Missionaries-in-Training

From now until we leave for Tirana, Albania, in January 2006, we are missionaries-in-training. Our home church, Grace Church of DuPage in Warrenville, Illinois, will be our sending church and our primary supporting church, and has therefore committed to preparing us for long-term service on the mission field.

Right now, Justin is working full-time at Grace Church as the Missions intern and the College Ministry intern. His responsibilities include studying the Word of God in depth, helping to organize various evangelistic events for the college ministry and the church at large, leading and organizing several short-term missions trips, and meeting regularly with our Missions and College Ministry Pastors.

Right now, Gretchen is working full-time at The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) as the assistant the Regional Directors of Europe, Eurasia & Northern Africa. She has been at TEAM for 1.5 years and has gained lots of invaluable exposure to strategic and effective ministries all around the world.

Apart from our 'day jobs', we lead a bible study on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. This has been a very fruitful ministry, which we hope will continue long into the future. In fact, two of the dedicated students in this bible study will be traveling with us to Tirana this summer as we conduct an evangelistic youth camp for kids from the city.

The work in Albania...
Together, we are preparing and training to be youth leaders in Tirana, Albania. Our ministry will be local church-based. We feel strongly that any effective spiritual ministry should be stem from the local church model that we find in the New Testament. Right now there is no one in that local church who is dedicated to full-time youth ministry. We feel God is calling us to take on this greatly needed ministry! Our goal is help the church develop a (eventually Albanian-led) reproducing, Christ-exalting youth ministry that finds its home in the local church. Our vision is a radical Antioch church in Albania.

If you'd like more details about this ministry, please let us know!