Words to Guide

God just moves and does what He wants….and it is always good. We are so glad to be a part of what He is doing here in the inner city – touching the nations for Jesus.

Through time in the Word and prayer our team feels that God has given us the following words to guide this next season of church planting as we minister here in the inner city: breakthrough, encouragement, empowerment, multiplication and miracles.
Please pray with us through each of those words.

Quick Updates
-We started a new weekly study on doctrine taking the church deeper into what we believe. Great questions have arisen as we have given them a safe place to be addressed.

-Our congregational leader’s meeting was great! We are planning on doing this every month. It has allowed a lot of ownership and empowerment of the congregation to really be the church and not just come to church. Immediate action items that resulted were holding a yard sale to raise more funds (quite successful) and forming a group from the church to work on creating a Christmas program.

-A group of us were able to go to another church and sit in on their worship practice. This is a part of our continued effort to inspire and train worshippers and musicians. -Our son, Justice, turned 4 years old this month.

-We have a heart for prisoners and are ministering to several families that have loved ones behind bars. Recently we attended an event with one of the new believers from our church to hear more about how our mission organization, World Impact, has teamed up with Prison Fellowship to teach, train and empower prisoners to prepare to be pastors. It was exciting to share our passion and see how she saw not only the need, but caught the heart of compassion and the desire to give and serve the modern day orphans and widows of society as well as the prisoners. She is currently studying at Cal State L.A. to be a social worker or worker in the correction field.

Please Pray With Us

-Money Seminar Sunday, Oct. 23 / 9am-4pm
This is going to be an amazing seminar – many are looking forward to it. Please pray for a great turnout, lives to be changed and grace on Fabiola and Norma as they watch, play and teach the children for the seven hours.

-Potential Building
We have recently found a building that is potentially the space we have been praying about to relieve the pressure of space limitations and restrictions on our family/living space at our home. It is an African-American church located just three blocks from our home. We connected with the pastor’s there really well and even if we don’t share that space with them we have met some like minded co-laborers and made some new friends in the community. Pray for God’s will - is it a green light? (See picture below.) Also pray for growth in numbers and a deepening of commitment to Christ and the church in our congregation regardless if we move or decide to stay. -Meeting Weekly
For the last year we have met once a month (or twice on special occasions) on Sundays. This month we begin meeting every week for our celebration services. Depending on whether we move into the other church building will determine the time and day of these meetings based on the availability. Please pray for grace and increased leadership/serving as the pace is going to pick up from once a month to once a week.

-Touch of Jesus Crusade Sunday, Oct. 30 / 2pm-4:30pm
Chad has been invited to preach as part of a joint effort to reach the South Park community of South Central Los Angeles. This area is known for heavy drug use along with homelessness, alcohol, assault, abuse and gang activity. We so love to work in unison with other churches and ministries to see Jesus lifted up. Believe with us for people to do more than hear the Gospel, but respond in faith and get a “touch from Jesus” and be healed and saved.

-Leaders
A running theme over the last months has been calling people to walk into their God-given roles to serve the body of Christ and then equipping and empowering them. Though we wish the maturity and growth could be faster we sense God’s divine touch on what is taking place in our midst. Please continue to pray for more leaders and those that are serving and leading to continue to mature and develop in God’s time and God’s way.

-Leo and Eduardo & Bianca (names were changed).
Recently Leo has returned to drinking heavily. He was doing so well, but has fallen again and you can see how it is eating deep at his wife and three kids. Let’s pray deliverance and freedom over him. Eduardo and Bianca need a lot of prayer too – years of poor choices has tangled them in a web that has been difficult for them to walk out of. They need to give themselves fully to Christ, but discouragement and life’s cares and worries have really held them back lately. Pray that they would make the correct choices (they have four children) and be faithful to God.

Thank you for believing in us and knowing that God can accomplish anything He wants through us or despite of us. It is an honor being in partnership with you.

May Christ be lifted up and be made known to all nations!

Chad & Fabiola

Exposing Our Heart

It is hard to have your heart exposed to misery again and again. Not everyone wants to hear the Good News. We have asked God to break our hearts for the things that break His, but that breaking is not comfortable. It is out of this brokenness though that we have seen God really minister through us in this hardened and fragmented community of Los Angeles allowing glimmers of light to breakthrough. The joy that comes after the mourning is so sweet!

