February/ March 2019 Newsletter
Six Years!?!?
Six years. That’s how long it’s been since we loaded up our vehicles, drove away from Missouri and entered our new mission field. It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. I’ve been reflecting on those last six years a lot lately and all that I have discovered about myself and more importantly about God. I’ve learned I CAN “do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, God’s timing is perfect, and that “home” really is where the heart is. I am thankful for God’s work in my life and the lives of my family. I tell people, often, that this is the hardest ministry that Matthew and I have ever done. However, we have never experienced more peace and have never felt more blessed than we do right now as we live out the Great Commission in Utah.
There have been numerous trials and heartbreaks. We have battled spiritual warfare and watched friends lose nearly everything to follow Jesus, but at the end of the day, we are still reminded of His goodness. I am overwhelmed by that goodness and that He called Matthew and I to join Him in what He is doing in Utah. Thank you for encouraging and supporting us over the last several years and we look forward to what God has in store for the future.
Traveling
In mid-February, Kyle and Shanae Gudmunson, co-pastors/planters at Utah Valley Church, had the privilege of speaking at The Crossing in Houston Texas. They were the guest speakers for the church’s annual Faith Promise weekend. They shared about Plant Utah, Utah Valley Church, and the challenges of ministry in LDS culture. Their talks were well received and they had a lot of great follow up conversations.
In late-February, Kyle and Matthew attended pastors retreat, hosted by the North West District of the Wesleyan Church. They were able to make several strategic connections, including a future church planting couple who will be moving to Utah in July. They also connected with others who lead church planting networks similar to Plant Utah.
This past weekend, we (the Anderson family) traveled to Grand Junction, CO and attended the annual World Missions Conference that was hosted at Clifton Christian Church. Matthew and I led two workshops over the course of the weekend and Matthew was the guest speaker at North East Christian on Sunday. It was a fantastic weekend.
Also, Cody Harris, our church planter at Gospel Life in St. George, has been invited into a leadership cohort with a very like-minded church in the Pheonix area. He made his first trip for the cohort last week. He’s really excited about this opportunity and sees a lot of opportunities to learn and grow through it.
For the sake of the gospel,
The Andersons
Prayer Requests
Pray For:
- Our current church plants – vision, strategy and not to be distracted by the enemy
- Utah Valley Church
- The Crossing
- Gospel Life
- Marriages and family life of planters
- Cities with no evangelical churches
- Cities currently ministering in
- Spanish Fork
- West Jordan
- St. George
- Upcoming church plants (See Vineyard UT below)
- Those losing family because of their commitment to follow Jesus
- Those experience spiritual warfare because of their new faith
- Those currently in disciple-making relationships- to abide in Him as they disciple others
If you are unfamiliar with our vision, mission, and strategy you can read more about all of that at plantutah.com.
Vineyard Utah
We’ve been praying over cities and seeking God’s guidance for where to plant our next disciple-making community. We want to share with you a little about Vineyard, Utah! We believe this is where we will be planting the next church. Here are some tidbits for your reading enjoyment. Please join us in praying for Vineyard.
- Population: 14,000 and growing rapidly. Expected to be 40,000 by 2030; 75,000 by 2040 (This was a community of 600 in 2010)
- Location: Orem/Provo Metro. Located on the edge of Utah Lake west off of I-15
- Number of Churches: 0 evangelical Christian churches ever attempted
- Percentage of Christians: 0.49% (Less than North Korea)
