I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do
the same works I have done, and even greater works,
because I am going to be with the Father.
(John 14:12)

Greetings from Amsterdam! Would you believe that we’re down to our last twelve weeks of living on this side of the Atlantic?!? As you might be able to imagine, there’s a fresh sense of urgency and intentionality in our ministry these days. We eagerly desire to make the most of each opportunity to be present in the lives of the people around us, but we’re also learning to trust God with our “ministry of leaving.” Another missionary friend of ours, who is also in a situation similar to ours, recently quipped: "I feel like God has given us a special gift for leaving ministry locations. All of our churches' best years seem to happen right after we've gone!" At the time we all laughed at his self-deprecating humor, but then we started reflecting on our experiences and realized that there might really be something to this ministry of leaving.

Since stepping down from the campus director position at h2o in Bowling Green in order to move to Amsterdam, the church there has developed dozens of new leaders, sent out multiple new church plants, and started drawing crowds more than double the number that were coming around at the time of our departure. Similarly, I owe my own development as a leader to the departure of the leaders before me. Back in my second year of studying at Bowling Green, several key leaders moved away in a short period of time. Suddenly sophomores like me were among the most mature members of the congregation! I was consequently asked to lead one of the church's small groups together with another second-year student. Amazingly, that year of woefully-underqualified leadership ended up being one of the most formative spiritual experiences in my life. The fruit from that small group is still growing and propagating itself, both in my own life as well as many of the other men who happened to be a part of that group.

With these reflections in mind, I’ve recently started thanking God for the ministry of leaving. I’m praying that the developing leaders of Amsterdam50 would be blessed—not harmed—by our family's departure this upcoming summer. I’m encouraging the rest of the leaders here in Amsterdam that they can do “the same works that I’ve done, and even greater works” as long as they remained rooted in Christ. Of course it's kind of odd to wish for their greatest successes to happen without us... but that was Jesus’ approach with his disciples, too.

In addition to setting Amsterdam50 up for success in the future, our focus has started shift more and more firmly towards establishing a ministry of making disciples and mobilizing missionaries among college students in the American Midwest. To get from here to there, however, we need your help during this season of transition.

First and foremost (and I don’t just say this as a matter of Christian missionary procedure): we desperately need your prayer support! Could you please be praying with us for the church here in Amsterdam as well as the church in Kent? Also, could you pray for our family? We’re still trying to sell our house and arrange for moving many of our belongings to Ohio—and we really sense that these things could use all the prayer support they can get! We also need prayer for “good good-byes” with Amsterdam friends, and we need prayer for lots of grace in dealing with the process of re-entry (which, we’ve been told, can be a very challenging experience). In short: we need lots of prayer!

Secondly, we need practical help. It can be overwhelming, really, to think about our trans-Atlantic relocation—but we’re trusting God, and the extended Body of Christ, to help us through it. Maybe you’ve got useful stuff lying around in your attics, basements, or garages. Maybe there are some skilled shoppers or “garage sailors” out there (navigating the high seas of bargain hunting!) who could be on the look-out for good deals for us. We’re going to need a lot of stuff to get our household re-established in Ohio, so we’d really appreciate your help. Here are some specific needs that we anticipate:

• Transportation: Believe it or not, we’ve been without an automobile for ten years now! Suddenly, we find ourselves in a situation where we’ll need at least one reliable family car (preferably a mini-van) and likely even a second car. We know this is a big ticket item, but if you have any leads for us along these lines, we would really appreciate it.
• Electric / electronic appliances: Look around your house and realize how many things are plugged into electrical outlets. We are going to need a lot of these types of items (since the electrical system is different in Europe and North America). For example: a vacuum cleaner, a coffee maker, a television set, alarm clocks, fans, etc. Any help with these sorts of items would be great!
• Furniture: Couches, beds, a desk, etc. We expect it will be more cost-effective to get these types of items in Ohio rather than shipping over the stuff we currently have. Thanks again, in advance, for your consideration!

