met and answered in ways that only acknowledging God’s love and presence can be the explanation. We dream to see the city infected with the culture of the first church…people will begin to see the love of God through our love for Him reflecting in our love for them.
Q: Anything else you want to add?
Pray, please pray. Don’t underestimate the power of a prayer for The SF Project. Your prayers and petitions to God on our behalf will make a huge difference in our dreams for San Francisco. Also, to the people reading that are our friends and family, we miss you guys!!! We think and talk about you everyday. You ALL were a huge impact in our lives. Don’t hesitate to call or email. We want to know how you are doing too. We love you guys!
Q: What can people specifically pray about for you and Shkendie?
Please be praying for us in two key areas: Finances and Favor. Things are tight for many people these days, so we are sure you understand the struggle of that stupid obstacle…money. Pray our house in Illinois sells, and please pray that we will find the support needed to live in the city of San Francisco.
Also, please pray for favor in the community. Pray that wherever we go, God will already be “prepping” the hearts and minds of those we will be meeting. I know God has us here to impact the people in the community, but your prayers and support are essential to our success. One other personal note: please pray for our friends Josh and Michelle. They are graciously letting us stay with them while we raise the support needed to live in San Francisco. This couple has been so good to us, but they are in need of their house in Illinois to sell also, so please be in prayer about that as well.
Thank you everyone for your love and support. We couldn’t do this without you!
Love,
Justin & Shkendie Forsythe
Pray it up!
praises
» Our first small group launched with seven people!
» The Forsythe's have arrived!
prayer
» Continue to pray for our small group and for growth of that group!
» Fundraising! We're still trying to raise our support towards our public worship launch next year!
» Connections: Please pray for great new connections with people who want to help us launch this new church!
| *email: info@thesfproject.org | *web: http://thesfproject.org |
| The San Francisco Project | PO Box 77470 | San Francisco | CA | 94107-77470 |
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