There is an amazing awe that comes over me every time we see another person commit to serving Jesus. Grace is one of those ladies that is really catching the vision to serve others in Jesus’ name. She came over early one morning to help pass out fliers and get the word out for a school supply ‘store’ we were holding to bless our community. She stuck around until the very end making sure that every family got just what they needed. She was very concerned about finding the correct materials and the right color backpacks, but she was also concerned – deeply concerned – about their spiritual needs and pulled them aside to pray with them. Grace and Fabiola boldly prayed for one of our neighbors that is going through a very difficult time and our neighbor had a breakthrough – a real connection with Jesus like she has never experienced before. All thanks to Grace’s newly activated faith and service.

This month we also wanted to thank you for praying with us for Family Camp. We more than doubled the amount of people attending from a year ago (nearly 80 of us). This year we integrated more of a teaching and ministry time where God really showed up and talked to us about forgiveness and walking with Him. Many from our congregation have been abandoned in one way or another and thus this time provided the needed truth and time with Jesus for breakthrough and healing.

At family camp we also had powerful church-led worship times and morning prayer and devotional times. One of the primary goals of this camp is to allow families to get away and enjoy one another and have fun – quality time that families rarely, if ever, get in the stresses and pressures of the city. We also were able to watch the children so that couples could get away. Fabiola got to know some of the ladies better in the afternoons and Chad got to bond with some of the men – several who have not yet come out regularly to the church meetings. God is so good to us to allow us these retreats with these people we love so dearly. The last evening we had a special time of sharing testimonies of what God had been doing that weekend. Please pray that the good work that has been begun will continue – even increasing and deepening.

We are longing for a deeper breakthrough in our community. Several of us from our church have been praying and fasting for more salvations and a deeper hunger for God and His Kingdom in our congregation. Please join us this month in prayer as we press in to see His Kingdom come here in Los Angeles as it is in Heaven.

May the joy of the Lord be your strength,

Chad & Fabiola Wolyn

Back To School

Updates

School Supplies Outreach

Gabriela has a burden for her community. We met her a year ago at a sport’s outreach at the park and soon after she became an active part of our church. She has a lot of great ideas and has been really stirred up to pray and fast for the community lately.

During our school supply outreach this year Gabriela was outside of our home when a neighbor passed by. Gabriela invited our neighbor and her three kids to come in and get some school supplies. Before this family left – not only were their hands full of school supplies – but their mother who has been battling some serious (potentially life threatening) health conditions had been prayed for and ministered to in a way that deeply touched her. That is the reason we do these outreaches, to give our congregation the opportunity to reach out to their own community and meet the many very real physical and spiritual needs.

Family Camp
God is so good! What an amazing time we had this year at family camp. Families came away strengthened and our church has been united as a family deeper than before.

Flying through the air on the zip line.

Families enjoying fellowship and family devotional times outside of the dining hall.

Father and son time. We had 5 times together as a church to study the Bible, worship, pray and share testimonies of what God is doing in our lives. Everyone woke up early before breakfast to seek God and we had communion together on Sunday morning. Chad taught on forgiveness, judging, sowing & reaping along with some other powerful topics leading to some good prayer ministry time.

Worship time was so much fun! The children were up front dancing. Family camp is a great time to deepen friendships for the children and for the adults. These girls all got their faces painted at the big carnival on the last day.
We brought a lot of kids! Fabiola and Norma and some of the youth helped teach the children’s class while the adults were in the sessions with Chad. Crafts are always a big hit for families (along with the pool, crafts are the most popular activities during free time). Here two families sit and enjoy some time painting pottery – making memories. Two more families work with their children to build and paint some wood toys.

The men and boys take a break after an exciting game of soccer.

Mara shares with the group during our testimony time on the last night. There were many powerful testimonies during this time about how God had used the message on forgiveness to help them release unforgiveness that had been bottled up in their hearts for years. Mara is a single mother; her husband is in jail. She never knew anything about God before, but publically thanked God and us for “that day you came and spoke to me at the park”. Mara also shared how she is now living the life that “she always wanted for her and her kids, but didn’t know really existed.” Mara and her children take a family picture.Valentino gets ready to go for a train ride with his two youngest sons. Valentino use to be a drug addict and alcoholic that carried a weapon. His addiction nearly destroyed him and his entire family. Instead of spending money on taking care of his family he would buy drugs. He regrets the lost time and the scars he left, but is now focused on seeking God and rebuilding. This family camp was an important time for him and his family. He not only is seeing his relationship with his wife and two older boys grow, but now he is starting fresh with his baby son.

