Three Days and Counting!

Dear Friends,

We are "three days and counting" to lift off to Thailand. Tickets are purchased. Seats are reserved. Rooms in Chiang Mai are reserved. All of the homework we were to complete is completed. We are in contact with very special friends in Chiang Mai whom we will be able to see and visit with on the weekends when not in class. In other words, "all systems are GO!"

Here are some things we are anticipating in this journey:

• We will be meeting brand new friends who are also involved in the telling of the Gospel Story to unreached people groups.
• We will be meeting "global" Christians- others from around the planet who will also be in Chiang Mai for THE JONATHAN TRAINING.
• As mentioned above we will be visiting with some very special friends we have come to love and appreciate over the years.
• We will be meeting people who serve those who are preparing to tell the Gospel Story to unreached people groups.
• In some of the free time we have (and we do not have very much "free time,") we will be meeting people who live in Thailand and who have been called there to serve the Lord in some way.

As you can see all of the bullet points above refer to "relationships." We are discovering over and again that "relationships" are so critical to the shared responsibility of telling the story of Jesus Christ. If I know somebody and I know that you and that "somebody" are involved in similar ministries, I can mention that. The two of you then get together on the basis of your shared knowledge of "relationship" with me. I have discovered that this has happened over and over again these past years, but especially in this past year. It is amazing to me how the Kingdom of God expands- person by person, village by village, city by city, people group by people group!

This is a significant week for Judy and me. One year ago this week we were saying "good bye" to all of the wonderful people at Eastside Christian Church! By God's Grace the baton of leadership for Eastside was handed over to Pastor Gene Appel. God is using him and the church in amazing ways to impact North Orange County for the heart of God! We are so blessed as we continue to hear the reports of the "fresh wind" blowing over Eastside in this season. Our lives are filled with many good things and one of them is the answer to the prayer of the Eastside Elders as we transitioned from the leadership of Eastside into this new role with STADIA INTERNATIONAL-JONATHAN PROJECT! Simply stated, the Elders prayed that this chapter of our lives would transcend anything we had done or had been involved in, in our prior years of ministry. We believe firmly that God indeed is answering that prayer as we are so deeply involved with STADIA INTERNATIONAL in the training and sending of Global JONATHANS into the very difficult unreached people groups of the world! It truly is an amazing story!

With prayers of thanksgiving,

Graydon and Judy Jessup

714.488.7922

gjessup@stadia.cc

graydonandjudy.blogspot.com

The Countdown Begins!

Dear Friends,

We were able to watch the blastoff of the most recent Space Shuttle. What an incredibly awesome manifestation of power. I have never gotten tired of watching those blastoffs! And what do you hear as you watch those last few seconds before the earth rumbles as the jets fire up and the craft is launched into space? You hear the countdown: "Twenty seconds and counting!"

Judy and I are in "countdown" mode before we take off to Thailand, October 24th. I have been to Thailand before. But this is a new venture for Judy. We are both excited that we will be able to take this trip together and experience the JONATHAN TRAINING as a couple. This Training is a critically important piece of the puzzle. In fact it is the cornerstone for JONATHAN. Here is the progression:

1. Find and identify "Global Jonathans!" Remember that a "Jonathan" is an individual who has the character temperment of the Biblical Jonathan- I Samuel 14. The Biblical Jonathan moved forward when all odds were against him. But he moved forward in the power and strength of his trust in the God of the universe! So first and foremost, we are looking for modern day Jonathans.
2. Once identified and challenged we train those Jonathans in a two week intensive.
3. Once trained the Jonathans then move into the unreached people group they have identified and prayed over. Remember that these "Global Jonathans" do not consider what cannot be done...rather they prayerfully prepare to take the "difficult hill" through their faith in God. In partnership with the Lord, they believe that as they do their part, God will do His part in "taking the hill."
4. With that faith they move forward to "take the hill," or that would be, to preach and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ to a difficult people group previously untouched by the Gospel.
5. As soon as people come to faith, they then begin to tell the story of Jesus and as they tell the story they are also "trained" to take the Gospel to their circle of friends and family. Bottom line- people who had never heard about Jesus, hear about Him. Lives are changed! Eternity comes into view! The Gospel moves forward per the instructions of Jesus Christ!

So, the countdown is on as we ready ourselves for these two weeks of training, Sep 28-Oct 10. We believe that this "power-surge" can be effectively realized and actualized as men and women from around the world are trained and released to tell the story of forgiveness and love through God's Son, Jesus Christ!

