Looking back and excitement ahead!
“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Greetings loved ones! We thank God for you, and hope
you had a wonderful, cozy, healthy Christmas! We pray your new
year will be better than 2021!
Every December, we cannot help but look back on the
previous year and then eagerly look towards the year ahead. The
past 12 months have been very humbling. We saw the beginning
of a shadowing process in Navan/Dublin with Lighthouse Church
that lasted a year (officially starting September 2020). As
September 2021 came Chris put the final touches on the brand
new church website/app he had been working on. He also
completed a 40 page illustrated training manual for the portable
church set up and tear down process. It certainly was a time of
stretching, serving, learning and growth! It did not turn out to
look like what we thought it would. However, that tends to be the
way the Lord works sometimes. Our interpretation of what God
said sometimes looks different than His ultimate intentions. Gods
ways are always higher than our ways! That is why staying close
to the Lord in prayer is so very crucial!!
The year we spent shadowing really helped us realize
something very important. We learned who we are and who
aren’t. Our Irish mentor Sean Mullarkey, lead Pastor of St.
Mark’s Church and national leader of Christian Churches
Ireland confirmed this in our meeting with him. Chris did not
know what I knew even before we took the plunge, that He was
already ready to be the Pastor God has called him to be. Yet, I also
knew that he needed the shadowing process. So it was an
important step that needed to be taken. It was important for him
to help again with video productions, tech support, and creating
the process for the set up/tear down of every future church plant
Lighthouse will have. It was important for him to lead a small
group again. It helped him regain confidence. This season was
good for his morale, because it reminded him of who God created
him to be. I’ve always known he was ready, he needed to know it
in himself, and this process really showed him that. Praise God!
This chapter also helped us as a couple. It’s amazing
that only through this shadowing process could we have had
the breakthrough that came in our relationship. It
strengthened us to remember that we are a team and God has
called us to do this together. We know He will bring the people
He has set aside for this work, but we needed to do this as a
team. I am 100% behind Chris and I have never been more
excited in all my life to follow him! It’s exhilarating!
As autumn died down, we knew that God was pulling
us back home to Galway. We could no longer deny it. We
connected with all of our mentors, both on the US side and the
Ireland side asking them for wisdom. They all said the same
thing, “Get ye back to Galway!” So with this confirmation and
encouragement, we had to go back to Pastor Jamie to let him
know our plans. He was not happy to see us go in the least, I
truly believe he had about 10-15 year plans for us on the Dublin
side, but we knew we needed to get back home.
It was then that we became very intentional in our
Galway church plant focus. We started fasting, praying and
seeking God for the next steps. God spoke to us, as He always
does and He asked us to do the honourable thing and meet with
every Pastor whose church is on the outskirts of Galway to
inform them of what this next season will look like for us in city
center. That took us all of October and November to
accomplish. Then, Finally we heard the Holy Spirit say,“Rest”,
as the next season is just on the horizon. To say we look to 2022
with eagerness and excitement is an understatement!
Beloved, THIS season is what we have been waiting
for, for over 20 years! God is faithful, He has called us to it, and
He will do it! We could NOT have gotten to this point without
you! The BEST is coming and we can’t wait to share it with
you! We will indeed need more American churches and
individuals to want to partner on the ground floor of this city
center ministry and church plant. Please pray for that! We will
need to raise a decent sized budget to rent the space in Galway
city center and work out of. It’s a BIG prayer request. It’s a
HUGE amount that we simply do not have! But we remind
ourselves, this is not OUR church or ministry, it’s GOD’S
church and ministry. So if He called us to it, HE will provide
for it! God has shown us a vision of our church in Galway City
serving the homeless, reaching college students, presenting the
Gospel message, starting Alpha courses and small groups. We
long to baptize people, raise up healthy and impactful leaders,
and pray for the Holy Spirits power to transform lives! Will
you continue to take this adventure with us? Pray for
provisions, pray for protection, pray for unending possibilities!
We love you, we thank God for you! We couldn’t do this without
you! Happy New Year! All our love, The Johnston Family
Prayer Requests
We would be honored if
you would pray with us
concerning:
Please pray for this next
season of ministry. Pray
the Lord leads us in every
step and detail.
Please pray for the space
in town that we are meant
to find that God has set
aside for us.
Please pray for the
individuals and churches
that God already has set
apart to help with the
ground floor of what God
is doing.
Please pray for provisions,
protection and endless
opportunities to advance
the Kingdom of God.
Support Information
If you would like to team
up & contribute to this
important mission, please
make checks out to:
Hope Ireland Missions
229 W. Exchange St.
Crete, IL 60417
(Chris & Larena Johnston
on the memo line)
Simply go to:
www.hopeirelandmissions.com
& click on “donate.”
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