Dear Friends,

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been on mission in Colorado for a year now. It’s been one crazy ride! Missi and I were talking about all of the miracles that God provided to get us here. There were so many miracles that it would take several of these letters just to give you a glimpse into how much God has done to get us to where we are. We are so grateful for God’s provision and leadership. 

We are also very grateful for your prayer support over this past year. Without your faithfulness to pray for us, this letter would be very different. Thank you so much! We are humbled by your thoughts and prayers and know that without you we would not be able to be here.

Having said that, we are now at the place in our ministry where we need so much more than we can provide out of our personal budget. Thankfully, we are debt free, aside from our house. But the church plant is ready to take off and we need your help.

A few months ago we were invited to teach at a little church within our target area. After two months of teaching on spiritual health, we were approached by one of the elders who asked, “How can we close the doors of this church and follow a vision like yours?” We were blown away by their question. With that question in mind I began to lead the church in a month-long fast and prayer time. Many of you knew about this and prayed along with us. 

After months of praying and fasting, the church decided to turn over their property, leadership, and accounts to us to replant a church with a new vision in the same location. They decided to join our team to begin working toward growing the Kingdom of God in Northern Colorado. This is such a tremendous gift from God! God has also given us a name, Revive. 

As exciting as that sounds, we now find ourselves looking to launch Easter Sunday, 2020! With such a great opportunity also comes a great financial burden. We estimate we’ll need nearly $100,000.00 for the first year. 

 We are so thankful to have a building but it needs lot of work, such as: completing the youth area (a separate building), cleaning, painting, adding children’s and youth equipment, new sound equipment, lighting, computers for worship services and children’s and youth environments, parking lot work, playground update, and educational material for small groups, and so much more. Thankfully our building is paid for, so the resources we raise will go towards the critical areas mentioned above.

We need your help! We are not asking for anyone to give a specific amount to our church. We are asking you to give as you feel led by God to give. We ask you to pray for wisdom and then give accordingly and generously. Our home church, Vertical, in Gluckstadt, MS has an account set up in our name. It’s called the Perry Project, Colorado. You can give to us on the Vertical site and have confidence that your gift will be used to further God’s Kingdom here in Colorado. And your contribution is tax deductible. We hope you will join our effort to make disciples of Christ in Northern Colorado by giving generously. 

We will start vision services for the community beginning in January. We hope to have at least three vision services and then we will launch Revive for regular services on Easter Sunday of 2020.

Thank you for sharing this journey with us to see many come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Living Sent, 

The Perrys: Steven, Missi, Caleb, Isabel, Lily, and Sam

For contributions: 
Go to www.livevertical.tv click on the giving tab. Scroll down until you see the Perry project, Colorado. Then give as the Lord leads! You will be able to set up your gift as a one-time gift or monthly. Thank you!

Matthew 28:18-20

PS… A couple other needs.
We need mission teams to come help us do the renovations. If you would like to schedule a team to come we would be so grateful! Our building has showers and a kitchen so your cost could stay low! We hope you will join us in the work!
We need your help to launch Revive on Easter Sunday, 2020. If you feel led to come help us with this service please let us know. 

Family Update:
     2019 began with quiet calm as we looked forward to the adventure of this new year. Missi’s new job at Banner Health in Greeley, CO was going as expected. Caleb is working towards graduating high school and preparing for college as he works as a barista. We believe he’ll be attending Front Range Community College in the fall. Isabel is in her Junior year and doing well. Still no driver’s license though! Lily is in the fourth grade and working hard to master everything she touches. Sam is a fun-loving kid who is all boy! All in all, our family is adjusting to our northern Colorado home.

Church Planting Update:
     Before we left Mississippi, we were given some of the best advice that I think anyone has ever given to us. One of Missi’s patients, a former pastor, said we should “adjust your expectations.” He meant that things would not be exactly the way we thought they would be. And boy was he right! We’ve spent over 9 years preparing for this ministry. In truth, we’ve spent a lifetime being equipped to start a church. We’ve had to adjust to what God was doing here. When we got to the mission field, we learned of places that had not church at all - of any denomination or religion. Can you believe it?! Towns like Nunn and Carr have no organized church. Dotted across the Front Range you’ll find thousands of families who are not connected to the Church or to Christ. The field that God is giving us is ripe unto harvest!
   
     We’ve been volunteering at a food pantry in Nunn. Each week a group of people from several churches in the area get together to feed the hungry. It has been incredible to join the work. I’ve met so many people who are not connected to God’s Kingdom. But as I’ve observed the community I have realized that a church in Nunn would fall short of our target. So our scope has been widened to include more communities that are just like Nunn, all along the front range. We are going to engage the communities of Carr, Grover, and Pierce as well as Nunn. All of these communities are within about 20 miles of each other on a vast open range of prairie grass, prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope, and ranches, farms, and unnamed communities. By-in-large there are thousands of people in these areas, combined, who may not be connected to the Body of Christ in any way.
   
