Update on Building Projects!

I wanted to bring you up to date on the Philly Wiss plant and take a bold step to ask if you would be willing to help us out.

Here is what is going on. The building we received is now ready for the first phase of construction. Since we received the building in January, Grace Bible Church of the Northeast, several extra-local work crews and our little core group have been working hard to make our new building functional. At this point we have cleared out 27 radiators, 6 pianos, demo’ed the basement and four large rooms, filled four 30 yard dumpsters, patched and painted the auditorium, rigged up some music equipment and the list goes on…and on. We now stand ready to begin our first phase of construction.

Phase 1 of construction is all about the necessities – two bathrooms and a nursery/toddler room. The two bathrooms, from top to bottom, will cost roughly $15,000, and the nursery/toddler room will cost roughly $5,000

Although we have been gathering together since April we hope to officially launch mid September. It is our desire that God would provide the resources necessary to finish phase 1 by then. We have several work crews who are eager to get to work, but we are in need of purchasing the materials or having those materials donated.

It is our hope that in rehabbing this building God would demonstrate to our neighborhood that Jesus is alive! We would appreciate any help in making that happen. Please go to www.plantwiss.com to see how you can give.

Blessings!

Dan 

Phase 1: Bathroom Area

Phase 1:Toddler Room

Phase 1: Toddler Room

Planting in Wissinoming: The Provision and Need

Planting in Wissinoming: The Vision

Planting in Wissinoming: The Story

Church Cleanup: This Saturday!

So it begins! We thank God for the blessing of gifting us with a building. It our desire to utlize the building for the good of a new church and for the good of our neighborhood. However, this building, first, needs some work.

This Saturday, January 19th, from 9am to 4pm we will be cleaning out the 'Wiss. building'. It is located at 6035 Walker St.

As we haul out the trash from the building we are reminded that our labors have eternal significance. That may seem odd, but it is one of the first steps toward seeing God call out a people for himself in the neighborhood of Wissinoming.

"I will be their God, and they will be my people." -GOD
 

Church Planting in Philly

This video would be good to check out for any of you who didn't see it. It is a video that tracks God's work at Grace Bible Church, but it also introduces you to an individual who, along with a pastoral team, has led our church exceptionally.

We thank God for our leaders at Grace Bible Church!

Organizational Meetings

Earlier this month we began our first step toward organizating a core group to be sent from Grace Bible Church of the NE to the neighborhood of Wissinoming to become a team of church planters.

We gathered together to discuss the plan and timeframe of the church plant. Lordwilling we hope to begin core group meetings January 27th. The core group meeting will meet on Sunday nights every other week until the end of February when we will transition to more formal gathering in preparation for our neighborhood launch on Easter Sunday, March 31st.

In the mean time we are going to enjoy the holiday season, celebrating God's mercy upon his people in the sending his one, unique Son. We will also be getting ready for a church building clean up in mid January. The building is in significant need of cleaning and we would appreciate your prayers as we, Grace Bible Church of the NE, attempt to clean up the clutter.

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This past year has been full of God's blessing and provision!

This time last year Jodi, the kids and I were living in Gaithersburg, Maryland enjoying our time at the Sovereign Grace Pastor's College. It was a joy to build new relationships with individuals who are now some of our closest friends. We spent time learning together, growing together, crying together, praying together and of course having tons of fun. It was a special time of experiencing God's blessing of relational unity amidst challenging times in Sovereign Grace.

We give thanks to God and to many of you who sacrificially gave to make that experience possible. And it is that experience that has led to much of what we are now involved with in Philadelphia.

In June we returned to Philadelphia to begin the process of planting a church in the Wissinoming neighborhood of NE Philadelphia. As the Pastor's College came to a close we had heard that a church in NE Philadelphia was interested in giving away their building to an existing ministry. Just recently, God provided us with that building! He has provided a building to begin a new local church - Grace Bible Church of Wissinoming!

