Pilot Gatherings, GEM, Summer plans

Greetings, The last few weeks I have been talking about hope. I have learned that in Hebrew one of the words for hope is like a cord that has been put in tension. I like this concept because as we hope in things it matters what is the anchor on the other end of the cord. I love how the paraphrase in The Message Bible of Hebrews 6 captures this idea, “We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us” Our hope is certain because it’s a cord that is attached to Jesus. Even if nothing seems that it will get better, we can hold onto Christ who is our life and hope in the resurrection and restoration of all things in and through Him.

GEM and life The last few weeks have been packed with completing assignments for GEM, bible studies, baptism preparation, elder elections, basketball games, rejoining the local church elder board, itinerate preaching, and our pilot Sunday gatherings. We are scheduled to have a virtual orientation with GEM starting on the 8th of April and will know by the end of that week if we are joining or not. I have not been with a mission organization for the last twenty years. Looking forward we feel that joining a mission’s organization will set us up for the next twenty.

Pilot gatherings Over the last three weeks, we have been having a Sunday Pilot gathering in the local church's ministry center. The response has been good and many people have already been asking us if we will continue with them in the future. The focus of the talks have been on Jesus as our hope and what he believed he accomplished on the cross. This Sunday we are going to finish up our series with the resurrection. We are very grateful for all of the people who have been helping us from childcare to singing in the worship band, and even helping us to design a logo. We are naming the gatherings, “Kostol pri Stole (Church at the table).

USA trip We have just purchased tickets for us to come and visit the US as a family this summer. We will be arriving in early June and will be leaving the first week of August. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends, reconnecting with our ministry partners, and growing our ministry support.

Please pray for:
• Spiritual and physical protection for us as a family
• For this final gathering on Sunday. May the Lord use it build his church and open the eyes of the blind to see Jesus as the hope of the gospel
• For our virtual orientation with GEM and wisdom in the process of joining them
• For our upcoming trip to the States. For funds to come in to help with the travel costs, for a car while we are in the states, and for new support partners to join our team.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support

The Johnsons