Maricela and her baby also prepare for the train ride.

Filipino Missionaries Stir Up Our FaithDerek & Rose Cardwell poured out their lives during a week-long visit ministering three times to the church. Derek taught on the Holy Spirit and the Church. There was a deepening and maturing of what God is doing in our midst. God used these visiting ministers to impart deeper faith and a hunger to fulfill the vision God has given us as a “Fountain to the Nations” – to allow Jesus to fill us up so much that we are overflowing and a powerful witness and blessing to our community and the entire world. Derek, Rose and their two children will soon be moving to Thailand to minister there. It was great practice for Chad to translate the different messages into Spanish as well as great heart-to-heart fellowship time for both of our families.

Teacher Training Meeting
Our rotation of volunteer Sunday school teachers is going well. We had a special meeting to share appreciation, stir up vision and equip the new volunteers. We challenged everyone to look out 10 years and imagine the transformation in the children and the church. With strong Biblical training and time living in a strong community of believers we will have built strong foundations for the next generation. This time served to equip them for the work in the church, but also provided practical tools to be better shepherds for their children in the home.


Family Stuff: Back to School, For the First Time

Our son, Justice, insisted on taking his Bible to the first day of preschool. Rebecca came back the second day of school interceding for her friends and a lady that doesn’t have a house. She wants to raise money to help this lady. She has been interceding for the salvation of her friend, Bianca, a good friend from the school she attended last year. Would you continue lifting up our children, our marriage and even join Rebecca in her burden to see Bianca come to know Jesus personally?

Thank you to everyone who also prayed for our vacation time – it was what we needed to come back strong for another season.


Please Pray With Us

Congregational Leader’s Meeting – September, 18th
Pray for good communication and focus. One of our primary purposes for being here is to train up others for the ministry. We hope these times will be filled with practical training along with an opportunity for our church to grow in ownership and responsibility of this ministry.

Money Seminar – Mid-October
We are planning an all day seminar on finances for our church plant. Unlike my experience growing up, most of these youth and adults have never been taught on how to use or manage money. We will be looking at what the Bible teaches us so that we can be better stewards of what we have. We are considering opening the meeting up to other area churches. We will need some extra hands to help provide childcare and a meal for the event.

“…do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer as we share God’s wonder with those in Los Angeles and continue to preach and teach so that these relationships with Jesus will grow and multiple for generations yet to come.

Chad & Fabiola

First time on TV

What a summer!  Our summer months were filled with deeper prayer and worship times as a congregation, more indigenously lead Bible studies, as well as children and youth giving their lives to Jesus and enjoying amazing times at summer camp.  We also taught music lessons, held a sport’s camp and had several other outreaches at the park.  We had our first bilingual Sunday service and began an English service once a week.  During one of the outreaches I, Chad, baptized 48 people!  We took a couple of our emerging leaders to an inspiring leadership conference that has led to great discussions and more fruit.  I was the guest of a television program for the first time ever and then interviewed for another TV channel a few days later.  Fabiola and I also celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary.   Justice, our youngest, starts preschool this week and Rebecca will be going to a new school as a big 1^st grader.  Like I said, what a summer!

Pouring our lives into this community of South Central Los Angeles is a joy, but also as our hearts are poured out we can feel the drain.  We have invested in a young woman and her two children for just under a year now and due to circumstances in her life she may have to return to her homeland of Mexico.  So much has happened in her life – she has learned the ways of the Lord and has begun walking in them, but she has so much yet to learn.  You never know how long you will have to know somebody.  We pour and give as much as possible to every person, but do hope for enough time to really lay strong foundations.  Pray for Ronda.  If she does leave she will need to find a strong community of believers so that she can continue growing in her new found faith. 

