Archive for the ‘Detroit Info’ Category

Feb 26 Lunch at the P.O. REPORT

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Peter Ashmore in Church Planting, Detroit Info, Restore Church, Uncategorized, Vision
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“Father – I’m so grateful to present this opportunity to the church leaders you have brought here today. Please don’t let me screw it up… Amen.”

That was my prayer before heading up to the front.

As some of you may know, we hosted church leaders from all over metro Detroit (and some even outside of it!) to share with them what God is leading Restore Church to do with the building we obtained last fall. We are so grateful for a permanent meeting facility. However, maximizing this tool from God so that we can serve our community better is the next step.

On February 26th Mike and Clete shared a short history of Restore Church, coupled with a few videos/pics of what God is doing in central Detroit. We also heard some testimonies from members of Restore Church – how God brought them to Restore and what he is doing in their lives.

The lunch culminated by presenting our “first steps” to renovate the P.O. and to ask the church leaders who were able to come to invest in Restore Church. And by “invest” we mean more than just money and work teams. See, if this was just about a building, we would have just “begged and borrowed” until we could get the funds together. Instead, we want to see gospel relationships result from this building renovation. This building has become an opportunity for Restore Church to build some deep, meaningful “gospel centered” relationships with churches all across (and beyond) metro Detroit. To put it a little more simple… “We don’t just want money – we want your life to touch ours. We want you to pour into us and we want to pour into you. We want you to press the gospel into our lives and we want to press the gospel into your lives.”

That is what this building we be. It will be a place that brought together gospel relationship. Churches in the ‘burbs will now have close, ministry connection to a church in the city. Churches outside the city will now have a connection inside the city – an insight that they may not otherwise have. Restore Church will have relationships with churches that they can partner with to serve both communities. We have resources they don’t – they have resources that we don’t. What a beautiful way that we can serve each other.

This is the kind of mentality that led Mosaic Church from Ann Arbor MI to send a ministry team out this week. They are going to pour into us and serve by working on the building. We are going to pour into them by including them in our Discipleship Groups and teaching sessions from Mike and Clete. They will also get to spend some concentrated time together with members from Restore to share testimonies and what God is doing in our neighborhood/city.

And we are going to serve each other. That is what the church does.

When I closed things on the 26th, I challenged everyone to pray about how God would have them be involved in the renovation of the P.O. Is it financially? Is it through a work team? Is it through concentrated prayer for the cause of this church in this city? Let me issue that challenge to you – Do you think God might be moving you to be a part of Restore Church in some way? We have a lot of work to do, but we are so excited about the relationships that will be built because of it!

In the pictures section, you will see a post card we encouraged the attendees to take back to their churches. Please take some time to look at it, and please take some time to pray for Restore Church!

BUMP Kickoff

Posted: August 1, 2012 by mikehanafee in Detroit Info, Mission Teams, Restore Church, the gospel, Uncategorized
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Whew! It has been a busy but sweet 72 hours with the BUMP & FBT mission teams. Last night’s spontaneous worship service with the teams & Restore Church at Gordon Park was off the chain as we read Scripture, prayed, & sang (including a impromptu rendition of “All I Have is Christ” below). A woman whose son is in jail gave a blood earnest exhortation to walk with Jesus that few of us will forget & others shared strong words of testimony. After that we enjoyed an ice-cream chill out under the streetlight.

In the mornings we (various Restore peeps) pour into the teams to equip us together to pour into the kids of our neighborhood in the afternoon camp. Please pray God will do amazing things in the 48202/48206 this week!