He has given us a building, but more importantly, he has given a great sending church - Grace Bible Church of the NE. This church has poured into us in multiple ways. They have supported us and counseled us in this venture and they are presently serving us in various ways to ensure the planting of a new local church in Wissinoming. They are even sending a motley crew (ie core group) of servants and dear friends to become church planters with us. God has certainly provided above and beyond! (Check out other posts and check back for more updates on what God is doing to plant his church in Wissinoming.)

In the mean time, we as a family have been enjoying being back in Philadelphia. Trinity turned four years old this past November. She is enjoying Hello Kitty and anything to do with princesses. She is certainly our little girl. And Judson is not. He is our little 17 month old MAN-child. He enjoys wrestling and playing swords with anyone who is willing to challenge him to a duel. Nonetheless, we have many opportunities to see gospel truths represented in the dreamworlds of our little children. Christ has come to bring peace, and he will one day come wielding a sword of justice and calling a princess, a bride to join him at the table of his marriage feast. We look forward to that day!

Jodi and I have been again and again challenged by God's faithfulness to his people. He calls us to tasks that are filled with excitement and joy, but they go far beyond any strength or ability that we have in ourselves. So we are left repenting of our self-sufficiency and looking again to the person and work of Christ. We call upon him to demonstrate himself as we seek to embrace his plan for his people.

 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
  that the mountains might quake at your presence—
 [2]  as when fire kindles brushwood
  and the fire causes water to boil—
 to make your name known to your adversaries,
  and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
 [3] When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
  you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
 [4] From of old no one has heard
  or perceived by the ear,
 no eye has seen a God besides you,
  who acts for those who wait for him.
 [5] You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
  those who remember you in your ways.
   (Isaiah 64:1-5a ESV)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Dan, Jodi, Trinity and Judson

SG Blog Post

Check out http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/sgm/post/Dan-Birkholz-What-God-Promises-God-Provides.aspx

God's Provision!

Just this past week,the deed to our new building was transferred over! We are so thankful for God's favor and provision as he leads us in the planting of his local church.

First Baptist Church of Wissinoming has been a gospel outpost in our neighborhood for decades. The building was built in the 1920's and its worn condition testifies to many years of gospel activity.

We have come to discover that in the 1950's, First Baptist Church of Wissinoming sent a group to the upper NE section of Philadelphia to lead occasional Vacation Bible Schools. There was such a fruitful response to these endeavors that they decided to plant Grace Bible Church of NE Philly. About seven years ago Grace Bible Church was replanted through the leadership of Ian McConnell and Tom Horton. Today Grace Bible Church is sending us to plant in the same building that once planted Grace. It is so appropriate for God to prove his promise, "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail!".

While we honor the past, we look forward to God's leading for the future. Please be praying for us as we take the next steps to clean up the building and get it ready for use!

Vision and Mission

This past Sunday night our church had a family meeting and the following are excerpts from a presentation of the vision and mission of a new church plant in the neighborhood of Wissinoming.

"What about our vision for Wissinoming? The content of our vision for Wissinoming is nothing different than our vision here at Grace Bible Church. We at Grace Bible Church want to see lives transformed for the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Wissinoming we want to see the same thing - a neighborhood transformed for the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The way in which we might assume to recognize this transformation is by seeing gospel fruit born where there was once no gospel presence. In other words, my hope is...

• to see the addicted set free because they are now in Christ,
• to see the abused at peace because they are now with Christ,
• to see the thief satisfied because he has inherited the riches of Christ,
• to see those overwhelmed with same-sex attraction embracing God's intended purposes because they are now more overwhelmed with his grace than with their feelings,
• to see men acting like godly men and not boys because they have an example and a help in the heavenly Father,
• to see marriages embraced with hope because God has embraced them with his mercy,
• to see businesses managed with a sense of responsibility to make much of God because God has done much for them in Christ,
• to see a people - a neighborhood people - loving God and loving their neighbors through the gospel and with the gospel for the glory of God."

"How is this going to happen? Fundamentally it is going to happen in Wissinoming just as it has happened here at Grace Bible Church. It will happen by displaying the glory of God by celebrating, proclaiming and living the gospel as a community of believers by the power of the Spirit.

