Paul and Christie Johnson

Missionaries in Rochester, MN

Christmas in the rear view mirror

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It’s good to be home. I took some time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas to get refreshed and re-envisioned and it was a really good break. I read a lot, spent a lot of time with my favorite people (Christie and the boys) and even got some house work done.

We also had the pleasure of meeting with both our extended families over Christmas. It’s so good to celebrate Christ’s birth together.

After that we jumped into our annual Faithwalkers and not only were reconnected with our local church family whom we had missed for several weeks but also our extended GCC church family from all over the country.

Coming off Christmas and Faithwalkers I’ve been meditating on what keeps me content and joyful. What can I constantly return to no matter what my situation or  feelings are telling me. I tried to articulate it this way on facebook: The greatest relief is not a sense that you’ve done well enough to escape hell but that you’ve done poorly enough to need Christ’s payment and therefore are assured heaven!

When I’m in touch with my sin as a basic reality I can step away from expectation and effort and relax in the grace that has been given to me. Then I want to do my best for the one who loved me enough to die for me and promise me heaven!

Tom Brown said it this way during his talk at Faithwalkers (I’d encourage you to listen to it – one of the best of the conference): “Because Jesus the lamb was the hero for us I don’t have to be… We are freed from the need to perform for God or for other people”

Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as a little baby and doing what we cannot do – living a perfect life and then dying the death we deserve so that if we put our faith in him instead of ourselves we get to have his death applied in our place – so we don’t have to face eternal punishment in hell for our offenses toward God. Then it means that we are free to live for him and do what we were created to do. Good works!

This is a little bit of an extension of the topic at hand but these works God has prepared for us and fantastic things we can do for him! That was my seminar topic at Faithwalkers. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Spring Update

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Spring has come early here in Ames and we’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful weather!
Spring Break is a great time for the students to get out, share the gospel and serve. We used this time by taking the Rock to three different places:

  • The team that went to Manhattan, KS shared on campus, invited whole neighborhoods to church house by house and faced a lot of car trouble.
  • Another group headed up to Eau Claire, WI where they were able to serve the local church and spend time on campus promoting the idea that religion (as a works based system to be made right with God) is a lie. They had a lot of great conversations!
  • Christie, Theo and I went up to St Cloud, MNwith 9 others to spy out the campus and just see what the town was like. We’re checking out state universities in the upper Midwest to get an idea of where God could want our church to plant in the future.  (Above is a picture of Christie and I with the team. Theo was hanging out with his grandparents.)We didn’t get any overwhelming information, it’s just another place that has some faithful Christians doing what God has called them to do as well as plenty of need for more Christians doing what God has called us all to: making disciples!

Big Efforts on Campus
It’s been a bold spring for the Rock. As well as the trips we’ve been on there has been increased gospel pressure here as well. The week we returned from Spring Break we hosted groups from our sister churches in Omaha and Des Moines.

In coordination with these extra workers we were able to present the gospel in five parts over five days – Creation, Fall, Rescue, Restoration and Response. We had people out on campus each day asking people about the theme for the day and inviting them to a gospel presentation at our building near campus, Zeke’s.

The gospel got shared with 50+ people out on campus and we averaged about 10 or so new people each night! It was exciting to see God use our boldness for his glory!

We also had the opportunity to host Tom Short (www.TomThePreacher.com) recently. He preached publicly, proving Jesus is the Son of God, defending the gospel and refuting hecklers for a total of probably 18 hours in three days to groups of upwards of 150 people at times. We had Tom meet with our House Churches in the evenings for Q+A with our students each night.

While out listening to Tom I had the opportunity to share with George (an atheist) about God’s sovereignty, grace and man’s responsibility, as well as my personal testimony of God’s work in my life. It’s always exciting and challenging to share with someone who thinks so differently about life and faith. Please be praying for George and all the other people that we’ve had the opportunity to share with this semester.

A TINY Summer in Ames
With a little different strategy this time around we’ve decided that the Rock should stay in Ames this summer. This is my 15th summer with the Rock and we’ve never kept everyone around. Our goals for this time are to serve and reach out in the city and on campus, build deeper community, and dive deeper with God during some extended training times.

In a burst of creativity we decided to name the summer T.I.N.Y. for This Is Not Your Summer in an effort to help us all see our time as God’s and not see this as just another summer to relax and do whatever feels good.

As we get ready to kick-off T.I.N.Y. in a few weeks we have about 50 people signed up to be a part of it! That’s pretty huge for us! One of the biggest tricks we’re pulling off is getting families in the church to provide housing for students that need it over the summer. This is a strong incentive to stay and we have 20 students who have taken us up on it.

Please be praying that our summer is intentional and fruitful. It’s tough to spark a fresh vision for the summer if you stay in the same old location, so we need God to come through and make it his!

Christie’s Life
Theo is almost two years old now, and I can’t believe how much life has changed since he entered our world. I get to spend my days chasing him around, teaching him all kinds of new things, and enjoying his amazing imagination. What a huge blessing!

Staying involved in ministry has been a balance I am continuing to figure out as Theo grows, but I am excited to stay involved as much as I can. I have the privilege of meeting with our two women staffers every week to talk about what is going on in our lives. I have also helped plan a couple of events this spring.

Every year we have a Parents Banquet for the parents of Rockers to introduce them to our group. I was able to work on this event with the wives of the other two staffers with the Rock. I am also helping with our annual garage sale, which is a fundraiser for the Rock and a chance for our community members to spring clean!

So I am staying busy and loving my role as a stay-at-home mom!