Christmas and World Travels

Black Forest

The vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves create a nostalgic thoughtful ride as we make our way up the side of a mountain in the Black Forest. Slowly winding around the dense forest, we find ourselves at the top of a hill overlooking miles or should I say kilometers of beautiful German countryside. Mark, Tyler, Sam and myself spend the afternoon catching up on life and what God is doing through them in Germany.

It was a wonderful start to a very busy trip where I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people and get an even broader picture of what God is doing around the world. Sam and I traveled to Karlsruhe (Germany), Budapest (Hungary), Novi Sad (Serbia), Beirut (Lebanon), and London (England).

Serbian leaders on track to become a Conext partner

The purpose of this trip was to meet with our Conext partners. Conext was established a number of years ago when “we made a decision in CRM over a decade ago that we would not evolve into a multi-national corporation. Rather, we would embrace a global ministry model that was an international partnership of national CRM entities, relating to one another on a relational, fraternal basis. We call that international partnership CRM Conext, meaning going together into the future.”

Within CRM our primary goal is to develop Christ centered leaders around the world. Conext is sort of a culmination of that goal in that we desire to see national leaders create their own missions organization within their country. These mission entities work to meet needs within their own country as well adhering to the “great commission” in sending missionaries.

Practically Conext partners have created their own missions organizations in ten different countries.

Nadim sharing about the Middle East

·      Australia

·      East Africa (Harvest Leaders Network)

·      Germany (Mateno - click here for the Google-translated site)

·      Hungary (Barnabas Csoport)

·      Korea

·      The Middle East

·      Singapore (CRMS)

·      South Africa

·      United Kingdom

·      Venezuela

Conext Conference in London

So on this trip Sam and I had the opportunity to meet with the President’s and some board members of our Conext partners. It was a great opportunity for me to sit and listen to men and women from around the world share their story and the amazing things God is doing through their faithfulness.

Metcalf tree trimming party

Its in the simple moments on these trips, like sitting on top of a hill in the Black Forest, that I just sit in awe and gratefulness for all that God has done. Seeing His creation spread out in front of me was a fresh reminder of how truly great our God is and how much He cares about His creation. In addition it was incredible to see and hear from our Conext partners who broadened my perspective on the story God is continuing to write here on earth. So this Christmas I am again inspired by Gods plan and how much Jesus’ life is still changing the world today!

Thank you for your faithfulness and may you be blessed with the joy that Jesus’ birth brings this Christmas!

October Newsletter

Dear friends,

As I write this I am sitting on a folding chair in an otherwise empty apartment in Long Beach, California. With unopened boxes and bare walls the reality slowly begins to settle in that this is my new home. After being on the road for the past seven months staying with so many amazing people around the world it is strange to be in my own home, but on the other hand there is a tremendous peace and excitement in what God has for me here. Before I share what comes next for me a quick update on where I have been is probably needed. Since my last newsletter I have been in Italy, China, Singapore, London, Beirut, Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. If you would like to learn a bit more about what I have experienced in some of these places, please visit my blog http:/joshaltmeyer@blogspot.com.

My Calling

Brick Lane, London 

Over the past few months God has been refining a clearer calling in my life and how I can go about living that out. I feel that God has called me to serve full time as someone who develops and sends out Christ centered leaders to impact the world for His Kingdom. The investment into one individual leader has the potential of allowing God to impact an entire city, country, or even the world. When a leader understands what God has uniquely gifted and called them to I hope to place them within a structure that facilitates growth and encouragement of those gifts, so that their impact can be maximized. I am willing to step into this calling more long term and fortunately God has placed me within in an organization that has the same passion. So I am happy to say that I will be participating in what God is doing through CRM around the world for the foreseeable future.

Why Long Beach?

Friends in Asia

A question I have asked myself. Since there are many places around the world in which I could choose, but ultimately it is not my choosing because I hope to place myself wherever God leads. Right now that place is Long Beach for a number of different reasons, but primarily God has opened many doors and has given me a real peace about settling into Long Beach for the next few years. That leading is tied into what I am called to do and so here are a few reasons I feel God is leading me to Long Beach. 

