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| Elena McKean |
“From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived, he said to them: ‘You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews…And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there…So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.’” Acts 19:8-10
We as the elders are so grateful for our dear brother and sister, Kip and Elena. For the past three-and-a-half years the McKeans have humbly served the Portland International Church of Christ with hard work, tears and a selfless lifestyle. During this time, the congregation has healed and matured to become a beacon of light and hope for disciples around the world. Our congregation has grown from a scattered few in the summer of 2003 to over 500 every Sunday!
At the beginning of 2006, we were very honored to be appointed as the first elders in the history of this congregation – to God be the glory! At that time, the membership of our congregation was 300 disciples. Incredibly, the Lord has added to our number in Portland 104 baptisms and 18 restorations! Also during this year, 31 disciples were sent on various mission teams with whom God has begun a new movement of sold-out disciples whose motivating vision is the evangelization of the nations in this generation! The US cities that have congregations in the Portland Family of Churches are: Chicago, Illinois; Corvallis, Oregon; Eugene, Oregon; Hilo, Hawaii; Honolulu, Hawaii; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Francisco, California; Savannah, Georgia; Syracuse, New York; and of course Portland, Oregon. New international congregations have been established in Brisbane, Australia; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Kiev, Ukraine; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Toronto, Canada. Excitingly, as of today we are recognizing two more new churches: Las Vegas, Nevada led by Dan and Dene Triana and London, England led by Oliver and Eugenie Greenwood.
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| Steve and Lisa Johnson |
As elders we want to commend Kip for all his tireless efforts to revive God’s worldwide discipling movement. Kip’s continual pursuit to fulfill Jesus’ dream to plant churches of sold-out disciples in every nation in the face of tremendous opposition and criticism is inspiring! We believe that it is God who raises up those in leadership. A person is simply recognized for what one is already doing. Therefore because the scope of Kip’s mission work is worldwide, it is our conviction, as well as Steve Johnson’s and the other leaders in the Portland Family of Churches, that God’s Spirit has raised Kip up to be the
World Missions Evangelist for our new movement!
Since God is moving so powerfully in so many hearts and nations, we have come to a crossroads in the continuing history of both our congregation and this new movement. Through much discussion and prayer we believe the Spirit has chosen this time to send the McKeans to Los Angeles, California. In April, the McKeans along with a 40-member mission team will join the now 23 Christians of the Los Angeles International Christian Church. The six county LA metro area is composed of 20 million people and 700,000 college students. We as well as every member of the LA Mission Team believe that like Jerusalem, the entire city of Los Angeles can be “filled with [Christ’s] teachings” in a few years. (Acts 20:17-19, 22, 31) During these early years of God’s new movement, all of the Portland Family of Churches will work together pooling our resources of disciples, money and prayers to send mission teams to the major metropolitan cities of the world. These churches will in turn plant churches in the capital cities of the nations around them. From these capital city churches, the entire nation can be evangelized just as Paul and a small group of Ephesian disciples meeting at the lecture halls of Tyrannus evangelized “all the cities of the province of Asia” in just two years! (John 14:12) To help keep our young movement unified as well as to continue gathering a remnant, the UpSideDown21 Global Internet Ministry will become an outreach of the LA Church. Other ministry leaders on the LA Mission Team include Victor and Sonia Gonzalez Sr., DJ and Kacie Comisford, Vic and Aurora Gonzalez Jr., as well as the Bordieris and Underhills, who will serve as the “shepherding couples” for the new congregation. Therefore, let’s “pray for the workers” as the inaugural service of the LA International Christian Church will be May 6, 2007.
Johnsons Lead Portland – March 11, 2007
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| DJ and Kacie Comisford |
Steve and Lisa were both raised in the mainline Churches of Christ. They have become seasoned leaders filled with empathy and compassion for both the saved and the lost. They have been best friends with Kip and Elena since 1976, when they were students in the McKean’s ministry at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. They have seen the ebb and flow of many movements originating in the Churches of Christ. This includes the Bus Ministry Movement, Christian College Movement, Schools of Preaching Movement, the campus ministry movements including the Crossroads Movement, and of course they were an integral part in building the Boston Movement, which eventually became the International Churches of Christ in 1994.
In 1983, the Holy Spirit sent the Johnsons from Boston with a mission team of 18 to New York City to evangelize this metropolitan area of 18 million. In time the church multiplied to 5000 disciples. Steve and Lisa were the innovators of the “Daytime-Arts Ministry” as well as the “CR (Chemical Recovery) Ministry.” Many of the hymns we sing Steve and Sherwin MacIntosh composed: “Prayer for Boldness,” “Men Who Dream” and “I Hear God Singing.” During these years Steve and Lisa oversaw and helped to financially facilitate church plantings in every nation in the Caribbean and in Africa.
Steve and Lisa moved to Portland in January 2006. They have solidified the West Region endearing the hearts of the disciples to them. They have also been instrumental in helping to guide the McKeans and the other ministers in the Portland Family of Churches to “take the high road” and not strike back at those who criticize our planting of new churches and starting a new movement. We are confident that beginning on March 11, 2007, our Missions Contribution Sunday, the Johnsons will lead the Portland Church to “even greater things.” (2 Corinthians 8:2-5)
DJ and Kacie Comisford to New York City – Summer 2008
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| Kip McKean |
God worked through the efforts of the Cincinnati Church to baptize DJ. Kacie was reached in Manhattan as an aspiring actress through the New York International Church of Christ. During the days of tribulation in the ICOC fellowship, they began listening to the messages on the
UpSideDown21 website. Inspired, they visited and moved to Portland in 2005 with the dream of being full time in the ministry. Kip and Elena have done a wonderful job in training them. DJ and Kacie have earned the love and respect of disciples of all ages and the loyalty of our rapidly increasing number of college students. DJ and Kacie’s dream was partly realized on December 17, 2005 when they were married in the Lord. Today their dream to work as
“partners in the gospel” in the full time ministry will be completely realized as they will be recognized respectively as an Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader in the Kingdom of God!
The Comisfords will continue to be trained to plant churches by the McKeans in LA. Together, they will spearhead the beginning of an “Arts Media Sports Ministry” in the Hollywood region of LA. Then, Lord willing in the summer of 2008, they will lead a team sent by the Holy Spirit to Manhattan to plant the New York International Christian Church!
$150,000 Goal For Missions Contribution
As your Elders, we appeal to every disciple in the Portland Church to pray that our Missions Contribution goal of $150,000 will be smashed! This goal is the minimum needed to fund the LA Mission Team. Let’s use this opportunity to have hearts like the New Testament disciples who gave “themselves first to the Lord…and whose extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (Acts 5:28)
This new year promises to be packed with excitement! Praise God for His mercy and grace for the opportunity to continue to be “partners in the gospel” with the McKeans in LA, to be led spiritually here by the Johnsons, and to see what God does as He builds a movement to evangelize the world in this generation. To Him be all the glory!
Your fellow servants,
Bob Bertalot and Tony Untalan
If you would like to make a donation online, please click the button below:
Alternatively you can mail a check or money order to:
The Portland International Church of Christ
627 Montgomery Street
Portland, Oregon
97201, USA
Thank you very much for your support!
