February/March Update

"I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now."
Philippians 1:3-5

If I could sum up the theme of this update it would be one word: Partnership

Many of you who are reading this are already partnering with us as we are laboring to plant a church here in Monroeville, however, you may not realize just how important and impactful your partnership really is. I hope some of the things you will read below might give you small glimpse of just how important you are to us.

Vintage Partnership
Firstly, I wanted to talk briefly about an amazing opportunity we as a team have here in the city.  Through our first (almost) year here, we have experienced many changes along the way but still remained committed to our calling here. I am excited even as I write this to announce the partnership between Missio Dei Community Church and Vintage Church.

Now let me explain what this is and looks like, and what it means for the future.

What is it?
Even before moving to Pittsburgh, it was our commitment as a team to partner with an established local Pittsburgh church who could help nurture and support our team as we prepare to launch Sunday services, in other words, to act as a second Sending Church. Vintage Church has committed to come alongside Missio Dei to do just this. This is a amazing opportunity. Our group will continue to meet with the purpose of multiplying leaders, and therefore multiplying groups while being connected and serving with a local body of believers. This will all happen while Vintage Church intentionally pours into our team and encourages others to join our efforts in Monroeville.  

What it means for the future?
This might beg the question “Does this mean you are still planting a church?”
Answer: Absolutely!

The purpose of this is to be launch out in a healthy way, which on a larger scale is being sought as the model of church planting here in the City of Pittsburgh.  This model for us, and future church plants will be moving into a City and not being isolated and alone but rather being connected with a healthy multiplying church which can provide encouragement, oversight, growth opportunities, and a space to develop contextual ministry ideas.

I can speak for the team in saying this is something we have prayed about since arriving here in Pittsburgh and we are thankful to serve a God who hears and answers prayers!

Grove Avenue Mission Team
Lastly, on the theme of partnership, I wanted to talk about an amazing opportunity Missio Dei had: Our First Missions Team!

One of our amazing partner churches, Grove Avenue Baptist Church located in Richmond recently brought a team comprised of their youth and leaders totaling 37 people! This team did an incredible job laboring not just for Missio Dei but for other church planters here in the city!

The first half of the trip involved the team getting to Monroeville Mall for prayer walking and Gospel conversations.  The youth were excited as they boldly approached strangers, starting conversations, sharing the Gospel, and praying with people! It was encouraging to see the actions as well as the attitude of the youth as they did this. Numerous leaders heard statements like “aw, man we only have so much time left.”  To hear youth sad they do not have MORE time to share the Gospel and pray with strangers is an amazing testimony to the parents and leaders of the youth!

After this, the youth went to Monroeville Park and did litter pick up! Countless bags were filled with trash and loaded up in the dumpsters! After this, it was time for a little Pittsburgh culture experience: Primanti Brothers! Obviously we can’t have a mission team come up without experiencing french fries on a Primanti Brothers Sandwich!

The next day was a day of vision casting in Monroeville. The youth and leaders were challenged to think like a church planter, to hear about the culture and think “where would I meet, how would I reach people, how would I challenge and break cultural barriers, how can I serve the community well?”  This was an awesome opportunity to teach the next generation leaders about the challenges and opportunities of church planting!

The next day was good ole’ fashioned hard work. The team and I made our way to Mt. Washington and began to work with Adam Sewell and The Well Church! The youth cleaned and moved and cleaned some more! They set up sound boards and organized clothing closet items and ended up working so hard and well, they worked themselves out of work!

All in all I can say that if you are a brother or sister in Christ reading this, with partners like Vintage and Grove Avenue, the future of Pittsburgh and the future leaders of the church looks bright. May this be an encouragement to YOU dear partner as it was to us. ​

• Pray for Calvin - He was a particular gentlemen I (Cody) and the youth met and prayed with in the mall.  He asked for prayer to trust in the LORD more!
• Pray for Vintage Church and our teams Partnership there!
• Pray for Grove Avenue as they returned back to their community to continue to live on mission!

Is God Calling you to Pittsburgh?
We are looking for a diverse group of godly men and women to join us in Pittsburgh. We are literally asking you to drop what you are doing and move your life into the unknown with us in a new city. The truth is, you can be that Gospel light in the workplace that someone would never have without you. You can be a gospel light to neighbors we will never meet.

If you think God might be calling you to move your life to Pittsburgh with us, I’d encourage you to visit https://www.missiodeicc.com/join-our-launch-team.html.

Become a Bridge Partner
We are seeking 446 people to become the backbone of our support here in Pittsburgh. With only the change you would use to buy a few cups of coffee, the 446 of us can raise over $100,000 each year to support the planting of a new church.

If you have $20 to spare each month and would love to partner with us to reach Pittsburgh, I’d invite you to become a Bridge Partner by signing up at https://www.missiodeicc.com/about.html. ​​