Verona, Italy

As many of you know I have been in a unique role as the ministry assistant to Sam Metcalf, the president of CRM. It has been an amazing opportunity that I am extremely grateful for. I will continue to be Sam’s assistant and since he lives in Fullerton, CA it practically makes sense that I live close by. Where personal financial funding allows I will continue to travel with Sam to different countries. For example this November I will be going with Sam to London for a “Conext”  (national leaders who have started their own missions organizations in different countries which are affiliated with CRM) leader conference, Beirut, Serbia, Germany, and Hungary to check in with our missionaries there.  This has been and will continue to be an incredible opportunity that God has used to shape my life.

Mission Exchange Leadership Conference 

When I am not assisting Sam I will be joining a team here in Long Beach called Newminster. Our goal is to work alongside the existing local church to enhance growth, healthiness, and leadership development. Along with that we hope to create new expressions of the local church to reach those who are not followers of Christ. We do all this through a devotion to prayer, relationship with Jesus, solid Biblical foundation, Coaching, Spiritual formation, Church Planting Movements,  “Focused Living” course, inner healing prayer, community development and outreach, and leadership development.  I am very excited to have a community of people who are dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus with Long Beach and I am eager to see how God is going to use each of us.

In closing, there is a lot to be grateful for in my new home and it is wonderful to see Gods hand in the process. Thank you for participating in what God is doing in my life, in Long Beach and around the world.

Wherever He leads,

Josh Altmeyer

 

China and Pathways

Old and New China

Before I left Spokane I watched a BBC series called ‘Wild China’, which showed a vast array of what China has to offer, from beautiful rice paddies to the modern cities. This was not the China I saw although it was beautiful the culture runs so much deeper. Spending five weeks in the city of Kunming has only allowed me to scratch the surface on a country with such a vast history. For most Westerners China is a mysterious country steeped in communism and because of the language barrier most know relatively little about what life in China is really like. Fortunately God has provided a door for some of our staff to live and work there. So I visited this new Pathways team as they seek to learn the language, culture, and most importantly what God has for them in the next few years.

Food Court

As many of you know, my journey started with the intention of going to Spain with a team. The model for doing that was through a program called Pathways, which is now taking place in China.

Pathways strategy:

1. Pathways spurs natural leadership development.  It is a challenging program that will necessitate individuals to be stretched and leadership qualities to emerge.

2. Pathways transplants whole teams into a new or existing CRM ministry site, rather than solely merging individuals into an existing CRM team.

3. Realistic ministry objectives—centered around developing intentional relationships—is expected from the individual’s work, stretching the faith of the individuals involved.

4. Pathways central personal development philosophy is to create experiential learning environments and to process the learning that takes place through coaching and mentoring. Training is interlaced to compliment this style of learning.

Eating deep fried bugs

Pathways goal in each city is to:

1. Catalyze a new generation to authentically connect with Jesus.

2. Create viable and sustainable communities / expressions of the Body that will grow and multiply.

3. Develop leadership that facilitates these types of movements.

Downtown Kunming

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to visit the team in China especially since we were all on a similar journey. I admire their adjustment and integration into a culture as diverse as China. While studying language and settling into normal routines the team has been listening and observing what God has already been doing there. It’s an exciting place to be in terms of hearing and meeting the needs of the Chinese people. I believe God has a big vision as to how He plans to use this team to expand His Kingdom in China. I am also eager to see how God uses the Pathways program to send people all over the world.

Nightlife

Singapore and Coaching

While I have been staying in Kunming, China I had the opportunity to go to coaching training in Singapore. Now for many of you that is probably a broad term so I would like to expand on what coaching means for me as well as tell you about my exciting week in Singapore.

 

http://www.creativeresultsmanagement.com

Coaching defined: “Christian coaching is an on-going intentional conversation that empowers a person or group to fully live out God’s calling.” Another term that some may be familiar with would be a life coach, which focuses on moving a person forward in a variety of different aspects within their lives. Where this type of Christian coaching varies is that we believe the Holy Spirit is an active part of this process. The process happens through a simple model of: Connect, Outcome, Awareness, Course, and Highlights. This model plays out in guided steps by the coach where question asking is the primary focus. Allowing the “coachee” to process and discern what the Holy Spirit is speaking to them about.