So I hope we recognize that what we are doing in Wissinoming is maintaining a close relationship with Grace, embodying the same distinctive as Grace, but seeking to live out those distinctive uniquely in a neighborhood context. We want to be in the neighborhood, doing neighborhood stuff with neighborhood people which will become an ongoing opportunity to display the glory of God by celebrating, proclaiming and living the gospel as a community of believers by the power of the Spirit."

Church Planting and Youtube

My family and I returned to Philadelphia at the end of June after being at the Pastor's College. Since then, we have watched God accomplish amazing things in our midst as we look forward to planting a church in the Wissinoming neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Here is a glimpse into one of the stories that God has written.

My wife and I live in an apartment above a coffee shop that is owned by some close friends in our church. I tend to spend a bit of time in there doing some study and getting to know the people of the neighborhood. On this particular day I met a guy who asked about what I did for work. I mentioned to him that I am looking to start a church in Wissinoming.

This led to a flood of questions about Jesus. I asked him where he had picked up such an interested in Christ and he mentioned that a coworker back in January had told him to read the Gospel of John. Well, instead reading the Gospel of John, he youtubed 'the Gospel of John' which lead him to the movie, 'The Gospel of John'. He said that after watching this movie he knew that salvation had to be all about Jesus.

Since then we have spent a lot of time together walking through the neighborhood and talking through spiritual questions. It is evident at this point that he has been redeemed by Jesus and is seeking to live for Christ!

This past Sunday he joined me at church and after the service while standing at the front doors another first-time guest shouted out his name. It was amazing to find out that this first-time guest knew my friend. In fact, come to find out that he was the very guy who encouraged my friend to read through the book of John. They had not seen one another for several months and how kind it was of God to utilize youtube as a means to declare the person and work of his Son. And then how kind of God to redirect the paths of friends to converge so that the evidence of God's hand could be clearly seen!

As I talked with my friend last night we reveled in God's plan! Who else could orchestrate these things! My friend also mentioned that he is extremely excited for the new church start. In hearing those words God reminded me of his plan and his instrument to reach the nations - the planting of new local churches. At this point we labor to organize and strategize, and yet it is him who ultimately builds his church. What a joy to labor with the Master-Builder!!!

The PC Experience

So I didn't get but one update out during our time at the PC and for that I apologize. I do want to give a post-Pastor's College update and share some of what the PC was all about. And know this, that I cannot give adequate explanation to all that God has done during this time, but here is some of the consistent blessings that we received. When we arrived, we were immersed into relationship with 22 other men and their families. From the beginning of the year there was a unique sense of unity that was only of God, and it was maintained throughout the school year. This set a context for learning from one another and being challenged by one another. Each of these men exuded spiritual qualities that were personally challenging and such an opportunity to be significantly affected by them could only have taken place in a setting like the PC.

Also, the teaching was exceptional. Each week we had a different class in which a couple hundred pages were read and tests or projects were completely (and we had greek class every Friday!). Each week typically brought about a new teacher. Some were world-class scholars and others were experienced pastors. A few of my favorite weeks came from Mike Bullmore, Ian Duguid, Jerry Bridges and each of the classes that Jeff Purswell taught. These classes provided challenging academics that consistently maintained pastoral insights.

Most weeks we had the opportunity to gather together in our fellowship group which consisted of four other men from the PC. This gave us an opportunity to share our challenges with one another and give care when needed. These were rich times of fellowship and prayer.

There are simply too many rich blessings that the Lord allowed us the opportunity to partake of at the PC and a blogpost seems so small to summarize them. We give thanks to God for his good plans and for his good gifts along the way, both of which are anchored in the person and work of Christ that has made all of this possible. Here is video that summarizes our year at the PC.

Sovereign Grace Pastors College 2012 - End of Year Slideshow from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

We've arrived back in Philly excited by what God has been doing and what we believe he will continue to do. We will provide posts explaining the next steps in our journey toward a church plant here in Northeast Philadelphia as we take those steps. Thank you so much for your prayers and contributions. Please continue to pray for God's work here in Philly! In Christ, Dan and Jodi Birkholz

PC Update

What has been a dream is now a reality! We made the short journey from Philadelphia to Gaithersburg MD and just this week we began class at the Sovereign Grace Pastor's College.

