“The gospel is only good news for someone if it gets to them in time.”
Carl Henry

The life of a Jesus follower is living out the 4Ds (Depend, Display, Declare, Deploy) in our everyday lives. As Jesus is to us, we are called to be to others.If Jesus sacrificed himself to save us, it makes sense that we ought to offer ourselves to bring salvation to others. A living sacrifice!

On the first Saturday of every month, we deploy on mission in our community by serving the often overlooked people in need. In partnership with Reach Ministries, we have organized an outreach effort that consists of different ways to engage the homeless community.

Some of our AC Kid’s packed and prayed over 54 Blessing Bags this week to bless the homeless. Each bag had a handwritten note, chocolate, a Bible, and socks. Please pray for us as we intentionally engage the brokenness of our city every day.

A big part of our ministry engaging the adult entertainment industry involves building relationships and deepening connections as we display Jesus and declare the gospel. We have learned that one of the best ways is to open a relational door involves bringing a small gift of blessing. The favorite thing by far seems to be homemade baked goods.

We love to see the smiles and opening hearts as we engage in this ministry every week. As the baked goods are being prepared, we are saturating the entire process in prayer. As the oven is preheated, ingredients mixed, and the baking process completed and delivered, we ask God to open the hearts of these ladies who feel trapped in their situations and that they will experience living hope.

We anticipate great reports and stories to share about the impact of baked goods. Please pray for a Kingdom impact as we engage the adult entertainment industry each week.

Since the pandemic began to take its toll, our engagement in the Chinese community has become more complex. The tension between fear and precaution has paralyzed so many people. However, we are pleased to begin a new Chinese Bible study this month. Each Wednesday, we will gather for encouragement, prayer, fellowship, and growth in God’s Word. Pray for the leaders and our Chinese community to engage in gospel relationships again. 

This month, Pastor Jonah had the privilege to lead a breakout session at the North American Mission Board Send Network gathering in Anaheim, California. The idea for the breakout was thinking through the challenges that COVID brought, how to maximize, restructure, pivot, etc. He talked through 11 challenges and priorities to help navigate difficult times. Some included taking care of yourself, healthy neediness, prioritizing your relationship with God and prayer, being watchful as our enemy prowls around, identifying essentials, and reevaluating success metrics.

The last time we were in India was January 2020, right before the world shut down. We are excited to be taking a team of 10 to India in early May. Once again, we will be working with a dear ministry partner outside of Mumbai. We will host pastor training, evangelistic rallies, and Kids Camps in rural tribal villages on this trip. Our partner operates a non-profit called the Immanuel Foundation that engages unengaged/unreached people groups through starting schools, primary medical clinics, and planting churches.

Since our planning began last September, we have had many changes and obstacles to overcome. We need your prayer for our team, the villages where we are going, and the decreasing spread of Covid-19 that could impact our ability to go. 

Our passion for engaging unreached people with the gospel and planting churches drives us to risk much. We need your support and prayers as an army lifting us and pushing us forward to the front lines.

I’m so proud of the people of Awakening Church. We were challenged once again last December to give joyfully and sacrificially to our World Mission Offering. There’s no better picture than to see our collective hearts being renewed as we risk and sacrifice to advance God’s Kingdom! Every year through our World Mission Offering, we have the opportunity to bring help and hope to a hurting world. This past December, your generosity will transform lives with the gospel. 100% of these gifts to the WMO directly support ministries and missionaries in Seattle, The West, and The World.

SEATTLE – 20% supports our local ministry partners (Jubilee REACH, Liberty Road Foundation & Light of Love)

THE WEST – 15% supports church planting in the western part of the United States. (Remedy City Church, Portland, OR & Bread of Life International Fellowship, Kent, WA)

THE WORLD – 65% supports international mission efforts through individual partnerships and the International Mission Board.

Partners are so much more than monthly support checks. They are fellow soldiers on the battlefront of expanding the kingdom of God around the world! I’m so grateful for this team that made sacrifices to serve with us this past week. For many people, Seattle is just a weird place in the Pacific Northwest. But for those that come and serve, it’s a place where God is on the move! In their coming, partners see, taste, smell and experience the city in ways that news articles and update emails never can. In addition, our hearts are mended together as we serve and experience God’s activity firsthand. If you haven’t come yet, you should! We would be honored to have you.

This is our third year to participate in Worship in the Park! This year, 14 churches closed their individual doors as we collectively worshiped together! There is ONE church in Bellevue and we thank God for the unity among our churches. We strive to partner and work together for the saturation of the gospel across our city that is less than 5% reached with the gospel.

