Olive House ministry nights looks like this

Olive House leaders stepping out to edify

Sermon on the mount (El Capitan State Beach)

60 young adults gathering at Olive House

CRSSM ministry team at last year’s conference

The Cozee, from Life Giving Warmth

(Above: leadership training with Olive House ministry team at El Capitan State Beach)

Greetings from San Clemente!

No, we have not yet relocated to Santa Barbara.
(We know that’s the biggest question, so we’ll get that one out of the way!)

Now for the update…

Beginning with Chris’ last day at Heritage on December 31, the past few months have been both exciting and curious. For example, while we’re actively engaged in ministry in Santa Barbara and see the Lord’s favor and blessing there, He has not yet opened a door for a home in that area.

This ministry has recently been named Olive House and was birthed late last year by our daughter Alyssa and her dear friend, Veronica. Since its inception, Alyssa and Veronica have requested that we would cover this fledgling yet thriving ministry — a worship, prayer and ministry night in their home, with an average of 50-75 in attendance. We have been delighted to serve these young adults as they walk out the dream of their hearts: to provide a place for the city to experience the life-changing presence of Jesus through worship, prayer and Holy Spirit-led ministry. And God is showing up in powerful ways! Salvation, physical and emotional healing, deliverance, and encounters with the Father’s heart are just a few of the beautiful things the Holy Spirit has been routinely releasing. In addition to being a part of these evenings, we also recently spent a weekend camping with the 12 leaders, pouring into them and helping to lay a foundation for the way God is moving. It’s a joyous privilege to train and encourage these incredibly passionate believers — one that feels to us more like play than work!

Because a door has not yet opened for a home to move to in Santa Barbara, we have been asking the Lord to provide a place for us to stay on the weekends while we minister there. Lodging is expensive, and our daughter’s tiny 2bed 1bath home can barely accommodate the 6 young women living there, so we’d much appreciate your prayers for a solution to this ongoing need. And if you have ideas or leads, please let us know!

At the same time, the Lord continues to release His unmerited favor on CRSSM. We’re making preparations for our next pastoral training conference to be held in mid-July near San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. We expect to have at least 250 pastors and ministry leaders from every corner of the country in attendance. And we need your help! Please pray for us, for the ministry team and for the Tico pastors. Also, please consider sponsoring the event, as we provide accommodations, meals, and resources to the pastors for no charge (an event donation page has been set up here).

Soon after that conference, we’ll be hosting a short-term missions team at our base in southern Costa Rica. This late-July trip will find us ministering in the streets, schools, hospitals and churches throughout the southern region, just above the Panamanian border. We look forward to championing this team into the boldness and power of the Holy Spirit as they step into new levels of faith and risk for the sake of this beautiful nation!

We’re happy to report that CRSSM is now on Amazon’s list of approved charitable 501(c)(3) organizations, which means you can support CRSSM just by shopping at Amazon! Please consider using this simple, automated tool as a way to effortlessly donate. All you have to do is click here to set it up: smile.amazon.com/ch/46-5647471. More info and helpful tips are listed at the bottom of the page*.

As we consider the current call on our lives in Santa Barbara and Costa Rica, our hearts are continually impressed with this theme: the centrality of fivefold ministry as the foundation for the emerging church. For months, we have been immersing ourselves in this subject to better understand this foundational truth as the Holy Spirit intensifies our passion for the Church. We are persuaded that the “new wineskin” for the Church has much to do with the blueprint for church governance revealed in Ephesians 4, particularly verses 7-14. We’re excited to see how He directs us into greater understanding of this growing passion.

Meanwhile, Chris is working part-time to provide SEO and marketing for a startup that recently launched its first product. Life Giving Warmth is bringing to the market a battery operated heating blanket which Chris has been helping to promote since February 1. We’re so thankful to Jesus for providing the means to fill our income gap and still have time for us to minister as He directs.

As always, we are incredibly grateful for your faithful love and friendship. And in this season of transition, we are especially thankful for your prayers and financial support. We pray that the Father blesses you 100-fold in return!

Prayer requests:

1. A continued move of Holy Spirit power through the Olive House ministry in Santa Barbara.
2. A place to stay in the Santa Barbara area during our weekend ministry trips.
3. Clear direction as we prepare for the July pastoral conference in Costa Rica.
4. Provision for a media team for the conference.
5. Funds to make the conference possible through generous sponsors.
6. Blessing for Chris’ marketing efforts for his new employer.
7. An increase in our personal support, enabling us to pursue ministry full-time.

*More information about Amazon’s charitable donations program:

• Shop at Amazon like you normally do, but through smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com
• Pay the exact same price as you would otherwise.
• CRSSM gets about half a percent for every order.
• Amazon does not reveal to us (CRSSM) your purchases or your identity.
• To do this, please click here: smile.amazon.com/ch/46-5647471
• Then make sure you always go to smile.amazon.com every time you shop.
• If you have an Android phone, download the app for Amazon Smile.
• While Apple doesn’t yet have an iPhone app, you can simply visit smile.amazon.com on your phone’s internet browser.