Friday, March 27, 2009

Another small update

Greetings a small update on the open doors God has given to share.
March 8th Sunday Evening -- Southland Bible Church, Washingtong, UT, PM
March 22nd Sunday Morning -- River Valley Bible Church in Mesquite, NV, 10:30 AM
March 25th Wednesday Evening -- family sharing in Mesquite
March 29th Sunday Evening -- Green River Bible Church in Green River, UT 6PM

April 1st Wednesday Evening -- Rocky Mountain Bible Church, 6:30pm
April 5th Sunday Morning -- Bridgeport Community Church 9:30AM
April 8th Wednesday Evening -- ?
April 12th Sunday Morning -- South Dakota AM
April 15th Wednesday Evening -- Open
April 19th Sunday -- Grace Bible Church, Treemonton, UT 10AM
April 22nd Wednesday Evening -- Provo Bible Church, Provo, UT 7PM
April 26th Sunday -- Mountain View Bible Church, LaVerkin, UT 9:45 AM
April 29th Wednesday -- Open

May 3rd Sunday -- ?
May 6th Wednesday -- ?
May 10th Sunday Morning -- Morning Star Community Church, Red Feather Lakes, CO AM?
May 13th Wednesday -- TBM Candidate School
May 17th Sunday -- Crawford, NE
May 20th Wednesday -- Open
May 24th Sunday -- Open
May 27th Wednesday -- Open
May 31st Sunday -- May be open, but possibly traveling to Peru around this time Lord wiling

This is what the schedule is looking like so far the ?
means there may be something that falls on that day already.
I hope to update the schedule when more information comes in.
If anyone has questions, or is interested in
the opportunity God is opening up in Peru please let me know at Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com or 435-201-3747

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Updated Sharing schedule

Greetings a small update on the open doors God has given to share.
March 8th Sunday Evening -- Southland Bible Church, Washingtong, UT, PM
March 22nd Sunday Morning -- River Valley Bible Church in Mesquite, NV, 10:30 AM
March 25th Wednesday Evening -- family sharing in Mesquite
March 29th Sunday Evening -- Green River Bible Church in Green River, UT 6PM

April 1st Wednesday Evening -- Rocky Mountain Bible Church, 6:30pm
April 5th Sunday Morning -- ?
April 8th Wednesday Evening -- ?
April 12th Sunday Morning -- ?
April 15th Wednesday Evening -- Open
April 19th Sunday -- Grace Bible Church, Treemonton, UT 10AM
April 22nd Wednesday Evening -- Provo Bible Church, Provo, UT 7PM
April 26th Sunday -- Mountain View Bible Church, LaVerkin, UT 9:45 AM
April 29th Wednesday -- Open

May 3rd Sunday -- ?
May 6th Wednesday -- ?
May 10th Sunday Morning -- Morning Star Community Church, Red Feather Lakes, CO AM?
May 13th Wednesday -- TBM Candidate School
May 17th Sunday -- Crawford, NE
May 20th Wednesday -- Open
May 24th Sunday -- Open
May 27th Wednesday -- Open
May 31st Sunday -- May be open, but possibly traveling to Peru around this time Lord wiling

This is what the schedule is looking like so far the ?
means there may be something that falls on that day already.
I hope to update the schedule when more information comes in.
If anyone has questions, or is interested in
the opportunity God is opening up in Peru please let me know at Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com or 435-201-3747

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

To Live is Christ - Newsletter 3-3-09

Greetings in the name of our most Precious Savior Jesus Christ, 3/3/2009


Much has happened since the spring of 2008. I had the opportunity to go to Tarapoto, San Martin, Peru for 21 d
ays with a short term team from Frontier School of the Bible. My desire was to get into more teaching, preaching and church planting. God was opening doors in His timing. While I was there, the door became open to return for 3 months while Delwin & Techy Fowler and their family were in the US to share about the ministry while on deputation. This was a big step for me, but I was thankful that I was not alone on the field. Another missionary came to prepare for working with Delwin & Techy's children.


During my time in Peru, I saw how God had prepared in advance a young man named Martin Ramos to be my translator. He is a kind, godly, and humble young man who is very talented in learning languages. Through his father, a Gideon, we got to distribute many New Testaments in schools. This trip turned into an amazing evangelism opportunity.


God also brought Ricardo & Asucena (Techy's parents) into my life. They were such an encouragement! They would come over quite often to prepare and eat supper with me. I also got to go to Asucena’s restaurant in the market where we spent time talking as best we could, and I enjoyed the wonderful food she prepared.

I enjoyed working with the youth group there. God stretched me in different ways and taught me many lessons. One lesson which I must always remember is that I need to get out and see the people more – there in Peru, as well as here in America.

During my 3 months in Peru, I was praying about returning to serve there full time – a decision not easy to make, because I am very close to my family, praise God. I also wanted my next ministry step to be someplace where I could settle in and minister for awhile. Adventure is fun, and I'm sure I'll have much of it in Peru, but spending a longer time in one place works better for long term effects. You have much more time to invest in people’s lives, and departures are not always looming.

