We have shared together the blessings of God…
defending the truth and telling others the Good News.
(Philippians 1:7)

Greetings from Amsterdam!  Can you believe that it’s been exactly three years since our family moved from Northwest Ohio (Bowling Green) to Northwest Europe (Amsterdam)?!?!  To us, “three years” feels like both a surprisingly long time and a surprisingly short time to have been here.  We continue to be encouraged by God’s work in and through our lives.  With this prayer letter, I am following a tradition that I’ve established through my years of ministry with GCM—using the first prayer letter of a new year to write a more extended overview of our lives and our ministry.  Please feel free to skim or to read in-depth.  We are extremely grateful for your partnership in prayer and finances, so we just want to keep you informed.  Without a doubt, it a privilege to report all that God has done and is doing…

Cultural Assimilation

The last twelve months included several significant milestones for our family’s assimilation into Dutch culture.  It could be said that our first year consisted largely of making the actual move and setting up our home.  The second year, then, was defined by a process of learning the language and becoming more acquainted with the culture.  And this third year of living in the Netherlands proved to be a time for greater establishment and exploration into new territories of the culture…

Elliot began peuterspeelzaal (pre-school) in September, and his introduction into the school system has taken our family to a new level of immersion in our neighborhood and in Dutch culture as a whole.  We also successfully navigated through the medical system to have a tumor surgically removed from Olivia’s forehead in December; and this gave us increased confidence (following many doubts) that we can effectively operate on the most practical levels of Dutch society.  Interestingly, it just seems that more and more of life seems to take place in the Dutch language.  We’ve decided as a family to implement “Nederlandse ‘s vrijdags” (Dutch Fridays), so we can practice Dutch at home one day each week (although we continue to maintain English as the primary language of our home).  Continually, we seek to find creative ways to maintain a solid footing in two cultures.  As time has passed, we’ve felt less and less like strangers and more and more like Amsterdammers.  We still have much to learn, and we continue to miss the USA at times.  Yet all in all, we’re glad for the life that God has given us in the Netherlands.

Church Growth

Of course, the whole reason that our family (and others) subjected ourselves to this process of cultural assimilation was to help establish a new church for young people in the secular stronghold of Amsterdam’s city center.  By God’s grace, we can say that we experienced much progress in 2005.  We started the year by multiplying Sunday worship gatherings (having one gathering at 4:00 in the afternoon and another gathering at 7:30 in the evening), and already both gatherings are packed full again.  It’s amazing to realize that the majority of international church plants struggle just to survive in the first five years, and it’s often decades before there’s any significant increase in the number of people being affected by the ministry.  However, less than three years after its establishment, Zolder50 continues to expand exponentially.  Our weekly large-group gatherings now include a total involvement of as many as 250 people.  The church also multiplied two home groups in 2005, and we’re seeing the potential for much more to happen in the months and years to come.

It’s so encouraging to see God moving.  More than just being excited about the bigger crowds and positive statistics, we’re thrilled to see genuine life transformation.  Many have come to faith in Christ.  Men and women are experiencing healing and growth in the areas of deepest hurt and dysfunction.  Plus, more and more Europeans are taking responsibility for serving and leadership within Zolder50.  Our desire has always been for God to continually multiply believers, home groups (5-15 people), and neighborhood churches (50-150 people) throughout Amsterdam, relying largely (if not eventually entirely) on Dutch leadership.  And by God’s grace, it’s already happening! 

Special Projects

Throughout 2005, our ministry schedule included a series of special projects to reach out within the city and beyond.  In the spring and summer, Zolder50 organized several events to bring us into closer contact with the multitude of non-believers in Amsterdam.  From an arts and music festival to a large-scale distribution of approximately 3000 flowers in the Vondelpark, God blessed us with many opportunities to spread seeds of God’s Kingdom.

In the fall, our home group sponsored an “Alpha Course”—teaching the basics of the Christian faith to an eager group of seekers and new believers.  Although it was our first such venture, the course actually turned out to be a highlights of the year.  At least one young woman became a Christian through the course, three others decided to be baptized, and our home group effectively doubled in size as a result of people wanting to continue their process of spiritual development following the Alpha Course!