We are on mission together! We may have a choice about the neighborhood or affinity group we serve, but we don’t typically get to choose the particular people we will encounter, which means we actually have to learn to love our neighbors. To love our neighbors, we have to trust the grace of God to empower us to do what we cannot do in our own strength and believe the truth that these people are image-bearers of God, loved by Him, and worthy of our time and attention. 

We are the sent people of God! Ultimately, it is by His grace and not our works that brings about the Kingdom of God…and any good works we do are accomplished through the grace He showered on us before the foundation of the world. 

Thank you for praying and partnering with us as we serve Jesus in the Seattle area and beyond!

Show Notes

Jonah Easley was living as a missionary in China when he and his wife had their first child. They noticed developmental delays and brought him to America where he was diagnosed with autism. Amid having more children — each diagnosed with autism as well — they planted Awakening Church in Seattle, Washington. In this episode, Jonah vulnerably shares about how God has used his family to help him grow emotionally and spiritually, the church planting experience and the spiritual apathy of Washington state.

To find out more about church planting with Send Network, text “Send Network” to 888-123, or visit us online at SendNetwork.com.

Dear Partner,

This past month has been a continuation of the challenges surrounding the pandemic. Schools, restaurants, and other indoor gathering areas are still closed or extremely limited in their capacity. Awakening Church continues meeting online each week to encourage one another with the hope found only in Jesus. We thank you for your continued support and prayers as we face a steep uphill climb. Your partnership means more than we could ever possibly put into words. 

In spite of our current realities, we see God’s hand at work in and through us. People often ask how we stay engaged during a time of shut-down and digital gatherings. My answer is always, “through intentionality.” We work hard to daily spend time with God, each other, and look for ways to engage our city in new ways. This season is hard, but it’s been good as we’ve been challenged to think outside the box and keep our urgency with the gospel burning HOT!

Please continue praying for our wisdom in making disciples, in our looking for a local venue large enough to accommodate a socially distanced Awakening Church gathering, and for our unity in prioritizing the gospel above all.

Pastor Jonah Easley

The global need for missions is more urgent than ever. Every day there are 154,937 dying without the gospel. Today, there are over 7000 unreached people groups consisting of over 4.5 billion people around the world. Every December, we partner with more than 47,000 Southern Baptist churches with a common vision for every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus!

Awakening church has a role to play in reaching every nation. Our generosity through praying and giving will help create momentum as we realize the great commission is not optional for believers.

Throughout the month of December, we will be collecting our annual World Mission offering. With a goal of $12,000, we will be able to support our local, national and international partners that are working around the world for the advancement of the Kingdom of God! 100% of these gifts will go directly to the mission field.

Last week Kathy and I celebrated our 17 year wedding anniversary. We made plans to be kid-free for a few hours so we could have lunch together without asking for kid menus or arguing about why, “you can’t just eat ice cream.” After we dropped off the kids, we sat in the car for about 15 minutes trying to find a restaurant that was open with dine-in seating. How obnoxious! We finally found one, but it got me thinking about the church. We haven’t met in person since March. Some have disengaged and others have just felt distant and disconnected. But for many, it just seems like the church is closed.

If this pandemic has done anything, it’s reminded me of what….or who, the church is. When the word “church” comes up in conversation, the first thing we think of is a building. We have this mindset that church is a place we go to on Sundays. The spiritual gas station where we get to see other familiar faces. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we don’t “go” to church; we are the church.

In 1 Timothy 5, Paul describes the church as people dedicated to doing whatever it takes to reach out and help others. We have a responsibility to serve and help others in need as the church. Caring for each other (inside & outside the church) is the quickest way to see Jesus change lives. Too often, we see a need and wait for the pastor to take responsibility. But that’s not the way church works. But I believe that’s why many in the church have had such a hard time. Those “things” that they’ve been accustomed to others doing for them (i.e. creating relational and serve opportunities), have suddenly shifted to their personal responsibility.

Caring for each other (inside & outside the church) is the quickest way to see Jesus change lives.

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Each of us has been given skills, abilities and opportunities to serve, both inside and outside the church (not the building!). In Timothy’s church, for example, the women ran a widows ministry (1 Timothy 5:16), and elders directed church affairs while others were devoted just to teaching and preaching (1 Timothy 5:17).