When I returned to United States, I continued to pray about this decision. I really got hung up on wondering just what the call of God really meant. But by talking with various people, I started to understand that the direction of God isn't something mystical that cannot be grasped. God was already directing. He was telling me to go back to Peru. How? The people in Peru were asking me to come back. Delwin & Techy were asking me to come back. The opportunities are there to work with youth, to preach and teach, to plant churches, to do camp ministry, and even perhaps to one day help start a Bible school. I even enjoy the food and love the scenery. The weather is a bit hot sometimes but, well, some things I will adjust to (hopefully)!

So I have started taking the steps to return to Peru full time, Lord willing in June of this summer. I stepped down from One Way Evangelistic Ministries (OWEM), the mission organization that helped get me started. OWEM is an excellent mission, especially in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, and coming alongside church planters. This is a wonderful focus, because the field truly is ripe to share the Gospel! Because my heart is focused more on the role of church planting, I have become an official missionary with Tentmakers Bible Mission, Inc. (TBM).

TBM is another wonderful mission organization that is dear to my heart. I have known many of the men on the TBM board through my years in Utah because many have ministered there. I also got to know other TBM members through my time at Frontier School of the Bible. Their focus is church planting, which ties into other aspects of mission work such as evangelism, discipleship, camping, and a Bible school. All these various opportunities will help to stretch me and keep me busy. An added blessing is that Delwin & Techy Fowler are also TBM missionaries.

Ministry:

My first year of ministry involvement (Lord willing):

  • Learning Spanish. (Porque español es muy importante para ministerio en Peru.)
  • Leading a youth group

  • Helping setup a camp

  • Preaching and teaching

  • Doing whatever else God may bring

  • Please pray for me to learn the Spanish language. To be most effective, I must have a full grasp of this.

Future ministry involvement (Lord willing):

  • More involvement in the training of nationals

  • Continued work at camp – children, youth, retreats, training, missions retreats

  • Helping to start a Bible school – training of nationals

  • Being involved in church planting – there is a need for 3-4 more churches in the Tarapoto area alone, and that’s not even counting the rest of the San Martin Region.

  • Possibly learning Quechua, the other official language of Peru.

  • Doing whatever else God may bring.

  • Please pray for me to remain flexible because things often do change a lot on the mission field.

To the Field:

  • Peru: Lord willing, I would like to step onto the mission field in Peru sometime this summer (2009), Lord willing when the mission team from Frontier School of the Bible goes down during the month of June.

  • Here in the US: I would love to share with anyone and everyone – even one on one – about the opportunity God has given me to serve Him in Peru. And I also want to minister here however and whenever God directs. Please pray that I'll be faithful day by day.

Praise:

  • God's ability to get things done very fast and in His perfect timing.

  • God's faithfulness

  • God's continued direction

Prayer:

  • Please pray for opportunities for me to share this ministry with individuals, in churches, and wherever else God may provide.

  • Please pray that I would be a usable tool in God's service. That I will serve in His strength.

  • Please pray that more people will come serve as missionaries in Peru, and as missionaries across the world by becoming involved however God would lead them. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then He said unto His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.’”

  • Please let me know how I can be praying for you. As a missionary, I am so interdependent with you, the Church. I need you. I can never be independent for then I fall; I fail. If I get to be the hands or the feet, you are the heart, the body that keeps me going through prayer and encouragement and many other ways. Let's stay connected.

  • Please pray for me to remember that I'm never alone. Hebrews 13:5 says, “…for He [God] hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

  • Thank you all so much for praying, and for how you've encouraged me so much. If you have any questions please let me know.

Contact Information:

Mission Board:

Mailing:
Tentmakers Bible Mission, Inc.
P.O. Box 4983
Frisco, CO 80443

Phone:
1-888-TENTMAKERS
(1-888-836-8625)

Email:
info@tentmakersbiblemission.org
Website:
www.tentmakersbiblemission.org

Peru:

Mailing:
Delwin & Techy Fowler
c/o Jonathan Koehn
JR. Jose Pardo 317
Tarapoto, San Martín
Peru, South America

Email:

Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com
Website:
www.customgraphicwork.com
Skype:

jonathan.g.koehn
Facebook:
Jonathan G. Koehn

Personal Stateside:

Mailing:
Jonathan Koehn
P.O. Box 570050
120 Lariat Dr.
Sigurd, UT 84657

Cell Phone:
435-201-3747

Email:
Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com
Website:
www.customgraphicwork.com
Skype:

jonathan.g.koehn
Facebook:
Jonathan G. Koehn


If God would direct you to be part of this project, perhaps in prayer, in visiting the field, through support, or however else God may direct, please direct financial gifts to: Tentmakers Bible Mission. In the memo line please put San Martín Project. Please mail it to Tentmakers Bible Mission, Inc. P.O. Box 4983, Frisco, CO 80443. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.


Tu hermanito en Jesús Cristo,

Your little brother in Jesus Christ,




-- Jonathan G. Koehn serving in the San Martín Project in Peru. Serving God with http://www.tentmakersbiblemission.org Skype: jonathan.g.koehn Facebook: Jonathan G. Koehn Email: Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com Website: http://jonathankoehn.customgraphicwork.com