Finally, we need financial help. Believe me, I know how big and scary this number might seem—but we are praying and hoping that God may be able to help us raise $30,000 in special gifts, to help us through this season of transition. Even more than the big picture, though, I just ask you to consider whatever you might be able to do at this time. Perhaps you could give a double-gift for this month. Or perhaps you could think of us as you’re hearing back from the IRS, following the mid-April deadline for filing taxes. Could you please pray about giving a special gift to Great Commission Ministries, on behalf of our family’s ministry transition?

If you feel that you are willing, able, and directed by God to help with giving a special gift, you could (1) Write out a check, include a little note in the memo section of the check or on an enclosed slip of paper indicating that the funds are to be directed to ministry account FD6305 (Amsterdam50 – Eric and Marci Asp), and send it to Great Commission Ministries at P.O. Box 7101 / Winter Park, FL  32793-7101, or (2) Give on-line at www.myGCM.net, following its very clear, convenient instructions for giving via credit card or electronic funds transfer. All you have to do is go to the link listed above, log into the secured website (it’s also easy to create a new GCM-ID, if you’ve never done it before), and then do a search for “Asp”—which should immediately present you with a button offering you the opportunity to “Give” a special gift.

If this month’s prayer letter seems like an unabashed, straightforward appeal for help—well, that’s because it pretty much is. :-) We’re humbled and challenged to be “starting all over again,” yet we’re also glad that we serve a God of New Beginnings. Thanks for all you do to help us. We’ll be in touch…

Eric

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need,
like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
(2 Corinthians 3:1)

Hello! From Kent State University! You didn’t read that wrong; this letter isn’t originating in its normal manner—from the well-spoken / well-written Eric Asp of the Netherlands. This is Chad Frank from Kent, Ohio—a pastor of h2o church.  I know Eric from back in our college days, but most recently had the awesome opportunity to help lead a mission trip to serve the Asp family and Amsterdam50.

As you may know, the Asps have spent the last several weeks engaged in multiple ministry opportunities while at the same time hosting multiple families in his home. If you’ve ever played host to families from out of town, you know how taxing that can be. Because of this, I talked Eric into letting me tell you about our experience coming to Amsterdam for our spring break mission trip.

Upon arriving in Amsterdam, we were greeted by Eric and Elliot at the airport. They escorted us through the busy streets to our living quarters (a Christian youth hostel called The Shelter). We then made our way to the H88 where we got to experience the inspiring worship service of Amsterdam50. Immediately after the service, we had an even greater privilege of participating in their church’s birthday celebration. Hearing Eric and the rest of the members recount the trials and triumphs of their 9-year old church was mesmerizing. I personally was impacted by the steadfastness and faithfulness of the leaders through the ups and downs of navigating the church through all sorts of transitions.

Concerning the mission field of this church, our team was impacted by the “lostness” of the city. We spent hours and hours engaging in conversations with the citizens of Amsterdam and none of us came across a single evangelical Christian. What is more, our team was even more affected by the openness of these strangers to spiritual discussions in general. One student from our team, Anna, shares of one such conversation as follows:

“My most memorable meeting was with a woman named Carolina in Vondelpark. My partner TaKasha and I got to hear about Carolina’s profession and her passions and she asked what ours were. From that question I was able to share how I was a full-time student and how coming to know Jesus had changed my life since I came to college. I was able to explain how God feels about his children through Jesus and TK got to share her life and the gospel as well. The woman had a beautiful heart. After Carolina left and our conversation was over, TK and I prayed for her to come to know Jesus. Our time with Carolina felt very natural and honest and left me feeling a desire to share Christ more with others. My view of evangelism has definitely changed from this experience / preparation leading up to the trip and I’ve grown much in this area of my walk. I’ve seen the beauty of the gospel in a new way. I’ve also realized the importance of the gospel in my life every day and understood the work of grace that I am.”