Then at the end of the year, Amsterdam played host to GCM’s first-ever pan-European conference:  Awaken 2005.  Honestly, it was stressful to figure out all the logistical details for housing, feeding, and involving 230 participants from eight different countries—but by God’s grace, the conference went smoother than we ever could have imagined, and it turned out to be an amazing success!  People were challenged by in-depth teaching from JR Woodward, Noel Heikinnen, and Kolya Skopych; they were inspired by in-depth worship, sharing songs and traditions from multiple cultural backgrounds; and they were invigorated by in-depth fellowship with European believers from Spain to Ukraine, united under the banner of Christ.

In 2006, we look forward to a number of other outreach projects.  In particular, one exciting initiative is to couple the church’s five home groups with five short-term missions teams from America to serve as “Spies in the Land” (see Numbers 13:1-25), scouting out five other cities throughout the Netherlands to determine the potential for eventual church planting beyond Amsterdam…

Ministry Team Development

We cannot help but be amazed by God’s ongoing provision for our material needs.  For seven years now, we’ve been supported in full-time ministry through the generous giving and faithful prayer of individuals, families, and churches from the United States—our ministry team.  We are so thankful for this team, which provides the practical and spiritual foundation enabling us to be a part of the ministry of Zolder50 in Amsterdam’s city center.  Thank you for your role on our support team.  Even last summer, when our family faced an imminent crisis in our financial support situation, we were amazed to see how God provided for us through the continued (and increased) faithfulness of so many on our ministry team!  We appreciate you more than you could possibly know.

Our Personal Lives

Our family has been an ongoing source of encouragement (and occasional challenges) throughout the last year.  We are so thankful to God for the basic blessings of a stable home, an ever-deepening marriage, and wonderful children.  Not only do we encourage and support each other, but we’ve found that a godly family in the center of Amsterdam can be a powerful mirror for reflecting the light of Christ; thus, our home presents many opportunities for ministry.

Olivia is now 16 months old.  Her hair has grown long and thick in recent months (completely covering any residual scarring from the surgery to remove her hemangioma in December)—and she looks more like a little girl and less like a baby these days.  She loves to run around the house and do whatever her big brother is doing.  She is naturally effervescent, curious, and passionate, and it’s neat to watch her personality emerge as she constantly improves her verbal communication.

Elliot is now almost four years old.  His experiences in school have helped him to develop greater self-assurance and social skills, and he increasingly enjoys being the center of attention.  His Dutch comprehension is almost as good as his English comprehension, though he still prefers to express himself in English.  As he’s grown, we’ve really come to admire his intelligence, creativity, and faith.

Marci is (and has long been) a resourceful and resilient woman of God.  Whether it’s caring for our family of four or caring for the multitude of young Amsterdammers who pass through our home for ministry events or casual conversations—everyone knows that Marci can be counted on for wise counsel, compassionate listening, and delicious baked goods (yet even with those wonderful baked goods, she managed to lose about 20 pounds in 2005)!

As for me, I continue to enjoy my role in leading Zolder50 and in leading our household through life in Amsterdam.  It can be very challenging at times, but also very rewarding.  In 2005, I rediscovered a latent passion for creative writing, developing a new outlet for creative self-expression and communication through establishment of a web log (www.amsterdamasp.blogspot.com), and I look forward to possibly even trying to write a book (or a compilation of short stories) in 2006…

Please keep praying for us.  There is much hope and excitement about everything that God is doing in and around us in Amsterdam, and we look forward to keeping you informed as developments occur.  Thanks again for everything.

Love in Christ,

Eric

ABOVE: our Home Group; Marci and the kids on the bakfiets; Alpha course weekend session; our crazy staff team

ABOVE:  Olivia’s progression through hemangioma treatment

LEFT:  Todd Watkins and I baptize a young man named Thomas (August)