Friends and Family,

We have fun and exciting news to share! (No, we’re not pregnant) But we are moving back to NYC! We have so enjoyed living in Oklahoma City the last 4½ years. It has been such a good time being closer to our families, being a part of Bridgeway Church, and soaking again in the super-rich relationships we have here with such truly loving friends. But now it is time to move on toward the next season of life and our sense is that God leading us back to NYC.  We are aiming to move the last weekend of June and be there around July 1^st.  It’s coming fast!

That’s the short of it. As we make this move, lots of people have had questions as I’m sure you do as well. In the interest of trying to inform you of what we’re doing and why, where we will live, etc…we are starting a blog (online journal) that you can tune in to and get some answers, ask questions and keep in step with what’s going on with us. To find out more details on our move and stay connected with us, keep an eye on this blog page. We suggest you add the link to your favorites and check it once a week or so to stay connected. For those of you savvy with RSS feeds, be sure to subscribe! We will be updating the site on somewhat of a regular basis to start facilitating information. If you don’t mind, we will send a brief notice to your email when there is new content added. However, if you prefer we do not do this (because you subscribe to the RSS feed, or you would rather just check on your own) PLEASE let us know and we will not send you a notice.

As always, for more personal correspondence don’t hesitate to send us an email at thebiddys@gmail.com, or andybiddy@gmail.com

Going in faith,
Andy and Jessica

Quick links:  What we will be doing, What else we will be doing

April 22nd, 2008  9:47 pm 

The other element of our lives in New York will be our intention to church plant. Some of you are thinking, “Church plant?! What in the world?!” I know, I know. A lot of you reading this are familiar with this language, and a lot of you are not. For those that are not as familiar, we will do our best to communicate what that looks like….in the very near future.  We have been working on another post to help clarify the nuts and bolts of our intentions to church plant, but we’re not finished and ready to publish it yet.  But we are aiming to have it out soon.  We will let you know when it is up.  For now, here’s a taste…A phrase came up early on as Jessica and I talked about what it might look like to church plant.  The phrase also embodied what we believe is our essential call as Christians.  The phrase is simply “Be disciples, make disciples.”  It involves a being aspect and a doing aspect.  We found that the Bible is full of these two aspects.  Here are two examples.  Jesus talks about abiding in the vine (himself) in John 15.  This abiding is a great picture of what it is to be a disciple.  Then in Matthew 28:18-20 he commands his disciples (us) to… 

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (emphasis added)

…which is a command of what we are to do as disciples.  One of the most refreshing things we have found in our walks as Believers is that we both have grown in our love for God and in our commitment to obey his commands within a passionate community of people that are seeking the same thing, something typically called a “church.”  How novel, huh?  And as we have sought to conform our hearts and lives to these two aspects, being and doing, the idea and desire to church plant has risen in our hearts.  Okay, that’s my “teaser.”  I know I left you hanging, but there is more to come.  In the meantime, if you want to know more now I encourage you to look around at this website.  Our thoughts and ideas about this are not some wacky new thing we’ve conjured up ourselves. 

Bridgeway Church is passionate about this very thing too.  Take a look at the “who we are” and “what we do” pages and be sure to look at the subsections.  They give a great depiction of where we are coming from.  And I highly recommend downloading the podcasts of previous sermons.  Just go to the homepage and click the podcast link to get the last 10 sermons or so.  And lastly, there’s a great site that has tons of resources and helpful information on this stuff.  It’s http://www.3dministries.com/.  Hope that helps and ties you over until we can say more.

Blessings,

Andy 

 4/22/2008 3:24pm

As we have let people know our plans, just about everyone’s first question has been, “What will you do?”  So, assuming you’re wondering the same thing…we will be doing a little of what we’re doing now, a little of what we used to do, and some “brand new old stuff!”  Jessica has been working for Jami Smith (jamismith.com) during most of our time back in OKC and she will continue to do that in NYC.  I (Andy) have been working at a small oil & gas company, Energas Resources, and I will actually continue to fill some responsibilities I currently fill, but at a part-time level from NYC.  This will permit us to sustain most of our current income but free up most of my time and some of Jessica’s time to pursue our careers as performing artists again.  So we will be auditioning and going for all of that fun stuff again as well. 

The second question we get is “Where will you live?”  We don’t know yet.  We are in the process of searching for available apartments somewhere in the 90’s through the 40’s on the West Side of Manhattan.  At this point, we would be thrilled to get a two-bedroom in the Clinton area or a little more north of there in the west 70’s.  If you feel led, please pray for not only an apartment for us, but include these specifics: 

• washer & dryer in the apt.
• a location that is easy for out-of-towners to find easily
• a place where we can host a handful of people at least somewhat comfortably by NYC standards
• a two-bedroom apt. so we can separate our work area from our living area AND so we can offer a place to sleep for our guests (like you!).

Jessica and I have been getting specific in our requests simply because our Father tells us to ask him for things (Matthew 7:7-8), and it will be fun to see what details he will provide as we ask for them. 

That’s all for now.  If you have more questions, click on the “Comments” button below the post and send us a reply.  Or shoot us an email at thebiddys@gmail.com. 

Peace,

Andy

Quick Link:  What else we will be doing

4/14/2008 

After 4 years of waiting “in the wings” (that serves multiple meanings) and 2 surveying trips, God is finally opening the door and leading us back to New York (City that is), but this time not just for the arts.  Our hearts have grown immensely for NYC during our time in OKC and we are in full swing preparing for our return.  We will say our final goodbyes at the end of June and head to our home away from home by July 1st.  Please join us in praying for the city and it’s people, praying for even clearer vision, and praying for our transistion.  Please also pray for workers, because there is indeed a harvest in NYC.  As Caleb said when he returned from scoping out Canaan, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey and there is fruit.”  Yes, there many there who are hungry to know the peace that surpasses all understanding and the Giver of Life.  This is just the first of many updates.  We can’t thank you enough for joining us in this journey. Going in faith - Jessica

As part of Sharefest on April 19th, The Family Van House Church will be meeting at Memorial Park in the late morning and pick up trash and pray for the park, those who visit it,  and the surrounding area.  At lunchtime, we will be grilling and handing out hotdogs to bless those visiting the park!  And of course… we’ll take time to play!  This will be very easy for families with young children, too!  If you live in this part of town and want to join us, just give us a call for more information.  - Andy and Angie Dowdell, 525-0566