Revelation 7:9-10

Posted: July 31, 2012 by mikehanafee in Core Values, Detroit History, Detroit Info, preaching, racism, Restore Church, the gospel
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Once again the Lord gave us beautiful weather as we worshiped outdoors at Gordon Park. After a great time of singing lead by a guest mission team from First Presbyterian of Trenton I spoke from the passage that is not just inked on my forearm, it is engraved on my heart.  Revelation 7:9-10 informs us that eternity is doxalogical, Christological, & multicultural. And to fulfill our purpose of previewing this right now the church must be missional. In the end we must realize 3 things. 1 Our hearts are the neediest mission field we know – therefore we must relentlessly apply the gospel to ourselves. 2 We must go to our neighbor – those we live, work, & play with. 3 We must care about our region – our Acts 1:8 B & C! All our called to do something – pray, give, &/or go.

In this message you’ll also learn that Detroit is laid out like a baseball field! Fast forward to the 10:00 mark of the video unless you want to catch some fellowship, a brief discussion of whether I’m hot, & a few minutes of announcements as we worked out microphone issues.  Clete took several pics of the service and of hanging out with part of the BUMP mission team. Please pray for our sports/vbs this week as we kick into full gear Tuesday!

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
(Revelation 7:9-10 ESV)

Back at Gordon Park & Building Search

Posted: July 20, 2012 by mikehanafee in Detroit Info, preaching, Restore Church
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Sunday 11AM we are back at Gordon Park for worship, & amped up for it! Gordon Park is on the NW corner of Clairmount & Rosa Parks in the 48206. We’ll be looking at the fearful & freeing reality that God will not be robbed of His glory.

With fall rapidly approaching our build search ramps up. We would love to have a place for Sunday AM worship and for other ministry possibilities such as Friday night concerts, Monthly Manhood Academy events, etc. PLEASE PRAY WE FIND SOMETHING QUICKLY & INEXPENSIVELY.  The bold letters are indicative of our urgency;)

Friday we looked at a place (a Dollar City store that recently closed) just down from the park at the Virginia Park Community Plaza. As you can see from the photos we would have a lot of work to do…carpet, painting, remove drop ceiling, remove & add some walls, add restroom. Monday we are taking another look to explore whether this facility would be viable. Let us know if you’d be willing to help us renovate the space should we make an offer.

Yesterday at Mack Ave Church!

Posted: July 16, 2012 by mikehanafee in acts, Detroit Info, Friends, Mack Avenue Community Church, preaching, Restore Church, Resurrection, the gospel, Uncategorized
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As we survey the wondrous cross upon which our Savior died we must also scan the empty tomb from which He arose! That was the theme I hammered yesterday morning because that’s exactly what the early church relentlessly preached. Apostolic preaching majored on the resurrection, does ours? After sprinting through the book of Acts we pulled up to make 3 applications of Christ’s resurrection for the believer in the nitty gritty stuff of today. Because Jesus is alive He is FOR me, WITH me, & IN me & I IN Him. You can check out the message here to see exactly how.

I am deeply thankful for the way Mack Avenue Community Church has been serious about disciple making in the 48214 for 5 years. We are brothers in arms with this church & have much to learn from them! Clete & I were also really encouraged by all the Restore peeps who came out to this MACC worship service 7.5 miles away from our neighborhood. (Below are some of the pics they took.) When one of the MACC people saw all the new faces in the building they said revival must have broken out!

Finally, please pray for all of our kids who are at summer camp with First Presbyterian Church of Trenton at Camp Otyokwah in Butler, Ohio. Pray that none of them become fans of that school in Ohio;) Please pray that the gospel crashes into all of their hearts in deep & life transforming ways. FPCT has been extremely gracious to invite 11 of our kids! Finally, July 29 – August 4, Restore Church will be holding a sports/vbs type camp right here in the 48202/206 in conjunction with an EFCA BUMP team from Minnesota & a team from FPCT. Please pray God will do an amazing work in our community, these teams, & Restore Church through this camp week. If you would like to help out please let us know.

Gordon Park Clean Up and Sunday Praise Service in the Park

Posted: June 21, 2012 by cletebontrager in Detroit History, Detroit Info, Family, Friends, race riots, racism, Restore Church, social justice
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June 16th Restore Church along with friends from the community came together to clean Gordon Park.  This is a small, but beautiful park.  We had our work cut out for us, but with many hands it really did make light work.  Thank you to all who helped with this effort.  Many friends were made and friendships deepened.  We all had a lot of fun.

