Jessen’s in Peru FAQ

Hello friends,
I am embarrassed to admit it but I’ve been caught talking to myself a few times, so if you would do me a favor and have this conversation with me I won’t feel so bad. Here we go. You ask the questions and I’ll answer.

I’ve heard something about you and your family going to South America this summer. What’s up with that?

That is correct. I am so excited to be leaving May 22 to fly to Ecuador where I’ll meet up a short-term team to lead them in sports ministry and church planting. I’ll then travel via bus to connect with a couple other e3 guys, and we’ll travel to various parts of Peru teaching at Leadership Development Conferences (LDC’s). On June 3rd, Jenni, Scarlet and Maverek will meet me in Lima, Peru. In the following 2 ½ months we’ll be working in various parts of Peru teaching and helping to start new churches. We’ll be returning to the USA on August 19th.

Is this some kind of vacation or something? What will you actually be do­ing?

I’m glad you asked because this is a very important question. We will be doing two types of ministry while we are there. In order to equip our national brothers and sisters to be able to reach their country for Christ, we’ll be teaching in what we call Leadership Development Conferences (LDC’s). LDC’s are conferences that pastors and other lay church leaders are invited to attend. During the conference we teach on the vision of church multiplication, evangelism, prayer, training leaders and mak­ing disciples. Equipped with this training and other tools, national leaders can then begin to train others on how to lay the foundation for a church planting movement. This foundation allows God to rapidly expand His church in their area, after all, it is He alone who builds His church.

Our second form of ministry will be leading short-term mission trips. As teams come down from the USA we’ll lead them in sports ministry clinics that will lead to the start of new churches. By God’s grace and with His strength, we hope to be able to help plant 20 churches over the course of the summer.

Will you guys be doing anything else?

When we are not involved in LDC’s or leading trips, we’ll be visiting and encouraging our many Peruvian friends. We will also be surveying other areas for future work. We will invest time in studying a people group in the north known as the Lam­bayeque. The Lambayeque has approximately 28,000 people with only four evangeli­cal churches. We will begin planning an extreme adventure trip next spring to help the Lambayeque begin making disciples and planting churches within their own peo­ple group. We also hope to investigate unchurched coastal areas where surfing may be used to break down barriers, build relationships and make disciples.

Well, that all sounds great. How can we be involved?

John Piper has been quoted as saying, “Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.” It is our prayer that the Lord will do mighty things in and through our family while we are there so that His fame may spread. Prayer is the key to any success we could possibly have during our time there. Please pray for unity, peace, protection, strength, humility and health.

That is awesome, I’ll definitely be praying for you but is there any other ways I can be involved?

Actually, there is still time to join us! Our trip August 7-15th could still use you! It’s not too late to sign up. Call or email us if God is nudging you to join us on the field.

Also, God’s provision through our financial support team is what makes all this pos­sible. If you’d like to join our support team, tax-deductable gifts can be sent to: e3 Partners Ministry, 600 Development Dr, Suite 120, Plano, TX 75074. By including a note that says the gift is for Kelly & Jenni Jessen the funds will be routed to our min­istry account.

Boy, 3 months is a long time. How can we follow what you guys will be do­ing?

Electronic communication has allowed us to provide much faster news from the mission field. We will be communicating with our friends and family through email and our website. If you are not currently receiving emails from us you can send a blank email to oin-jessen-ministry-partners@lyris.e3partners.org and you’ll auto­matically be signed up on our email list. We will also be providing updates at www.jessenfamilyministry.blogspot.com.

Now that was a great and informative conversation! Thank you for your interest in our ministry and we look forward to sharing with you in person all the amazing things we saw God do in Ecuador and Peru when we return.

Until all the nets are full,
The Jessens

Jessen Family Plans for Summer in Peru

We received Kelly and Jenni Jessen’s quarterly newsletter today, and in it the Jessen’s shared what they’ve been up to in South America. Since SportReach’s partnership with e3, they are focusing more than ever on discipleship of new Christ-followers and are excited to see new churches planted. The entire family plans to be in Peru this summer. Download the Jessen’s newsletter (PDF) now…