Support Letter

Dear Friend,

Jenny and I sincerely hope this letter finds you doing well.

We have exciting news – great news – to share! The first is: Jenny’s pregnant! Isn’t it thrilling? The baby’s due in late October and we can hardly wait. God’s blessing is evident to us, and we love celebrating with you this new life. Please be praying with us for our growing baby’s health (and that the baby looks more like Jenny than me!).

We’re also excited to share with you a special opportunity that God has given us. As many of you know, when I (Jace) was nineteen years old, God moved powerfully in my life and saved me from hell, guilt and sin. As the famous hymn lyrics sings:

Amazing grace,

how sweet the sound,

that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

was blind, but now I see.

When God moved in my life, those seven years ago, I saw myself as the sinner I am, in need of the savior that Jesus is. I hated my sin and was led to repentance. I personally trusted Jesus alone to save me, and believed that He bought me with the sacrifice of His life. This is why I now gladly give what life I have to serving Him.

I believe every Christian has a role to play in God’s great plan to gather to Himself a people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). Shortly after my conversion, I began to wonder if God was calling me to the work of pastoral ministry. For years now I’ve asked God to verify this “inner calling” I felt, with confirmation from others. Herein lies the exciting opportunity before Jenny and me. Recently, I was invited by our church to attend the Sovereign Grace Ministries’ Pastor’s College. The Pastor’s College (PC) is an eleven month long program that focuses on extensive training for ministry leaders. The academics are rigorous, including 60 hours of classes and study each week, basics in Biblical Greek, and weekly preaching workshops. The course work is combined with training in practical aspects of ministry, and is led with an emphasis to develop humility and Christ-like character. This is an intense program!

Jenny and I are both humbled and thrilled at what God has brought before us. To be asked to attend the PC is a significant step forward in my evaluation to be considered for pastoral ministry. But it is also a significant step in faith for us. Classes begin in August and, in order to attend, Jenny and I have to quit our jobs, move to Gaithersburg, MD (one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S.), and raise enough financial support to cover tuition and books for the PC as well as the costs associated with living in Gaithersburg for eleven months. The cost of living expenses for eleven months is necessary because the leadership of the PC has made it clear to us that the workload associated with attending the PC, as I explained above, will make it next to impossible for me to work a full-time job. In addition, Jenny will in all likelihood be limited in her ability to work for a period of time due to her pregnancy and the birth of our child.

God is well aware of our needs and fully able to provide. In fact, He already has blessed and encouraged us greatly through the generosity of our church, Covenant Fellowship. The church has committed to covering the full costs of our tuition and books! This is an incredible investment of a substantial amount of money! However, by working through an expense analysis required by the PC, we project that the cost associated with us living in Gaithersburg for time we’ll be there will be about $32,000.

Though Jenny and I are saving every nickel and dime we can, we’ve realized that we need to ask for help in reaching this financial need for the eleven month period beginning in August. We’d like to invite you to join a support team dedicated to helping us attend and succeed at the PC. Would you consider financially supporting us on a monthly basis or giving us a onetime support gift? Your investment does so much more than help Jenny and I through this next year, it is an investment towards the future and in God’s global cause to be glorified through the salvation and care of His people.

Thank you for considering what your role might be in helping us. But even more than that, we’re grateful to celebrate these exciting developments with you and we’re glad that we can count on you for prayer. We hope to hear from you soon.

Entirely,

Jace & Jenny

May 2009