And this is a reality because so many of you have given up your resources to bless us in this endeavor. You have been a direct means of helping us understand and even experience the gospel. You have made significant sacrifices for me and my family but ultimately we know that your sacrifices are an affirming declaration that Jesus is worthy!

Jodi and I have been so humbled by God's goodness to us during the last three or fourth months. And now that classes have begun and I have had the chance to meet classmates and teachers I am beginning to see the value of your investment. We are one family of twenty-three. As we have met each one of these families we are amazed that God would give us the privilege to learn and grow with them. They are exceptional people! Our time together as families will inevitably have a shaping influence. I am sure that much repentance and faith will result from the time we will have together as students and families. And that is simply what we believe will happen outside of the classroom. Within the classroom we have already received a glimpse of the pastoral care that adorns the academic excellence. Jeff Pursewell and Gary Ricucci lead us with grateful and humble hearts. They are men who have quickly earned our respect because they ooze with Christ-likeness.And I must mention the larger Sovereign Grace staff. They are remarkable individuals typified by joyful service.

We are so thrilled to be a part of this and we recognize that you have made it possible. So we want to give thanks to God for his mercy to undeserving sinners and we want to give thanks for the role you have played in making much of Christ.

Please continue to pray for us that we might wisely serve and encourage the other families and teachers that we are doing life with here at the PC. And continue to pray for God's provision. We have seen God provide significantly but we will continue raising the final amount of support as we enter the school year.


In Him and for Him,

Dan and Jodi Birkholz

Check Us Out @ trinitarianjoy.blogspot.com

Gospel Opportunities and Islam

In the coffee shop I have had the opportunity to get to know a particular family from the neighborhood. In getting to know them I have come to appreciate the common grace that exudes from their home. They value the family structure. They exercise modesty. They have a desire for the renewal of the neighborhood. They care for the neighborhood kids. They have taken in individuals whose lives have been shattered. This is a family whom I have grown to love and respect. Each morning in which I have an opportunity to pour them a cup coffee is an opportunity to thank God for his common grace in our lives!
What makes this an interesting relationship is that this particular family is Muslim. More recently I have had the opportunity to explore their beliefs regarding Christ, the Trinity, the justice of God and the inspiration of Scripture. This has been a joy to constructively dialogue through these doctrines in order to gain clarity on Islam but also to raise the banner of Christ and him crucified.
Please pray that God will give the wisdom to lovingly interact with this family. It is easy to function out of theological pride which leads to jousting for theological dominance. What I say is as important as how I say. I can share the gospel of Christ and yet contradict it in the same breath by how I say it. So pray for a gracious and winsome apologetic.
And pray with us as we pray for a God-sized work. We are praying that he would regenerate this family and use them to lead a revival amidst the Muslim people in our neighborhood.

Gospel Opportunities with Gospel Believers

While working at the coffee shop I have had the privilege of getting to know some individuals from the local community. This has given way to numerous gospel-conversations with unbelievers as well as believers.
Take for instance Jill. Jill is a Philly native who endured significant trials as young woman growing up in the city. Later in life she came to know Christ through the evangelism of a missionary couple. For the last five years she has lived in this particular neighborhood and she has faithfully proclaimed the name of Christ to this neighborhood. In fact, I first met Jill as she was going door to door inviting the local women out to a bible study and I often run into her as she is passing out tracks to those she meets on the streets.
Recently while talking with Jill she shared the struggles and the rejection she has endured as a result of proclaiming Christ in this neighborhood but when I spoke to her of a potential church plant she was excited and eager to pray for us.
This past week I ran into Jill again as she was handing out tracks. She had mentioned that she was struggling with some physical problems and she was attempting to cling to God in the midst of it. She humbly asked for prayer and as brother and sister we had the opportunity to go before the throne of grace for help in time of need.

Gospel Opportunities and PhillyINK

Recently while working at Great Awakenings I met a young man who lives a couple doors down from the coffee shop and who attends the local high school.

