Mother and Daughter on Mother's Day
Over a decade ago, we chose the name "Clay Pots" when we first started out as missionaries and church planters because we knew that we were simply vessels... inadequate to accomplish anything apart from the grace of God. 13 years later that sense of inadequacy hasn't changed, but we believe that God has asked us, as his vessels, to go in a new direction. This direction is utterly impossible on our own, and yet we know our God is a God of impossibles!
Jason has seen the need for cross cultural church planting here in America. The world is coming to us and there is an amazing opportunity for our local churches to reach the world in our own communities! Our goal is to see individuals from these different ethnic groups become disciples of Jesus Christ here in, what is to them, a foreign land. Our prayer is that they could take this life giving message back to their own countries.
To facilitate this endeavor, we are making the name 'Clay Pots' into a ministry of its own whereby those who are interested can partner together with us to see these communities reached. It will also allow us to be funded to put in more of our time and energies into seeing this goal become a reality.
So where are we starting? With the approx. 16,000 Hispanics of Waukesha, Wisconsin.
What is our goal? To band together with local believers (Hispanic and non) to reach out and build relationships with the unsaved Hispanics in our town. Through relationships, we then hope to lead them to Christ and have in home Bible studies/ cell groups from which a Hispanic congregation could be birthed.
What are you doing now to reach that goal? Learning Spanish, learning culture, being a part of different community outreaches including volunteering at free English speaking sessions, and most importantly building relationships with the Hispanic community by bringing them into our home.
Why are we telling you this? We need you. Just like we couldn't go to PNG and plant a church among the Tobo people without a support group, we can't reach these people within the USA without you and your support. We greatly desire to give this our all in order to reach different ethnic groups (beginning with Hispanics) and disciple them to carry this on in their own ethnic context as they live here and/or travel back and forth. Would you consider partnering together with us in this endeavor?
If we support you, what will the $ be used for? The $ will be used to support our family and for all ministry costs.
What if you don't get enough support? Will you still do this? We want to say, "Yes, God has asked us to do this and we will do it regardless of support." But if Jason must work a full time job, then obviously he won't have the time to devote to this ministry. So the more we are supported the more we can give ourselves to this. At this present time, Jason is working part time for Kellie's dad 3 days of the week with www.ziebarthmasonryandchimneyservice.com while at the same time, moving forward with Clay Pots and making contacts the other 4 days with our current support level. If that level decreases too much, however, he will look for a full time job, and do this in his spare time.
Just Hispanics? No, we dream big because we have a BIG God:-). Our desire is to see all different kinds of ethnic groups reached in the years to come!!!
What about NTM? As of the end of May we will resign from New Tribes Mission as we have seen God direct us out of that ministry and into another. We have been involved with NTM for 15 years and are thankful for the many things God taught us during our time in the mission. We are eternally grateful for the experiences, the people we were able to meet and work with, the lives we were able to be a part of, and the privilege of planting a tribal church by the grace of God. Not a day goes by that we don't pray for our dear Tobo brothers and sisters in Christ. The space they contain in our hearts will never go away. We are resting in God's faithful guidance and sanctification in their lives as they continue to grow in his grace. We are confident that he who began a good work in them will be faithful to bring it to completion. We have come to understand some of Paul's heart and love for the churches he was privileged to plant. It is difficult to be away from them.
Obviously this e-mail cannot contain all the details and if you would like more information on Clay Pots we have a brochure, information, etc that explain this ministry and all of the ins and outs of it (i.e. vision statement, goals, etc) please don't hesitate to contact us or our home church (Waukesha Bible Church).
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp
Checks can be made out to Clay Pots and you will be sent a quarterly tax deductible receipt:
Our new business address is:
Clay Pots
S53 W24079 Glendale Rd.
Waukesha, WI. 53189
Our Home Address:
1352 Dopp St.
Waukesha, WI. 53188
Phone #'s
Jason 262-501-8487
Kellie 262-501-8206
NEW e-mail address:
jason@claypots.org
kellie@claypots.org
