Thursday, May 3, 2012

All About Gloritrek



a.     Who we are?
After a dozen years of located ministry in Illinois, the Atkin family answered the call to share the Gospel among an unreached people group – in Taiwan.  In 1998, David & Brenda, with grade-school age daughters, Emily and Tabitha, joined with Team Expansion to plant churches in East Asia, among the least reached peoples.  Noah, who was “Made in Taiwan,” came just before the new millennium.

Dave and Brenda are celebrating a few milestones:  25 years of both full-time ministry and marriage, including 15 years of church planting in Taiwan.



b.     What is Gloritrek?
Team Expansion’s Gloritrek links two passions:  making the God of the Nations famous among the unreached peoples of the earth and cross-country cycling.  Gloritrek will be a US coast-to-coast and church-to-church cycling event by Dave & Noah Atkin, from May 19 to August 4, 2013.  Every evening along the way, in every town or city they visit, David & Noah, to adults as well as children, hope to share about God’s passion for the nations. 
 
c.      Why Gloritrek?
Well… Jesus said, “Go!”  How we get there he left up to us!  Or, the biblical answer might be Psalm 96:3 and many other passages that share with us God’s passion and the church’s mission to all nations. 

Or, would you believe the vision for Gloritrek was a morphine-induced hallucination while David lie paralyzed in a hospital bed in Asia?  (To hear the rest of that story, which was made into a Discovery channel documentary, you’ll need to attend a Gloritrek event near you!)

            d.   What route will we take?  (click on this link to see the map)
It will begin in Los Angeles and end in New York City, a trek of more than 3,300 miles.  Most cross-country cyclists prefer to avoid the cities, but not us!  We plan to visit as many cities as possible!  And, we plan to ride through Louisville, KY; the host city for the North American Christian Convention, July 9 -12, 2013.  Louisville is also the international headquarters for Team Expansion.

d.     What can YOU do?
PRAY.  As you can clearly see, Gloritrek is completely in God’s hands!  Who Dave & Noah meet, the impact of the message, the hospitality of the churches, the weather, the expense, their health and safety – all are in God’s hands.  Praying daily for them will be made possible through their daily blog.  To join the Gloritrek prayer team, and receive daily updates from Dave & Noah along the route, sign-up by clicking on this link.  (Link)

HOST a Gloritrek event.  If you are along the route, please plan to host a one-night event.  Invite not only your own church, but also all the other churches in the area!  Host churches would also be responsible to feed and shelter Dave & Noah for the night.  If we are with you on a Lord’s Day morning, we’d ask that you allow David to preach & Noah to share his message with the children.
ATTEND a Gloritrek event.  Even if you aren’t on the route, maybe you can get a group together and drive to the nearest Gloritrek event.  Or, see David & Noah at the North American Christian Convention.  Or, follow along on-line through the Gloritrek web-site!

GIVE.  The Atkin family already has the best support team of any missionaries on the planet.  These faithful financial partners have stood with them for 15 years, generously providing all they need for church planting in Asia.  

Before the launch of Gloritrek:
Confident that the Lord will provide all that they need, Dave & Noah launched the plan for Gloritrek and trust that all the expenses will be paid BEFORE the trip even begins!  This could amount to $10,000.  If you believe in Gloritrek, and the Lord has prompted you to give, you may send a check to:

                  Kathy Murrell
c/o           Team Expansion
                  PO Box 51
                  Bement, IL  61813

The check should be made payable to Team Expansion, with Gloritrek written on the memo line.  All gifts are tax deductible.  Thank you!
                 
During Gloritrek:
It is the hope that any offerings received along the way will go straight to Team Expansion:  to be used around the world in reaching the unreached.   However, offerings are NOT necessary to host a Gloritrek event.




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Current Location Note: When in areas where no signal is available the updating of the map page will be suspended, as soon as the signal is reacquired the map will be updated toshow the current position.