In addition to our perspectives being impacted, our hearts were broken to see immorality being practiced and even celebrated throughout the Red Light District. Eric took us on a tour in the more moderate parts of the district during the more tame part of the day. Even so, none of us could shake the feeling of brokenness and oppression throughout our walk. Many of us were brought to tears as we prayed for those women and the men who placed them there.

Though our orientation and tour through the Red Light District left us broken, the week also inspired in us a greater hope for the future. On one afternoon, Eric and Marci invited us once again into their home and treated us to a meal. After the meal, Eric told us his excitement for coming back to America and reengaging in college ministry with our church. His vision is to raise up leaders like those of us on our trip and send them to Europe to start churches there.

He passed out a series of maps and shared his heart for seeing God use him and people like us to further God’s kingdom in northern Europe. Another student on the team, Andrew, reflected on the time:

“This trip to Amsterdam broadened the horizons not just of my world, but also of myself. I felt a passion stir inside me when Eric told us his thoughts that Midwestern American college graduates are ideal for being missionaries to northern Europe! I never thought that the unassuming humble nature of a lifelong Ohioan would be so applicable for connecting with the people of Holland and post-Christian northern Europe. I am also asking myself if I could be as emboldened to see Jesus known in my home state as I am in this foreign mission field. I’m very excited to continue the encouragement and support to Amsterdam50 that we attempted here this week, far into the future, no matter in which hemisphere I end up.”

This is just a sample of what God did in the time.  Being involved in college ministry for over ten years now, I can attest that what was started in that dining room can change the course of these young lives. Please join us in praying for the future of northern Europe as well as the future of these students as they consider the call to continue the work that the Asps and others have begun.

Finally, my co-pastor, Jason Slack, and I also had opportunity to visit Amsterdam50’s PIT (Pastors In Training). The team consists of Eric and two Dutchmen (Michaël and Marc). Spending the evening with these men has silenced my apprehension about the longevity of this church upon the Asps’ departure. Eric seems to have done a thorough job of replacing himself as well as setting up systems to ensure the long-term health of Christ’s body here. Please be praying for Michaël and Marc along with the rest of the team: that they be protected, and embrace this opportunity with humility and reliance on the Lord. He has promised that “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). I believe He will continue to do this in Amsterdam.

Thank you for supporting GCM on the Asps’ behalf. This is such a needed and crucial ministry.

Chad Frank (Pastor, h2o Kent)

P.S. – A collection of the team’s photographs from their week in Amsterdam can be seen on-line at http://www.ericasp.com/ministry.php/2012/03/27/march-2012-picture-page. Enjoy!

Since they are no longer two but one, let no
one split apart what God has joined together..
(Mark 10:8-9)

Greetings from Amsterdam! Life has been quite full in recent weeks (which you might have noticed from the fact that it’s taken me until the final week of February to get this month’s prayer letter completed!)—but if life has been full, at least it’s mostly been full of joy. Earlier this month, Amsterdam experienced its hardest freeze in 15 years, and it's hard to understate the level of joy and fervor that such a hard freeze brings to the people of the Netherlands. It's an iconic part of Dutch culture—the whole skating on the canals thing—yet it happens so infrequently these days that it's both nostalgia and novelty at once. For the first time in all our ten winters here in the Netherlands, there was solid ice on the Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, in the heart of old Amsterdam... If you’d like to get a further sense of this festival-like atmosphere from the early part of this month, I’ve posted some of my favorite images from the whole experience in the Amsterdam Pictures section of my website. But even beyond the ice, it's really been a very active and memorable season of life and ministry Amsterdam. At times the “fullness” can feel overwhelming, but overall we’ve felt God’s peace and presence this winter, and we’re very thankful for that.

