JONATHAN PROJECT Page Two

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your comments, your calls, you support...and your thrill of what God is unfolding in our lives. This has certainly been a "faith walk!" Let me give you a little clearer picture of what we will be doing by describing in more detail what THE JONATHAN PROJECT is all about and our involvement in it.

First, you will not find JONATHAN PROJECT on the web. That is for a very important reason. Much of the JONATHAN work is done in difficult places. Some governments are not friendly towards JONATHAN. Some religious groups around the world are very opposed to THE JONATHAN PROJECT. Consequently it is important to fly under the radar...thus no web site.

Second, here is a simple three line statement of THE JONATHAN PROJECT:

• Great Faith
• Little Money
• Large Impact

This three line statement captured my heart. "Great Faith!" That is what the biblical Jonathan was all about in I Samuel 14. He his armor bearer were taking what looked like an impossible hill to win in battle- especially with only two people. He trusted the Lord each step of the way as he climbed up that hill. He, along with his armor bearer, even though outnumbered ten to one, took that hill and won that battle. The resulting confusion among the enemy gave Israel and King Saul an opportunity for a great victory. The Bible says, "So the Lord rescued Israel that day..." (I Samuel 14:23) The faith Jonathan displayed in God, released the power of God. And even though Jonathan had to take that "first step" up thehill it was the Lord who did the rescuing. In 2009 we are taking that "first step" of faith as we move towards our multitude of "hills." But ultimately, it is "the Lord" who will do the rescuing...even in our day!

"Little Money" could be misunderstood. It does take money...obviously. But once people are trained, empowered and released to establish churches within the context of their people group (or wherever they are) there is no need for continued American/European dollars to sustain the church. And to top it all off the churches planted by THE JONATHAN PROJECT are taught to be "multiplying churches," once again, in the context of who they are and what they have materially. As a result of these JONATHAN principle's currently put into action, over 1,000 churches have been established in the past twelve years! Twelve years! That is how long THE JONATHAN PROJECT has been in existence.

"Large Impact!" Naturally I jumped ahead of my story in the paragraph above. Not only have 1,000+ churches been started, well over 300,000 people have come to faith in Jesus Christ in these past twelve years as a result of THE JONATHAN PROJECT!

You can see why Judy and I are challenged by this incredible opportunity. We happily gave 46 years of our lives in the Pastoral Ministry- and we loved it. In this new chapter and new season in our lives, we are thrilled to be able to impact unreached people groups as well as nations, all for Jesus Christ.

Third, you may know churches or individuals who would be interested in hearing more about THE JONATHAN PROJECT- to get in on something huge with the Lord and with others! Send me names, or numbers, or email addresses and I will follow up with all I receive. In it all we will trust the Lord because we are "taking hills together!"

Blessings and prayers,

Graydon and Judy Jessup

P.S. Each Monday for sure, I will add to this blog. If there are new developments I believe I need to add at other times I'll make that judgment and make the additions accordingly.