      This summer (July) we are planning to have backyard Bible clubs in the community park at Nunn. We will advertise in the surrounding communities. Our hope is to make lasting connections with families through Bible clubs. It should be great! So if you have any current Bible school materials that you could donate we’d be grateful if you’d send it our way! We are also planning prayer walks in the target communities throughout the summer.
   
      Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

     Our hope is to see the Front Range of Northern Colorado come to a thriving and vibrant faith in Jesus Christ, one that is alive because of the redeeming work of our Savior on the cross. We have been given a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus to our neighbors. And we take it seriously. We thank you for sharing this journey with us. Because of your faithful prayers and support we have been sustained and press on towards the prize that God has laid before us.

 In Christ,
 The Perrys

Back to Georgia... again!

We made another trip to Georgia. The house that we had hoped to buy... well, that deal fell through. It seems that with foreclosures there are more limitations on the buyer. Steven and I came to stay with Jeff and Karen Farmer (our lead church planters) from Tuesday night through Saturday morning. We have been on another mad house hunt for the last few days. This time we leave with about 3 possibilities. We pray that if one deal falls through, we will still have another option.

I am not any closer in finding a nursing job. Like I said, there are alot of jobs here, but mostly in Atlanta or further than I want to travel. I am still earnestly praying that God will send that "perfect" job just for me! Please pray along with us. We are coming upon a very stressful time.
Steven will have final exams, we will be packing, starting a new job, settling in a new community, starting a new church, sending our kids to school for the FIRST time.... all in the next 3-4 months.

With all of this, who needs extra stress? When we made the decision to move and start a new church, we new that Satan would be hot on our heels! Just two weeks ago my Mom, Beverly, had to go into the hospital and was there for 3 days undergoing a battery of tests. She was having short-term memory loss and confusion. All the tests came back negative, so really we don't know what was going on. I feel that this was Satan's way of trying to throw me off course. Of course I want to be near my Mom and Dad and help take care of them when they need it, but God has called us to Hiram, Ga! I have to walk by faith in this situation.

"Oh Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble." Isaiah 33:2

We've been very excited about Lifetree Church, the new church plant in Hiram, GA. Wanting to get to know the area more, we took a trip this past weekend to Ga. Thanks to Jeff and Karen Farmer and their two girls for letting us stay in their home! Brian and Karen Bridges also joined us with their two girls. It was very interesting with so many in the house, but I must say, very enjoyable! Caleb didn't seem to mind being the only boy in the midst of so many girls.

We were able to go to the school where Lifetree will begin to meet at the beginning of next year. Prayerfully, we walked the school grounds and dreamed a little of what this church could mean for the surrounding community. Paulding County is a fast growing area outside of Atlanta, with subdivisions popping up all over. Many of its residents do not go to church, and we hope to change that. Ours will be a family integrated model. This means that families will not be segregated to their "age groups", but families will remain together in worship. One of the goals is to disciple fathers, for them to be the spiritual head of their households, and to lead their families in discipleship as well.

Most exciting of all was that Brooke, Jeff's oldest daughter, accepted Christ as her Savior. We even baptized her in the jacuzzi! It was so exciting, and all during the time of our first meeting as a new church. For a video clip of the baptism, visit Jeff's blog:
lifetreechurch.blogspot.com

This is our vision, and we hope that you will pray for us during this time. We feel that God wants to finally give us a place to settle down and plant roots! This is exciting for us. Please pray as we seek God's guidance in where to live and best be able to reach the community around us. Pray also that we will find jobs that also meet our needs. Pray that God's plan for this church will be clear to us and we will be able to fulfill it.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Welcome to the new blog of the Perry family: Steven, Missi and the two munchkins. We moved back to New Orleans in August 2006, just 2 weeks short of the year mark we left New Orleans when we evacuated in 2005 for Katrina. Steven finished his undergraduate degree in May of 2006, and we moved back to New Orleans for him to begin the Master's program. We always knew that New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary would not be the end of the road for us. There was something else out there. We began earnestly praying about where God would have us serve.

A good friend of ours came to our home in February and shared his vision for Paulding County, GA. A growing community, on the outskirts of Atlanta, with many unchurched people. We caught onto the vision and now have plans to move near Hiram, GA in a few short months to help plant a church - LifeTree Church. Although we are not sure of all that is in store, we feel sure that at this time this is where God wants us. So, join us On the Journey and pray for us and the other church planters as we travel down this road.