Year End 2018
(view this email update in browser to view pictures HERE)
When Caryn left her marketplace career 16 months ago, we did so because we were not able to keep up with all the opportunities to engage in ministry here. Now, as we review all that God has done this past year, we have seen exponential growth in all areas of our work here! This has been such a confirmation to us of God’s calling and great faithfulness. So, please find following our annual report, which gives an overview of much of our work this past year. Thank you for your part in making this all happen! We look forward to all that God will do in 2019 through our continued partnership in the gospel!
Church Planting That Reaches Post-Christian Places: Training leaders and shaping thought on how to reach communities where people will not normally visit a church or Christian event.
Abuse Recovery and Prevention: Helping people to find healing from all forms of abuse through the gospel, and helping Christian leaders provide environments of protection and healing.
Training Immigrant Christian Leaders: Training and encouraging missionaries to the United States from the developing world to be effective in their new mission field.
2019: We are excited about our plans for next year, some of which include releasing John’s second book. Based on his doctoral thesis, it will equip churches to reach post-Christian places through communion. Also, we will launch “Caring for the Vulnerable Child.” This is MTS curricula designed to develop emotional health and resiliency in children who have suffered loss, abuse, and trauma. This will be a key aspect in our church plant strategy to reach our neighborhood by meeting a significant felt need in the community.
Family
We went from a full house to empty nesters in 2018! Michael lives in Astoria, Queens, and has a very successful career as a project manager in a high-end construction firm. He works mostly on renovations of Upper East Side homes. Matthew has moved to eastern Long Island to be close to Stony Brook University, where he is pursuing his PhD in Neuroscience. He is doing brain research related to Parkinson’s Disease. Mark graduated from Nassau Community College Summa Cum Laude and has moved on campus at Stony Brook University where he is pursuing his Bachelor’s in Psychology. His goal is to get into a PsyD program to become a clinical psychologist. They all come home on Sundays, so we are blessed to be able to continue our tradition of dinner after church! We are so proud of all they have become, and so enjoy this phase of life with them!
Partnership
John and Caryn, we are so thankful to you for your partnership. As you can see, your investments multiply our ability to develop healthy and effective leaders and churches in the neediest places. Many lives have been changed, and we are truly thankful to you!
Some of our partners have expressed a desire to add a year-end gift. If so, please use the enclosed response card (please note new GTN address) or visit our staff page for online giving at the link below. Either way, please know how grateful we are for your commitment to us and your involvement in ministry with us. We are so looking forward to what God will do through our continued partnership in 2019!
In His Love and Service,
John and Caryn
249 Wilson Ave. • Westbury, NY 11590 • (516) 424-7506
www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/amandola
249 Wilson Ave. • Westbury, NY 11590 • (516) 424-7506
www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/who/john-and-caryn-amandola
Year End 2018
(view this email update in browser to view pictures HERE)
When Caryn left her marketplace career 16 months ago, we did so because we were not able to keep up with all the opportunities to engage in ministry here. Now, as we review all that God has done this past year, we have seen exponential growth in all areas of our work here! This has been such a confirmation to us of God’s calling and great faithfulness. So, please find following our annual report, which gives an overview of much of our work this past year. Thank you for your part in making this all happen! We look forward to all that God will do in 2019 through our continued partnership in the gospel!
Church Planting That Reaches Post-Christian Places: Training leaders and shaping thought on how to reach communities where people will not normally visit a church or Christian event.
- Led two leadership training cohorts designed to equip lay leaders for effective disciplemaking.
- Developed and led a six-month preaching cohort to train lay leaders to prepare and deliver gospel-centered expository sermons.
- Lighthouse engaged in neighborhood outreach through many community service efforts, such as serving homeless youth and suicide prevention. We welcomed many new attenders and saw several people baptized.
- Met with new local church planters to provide consultation, training, and encouragement.
- Started a pastoral internship program to develop new pastors in places such as NYC, where seminary is not a viable option for most. Our first intern, Jeremiah (pictured with his bride, Sophie), is half-way through his program.
Abuse Recovery and Prevention: Helping people to find healing from all forms of abuse through the gospel, and helping Christian leaders provide environments of protection and healing.
- Conducted numerous trainings, including Long Island Intervarsity staff and local church leaders on how to help people heal from abuse and provide environments that protect people.
- Trained and certified two more Mending the Soul (MTS) group facilitators. We now we have a total of 5 in NYC, with more soon to be certified - we started with only Caryn!
- Started our first men’s MTS group, and are working with men who completed group toward certification to facilitate and thus multiply groups for men.
- Held a public community forum for abuse prevention.
Training Immigrant Christian Leaders: Training and encouraging missionaries to the United States from the developing world to be effective in their new mission field.
- Conducted seminars for Spanish speaking leaders on how to have healthy communication.
- Conducted seminars for Portuguese speaking leaders on identifying and using one’s leadership spiritual gifts.