The month of February is also a “Month of Love” here in the Netherlands, much as it is in the United States with Valentine’s Day celebrations and everything. We’ve seen a recent influx of newly-married couples in our church—and there are an additional three weddings planned for the coming spring! In response to these trends, our community (small group) of families in the eastern part of central Amsterdam recently decided to organize a “Marriage Course” for our friends and neighbors. We coordinated the schedule in such a way that the course was “anchored” by a special Valentine’s dinner in the middle of the month. Then outside of this romantic interlude, we’ve organized the course around a series of discussions in which we talk about communication, conflict resolution, family backgrounds, relationship roles, financial management, and sex. As simple as the structure of the course may be, it seems that everyone has found these evenings to be remarkably rich and life-giving. We’ve been really encouraged to see the way that everything has come together.

One of the most interesting (and unexpected) outcomes of the Marriage Course has been an opportunity to share not just godly wisdom—but also God Himself—with the course participants. That is to say: not all of the people attending our community’s Marriage Course are Christians! Our discussions about relational dynamics have provided some very natural springboards for conversation about deeper spiritual things, and we continue to pray for these “seeds of the Gospel” to sprout and grow. In addition to this, there’s one couple who only started following Christ within the last year, and they’ve been some of the most enthusiastic participants in the Marriage Course, demonstrating a true hunger to establish a foundation of faith for their relationship. Even though they’ve already been married for a couple of years according to the Dutch government, they’ve decided (since the beginning of the Marriage Course) that they would also like to organize a church wedding in order to publicly commit their relationship to God. The wedding is now set for Saturday, the 17th of March!

We’re nearing the end of the Marriage Course now, but we’re curious to see what this might mean for the future of our community. We came into the course with a committed core of three couples, but our circle of influence has now grown over twice that size (our weekly sessions have included as many as eight couples)! We made it very clear at the beginning of the course that the initiative was being hosted by our community—and that there would be opportunities for continued discussions, even after the end of our five-week course. However, we also made it clear that ongoing participation was not necessarily expected (only hoped for!). So we’re very curious to see what will happen in the coming weeks, as we round off our Marriage Course and get back to regular community life.

Would you please pray for the next month of ministry among these married couples? And would you pray in general for the marriages in our church / community? In case it’s helpful to you, here are the names of the people who have been consistently involved: Werner and Mirjam, Marco and Claudia, Michel and Nicole, Jaldert and Simone, Matthijs and Miriam, Sasha and Sunita—and, of course, Marci and me too! Your prayer and financial support is a huge encouragement to us and, by extension, these other couples here in Amsterdam. Thank you for everything you do to make this ministry possible. We’ll be in touch…

Eric

But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, 'You are my God.'
My times are in your hands.
(Psalm 31:14-15a)

Greetings from Amsterdam! With a New Year, I return to our annual tradition of publishing a “State of the Ministry Address”—using the first prayer letter of a new year to write a more extended overview of our lives and our ministry. In so doing, I realize that I’m throwing a lot of information at you (don’t feel guilty if you prefer to skim). But we've actually got some pretty significant information to share with all of you in this year's "State of the Ministry Address."

As it turns out, the state of the the ministry is "in flux." Just this past weekend, I informed our church here in Amsterdam that our family has decided to move back to Ohio in July of 2012. After nine and a half years of working to establish the ministry here in Amsterdam, we feel that God is directing us to make a change... and we wanted to make sure that you heard it from us. Specifically, I'd like to share some explanation regarding our decision, as well as some expectations for what this means for the future (including our relationship with you).

Explanation of our Family's Decision

Our decision to move from Amsterdam to Ohio wasn't an easy one. Although we've had our challenges in Amsterdam, we've found happiness and fulfillment here. It's become home for us (the only home, in fact, that our kids have ever really known!). There are no immediate crises or concerns, causing us to leave Amsterdam. As a matter of fact, we are deeply saddened and (to be honest) a little bit scared when we think about leaving our home, our neighborhood, our kids' school, my current ministry position with Amsterdam50, and most of all our church community. At the same time, we have faith and confidence from God that this is the right move at the right time for our family.

Even back in 2002, when we were first preparing to move to the Netherlands, we viewed 2012 as a potentially decisive year for our family because of the age of our children (specifically considering transitions related to adolescence and the beginning of secondary education). As Marci and I further considered our situation through the course of 2011, it became increasingly clear that we've always really considered our immigration to the Netherlands to be temporary. We didn't come to establish an American church in the Netherlands; we came to help establish an Amsterdamse kerk that would ultimately be maintained and multiplied by Amsterdammers.