In the Bible, church is always a reference to people, not a place. The church is a body of believers that live out the Gospel in their displaying and declaring. The church is at its best when people inside the building take Jesus’ message outside the building and serve those they meet. Be encouraged as you live out this perspective of YOU being the church. Yes, we’re open! We’re always open because YOU are the church.

It’s natural that in times of crisis, we turn to God. PLEASE HELP! (Me at the end of a homeschooling day). During this current pandemic of COVID-19, I find myself quarantined and growing more restless by the day. I understand the importance of the quarantine, but that doesn’t always make it easy. Patience has never been something that I feel “good at.” It’s just hard to sit still during trials and wait patiently for God to move. 

“THE FULLNESS OF TIME”

I tend to worry when God doesn’t come through when I want Him to, or the way I want Him to. In moments like this, I have to remind myself God is never late or never early. He is always on time! Galatians 4:4, tends to enter my mind when I begin to question His timing. It says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

This phrase about the “fullness of time” is important because it signifies that God was at work behind the scenes as He prepared the exact timing of Jesus’ birth. His timing was perfect…and always is. God’s watch hasn’t gotten slower over the years. Our sovereign God is still calling His people to a deeper trust in Him as His timeline unfolds.

Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

As we experience storms and seasons of uncertainty in this world, God’s fruit is produced through those storming moments. The way we go through the storms gives us a platform from which to speak from to tell of the “immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7 ESV).

Through the ups and downs

The promise of Hebrews 13:5 gives us hope no matter what the circumstances. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (ESV). He is always with you and always provides what you need to do exactly what He has called you to do. God is faithful. Don’t worry! Don’t panic! Trust Him!

The command to “be still” before God comes from the Hebrew word (raphah) meaning, get your hands off it! Let it go and surrender it to Him! Let God have the problem! He is the one in control of your safety. Problems always show up when we fail to give God total and complete control. When I impatiently throw my hat in the ring, things always get worse. As a control freak, it’s hard to take my hands completely off. When I do, worry comes too easy.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1 (ESV)

Whom should we fear?

You can run, but you can’t hide! BE STILL! Go to the “stronghold of your life” and release the reigns completely to Him. Don’t panic! 

• We trust in the God of limitless power! (Zechariah 8:1)
• The battle is not yours but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
• Wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

It’s difficult to watch the current pandemic unfold. It seems to worsen by the day and it’s hitting too close to home. In this unprecedented season, we see God calling out the church in “old” ways. We have been forced outside the walls! I pray that through it all, we rediscover first-century tactics that result in reaching our own generation just as they did. Peyton Jones says in Reaching the Unreached, “Before faith comes to others’ ears, movement must first come to our feet.” This is NOT a time for us to pause, hoard, or panic… it’s a time to be on mission. This is our moment to display Jesus and declare the good news to our neighbors and the world.

We believe that in the fullness of time (when He receives the most glory), God will remove this pandemic. The promise of God’s endless power and presence gives us the rock-solid foundation that so many are searching for right now. Let us “be still,” “wait for the Lord,” and share the hope of Jesus with our world.

A testimony of changed lives

When we planted Awakening Church, we had great plans to reach our city, but didn’t know fully what that meant. Joining God where He was working meant hitting the streets and following Jesus’ example to mingle with the people in front of us. We are a missions focused church and that mission begins the moment we step out of our homes. The Kingdom of God can’t advance if we are stuck in a holy huddle. So we deploy each week across our city to display Jesus and declare the hope of the gospel.

When we prayed for ministry opportunities to engage our city, God brought us people that had personally experienced the brokenness of being homeless and a passion to reach them for Christ. In the Seattle King County area, there are currently about 12,500 homeless people living on the streets or in shelters. This is an overwhelming number, but we’ve learned that  being overwhelmed is the first step in getting back to where we belong…dependent on Jesus. The door opened wide to bring Jesus where He wanted to be. We knew that if we wanted to reach the ones that nobody is reaching, we needed to go where nobody else is going. So we began to pray and God began to bring homeless people into our lives. Each week (before COVID-19) we pick them up and welcome them into our Awakening Church family with open arms. 

Over the past month, we have seen several people radically changed by the gospel. Not only that, but this past week one of our new sisters led two others to Jesus! Our social distancing has kept us from our “normal routine,” but it hasn’t stopped God from working in the hearts of people. This past Friday we held a baptism service at one of the local shelters and baptized five people! God delights in transforming people. And when we are willing to embark with Him on the journey He set out for us, we help facilitate that transformation.

J. Hudson Taylor said, “Unless there is the element of extreme risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith.”

May our faith grow as we risk more for the sake of Jesus.