The Team
Burlington is not your typical church planting. We have the amazing benefit of going into city where there are about twenty mature disciples who have been faithful for years and are very connected in the local community. As a result, we are looking for people of all ages to join this team: young fired up disciples to help start and build the campus and teen ministries, and more mature people to help build up the single professionals ministry and to help shepherd and encourage the marrieds who are already there.
The Balzers
The mission team will be led by Mike and Kristen Balzer. Mike and Kristen have spent the last two years training in the ministry under Glenn and Danielle Petruzzi in Portland, Maine. Seeing that planting grow from around 25 members to over 80 members during the time they were there has increased their faith and taught them a lot about how to build a fruitful church on the mission field! They cannot wait to see Burlington become a thriving ministry again. They will be backed up by the "Burlington Reinforcement Team," a group of elders and evangelists dedicated to the church's success, and will continue to receive training from the New England School of Missions during their time in Vermont.
Mike was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, where he attended the University of Texas San Antonio. He was reached out to and got baptized in 2006 during his freshman year there.
Kristen grew up in the Chicago church and was baptized as a teen. She attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where she was a part of the campus ministry. She has also worked consistently with HOPE Worldwide.
One Year Challenge Participants
The One Year Challenge (OYC) is a call for disciples who are relatively unbound to their current situation to use their mobility to do great things for God in a mission church. Have you recently graduated college? Are you wanting to take a year off from school or your career? Are you working a job that does not keep you tied to where you're currently at? Are you a member of a large church and want to move somewhere where you'll be able to put your talents to work more? Are you young marrieds who haven't started a family yet?
We are looking for people who in the spirit of Isaiah 6:8 are ready to simply say, "Here am I, send me!" and take a year off of their careers to move to Burlington to focus on the mission field.
Ideally, volunteers will raise financial support from family or friends in order to free up as much time as possible to build up the church. They can also find a part-time or full-time job to pay the bills during their time on the OYC.
Click here for more information about the OYC program at large, including its history, FAQs, and testimonies of disciples whose lives have been changed and the impact they were able to make while on the OYC.
Fill out our contact form if you're interested and we will be happy to help you figure out if OYC Burlington is for you!
Mission Team Members From All Over the Country
Not only are we looking for people to serve on the One Year Challenge in Burlington, we are looking for people who want to relocate to Burlington for more than a year or even indefinitely. They could be anyone--teens, young marrieds, families, empty nesters, anyone who is willing to move to Burlington and help build up the church and go on a faith adventure in the process.
If you are willing to move to Burlington and establish a life there, contact us for help with figuring out if Burlington is a good fit for you and we will happily help with finding a job and housing! The disciples in the church already are well connected in the community and can direct you to job leads and which neighborhoods and suburbs are the best places to live.
...and the Heroes Who've Lived Here for Years
Over the last fifteen years the church in Burlington has been through a lot of trials, including being without staff for 9 of the last 11 years. Those who have remained faithful there are incredible examples of perseverance and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the mission team to reinforce their faith and help them accomplish the work of the Lord they have been laboring at for the last decade and a half. Those of them who have kids are especially excited for what the team will mean for their children, most of whom have never seen a fired up teen or campus ministry, and some of whom are getting to the age where they want to start studying the Bible.
Come encourage the faith of these amazing disciples and help their children (all 20 of them!) know God!
Check out the photo gallery for pictures of the church members already living in Vermont.