FAQ

Sent on May 20, 2009.

Greetings to you all,

We promised an update and an attempt to answer some of the questions you might have now that we have made our decision to follow what we have discerned as the Lord’s call to San Diego. Here is that update…and a few weeks past the “couple of weeks” we initially promised. Sorry about that. We have been quite busy here – getting the house on the market and getting Mike graduated. We have done as much working as celebrating around here lately. It has been fun…and exhausting.

We thought we would do this in a Frequently Asked Questions format. Here are the questions we have received the most:

Where will you live in San Diego?
We are looking in the area South and East of Balboa Park. These are two areas that attracted us last summer because of their similarity to the area of the city we live in now - a lot of parks, sidewalk businesses and restaurants. Good local community – which makes church planting ideal because people live and shop and potentially go to church where they live, rather than commute.

Will you rent or buy?
Definitely rent for the first year. We are not sure exactly where we will end up church planting, so there is a good possibility we will have to move again in a year. We would like to plant in the area described above, but we just don’t know how the Lord will lead once we get there. We are looking at properties on line presently and have a couple of guys looking for us out there as well. It is our desire to find a place to live without traveling out there – oh, the glories of the internet.

When will you move?
The plan is on or around July 1st. We are McBride’s after all – nothing is set in stone. But that is the general time frame. That is the time at which monies they have earmarked for us will be available. However, if we get an offer on the house tomorrow, we will start packing.

What if your house does not sell?
We will move anyway, because we do not have an income here. Ideally we hope for the house to sell quickly – you can pray to that end. But if it does not, we will leave it in the hands of a very capable realtor and head West.

Can you tell me more about Harbor Church?
Nine years ago Dick Kaufmann moved back to the San Diego area from New York City, where he had been helping Tim Keller as Redeemer was growing… quickly. Dick, his co-pastor Doug Swagerty, and a small group of elders set the vision of Harbor, which was to “ignite a church-planting movement that so fills the City of San Diego with the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the people of the city are changed in every dimension—spiritually, socially and culturally.” The vision is being realized. Nine sites have either been planted, or are in the process of being planted. And there are many other parts of the city ripe for harvest, and needing churches.

But it is not quite correct to say that Harbor is planting churches. Harbor functions as a single church… with multiple sites. That means that they share many of the central office functions and the resources of the church planting center. Yet each site can adapt to meet the needs of its particular community. So, it is more accurate to say that Harbor is site planting. Site planting is what we are looking to do a year from now.

What will you be doing the first year?
Mike has been called to a yearlong apprenticeship under the mentoring of Dick Kauffman and the other Harbor pastors. In addition to just getting there and getting acclimated, he will be spending time with the pastors and serving along side them. Harbor is going through some organizational changes right now, and Dick has asked Mike to employ some of his consulting experience to help with the changes. He will also have opportunities to preach and will be studying for licensure and ordination which, Lord willing, will happen before we plant.

We will be identifying an area in which to begin building a core group and planting a church once the apprenticeship is over. Harbor has an incredible document that quite clearly describes their process of church planting from its inception with prayer to your first worship service and beyond. If any of you are interested in reading that we would be happy to forward it on to you. We might do that anyway in a year or so when we actually begin more of the specific work so that you have a sense of exactly how we are spending our time and energy.

Are you taking the dog?
Provided she quits yanking my diapers off the line in the backyard and we find a rental property that allows dogs, then yes she will be accompanying us to California.

How will you make the move?
We aren’t sure yet. Mike might drive the truck and haul the Jeep with a buddy and then fly back and drive out with us. We might all caravan at once and have someone to go with us and fly back. We might hire a “you load, we drive” service. We just don’t know yet.

Will you have to raise support?
Yes. The first year we will need to raise about 1/3 of our salary. Harbor has raised the rest for us. We always knew that fundraising would be a part of our ministry if we were going to church plant. It is somewhat of a relief to know that we don’t have to come up with everything straight from the start. There are plenty of folks who have to do that. So, our initial fundraising efforts will be just for that that first year. However, during that first year we will begin a larger fundraising effort that will cover both our salary and the cost of planting a church. The goal is to become self-sustaining as a plant as soon as possible, but you never know how long that will take – it depends a lot on the economic status of people you are ministering to and their spiritual maturity (in understanding and committing to giving). Of course, this is all speaking in finite terms. We believe that the Lord is able to accomplish much more than we often suppose, and so we do not fear that he will fail to provide what we need to do what he is calling us to do.

As we broaden our appeal and start to send things by traditional mail, you may receive information that overlaps with previous email communication. Please bear with us during the transition.

Do Olivia and Joseph understand what is happening?
Joseph does not. He is just happy to be here and we are happy to have him. We talk about it quite a bit with Olivia and she seems to understand. She has some memories from last summer and so has a context for San Diego. She talks about her best friend Annika staying here and both of them being sad (How’s that lump in your throat?). We will all have some adjustment issues, but the Lord will not be absent from that either.

How can I pray?
Thank you for asking.
v Our house needs to sell.
v Finding a place to rent in SD.
v Discerning the best way to make the move.
v There will be plenty of things to be busy with once we get there – getting settled, etc. Pray that more than anything God will be opening our eyes to the harvest field we are moving to and that our heart for and relationships with the people there will deepen quickly.

I am sure we have left out some details. Feel free to email us with questions. If you live in Atlanta and want to come hear more of the specifics about Harbor and church planting or are interested in supporting us, we are planning a get together on May 29th at the home of Erik and Amy Veerman. Email us and we can get you the details.

Yours in Christ,
Mike and Mandy