So above you see the pictures of the before.  After we cleaned up the park it looked so much better.  It is amazing what a little elbow grease and hard work will do to an overgrown park.  We are not any different than that park.  We are all overgrown with weeds of sin choking out good growth.  We have man hole covers missing and so we fill them up with garbage of the world.  The big difference is we can’t clean ourselves up.  Oh we may for a short time trim some weeds out, but lasting change only comes from the Holy Spirit doing a work in our life.   This park if not maintained will look just like when we started in a few short weeks.  Same thing happens to us if the change does not come through the work of God in our hearts.  Change must come from the inside out.

So after we did the clean up on Saturday we held a praise service in Gordon Park.  This was the starting place for the 1967 Detroit Riots.  So much history where we held the service.  We had Lorenzo tell a little about Motown Square.  Mike preached from the book of Nehemiah on rebuilding the walls.  God used the service to bring a community together.  We had a little over 50 people out for this service that was held on Father’s Day.  We want to thank Sarah Hilliker for chairs that we were able to borrow from the ministry she works for in Highland Park and also Fred Robinson for the use of his generator.

Here are some pics from Sunday:

We had a wonderful time praising Jesus!  This upcoming Sunday we will be in the park again, so look us up there at 11:00 am.

“Making a move in faith.” Mom of 4 talks about the call to Detroit

Posted: May 4, 2012 by mikehanafee in Detroit Info, Family, Friends, Uncategorized
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In our last post I mentioned a family moving to Detroit to be part of Restore Church. Here’s the story of this call in Jackie’s words…

Had I been asked a couple years ago if I would be writing this, I might have given a nice eye roll along with a “um, yeah ooookay!”

In fact, I have to state that while we were prayerfully considering moving our family to Florida, some friends of ours were about to embark on mission to Detroit. I still remember our conversation as our boys were playing and my sweet friend said, “You should totally come with!” and I (in all sweet sincerty) chuckeled and said “yeah, I don’t think so!”.

Our boys were total buds and they made sure to keep in touch while we were in Florida and they were in Detroit. I remember being a bit bummed that we had just started to get to know each other when both of our families moved out of Oregon. Thankfully, FB helps with keeping in touch and Aaron and I were able to keep in touch that way.

Flash forward a bit to our time closing in Florida, Aaron had mentioned to me that he really felt like we needed to visit our friends in Detroit and see what they were doing there. I, quite honestly did not want to go, a lot of it was fear that if we visited, we might move and who wants to move to Detroit, right? I was reluctant but ended up agreeing to visit and even told Aaron if God says “go”, I’ll go, even though my heart was pretty closed to it.

Colorado called out of the blue and offered Aaron a job and I leterally JUMPED out of my seat “THIS IS IT!! wahoo! Closer to family, a job, people we knew, everything pointed to yes and I still remember Aaron had apprehension about it but this gal was ready to GO! Pack up, let’s get this show on the road!

So we solidified our plans to move to Colorado and visit Detroit on the way to Colorado.

Oh my word, that road trip was the loooongest ever and if you all remember the wonderful ride across America in our car that kept dying every hour or so!! Well, with the car trouble we were having, we decided it would not be smart to stop in Detroit first, so we skipped it, visited family in TX, and then headed up to CO to start a job. A month after moving, we found a house that was rent to own and put the paperwork in to buy the house and set some roots. All the while, there was still some aprehension with Aaron and while I loved the house , there was a part of me that didn’t feel right about it either and I had mentioned to a couple friends of mine but chose to ignore that feeling cause we were not going to move again. nope, nope, nope.

Well, about a month ago, we were sitting in church and worship began to play and it was a.w.e.s.o.m.e. God was moving in my heart and I was loving every minute of it, tears were streaming down and throughout the sermon, the tears continued and I couldn’t stop. I remember looking at Aaron and whispering, we gotta visit Detroit. We both prayed, we both felt at the very least, we needed to visit.