- Conducted training for immigrant leaders on how to relate to and reach their second generation.
- Led our first annual Women’s Leadership conference.
- Held our first Pastor’s Theological Roundtable, an online community to equip immigrant leaders on current issues in theology. We had quite a lively first discussion!
- Provided individual coaching and encouragement to immigrant church planters.
2019: We are excited about our plans for next year, some of which include releasing John’s second book. Based on his doctoral thesis, it will equip churches to reach post-Christian places through communion. Also, we will launch “Caring for the Vulnerable Child.” This is MTS curricula designed to develop emotional health and resiliency in children who have suffered loss, abuse, and trauma. This will be a key aspect in our church plant strategy to reach our neighborhood by meeting a significant felt need in the community.
Family
We went from a full house to empty nesters in 2018! Michael lives in Astoria, Queens, and has a very successful career as a project manager in a high-end construction firm. He works mostly on renovations of Upper East Side homes. Matthew has moved to eastern Long Island to be close to Stony Brook University, where he is pursuing his PhD in Neuroscience. He is doing brain research related to Parkinson’s Disease. Mark graduated from Nassau Community College Summa Cum Laude and has moved on campus at Stony Brook University where he is pursuing his Bachelor’s in Psychology. His goal is to get into a PsyD program to become a clinical psychologist. They all come home on Sundays, so we are blessed to be able to continue our tradition of dinner after church! We are so proud of all they have become, and so enjoy this phase of life with them!
Partnership
John and Caryn, we are so thankful to you for your partnership. As you can see, your investments multiply our ability to develop healthy and effective leaders and churches in the neediest places. Many lives have been changed, and we are truly thankful to you!
Some of our partners have expressed a desire to add a year-end gift. If so, please use the enclosed response card (please note new GTN address) or visit our staff page for online giving at the link below. Either way, please know how grateful we are for your commitment to us and your involvement in ministry with us. We are so looking forward to what God will do through our continued partnership in 2019!
In His Love and Service,
John and Caryn
249 Wilson Ave. • Westbury, NY 11590 • (516) 424-7506
www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/amandola
249 Wilson Ave. • Westbury, NY 11590 • (516) 424-7506
www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/who/john-and-caryn-amandola
ABOUT JOHN AND CARYN AMANDOLA
Married since 1986, and having three great boys, John and Caryn have a long history with GTN’s founders, Paul and Lisa! Caryn and Lisa have been friends since Junior High school, and Lisa and her family played a great role in Caryn coming to faith in Christ as a high school student.
"As a newly married couple, we were challenged by Paul, who was the youth pastor at Northwest Community Church, to take on greater ministry responsibilities while youth leaders there. John later succeeded Paul in that same role, where he learned how to multiply spiritual leaders. John also succeeded Paul as a church planter, Paul planting NCC’s first church plant, John the second. It now seems so natural for us to join with Paul and Lisa on staff with GTN, having the same passion to raise up leaders!"
John is a native New Yorker and Caryn grew up in Arizona. John is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, holds an M.Div. from Phoenix Seminary, and is ordained in the Missionary Church. Caryn is a graduate of Texas Christian University and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling. They have much experience in overseas ministry, church planting, mentoring leaders and pastoral ministry.
Consistent with the mission of GTN, Caryn and John have a great passion to raise up Christian leaders all over the world, especially in an area of very great need which is very close to their hearts: The New York Metro area. Their ministry involves several facets:
Married since 1986, and having three great boys, John and Caryn have a long history with GTN’s founders, Paul and Lisa! Caryn and Lisa have been friends since Junior High school, and Lisa and her family played a great role in Caryn coming to faith in Christ as a high school student.
"As a newly married couple, we were challenged by Paul, who was the youth pastor at Northwest Community Church, to take on greater ministry responsibilities while youth leaders there. John later succeeded Paul in that same role, where he learned how to multiply spiritual leaders. John also succeeded Paul as a church planter, Paul planting NCC’s first church plant, John the second. It now seems so natural for us to join with Paul and Lisa on staff with GTN, having the same passion to raise up leaders!"
John is a native New Yorker and Caryn grew up in Arizona. John is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, holds an M.Div. from Phoenix Seminary, and is ordained in the Missionary Church. Caryn is a graduate of Texas Christian University and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling. They have much experience in overseas ministry, church planting, mentoring leaders and pastoral ministry.
Consistent with the mission of GTN, Caryn and John have a great passion to raise up Christian leaders all over the world, especially in an area of very great need which is very close to their hearts: The New York Metro area. Their ministry involves several facets:
- Planting innovative, missional churches in the least churched, least reached counties in the USA.
- Training Christian leaders who work and study in the world’s most influential city to be spiritual leaders who multiply.
- Reach international students to eventually return to their countries as missionaries.
- Travel overseas to train Christian Leaders who otherwise have few resources available to them.