jeff mikels

I’m just posting this as a quick note to all of you who care…

We have a new house!

This morning at 9:30, we signed the final paperwork to close on our new house. There still are some things the builder is doing to put the finishing touches on it, but we have started moving things over!

Please join us in prayer that God would make our new home a central point for fruitful ministry in Lafayette.

Jen and I had a good time at Hillside Community Church in Crown Point this past weekend. They were having their missions conference this month, and I was the featured guest this weekend. Since their theme was “His passion, our purpose; his purpose, our passion,” I dealt with the question of what was the number one thing on the heart of Jesus himself.

It turns out that the number one thing on the heart of Jesus was submission to the will of his Father. So what does it mean to share the same passion as Jesus? What does it mean to be passionately submitted to the will of the Father, and why do we find it so hard? I’ll deal with that in a later post (I hope to get my sermon uploaded to my podcast soon.)

Anyway, the church is pretty healthy and is raising money to support their missions budget for this next year. Last year, they raised over $20,000, and this year they are hoping for $30,000!

Thank you for your prayers for us. It looks like we will soon be having a new church partner and perhaps some individual supporters as well!

Praise God!

I’m writing this post from Jen’s parents’ house in Weeler, Indiana because tomorrow, Jen and I have the privilege of presenting our vision for Lafayette to Hillside Community Church in Crown Point. I will be giving our basic presentation during their Sunday School time. Then, I will be preaching at the morning service and leading an interactive study at their evening service as well.

If you think of us tomorrow, please pray that God would give us favor with some key members of the congregation there and that we could have some kind of partnership develop between us and Hillside!

Jen and I have been regularly sending out our prayer requests every few months or so, and I thought that I’d post our next set on the blog here. God has really been answering some prayers too, so I’ll post some praises first:

Praises:

• Jen and I have signed final approval paperwork on our house. As soon as the building permits get approved, they will start the work. Praise God for helping us make those decisions.
• Greg is continuing to tell people about us and get us contacts with people moving into the area. Praise God for helping us meet him!
• Packing and move preparations are coming along nicely, and we plan to make the move on January 2! Praise God that Jen enjoys packing!

Our Top Ten Requests for December.

Here are our top ten requests for this next month.

• That our priorities would be God’s priorities.
• That God would prepare the hearts of key people in Laf. to receive the gospel.
• That our funding would jump to the next level soon.
• That our final month at NWBC would be filled with grace.
• That our move to Laf. on Jan 2 would go smoothly with good weather.
• That Charlie would have good good-byes with his friends here in Chicago.
• That God would guide our decisions about our new home.
• That we would be able to finalize our church name and incorporation.
• That we would have wisdom raising our kids.
• That God would continue to work miracles for his own glory!

It turns out that one of the men from the Pondside group is actually the President / CEO of Lafayette Savings Bank! It’s amazing how God works things out. I gave him a call, he had someone call me and in about 30 minutes this morning, Jen and I were “easily” approved for at least a $180,000 loan.

This raises the question now of where we should live and what home we should build/buy. The reason this is a big question is that in Lafayette, homes are really inexpensive, and we could get a home of over 3000 square feet with a loan of under $200,000!

So, I’m asking you to pray with us and also to comment on my site here with your suggestions / opinions about this.

Jen and I are praying about a few key homes that we could build for a reasonable amount:

The Leesburg

• $120,000
• 2037 square feet.

The Coolidge

• 1618 square feet
• $90,000

Elevation

First Floor

Second Floor

The Taft

• 1737 square feet
• $105,000

Elevation

First Floor

Second Floor

The Clemson

• 2582 square feet
• $120,000

Elevation

English Cottage Elevation

Floor Plan

The Townsend

• 2771 square feet
• $130,000

Elevation

Craftsman Elevation

English Manor Elevation

Floor Plan

[The Auburn]

• 3183 square feet
• $135,000

Elevation

Farmhouse Elevation

Southern Classical Elevation

Floor Plan

Our Dilemma

Here’s our dilemma. The Auburn house would be absolutely wonderful both for our family and for the sake of the new church ministry. There is a dedicated home office space downstairs by the door, but there is a huge area upstairs for the kids to play in while the adults are talking or having a meeting downstairs. However, the house is really big, and Jen and I are concerned that we might seem to be pretentious by having such a large house while living off the support of others-who likely have smaller homes for themselves.

The Others

The Townsend and Clemson houses are really just toned down versions of the Auburn house. We would enjoy them too, but they both skip the office (we still aren’t sure we need that), and the Clemson has one less bedroom.