Where this differs from counseling is that you are only dealing with the present and future so that the “coachee” moves forward in action. Whereas counseling will often dive into childhood and past experiences to help frame why current issues are being presented, often in emotional areas. One requirement of a candidate who wants to be coached is that they are emotionally healthy.

To give further understanding on coaching, some examples as to what people may come to a coach for would be transition periods, (moving, out of work) creating, (church planting, new business startup, ministry focus) and personal development (physical health, spiritual patterns, relationships, family). These are some broad areas and they do not come close to covering the many different topics where a coach could be very useful.

The coaching process is somewhat hard to describe because we often think of a coach in relation to sports. Where they have a plan and are telling you how to do something like shooting a basketball. Although there is structure, a life coach is not telling you what to do. Where most people struggle with life coaches is that they are used to people sharing their input. For example, we may present an issue to a friend that we don’t have an immediate answer to, often our friends will just give their solution to the problem. Another example would be going to your pastor for advice (which is a very good thing) about an issue. When it is presented your pastor usually tells you their thoughts or experiences. This is not at all a bad thing, but at times when we are simply told something there is a lack of ownership especially amongst adults. Typically adults remember best what they found the solution to and are much more likely to see it through, causing the learning to stick with us a lot longer.  Please don’t take my word for it I would encourage you to process on your own how effective it has been when you have told another adult exactly what to do in a situation. So in coaching we do not give the answer to the “coachee” but through questions help them to self discover with a dependence on the Holy Spirit to speak to them. In life there is a need for personal advise to others, pastoral care, and counseling, but when an individual enters the coaching process we as coaches desire to draw out what God has placed inside of them as the best solution through pointed questions.

At times I thought this sounded simple or easy but I quickly learned how easily I love to give my opinion or thoughts. When I disciplined myself to not share my opinion it was amazing to watch how simply asking questions can even at times bring people to the same answer you would have given them, but now they have complete ownership of it and are much more likely to implement it into their lives because its their idea not yours.

If you are curious to learn more or would like to experience being coached I would be happy to do that over skype with any one. Just send me an email with your thoughts or questions and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

On a separate issue, but still pertaining to Singapore I was thoroughly blessed by the people I was able to meet. Most of the individuals going through training were from different parts of Asia and I had the chance to meet a few locals from Singapore. They have been some of the most amazing hosts thus far in my travels primarily because they barely even knew us, but they took Josh (CRM Missionary) and I out for dinner every evening. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and had many memorable conversations. In my mind great conversation often happens around food and Singapore is probably one of the biggest food capitals in the world. As many of you know I am rather passionate about food and so I am posting a list of some of the top dishes I had while I was there. I would thoroughly recommend flying to Singapore to try each of these dishes; they could change your life!

    

Chili Crab- crab in a semi spicy sauce

Sauté – sweetly marinated meat on a skewer cooked over coals

Stingray – surprisingly tasty with a spicy pineapple flavored puree on top

Laksa – a Malayasian dish of rice noodle in coconut milk with a little shrimp and vegetables.

Carrot Cake  - Turnips with eggs onion and a indefinable meat. surprisingly spicy

Indian food- too much to name… it was all good

Chicken and rice- this dish is as simple but as good as it gets. It is breast meat on rice. I could eat it plane because the flavors are so good but then you add their spicy dipping sauces and it moves to another level.

Italy - London

It is interesting to now be sitting in China while writing about Italy and London. When you are in three different cultures in three weeks there is a tendency to get a little behind. In some ways it feels that I have been running nonstop, but I still feel quite energized by the new places, experiences, people and most of all by the work that God is doing!

While I was in Verona, Italy I stayed with a couple named Nick and Zona. Nick is originally from Verona and after spending some time in the states has now gone back with his family. The interesting aspect about this visit is that they are the only CRM’ers in Italy. So I had the opportunity to see a different variation of what it means to live cross-culturally. Getting to know this couple further was something I really enjoyed and I especially appreciated the many conversations out on their porch, talking about the different aspects of working within a strong Catholic culture.