One of our highlights this summer was reading what Leila – Ronda’s daughter - wrote about her time at summer camp, “I learned that God loves me and that Jesus died on the cross to take away my sins.”  That was not a religious answer, but a profound and emotional answer about the Good News that she heard for the first time in a way that she was able to grasp and make her own!  Leila prayed to give her life to the Lord during cabin time on the last night of camp!

Prayer Needs

1.      Family Camp –September 3-5 (Labor Day Weekend)

2.      Freedom to Live and Serve – We have been walking the men and women of our church through many deep hurts and wounds.  Pray for complete freedom for God’s dearly beloved so they can experience life and give life through ministry as God originally planned.

3.      Our Family! Continue to lift the four of us up as we minister in Jesus’ name, restoring marriages and family relationships to many who have years – if not generations – of hurt and brokenness.

Thank you for your prayers for us and for those who have yet to come to the place Leila came this summer – of full surrender. 

Chad and Fabiola

Many Hands Make LIGHT work

This summer we were blessed. Well really we are always blessed. God has been so good to us! It is an honor to be working here in Los Angeles where we continue to be about Kingdom business: preaching and living the Good News, raising up leaders and planting churches that multiply.

We have had three amazing interns this summer that sacrificially gave their all so that our church plant, Fuente para las Naciones, could continue growing and maturing. We have also had perfectly timed phone calls, emails, and visits from friends and family that have encouraged us. We are continually thrilled to see how more and more of the individuals at Fuente are stepping up and taking responsibility. Many hands make light work. In fact, as we come together in unity all across this globe, many hands make LIGHT work – where God’s glory and presence is shown and can be known in the darkest areas.

Updates

Reaching Out To Help Pimps & Prostitutes

This last month we were trained by After Hours Ministry to reach people involved in the sex trade here on the streets around where we minister. When you are walking up and down the streets with the pimps and prostitutes it is amazing what you see and the heaviness and pain you feel in your heart. We handed out gift bags and prayed with as many of the young women (many of them are so young) as would allow us. The men were not as willing to talk, but we still greeted them as we passed, praying in our minds.

Unity V.B.S.
Being asked by a church 5 times our size to help them and train them in children’s ministry is quite a compliment to what we do. We ran an afternoon vacation bible school (VBS) for this church as part of an open air church service for the community. The VBS was planned by our team and then executed by a combination of our church and their church. It was great for our church to join in and serve and catch the vision of working in unity for the Kingdom of God and not just focusing on our needs as a local church. There were probably 200- 300 people out for the service that day.

Serving our brothers and sisters in Christ to reach the city. Another local church asked us to help them with children’s ministry while they brought in music and preaching to have an outdoor Sunday service. Our children and mother’s helped put on a fantastic ministry to the rest of the kids. It was great seeing everyone in action.

Sport’s Day Camp

What a fantastic week!

This was our second year of providing this quality camp for our community.

On the first day Fabiola and another lady from our church spent the majority of the afternoon talking with two mothers who had brought their children to participate and at the end of the morning they both gave their lives to Jesus!

The following day instead of meeting inside our home for the Women’s Meeting they met outside in the park under some trees and had the two mothers along with two other first-time guests come and join them for the study.

Throughout the week there were so many smiles from the kids. We had quality training in soccer, football, basketball and cheerleading. There were over 125 children that participated and on Thursday after the gospel message was shared there were over 15 children that decided to make the decision to follow Jesus.

Please pray for us as we continue to follow-up with all of these families. Some of the greatest fruit we’ve had has come from families we met at last year’s camp.

Fabiola with camper Brandon and his new camp T-shirt.

Having the women’s meeting outside was a great idea – drawing several new women to the group.

Camp began and ended with Bible stories, sport’s stories and lots of great songs with motions. One of the girls below (in red) prays with the coaches as they ask God’s blessing and protection on the day.

On the last day the cheerleaders performed the routine they learned.

Our daughter, Rebecca, invited some friends and decided to learn soccer this year (instead of cheerleading like last year) to accommodate their interests. They got to hear the gospel and grow their friendship more. Its amazing seeing 5 year olds full of compassion for their lost friends!