Implications for the Ministry of Amsterdam50

Together with the developing team of European leaders in the church, we talked and prayed extensively about issues of sustainability, spiritual oversight, pastoral care, and support. We sought counsel from trusted advisors. We each spent significant time in solitude, earnestly seeking God's guidance... And throughout the whole process, we have been reassured that God is in control. Amsterdam50 has been through a lot of challenges in its nine years of existence, but through it all we have forged our identity on being a Church of New Beginnings. As long as everyone can depend on God and band together as a team, I have great confidence that our departure will be God's vehicle for another New Beginning. In many ways, you could say that this New Beginning is exactly what we've been working towards all these years: a New Beginning with European leadership for this European church! We've got a good team here in Amsterdam, and I'm particularly enthusiastic about the ways that God is working in the lives of our two Dutch pastors-in-training (who you may remember from our September and October prayer letters). They're still growing and developing, but I have faith that God's Spirit is at work in their lives. And I'm praying this upcoming leadership transition may be exactly what they need for leaping to the next level in their spiritual development.

We all recognize that the next few months are going to be somewhat turbulent and chaotic; however, I've recently drawn a lot of peace and reassurance from the words of Psalm 31:14-15a: "But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands." I think these words are going to be our theme for for 2012.

Expectations for the Future

Since the times are in God's hands, we cannot possibly know everything that God has planned for us in the coming year; however, I did also want to share a little bit about our hopes for how the future might play out (Lord willing). So here's how we feel God’s been leading us: We want to keep working for Great Commission Ministries, even as we move back to Ohio.

In part, this seems wise because it will allow me to maintain a coaching relationship with the developing leaders of Amsterdam50 (both through periodic video conferencing and through visiting Amsterdam a couple of times per year to provide support). But in addition to that, I'm genuinely excited to get back to ministry in Ohio! God has been working there in amazing ways over the past decade. The church that we left in Bowling Green ten years ago (h2o) has now grown and multiplied to become a network of five different churches on five different campuses across the state! Thousands of college students are becoming acquainted with Jesus and learning to follow him at Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, the Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, and soon at the University of Toledo. In particular, we feel led to band together with old friends who are now serving the Lord at Kent State, where a new campus ministry was established three years ago.

In addition to diving back into campus ministry at KSU—with all its innovative public events, small groups, and life-on-life discipleship—I'm also really excited to develop a broader role within the h2o network, working to mobilize the next generation of missionaries and church planters. In this sense, you might say that we're hoping to keep one foot in Europe and one foot in Ohio—bridging the gap and broadening the experience that our family has had over the last decade of ministry in Amsterdam. In the same way that God worked so powerfully in our hearts back in our early-20s, allowing us to trust Him for big things like trans-Atlantic church-planting, we pray that we might be used to help replicate that experience several times over with today's generation of twenty-somethings in Ohio and throughout the Midwest. College students are just idealistic enough—and just crazy enough—that they are uniquely positioned for missions mobilization. Now with almost ten years of international ministry experience under our belts, we feel like God is calling us to go back among these twenty-something, faith-filled, idealistic "missionaries-in-waiting" and season their zeal with some degree of wisdom and experience... so that they can be even better-equipped and prepared than we were, when we moved to Amsterdam. In so doing, we ultimately pray that our family moving back to Ohio could help to advance the Great Commission exponentially.

Your Partnership with GCM

We don't want to merely assume or expect that you will be as enthusiastic as we are about this ministry transition. But at the same time, we want to appeal for your continued support, through this coming period of transition and into the next phase of our ministry with Great Commission Ministries.