We had no money to make a trip across country and when the day came for us to “supposedly” go, we were still like …ummm how is this gonna work? No joke, the money came in almost immediately and we were floored. Two hours later, we were on the road to visit Detroit, MI and that is the most spontaneous we have been since like we were kids!

30 hours later from being in the car and one sweet stop having some real Chicago pizza, we were finally there and wow, let me say, I was not prepared for it.

I was not prepared to see so many abandoned homes, businesses, and schools. I was not prepared to see people hanging out on the street at all hours of the day, grafitti everywhere, and simply a place that has been worn out to the core.

And while all I was seeing was crazy, I wasn’t prepared to have my heart to be stirred to come live there. I fell in love with our friends at a greater depth and lemme say a family of 6 and family of 7 under the same roof for 9/10 days and not going crazy says a lot ha!

There was one night as we were talking with one of the guys who had come alongside our friends to learn and he was explaining how him and his wife got there and how he absolutely thought that was the last place he ever wanted to be and how God began to work in his wife and him and lead them there. I was listening in awe, in excitement, and in fear. I have struggled with fear a lot in my lifetime and while God has peeled some layers off, this would require me trusting Him a bit more than I am used to and my mind and spirit began to wrestle.

After 5 days of being there, Aaron and I were getting ready to go on a date. I was in the bathroom and got on my knees and began to pray and pray hard. I just begged God that no matter what, if He wanted us there, I’d go and continued to pray that Aaron and I would be on the same page and continue to stay on the same page as we hadn’t really had a chance to talk during our visit. We went on our date and began to share our hearts with each other and where we were at with everything and we were completely on the same page. We both were being stirred and agreed that we would continue to pray and see what happens.

There has been a fire that has ignited in me since being there and a greater urgency to share the gospel for sure and as the weeks have passed and we have continued to pray, it is more evident this is where we are supposed to go. The other night we were praying and I began to read Isaiah 41:8-20. Awesome passage and it really struck me especially with this transition. Please take the time to read it!

This is a big change, requiring a big step of faith and I am asking for your prayer and support.

Please, please read this letter to see more of our heart and the mission that we will be a part of.

I love you all!

Perhaps you wonder how you could ever have an impact if you moved to the city. Check out this encouraging video!

An Analogy from Black History Month

Posted: February 13, 2012 by mikehanafee in Black History Month, Detroit Info, Friends, racism, THE Story, Uncategorized
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At the gracious invitation of friend & Detroit Library Duffield Branch manager Christine Peele I was privileged to sit on the panel of judges with Pastor Shaun Marshall (Citadel of Faith) and 3 others in the 34th Annual Albert H. Mallory Sr. Black Heroes Oratorical Essay Contest. It was a blast listening to over 20 3rd – 9th graders present essays on some of the great african-american leaders of the past 2 centuries. Wow, was it informative for me! Through the hard-work, preparation, and lips of these kids I learned a great deal not just about African-American history, but about American history in general. As a nearly 43 year old college educated white guy who reads fairly widely I was struck by how much of our American history I have not know about. I suspect my experience, as shaped & limited by my background & education, is not unique among the anglo population. Simply put, many of us are largely ignorant of the role African-Americans have played in our nation’s history. We only have part of the story.

And then I was double struck by how this is a bit of an analogy for the ignorance of all ethnicities – red, black, yellow, brown, & white –  of the ultimate story, the Story of our Creator & Redeemer. Some have never even heard of the Living God & others have heard only part of the story about Him as shaped & limited by their traditions. The ignorance many white americans have of the role of blacks in american history serves as an illustration of the ignorance that all people have of Christ until he is revealed by His word through the Spirit.

So after chowing on the delicious buffet that concluded the contest I left not only with a full stomach but also with a renewed commitment in my gut to pursue ( & help others pursue) two things — a greater understanding of the role of african-americans in the story of our nation and a greater understanding of the ultimate story, the story of God.

