This past weekend, our Elder, Vision, and Staff Teams (14 people total) decided to move ahead with what we sensed Jesus leading us to: to plant our next Ethnos site at New Brunswick, New Jersey. How did we come to this conclusion?  We shared about the initial reason why New Brunswick was considered- click here to read about it. Here are some more reasons that were further considered as we prayed and reflected after that initial scout trip:

1. Criteria + Geography: not only did New Brunswick reflect the traits of a global university town- discussed in an earlier blog post- it was also geographically hospitable to our key value of incarnation. To put it differently, the New Brunswick/Rutgers area exists within geographical boundaries that seem to be able to facilitate a lifestyle of living, working, and playing in the same space. We believe this sort of space is crucial to being a reconciled, incarnational community. 

2. Need: As we met with a diverse range of partners during our trip, each suggested that there was a need for a multiethnic community like Ethnos in the area. Most notable was the pastor of a key African American church in the area; in short, he noted that there was a need for someone who knew how to do multiethnic church, and he invited us to come and be a catalyst for that.

3. "Coincidences": Having lived in San Diego for over 18 years, I am almost certain I have never met any graduates here from Rutgers University, or from the New Brunswick area... until the last 3 months. This, along with other "coincidences" experienced by other scout team members, seem to suggest that God is trying to get us connected with that area.

4. Calling: When all is said and done, if God calls us to go, we must go. Throughout this process, a number of people have "sensed" that there is something different about New Brunswick, as if God has been saying "this is the place." During our evening meeting, we spent some time in listening prayer and a number of people received words or images that suggested God is calling us to go.

There is more we could probably say: we will be discussing more at our upcoming quarterly member meeting (contact us if you want info on this meeting). In the meantime, stay tuned for more as we begin to share the practical steps ahead and how we might all get involved.

Prayer Points:

- Pray that Jesus gives more and more of us a sense of His specific call for us to go to New Brunswick.

- Pray that Jesus gives us great unity of heart and purpose during this time.