Obviously, we're still going to be here in Amsterdam for another six months. And if anything, these may be six of the most critical months of ministry that we've ever experienced! As we work to finish well and position the church for long-term success, we're praying that God would provide for all of our continued financial needs so our attention can be undivided throughout this strategic season of transition. Even with making the move back to ministry in Ohio, it seems our monthly financial support needs will remain relatively constant. Housing costs and currency exchange rates will be considerably lower once we're back in America, but costs for medical insurance and transportation will be significantly higher. We're still working with the GCM office to determine the exact adjustment to our support goal—but at this point, it seems that our financial needs in Ohio will be roughly equivalent to our financial needs in the Netherlands (including the ongoing ministry expenses of traveling to Amsterdam to coach to developing team there). Finally, there are going to be a number of extra expenses in 2012 as we go through the actual trans-Atlantic move. Moving costs, resettlement costs, a missionary "Debriefing and Renewal" counseling program... all of these factors will require an estimated $15,000 in special gifts, to help us transition back into American life, after nine-and-a-half years of living and ministering here in the Netherlands. It's kind of intimidating to think of all the implications of such a move—but once again, we're trusting that our times are in God's hands.

Because of the considerations listed above, I want to ask: Would you please consider a continuation of your giving pattern toward Great Commission Ministries? Or perhaps God will even lead you to increase your level of partnership! We don't want to assume... but we do want to appeal to you, and leave the rest in God's hands. Just know that we would greatly appreciate your ongoing partnership, as we step into these new ministry opportunities! In addition to your regular giving pattern, would you please pray about the possibility of helping with a special gift to Great Commission Ministries, on behalf of our family's upcoming transition expenses?

Regardless of any future considerations, we just want to say thank you for the incredible thoughtfulness, consistency, and generosity that you’ve demonstrated throughout our years of ministry in Amsterdam. We couldn't have gotten to this point without you. Thank you so much, for everything.

In the Meantime

In the midst of processing such a significant life transition, it can be tempting to believe that nothing has been happening here in Amsterdam outside of thinking about transition, praying about transition, talking about transition, and writing about transition... But when I step back and take a look around me, I realize that nothing could be further from the truth! God has worked in many incredible ways throughout 2011, and already into the early days of 2012.

In the week before Christmas, we were overjoyed to hear that our friend Franziska made the decision to follow Jesus, after many months of deliberation (you may remember that I briefly mentioned Franziska in our November prayer letter). And she was only one of several in 2011! Our Alpha Course in the beginning part of the year was another incredible outreach opportunity, resulting in much spiritual fruit. Just last week, I had the privilege of witnessing the baptism of a young Iraqi refugee who wanted to publicly proclaim his faith in Jesus by being dunked in the frigid waters of Amsterdam's IJ River harbor (in that moment, with the wind whipping off the harbor, I was particularly glad that we had a pastor-in-training who could do the actual responsibilities in the water!). The Gospel continues to sprout and blossom in a thousand different ways here in the city.

In addition to these special signs of God's Kingdom, we continue to enjoy weekly worship gatherings in which a packed house sings with all its breath and listens to biblical preaching (more and more shared by European communicators). In the coming months, I'm especially excited for us to study the book of Joshua together: one of the best leadership transition studies of all time. The church's missions-focused Communities also continue to be a remarkable source of life and ministry, reaching into several of the most strategic sub-cultures of Amsterdam.

And in the midst of all the ministry activity, our family is also doing quite well. We all have mixed emotions about making a big move. The kids are sad to leave close friends here in the Netherlands, but they're also looking forward to things like being closer to extended family, having a back-yard and garden again, and being able to more easily participate in American sports. We're glad to be following God and walking by faith.

There’s always more that we could write—but I think I’ll draw this letter to a close here.  You can, however, find ongoing updates of pictures, videos, news, and anecdotes about our family on my website: www.ericasp.com. Thanks again for the part you play in our lives and ministry. We’ll be in touch…

Eric

P.S. – I’ve also compiled a “Picture Page” for this month’s prayer letter, which can be viewed at http://www.ericasp.com/ministry.php/2012/01/10/january-2012-picture-page.