Obviously Italy is well known for its rich tradition in Catholicism, but a new generation seems to be shying away from the Church. To meet the growing need for relevant spiritual direction, Nick has actively been working with existing leaders through coaching. Coaching is a process where through a series of pointed questions you are able to lead the individual to their own answer and maybe even more importantly action steps to achieve their God given goals. It is a valuable tool that a number of staff within CRM use to help leaders grow and develop. Next week I am going to be attending this training and so I am excited to learn and experience more. (http://www.CreativeResultsManagement.com )

Overall my experiences in Italy reshaped the need for more missionaries to be sent and removed my own perceptions of what Italy is. I had been to Italy before doing the touristy thing a few years ago, but this time I was able to see a very different side. Food, wine, villas, mass, Romans, coliseums, scooters, and history have all influenced my view that Italy is just a vacation destination, but the current spiritual need of the people is what hit me most this trip.

 

Switching over to London now, I met up with the team for a week over Easter. I am used to being with my family on Easter and obviously this year that could not happen and so I was very blessed to have others to enjoy the day with. During my time in London, I stayed in an Anglican Priory (Nunnery), which was a new experience. Needless to say it was very quiet most of the time and the sisters were friendly. :)The team is located in an area of London called Shoreditch where it’s a mixture of upper class moving into a less expensive part of the city. This creates a mixture of financial cultures coming together and so the area is very diverse. It is also known as an artistic district where the famous Brick Lane is located.

 

Much of what I shared about the Church climate in Scotland is the same in England. The irrelevant church’s are dying, leaving gaping holes in terms of spiritual leadership. So the team here has placed a focus on finding key influential leaders to develop, so that English can lead English long term. Amidst this culture and maybe more specifically this part of the city there are hurdles that have to be worked through.

One of those big hurdles that has become a battle that God has to wage for the team is on the spiritual warfare side. Obviously praying plays a big role in this, but as I travel around the world and experience different teams, the reality of how God has gifted us and how He desires to use those gifts often, has come into play. Shying away from the power that God desires to have in my life and in other people’s lives greatly hinders the impact that He desires to have in each city. So using those gifts to do battle is highly important and this team does a good job of covering their city in specific prayer.

Often in the States I interpreted spiritual warfare as being tempted by something bad, now this term has taken on a new meaning. What I am referring to here is demonic attack, which seeks to hinder physically (colds, fatigue, headaches, fever, sharp pain) and emotionally (depression, loneliness, lies about identity). I have seen these and many more first hand, which through prayer dissipated immediately. Ephesians 6:12 has taken on a whole new reality for me, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” I realize this may be out of some of your boxes or viewpoints, but the reality is that for me God has made His authority known, removing the box I had previously set up for Him.

With that said I would greatly appreciate your prayers of intercession asking that God may move in power within my life and that He would provide physical and emotional protection. If you would like to talk further about this topic feel free to send me an email and I would be happy to give the full story. I greatly appreciate each of you and glad I can share this journey with you!

Spain

As I was looking out my airplane window onto the Spanish countryside, my heart grew excited. Now as I travel there is an excitement about each place, but this was different. It was a joy in landing at a place where I had planned to live. Malaga was beautiful and I had finally made it, even if it was for only two weeks there was still a deep gratefulness for the opportunity to be in this city.

            Spanish culture is known for its bull fighting, flamenco, sangria, siestas and Catholicism. As with most clichés they are not always typical of the average individual. This I knew coming in, but I had a lot more to learn about what daily life is like within Spanish culture.

            During my two weeks in Malaga I stayed with Deric and Amber who are apart of CRM. They have been in Spain for about three months and are in the midst of language learning. I had a wonderful time getting to know and join in ministry with them! They have a calling to reach the college age through building a community and life coaching. Another part of their team is Randy and Doralicia who are the team leaders. These two couples make up the “ethne”(CRM’s term for international) team in Spain, along with the “ethne” team there is the Staff Development and Care Team. Alex and Amy are the SDCT leaders and Lily has joined them in Malaga. Their function within CRM is to provide care for all of the CRM and other organizations missionaries around the world. This includes training for crisis prevention, life stage development and counseling. These two teams join together to form the CRM community in Malaga, Spain.