Here’s two tangible action steps you can take to continue on this journey with me. First, go the Duffield Branch Library and choose a book from the african-american section. My latest read, complements of the recommendation of Mrs. Peele, is The Warmth of other Suns, a book that chronicles the migration of 6 million blacks from the south. Many have been asking me for recommendations so I’ll add three more of my own. Free at Last? The Gospel in African-American Experience by Carl F Ellis Jr (who’ll I’ll get to learn from next Friday in Philadelphia for 8 hours with about 20 pastors!),  On being Black & Reformed by Anthony Carter (No, not the AC of Wolverine history. but I can’t resist – here’s one of the greatest plays of UM history.) and Liberating Black Theology: The Bible & the Black Experience in America by Anthony Bradley (you’ll need strong coffee for this informative read!). Second, participate in our interactive Bible study THE Story Sundays 3-5PM at 1926 Virginia Park Blvd. In a few days I’ll do a blogpost (& possibly post the video) from last night’s study Paradise Lost, the first of our eight sessions. We’re going to set up some more chairs so there is room for you!

THE Story

Posted: February 8, 2012 by mikehanafee in Detroit Info, Restore Church, Uncategorized, Vision
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What happened before time began? How did it all start? Who or what created me? How did I get here? Why do I exist. Does my life really matter? Does it have meaning? What happens after I die? Why is the world the way it is? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are not many humans that haven’t wrestled with these questions. Often we (Christians) attempt to give these answers (evangelism) through a systematic theology kind of approach (four spiritual laws or the like). That approach is not without fruit but what if we attempted to answer these questions in the way & shape Scripture does – as a great story? Non-Christians will see & hear in “technicolor & dolby surround sound” the message of restoration. And Christians will learn how the Bible is put together  - not as an eclectic set of religious teachings, but as one great unfolding story.

Along the way we will all learn great theological truths: creation, the nature of sin, atonement, grace, faith, the attributes of God, the person & work of of Jesus, the person & work of the Holy Spirit, the Lordship of Christ, the Trinity, the Kingdom of God, the gospel, gospel identities, cultural rhythms, God’s election of the saints, Sonship (God as Father), stewardship, Biblical manhood & womanhood, prayer, social justice, the sovereignty of God, forgiveness & guilt, evangelism, & end times stuff (eschatology).

Yes, in eight interactive from Genesis to Revelation user friendly sessions, we are (no wait, God is) going to address all of these things as we tell the greatest story ever. And it’s true!  And it corrects & completes every other story.

Please pray that the God who inhabits the Story will powerfully work in these next two months for, in, & through us, and many, many others, for His everlasting glory & our increasing joy in the 48202/206 & outward!

If you live in the area we’d love to have you join us! We’ll be meeting Sundays Feb 12 – April 1 3-5 pm at Grace Episcopal Church (1926 Virginia Park Street) on the NW corner of Rosa Parks Blvd & Virginia Park St.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Thanks to Soma Communities for their great training in The Story-Formed Way.

Interim Facility Secured!

Posted: January 5, 2012 by mikehanafee in Detroit Info, preaching, racism, Restore Church, social justice, Soma School, Uncategorized
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Restore Church has secured use of a great facility located right in our community – yes, we are excited!  And we are very thankful for the people of Grace Episcopal Church (NW corner of Rosa Parks Blvd & Virginia Park St) graciously opening up their excellent building to us!  We are planning two different events.

First, on January 15 3PM we will celebrate the power of the gospel in racial reconciliation. This worship service will include music, a narration from Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and a sermon on the vertical & horizontal reconciling power of the gospel from Ephesians 2:11-22.

Second, for 8 consecutive Sundays 3-5PM (February 12 – April 1) we will hold a Christ-centered, from Genesis to Revelation, interactive Bible study called THE Story. You may remember Clete blogging about this study here.

For the advance of the gospel in the 48202/206 & outward in 2012,

Mike

 

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