This seventeen year old came into the shop one night wearing a sleeveless t-shirt. This provided a good view of the ink he has tatted up and down his arms. What particularly caught my eye was a portrait of Jesus on his shoulder. I told him that I liked his tattoo and he went on to explain his complete collage. One arm showed the figures of Jesus, a cross, the name 'saint', and as he turned, the other arm showed fire, skulls, an upside down cross and the name 'sinner'. He mentioned that he feels like he is inwardly living a war between good and evil.

He mentioned that he is a believer in Christ but he feels like the flesh is always at work. For instance he mentioned that the group of guys he hangs out with isn't the best influence but he enjoys occasionally smoking pot with them.

I deeply appreciated his honesty and I assumed if he was honest about smoking pot, then he would probably be honest about answering a question. I asked him, "How could a new church meet the needs of this community?". He quickly responded, "Well, I don't think anyone would come... NO ONE will come.". I asked, "Why not?" and he quickly noted the hard realities of the neighborhood and in the turn of a sentence he had redirected the conversation right back to his tattoos. He said that the religious in the community talk down on him by saying that he is ruining the temple of God by tattooing his arms. Suddenly I began to understand what he was really saying. He wasn't saying that people wouldn't come to church because they are opposed to it. What he was saying is that the church is opposed to having them as a part of it. Therefore church is not for them.

My heart broke for this young man. I tried my best to show him that God is interested fundamentally with one's heart (Mark 7). The basis of our goodness is not dependent upon an ink free body. The basis of our goodness comes freely by faith from the bruised and broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ who embraced the penalty of our sin and claimed victory over its sting in his glorious resurrection.

I assured this young man that I appreciated the outward expression of his inward struggle. Then I joked with him about how Christ will come back some day with a tattoo of his own. Revelations 19:16 "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. "

Pray for this young man. My prayer is that he will come to know the grace of Jesus in fuller measure and that his identity in Christ might be lived out and matured in a local gathering of believers... and perhaps that God would have him become a part of a potential church plant in the near future.

Gospel Opportunities

While living in Philadelphia I have had the opportunity to work for a couple who are dear friends from church. They own a coffee shop called Great Awakenings Cafe. It is located in the Frankford/Northwood section of Northeast Philadelphia. My time in the shop has been quite strategic because this is the area where we hope to plant a church upon our return from Sovereign Grace's Pastor's College.

The coffee shop has become a place where conversations quickly turn into friendships. Again and again there has been opportunity to befriend those from the neighborhood and learn of their stories. It doesn't take much small talk before you are listening to the vingettes that have defining significance upon their lives.

The small talk usually invovles particular interests or disinterests. There is an ajoining list of reasons for their given tasts and plenty of dogmatism to go with it. This is where you come to realize that people are meaning-makers. They search and search for answers and finally entrench themselves in some particular theory. They are attempting to make sense of this world in which they find themselves. They are searching for an anchor for their souls.

The small talk eventually progresses into more personal details. You eventually get an idea of their upbringing and of the situations that most define how they view themselves and their world. Most of these conversations lose their volume when others enter the shop. These are the vulnerable moments of one's story; broken homes, broken marriages, absent parents, sexual and physical abuse, drug addiction, prostitution etc. As a listener it doesn't take long to feel what Christ felt in Matthew 9:36-37. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

What a privelege - to graphically see ourselves and this world for what it is - broken! And then to ponder our suffering Servant who came to us and took upon himself our stains and our brokenness. In perfect obedience he fully absorbed our just wrath. And now by grace through faith we become apart of his story. His accomplishment becomes our defining significance. We no longer remain in our guilt and shame for he has come near and made us new creatures in Christ Jesus whereby we now have full access to the Father and peace in the Spirit. We have an anchor for our souls!

These coffee-shop-moments are amazing gospel opportunities. What a glorious message to proclaim to the souls that are captive, blind and oppressed (Luke 4:18). Jesus Christ has come to set them free and his Spirit is powerful to do so for he has done it for us!

In the next posts, I hope to give you some stories of individuals whom I have been so blessed to meet at the shop. I will ask that you would pray for God to bring new life to the lost and potentially a new local church to this community.

check us out @ trinitarianjoy.blogspot.com