Prayers,

Graydon and Judy Jessup

P.S. We had a great time dedicating the new worship facility for LifeSpring Christian Church, in Beaumont, CA. We were able to reconnect with many Eastside Christian Church folk. LifeSpring is a church plant out of Eastside! It was a glorious day! Dwight and Carol Addelman lead LifeSpring and they are doing a fantastic job!

Labor Day 2009

Dear Friends,
OK, let's be honest for a moment. I mentioned in my last blog, written last Thursday, that I would be making my weekly entry today, Monday, September 7th. This is Labor Day and most everyone is off for the day- off from work and from school and taking this final holiday as the break before the "real school year" begins! But be honest now! When you read I would be writing today did you not think to yourself, "Oh, yeah, sure. GJ writing on this Monday is a pipe dream!" Come on now, you thought that, right? Well here I am all ready to write for a few moments. Miracles still happen!!!

Seriously, so many of you ease up to either me or Judy and you say something like this: "You know, I am following your blog!" That just blesses us. Thanks. Thank you for your thoughts, your effort in reading and keeping up with us, and your prayers.

Judy and I are working hard in preparing ourselves for this trip to Thailand. We leave early morning from LAX on September 24th and return October 12th. We have books to read and papers to write as we prepare for this intense two weeks. We will be spending eleven days in the classroom with about 20 other people as we take THE JONATHAN TRAINING in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This will put the proverbial "legs and wheels" to what we have been talking about since we began this ministry April 6th. Under normal circumstances you are trained before you begin a ministry, or a job, or some project. Because all of the training in THE JONATHAN PROJECT to date, is overseas, we needed to begin working in this ministry but we had to wait for our actual training because it would invlove an overseas trip. So we have been working hard for the past six months, talking about a ministry and all of the possibilities connected with this ministry, without having walked through the training...yet! These past six months have been a whirlwind. With the experience of the two weeks of classroom work I can only imagine how our work will pick up even more dramatically! We both are truly excited for the adventure and we are thrilled that at this season of our lives we get to be involved in some global initiatives that have eternal consequences...namely...seeing that the Gospel is preached to the "difficult to reach," Unreached People Groups of the world.

With prayers of thanksgiving,
Graydon and Judy Jessup
gjessup@stadia.cc
Speaking and Travel Schedule
I'll be speaking two times this Sunday, September 13, 2009
LifeSpring Christian Church, Beaumont, CA
Pastor Dwight Addleman
Church is located at 3rd and Maple Ave in Beaumont
Morning Service 9:30 AM
Dedication Service of the upgraded different facility is at 2 PM

Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sept 24 - Oct 12
Alaska in four different churches on four different weekends, Oct 15 - Nov 9
National Missionary Convention, Peoria, IL, Nov 18 - 22
India essentially for the month of January 2010

Sorry!

To all of our Friends and Prayer Warriors,

This is Thursday AM and Judy and I are in Cedar City, Utah. We will leave in a bit to head home!

We spent this past Sat PM and Sun AM with Roger and Becky Yount and the Summit Christian Church Family. (Sparks, NV) Had Sunday lunch with the Younts, Sr Pastor Steve and Pam Bond and Youth Pastor Bryan and Laura Smith (son in law and daughter of the Younts) and the Smith's two children! What a great time as all of the families have their roots out of Eastside Christian Church!

Judy and I then headed out Sunday afternoon for Salt Lake City. We actually arrive Monday early evening and stayed with Sim and Judie Leslie. Judy Leslie and Judy Jessup have known each other since they were three years old. In other words they are not only some of our "old" friends but they are some of our OLD friends! You get the point.

The meetings in Salt Lake were to pray, listen and plan for the coming Summit meeting October 19/20 in Salt Lake. An incredibly large number of ministries, churches and individuals have banded together to pray over and plan the establishment of six multiplying churches in the next three years in the Salt Lake Valley. To say the least it is an incredibly exciting venture. While there we met some of God's very best- men and women called of God to serve Him in the Valley. We will have more on this expanding, exploding ministry as the next few weeks fly by.

In the meantime, Judy and I left Salt Lake Wednesday (the 2nd) afternoon and we made it to Cedar City. We are leaving this place soon, 6 AM the 3rd, and will be back in our own place full of the good things of the Lord!

Keep us in your prayers. I will post more on Monday the 7th, Labor Day!

Prayers,

Graydon and Judy