            I spent a part of my time with each individual learning further about how God is specifically using them. It was a wonderful time to learn from an experienced and wise group of individuals. I spent the majority of the rest of my time with Deric as we explored different avenues of how to reach the younger generation. That involved spending time with young Spaniards, a Campus Crusade team, and talking with other missionaries. It was pretty amazing how in two weeks, because of the relationships that Deric had built prior, the amount that I was able to be involved in ministry wise. God opened a number of doors for us to share with individuals about Jesus and the opportunity to care for and encourage other missionaries who have been in Spain longer. The Holy Spirit continues to be a very active part in each location that I visit and I am thrilled to step into each situation with a desire to see what He wants to do.

 

I truly believe that God wants to bring about a lot of change in Spain and it was great to be able to experience a small piece of that!

The Middle East

Over the past two weeks I have stepped into two very historic cultures, Turkey and Lebanon. It’s a region of the world that is in the news often for all of the wrong reasons. With conflict surrounding both countries in Libya, Egypt, and most impactful Syria, I am sure you have read something in the past day or two talking about the conflict. For me this was a huge learning trip in a variety of different ways, but I think one of the biggest ways was that my view of the Middle East moved from a headline to people’s faces and relationships. Reality set in quickly as the journey got started.

            In Istanbul, Sam was speaking at a conference of global Church planters on the value of training and developing servant leadership. The opportunity to sit in a lecture type setting and learn from his wisdom and insight was a tremendous opportunity. Often Sam and I have one on one conversations, but to get to hear him teach other “high ranking” leaders from different organizations was pretty unique. Also during this time my respect and appreciation for how CRM uniquely attracts and develops leaders, continues to grow. After three intense full days of serving and teaching the other conference attendees we jumped on a flight to Beirut.

            Here we stopped in to spend time with Nadim, the director in Lebanon. This is a very talented busy man who God is using in a variety of ways. Within Lebanon there is the development of leaders in Beirut and ministry within a Bedouin tribe on the outskirts of town. On top of that there is training and equipping of Jordanians, Iraqis and Iranians in starting a Church Planting Movement. One of the many amazing stories attached to this training is that twelve men from a dominant Middle Eastern country were equipped and trained then sent back home. Upon getting home they have now started around 250 new groups who are studying the Bible together. Despite the strong Muslim influence, God is still doing amazing things. Through Nadim’s care and leadership abilities the diversity of ministry to so many different groups is pretty amazing. So please keep Nadim and his team in your prayers and also be praying for the Church in the Middle East.

 Also joining us was Jerry Little, an entrepreneur who has an amazing gift for starting businesses to help fund local missions. He has started a restaurant and hotel in Romania, which now in-turn gives back around $250 – 300,000 to ministry in Romania each year. He joined us here since he is looking to create a new business in Beirut to help fund local ministry there. 

Overall the Middle East held so much more then I can really begin to dive into over a blog. Just to give you further perspective on the reality of the situation in Beirut, as we drive from the airport the road is lined by Hezbollah and Sunni neighborhoods. Two rivals in the Muslim world that as an American you are just not able to even enter. In many parts of those neighborhoods the police do not even go. During our time there a Christian church was bombed, foreigners were kidnapped and held for ransom, and two drive by shootings occurred during protests. This happened over a period of three days and it appears to be the norm. With soldiers all over the city you sense the tension, but amidst all of this life goes on. People go to the movies, eat out at restaurants, have shopping trips, life continues in the midst of the conflict. Amidst all of that tension I have further learned that God wants us to run to where the pain is because He wants to bring healing!

 Thank you for your prayers and support! 

Glasgow, Scotland

As I sit in a coffee shop called Rudy’s, absorbing a typical day called “abide”; life and ministry go on. A tangible living out of faith everyday, through consistent bible reading and prayer are what sustain ministry here in Glasgow and ultimately anywhere in the world. But for the past week and a half my time has been spent surrounded by a community called Re:Hope whose ministry has a complete foundation in the Word. A perspective that is often lost by so many in ministry, but these individuals have been grounded in the Word from the beginning.

 

A day named “abide “ very characteristically fits into that foundation, it’s a day spent in prayer and Bible reading. Something so often overlooked, but the rewards create a deep continual heart change towards Christ. This is what ministry is all about and for me to be effect at all, my heart has to be continually pursing Christ through disciplined time spent with Him.