Moving from “I’m just helping out” to “I am committed to serve”
We received a phone call late one night to the excited voice of Abraham. He was saying that he just got word of a church building that was for rent and thought we should check it out. (As you know we have been praying about a building for a very long time now.) Great ownership and fantastic enthusiasm on Abraham’s part to take the initiative. The following day we made our way over to see the building and hear about the price and arrangement. The price was actually reasonable, but we as a church still cannot cover even that expense on our own. This did, however, prove to be a wonderful challenge area and rallying point for us to bring back to the congregation. (The building unfortunately is also too far – since over half of our congregation walks to church it would need to be within walking distance to continue reaching the community where we have planted this church.)

This visit to the ‘potential’ church location stirred us all up and realizing we didn’t have enough money or even leaders to really fulfill what we believe God wants us to do here in this city moved us to action. We called a special meeting and during that meeting Graciela stepped up to pray and fast on a regular basis so that we can see revival in this community – a growing burden on her heart. Erica and Nancy stepped up without being asked or prompted to lead the High School and College Aged ministry. Merced agreed to meet with me in a more rigorous discipleship relationship to move into more of a teaching role.

It’s Fun To Be A Kid of the King DaysThis summer our interns helped us put on several fun days for the children and youth to get together and just celebrate life and enjoy some time together in a healthy atmosphere.

Our interns Nate, Garnett and Misty came up with lots of fun creative games to help build community in our children and youth programs. During one of the days the mom’s all went and sat with some other ladies in the park and got to know them, shared the gospel with them, invited them to church and included their children in the activities (last picture).

Jr. High Summer Camp

We got a text from the counselor about half way through the week stating that the girls were going through a bit of a ‘social’ and ‘city’ detox and on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough. Some great things happened, but a few weeks later we see the choke-hold that the devil has on many of our teens. The decision to follow Christ is so unpopular and so unsupported in their home and social lives that making that move is may require more than just a powerful week at camp.

Please continue to lift up our teens as we pursue the best way to support them and challenge them in living lives that are pure and 100% committed to Jesus.

Please Pray With Us

School Supplies Outreach
We are blessed to have received donated school supplies from Separated for Christ Ministries and plan on distributing those next week to those most in need in our community.

We are praying that this will open up new relationship so that we can share the Good News in word and deed with more families in this community. We are also shooting for this to be a church run ministry (volunteers from the church) and not something that we do by ourselves.

Wolyn Family Vacation
We have not had a true – do nothing/be with nobody – vacation since moving to Los Angeles two years ago. We will be staying at a beach house that somebody has given us to use so that we can recharge and keep running to win this race that God has given us.

Pray that our time would be truly restful and we would create memories as a family that would last a lifetime.

Family Camp - September 3-5 (Labor Day Weekend)
There are 80 of us heading up to the mountain to enjoy some time away from the city as families and as a church family. We are planning four teaching times, powerful worship as a church and some hard hitting Christian movies in addition to tons of fun and relaxation that will take place.

Pray with us for unity and powerful ministry times.

Derek Cardwell visits from the Philippines - September 6-11
We are so excited and honored to have long time missionary Derek and his family come and spend close to a week with us. They will be ministering to our church on three different evenings and we hope to be able to minister to them in a powerful and real way as well.

We are praying that our congregation will grow more passionate and go deeper in the things of God as a result of what God does through this time. We are also praying that our congregation gets stirred up for world missions and falls in love with the nations of the world beyond their comfort zone.

The Workers Are Few….
We have implemented a rotation of assistant teachers to help provide all the parents that regularly attend the church meetings an opportunity to see and learn what ministry to their children looks like.

Pray with us that the parents would catch the vision, take ownership and have passion to serve as Sunday school teachers and teacher’s assistant in the various age groups.

Follow-up to Sport’s Camp
We have a lot of homes to visit!

Please pray for God’s favor and soft and hungry hearts as we follow-up on the children and their families that came out to the Sport’s Camp we had at the beginning of this month.

First Day of School
Our son, Justice, is on his way to Preschool starting the beginning of September. Rebecca is starting first grade at a new school. This means for the first time since Rebecca was born we’ll have half a day with no little people in the house --- well except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays when we have Bible studies in the mornings and the mothers bring their kids.

Please pray for our family in this time of transition. It is exciting, but always a little hard to move to the next stage. We’re praying they will both do well and make really good friendships that honor God.

Thank you for folding your hands with us in prayer – many hands makes LIGHT work,
Chad & Fabiola