The Taft and Coolidge houses are both the functional kind of house. Everything we really need is in these two houses. Jen and I both grew up in homes without much more than what these two houses have.

And regarding the Leesburg, I just think it looks really good. It’s a ranch style home (one story), is economical, but we haven’t seen any floor plans yet.

None of these homes have basements, but one could be added for only $30,000!

So.

So Jen and I are trying to figure out whether we need to stretch ourselves a little bit more financially so that we can get a “dream house” that would be great for both family and for ministry (core group meetings and larger Bible studies) with the potential downside of people thinking negatively about us. We are especially concerned about some of our supporters resenting our apparent affluence.

Or whether we should grab on to one of the more economical and functional houses, save ourselves some potential concern over money, and avoid the appearance of materialism to those we are trying to reach.

Pray and Comment.

Please pray for our wisdom in this decision, and please comment or email me to let us know what you think.

I want to thank all of you for praying for Jen and me during our trip this last weekend to Lafayette. We had a really fun time in many different ways.

Quick Notes

• We were able to stay with Jen’s cousin and her family. They are so gracious and generous each time we visit. Praise God for Mark and Michelle Withers.
• We were able to meet a group of families who have been passionate about a new church in Lafayette for almost a year. Praise God for our meeting with the “Pondside” couples.
• We were also able to meet a family that has recently moved from California and was part of a BGC church plant out there. They are really excited about being on the ground floor of a new church, and the kids were even giving me suggestions on what the name of the new church should be.
• Jen and I found the place where we want to live. We want to move to an area called “The Commons.”

Prayer Requests

Here are the two biggest things Jen and I are praying about right now. Please join us in prayer for these things.

Pray for God’s guidance for us and the “Pondside” couples.

We had the chance to meet with three families that have joined together to start a new church in Lafayette to intentionally reach people with the good news of Jesus. They have been meeting together for a while now and have adopted the temporary name of “Pondside.” They really seem like great people, and if they choose to partner with us, it would likely be an incredible combination.

Pray for us to get a home in “The Commons.”

In driving through the different areas of Lafayette this weekend, Jen and I really fell in love with a neighborhood called “The Commons” that would be not only a great place for our family but also a wonderful launching-point for the new church. Lots in “The Commons” are going quickly at about $40,000 and homes that would work for us are between $130,000 and $160,000.

We really need to get loan approval first before we can make a decision, but if we can make a decision next month, our home could be ready by early Spring. Buying an existing home is also an option, but most existing homes are more expensive than new construction right now.

Hello,

All of you know at this point that we are on our way to Lafayette, IN in the near future and hopefully most of you have received a full prayer update in your regular mail box at home—if not please respond to this and let me know and I’ll make sure you get one soon!! We have been praying for each of you on a regular basis too and are excited to hear about what has been happening in each of your lives.

We have just a few exciting updates since our last regular letter that I thought you’d like to know about.

1. We still have a long way to go in raising our support, but God (and many of our friends and family) have been so very generous already. It’s been wonderful!! Pray for God to continue to bless this.

2. We and Northwest Baptist (where Jeff currently pastors) have decided that we will move in January, although everyone is graciously allowing for some flexibility there. We’d like to have at least 80% of our support raised by then. Pray for the necessary support and all the logistics with a move. We aren’t sure if we will go to an apartment or straight to a house when we get there so there is much to figure out regarding that. We are excited to have a date!

3. We have 3 churches that we will be presenting our Lafayette church planting proposal to in October, Northwest Baptist (October 2) and two other Chicago churches (October 9 and 30). Pray that it is received well and that God would bless us with serious prayer support, financial support, and even some great Lafayette contacts.

4. Jeff spoke with a team leader of a small group in Lafayette just last night. This small group is looking for a pastor to plant a church in the area. They have about 4 couples attending the group and a list of about 40-60 people who are “ready to go” when they have a pastor. We, and they, need much prayer to determine if this is a good match or not. Jeff had a good conversation with them last night and we may meet in person the weekend of September 25. This is a really exciting possibility, but we need much wisdom about moving forward with it or not.

5. We hope to travel to Lafayette from Thursday, September 22 to Sunday the 25th, to see the area, look into housing and meet in person with a few contacts. Pray for safety, great meetings, that we see and hear all we need to see with both people and housing, and that we make a few new contacts in the process.

Thanks so much for praying!!

Jen