Now the results of these disciplines are bearing much fruit here in Glasgow. I have graciously been housed by a young couple named Scott and Monica Burns. Scott is who, I have been following around learning from and who I have joined in ministry for the time that I am here. Our weeks together have included leading a multitude of Bible read through and prayer groups throughout the week, attending staff meetings, preparing for a Sunday morning services and Thursday evening classes, and doing street evangelism. Within each of these there are a lot of details, but ultimately the heartbeat of this team is to passionately serve Christ. This has lead to a dramatically different church called Re: Hope, here in Scotland.

Most churches have an average congregation age between 50 – 80 and the Church portrays a God who is irrelevant to culture.  A typical church rarely uses the Word, spends time in prayer, and has no local or foreign missions. Because of this a large church numbers about 100 and the average size is 30 – 50 people. For those churches whose congregation has left or literally died off, the church buildings are being sold and made into offices, restaurants and pubs. The worst situation I found was a church, which had been turned into a club called “Sin”. A vivid picture of the stark contrast between the Church and culture.  

The past two weeks have flown by and it has been amazing to be apart of what God is doing here in Glasgow. The first international stop has been a great one and I am eager to spend more time with the many staff that are apart of CRM worldwide. I would really encourage you to join me in prayer for Scotland! It is a country with a history of such strong Christian heritage. Men like John Knox who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel throughout the UK, a great example of that heritage. The state of the Church is in dire need of Godly leader’s; thankfully CRM is adhering to Gods call and training up those individuals.  

Closure and New Beginnings

            My travels started in Memphis, Tennessee where I met up with my old Spain Team. It feels weird to say “old Spain Team”, but in reality the goal of our meeting was to bring closure to our journey together. As I communicated in my newsletter, God has seemed to have His hand on the brokenness of our dreams and it was even more confirming when I met with everyone in Memphis, that God brought about His plans. One way, which this was very evident, was through Carissa, she was the only one in our group who decided to continue on to Spain and she is also the only one to now have a Spanish visa. No one else has heard anything about their visa, which to me speaks volumes as to what God ultimately wanted for us as individuals. I also can see very clearly that we each needed to be set on this path to Spain to learn deep valuable life lessons together before we moved on to our different locations. So through these couple of days in Memphis, God further confirmed our callings and brought healthy closure to our time together as a team.    

  

Currently I am in Birmingham, Alabama attending a missions’ conference at Covenant Presbyterian Church. This has been a phenomenal week, where a church has set aside many hours in honoring and allowing their 135 supported missionaries to share. Yes, I did say 135, which is rather amazing to think about this one church’s passion for missions. Sam Metcalf, my new boss, has been the keynote speaker and has deeply challenged Covenant. A separate blog post could probably be written on this issue alone, but needless to say God has really used him to encourage and propel forward change in this community.

           

            My new role is an exciting one as I have been able to sit in on some amazing conversations with businessmen, missionaries, board members, elders, pastors, and prospective donors of CRM. I could tell after the first night upon meeting up with Sam in Birmingham that I was in for quite the year with numerous culture shifts. With Sam having a key role in this missions week my job has been to make it as stress free as possible through serving him in whatever way I can. I have been warmly welcomed and I am so appreciative of how I have been assimilated into my new role. I can already see that God is going to do BIG things over the next year in my life and through me.

We are all staying with a wonderful couple named Will and Maggi Brookes, who have taken hospitality to another level and shown us a great time here in Birmingham. Will is on CRM’s Board of Directors and is an elder at Covenant. It has been wonderful getting to know them as well as so many people from around the world and right here in Birmingham.

The last thing I will share is how interesting it has been to be at a missions’ conference with CRM whose goal is to develop and minister to missionaries. Typically this takes place with the missionaries that are apart of CRM, but this week it has been wonderful to join that team in lifting up and preparing the missionaries to go back to their specific fields, encouraged and prepared. I have seen God, in a very powerful way, use prayer to rejuvenate and replenish men and woman who are giving their lives to full time ministry. I personally have also been so encouraged and blessed by all that God is doing through these men and woman and I feel very honored to be counted amongst them!