Boston Partnership Newsletter

February 2008

In Today's Issue

:: Letter From Hank

:: In The Spotlight

:: Pray It Up

Dear Friends,

So as I (John) sit at my desk typing this intro, I am listening to a new song by Chris Tomlin called "God of This City."  The chorus of the song repeats, "Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city."  Over and over in my head I here that mantra. With a lump in my throat, I wonder what could be next for this city of Boston. 

We just finished a series called Revolutionary, in which the main idea was that following Christ should be revolutionary.  We are called to be revolutionary in our faith, in our commuity and in our generosity.  At the end of the series we challenged people to think through 2 or 3 areas in which they could grow in leading a revolutionary life. One person said they would connect with a Community Group.  Another person said they wanted to start volunteering with an inner city youth program.  Two people said they wanted to get baptized.  Three people said they wanted to trust God financially and start tithing. 

I know these steps may seem small, but the big picture is that people are opening their lives to God.  As more people take these steps, I wonder what might happen next for REUNION.  I do think greater things are yet to come, and I believe that God has some great things in store for Boston.

Thank you so much for helping us plant this church in Boston.  We look forward to telling you more revolutionary stories of what God is doing in this city.


The REUNION Team

Letter From Hank

It's five minutes before service.  There are maybe 20 people in the room but most are musicians, tech team, and greeters.  The band takes the stage and starts their opening jam.  Still empty.  I'm beginning to wonder just how well we communicated the change of going to two services at REUNION.  Slowly but surely, my fears were put to rest as people filed in. There were 110 that showed up at the first gathering and then 138 at the second gathering this last weekend.  A total for the morning of 248, our highest attendance yet!

A new year is well underway and already God is doing amazing things at REUNION.  But we don't just measure our success by statistics, we also measure it by the stories we're hearing.  Here is a portion of Danielle's testimony from REUNION:

Recently, God has been teaching me that I'm never ever going to stop learning about Him and growing in Him. He never ceases to challenge me. About a month ago I decided, after a long deliberation, to be baptized. I want to be baptized to show my lifelong commitment to living a life that reflects the values of the gospel. When you begin to see that story at work in your life- how can you not just want to follow that with all your energy? It's pretty irresistible. I want to be baptized to take part in that active redemption and resurrection because I want to be a vessel for those things in my life. While I'm finishing up grad school and still settling on a specific career path, I already know what I want my life's work to be: trying to live out the values Jesus taught: healing the broken parts of our society and bringing hope - wherever God will let me do that. And that's the part of my story that is still being written now.  

It's so humbling to hear stories of life change like these at REUNION.  May we all continue to ask God for more in 2008.

 
Hank Wilson
Pastor

In The Spotlight
The Powers That Be

Over the next few months we want to "spotlight" some of our REUNION artists who are contributing in some unique ways.  Some are musicians, others are graphic designers and painters.  All of them contribute using their gifts and talents in helping people find Their Way Back To God.

Who are The Powers That Be?  At one angle you would see a couple of Boston University and Berklee College of Music students who enjoy playing their music for the crowd.  At another angle you would see a couple of artists who met at REUNION while playing in the worship band. Eventually they started writing music together and performing at local clubs. 

Ryan Jeffrey, Pete Koopmans, Jon Kolar, and Andrew Fatato make up the band.  Both Ryan and Pete come from two of our supporting churches.  The band recently used our offices to record a five song EP.  Honestly, it's good!  But don't take our word for it. Check them out on their website: www.whoarethepowersthatbe.com.

Pray It Up

• Feb 23 we are having a baptism event, we have two people who have committed to taking this next step.  Pray that God would continue to lead people in following Christ more closely at REUNION.
• Now that we have two services, pray that God would continue to raise up new leaders: for Community Groups, first impressions, the arts, and possible new areas of ministry.
• Pray for an openess to the Gospel in the city of Boston.

Contact Info:

617.859.0595                               
reunionboston.com