I looked at Shelly the other day and said, “It has been five months since we left Kansas City.” We both took a deep breath and so did Evelyn (who is learning how to take deep breaths too). We sat in the moment, deeply saddened by the things we left behind, but then Shelly reminded us, “We have been called to be back home.” We are learning how to hold those two things in tension: celebrating and giving thanks to God for what KC means to us, what God started in and through us in KC; while also looking ahead to what God is doing now and what he is going to do in the months and years ahead. Although we miss a place and the people, we are thrilled to be where we are and to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people God has led us to here.
About a month ago, I was catching up with a church planter about 18 miles west of us, Will Klotz, who planted New City Fellowship. As we were buying lunch to take back to his office two young men (Comey and Jordan) approached us asking for money. Will offered to buy them a sub and they accepted. As Will was buying them lunch I began to ask questions: Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Who do you live with? Where is your father? When did he die? What is it like being the man of the house? Etc. Comey was open, engaged, and willing to share what was going on his world. I asked him if he knew how to make sense of his life: the ups and downs, the aches and pains of his story, and Comey said, “I read the Bible and pray, but not really.” A verse that came to mind in the moment was Psalm 68:5, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is a god in his holy habitation.”
I shared with Comey a little of my story and my relationship with my earthly father. Out of that I got to share the Good News of Jesus and the Father’s love for his creation, his love for Comey, and for Jordan. We prayed for them and Will exchanged contact info with them. A week later, early in the morning I received a text from Will with heavy news: “Comey just texted me because his friend Jordon overdosed and died.” My heart was heavy from the death of Jordan, but so grateful Jordan heard the Good News of Jesus before he took his last breath. Will is now walking with Comey and building a relationship with him. Please join us in praying for Comey, his mother and sister, and that they would trust Jesus.
Shelly here 🙂 Over the past few months since we moved into our townhome, we’ve had the opportunity to meet and build relationships with several of our neighbors. Our sweet Great Dane, Ky, was a big help with that as many, many folks were drawn to a 120lbs gentle giant like her. Sadly, we lost Ky-girl a little over a month ago after she developed some severe health issues. It’s been strange getting used to life without her. She’s been a part of our family from the beginning. My youngest sister moved in with us with her chocolate lab, Duke, and they’ve both been a joy to have around. She’s been joining a weekly Bible Study I’ve been leading virtually and wrestling with the Truth of the Gospel. We continue to thank God for her presence and pray that she would give her life to Jesus.
We are so grateful to be able to slowly build relationships with our neighbors (while following public health guidelines). I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with one of our neighbors a few months ago and we are continuing to pray for God to save her and her husband.
About a week ago, I had the opportunity to meet a woman while on a walk with Evelyn and during the course of our conversation I had the opportunity to share my faith and our mission to plant a church in the area. To my surprise, she shared that her and her husband are believers and have been praying for a local church to get involved in. They have committed to joining us in praying for our community and church plant. I must stop to praise God: How incredible, how faithful, how good and how gracious He is to us! Meeting her and her husband is an answered prayer as we seek to gather a team of people to pray and work together to advance the Gospel in Northern Virginia.
On the logistical side of things:
Growing partnerships…
As of today we are half way there in our personal support $6,360/mo; our goal is $11,500/mo. For the church plant, we need $245,000 for the initial launch of our church. We are still running hard at sharing the Vision of our church plant and inviting people to partner in three ways: Praying, Giving, Joining.
Settling in…
Two moves in three months and now we can finally say we are settling in. When I (Daniel) say I am exhausted from moving, I mean it. Since the age of eight, I have lived in a different home every year, but now it’s time for a change. We signed a two year lease in Dunn Loring Village where the Dixon family plans to plant roots and build community. We are making breakfast sandwiches with homemade buttermilk biscuits and blessing our neighbors as often (& safely) as we can. We are meeting a ton of young families and setting up socially distanced hangouts.
One step closer…
We are one step closer to planting! We have identified a local sending church, All Peoples Community Church. (Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City, MO is our official sending church, but when your sending church is out of state it is healthy to find a local sending church to be apart of before launching.) We became members last week and I am serving on staff overseeing Discipleship and Groups. Shelly is co-leading a women’s discipleship group. We are still praying for a Fall 2021 launch and will continue to seek the Lord’s guidance and the wisdom of faithful brothers and sisters in order to plant in the healthiest way possible. Please continue to pray for us as we walk out what the Lord has called us to here in Northern VA.
Go over to the Church Planting page to hear recent sermons and read through our prospectus.
Thank you for following our journey. We love you!
Peace and Grace from the Dixons!
The Dixon Family 