Hi NCMI family!
For those that don't know us, we are Christian & Susannah Martinsen. We are elders at Church in the City (CITC)- Chicago, and were fortunate enough to find the church and Steve & Debs Sudworth 8 years ago when we moved to Chicago from San Diego to attend Moody Bible Institute for seminary... While seminary was an important process of our growth and preparation, it has been the experience in the local church and being apart of the NCMI family that has shaped us into who we are. For that we are eternally grateful.
Sue and I were asked to share a bit about our process and the story of the upcoming plant to Pasadena with all of you. We all know the emphasis the NCMI team has placed on church planting as it relates to the Great Commission, but Steve (Sudworth) really sparked this movement within CITC at an elders meeting we had (actually in our living room;) back in the Spring of 2013. "50 churches; 50 cities; 50 years..." We can still hear his words as we sensed something was shifting in the future of our church and the lives of those who'd been called to serve in this wonderful family.
All we can say is that as we look back to that moment, we truly see the direction the Lord is taking us is truly an extension of that declaration that had been bathed in prayer. We hadn't considered planting seriously up to that point in our lives. We didn't even consider it in that moment to be honest- it was more about what God began to do in response to the declaration of a word that was blessed by heaven.
Up to that moment, Sue and I had already had in our hearts a unique desire to impact the nations "missionally", and yet felt this needed to be based in the local church. For instance, we thought perhaps we'd be based at CITC and be involved in missions work both here in the US and internationally into other nations. Even as the Lord started stirring for church-planting, we deeply pondered the potential of that call being an international move. The last place we'd ever consider would be the Los Angeles area (which Pasadena sits just north of). LA was the one place we'd both said we'd NEVER move, after being "close enough" in San Diego early in our marriage. We all know how those "I'll never move there" statements tend to work out...
What is so miraculous about this journey is how the Lord used my role at Moody Bible Institute (where I've worked since finishing seminary 4 years ago) to set this transition to Pasadena in action, and begin to unveil part of the reason why I had stayed "bound" to Moody for so many years even after finishing studies (something that has taken me a while to "appreciate" though always knowing God's hand upon it;).
Moody Distance Learning (my department) was approached by the US Center for World Missions (Now called Frontier Ventures- click link for more info) to explore a partnership on their campus in Pasadena, CA. Because of my role, this was something I was tasked with exploring. Sue and I went to Pasadena in February to simply test the waters. What eventually happened was that Father God revealed that this was the place we were meant to plant- there on that campus- that was dedicated to World Missions. We had no idea that this place even existed, nor the rich history and activity currently taking place there... While we still see in part, we know the Lord is uniting something of the heart of the local church with the heart of world missions in a fresh and unique way.
There is so much more we could share about this process which we'll certainly do as the journey unfolds. We still sense that we are seeing but a glimpse of all the Lord is putting before us, but the definitive direction we know from the Lord is that the time is now, the place is Pasadena, and the mission is to plant a local church in that city that carries a burden BOTH for the local city and the nations. While we don't completely grasp the entire picture, we do have a deep sense that something of the heart of World Missions that this campus community carries is something we are meant to work out in the local church- perhaps to develop and then demonstrate in a fresh and Spirit-led way- something that often gets lost in the task of global mission endeavors.
I will continue to work full-time with Moody as we transition. The irony is that Moody's partnership on the campus is very much undetermined and may never happen, yet through this process I have been allowed to move there to essentially keep my role and work remotely regardless of Moody's future there. The financial burden that this alleviates is a wonderful blessing (though not covering all our needed costs for the transition, it puts us in a nice position;). My superiors at Moody are fully aware and supportive of our sense of calling to plant a church as the sole purpose of this move- we feel God's favor in this!
There are so many ways we'd be honored to have you partner with us in this! Please continue to follow us as we transition. We'll be moving early-mid August and will keep you all updated.
But the most urgent... Please pray for us! We will post a summery of prayer needs soon!
With more love than we can handle
Christian & Sue Martinsen
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