As we continue on our adventure, we have been asked many great questions. If you have further questions, there is a comment section after each question/answer, please ask any further questions...or comment.

Why Nashville?

Just seems natural to go where God seems to be giving favor. Madison has been a great place, natural for me (Juli) to build relationships but these have come out of the community, the work place, the neighborhood and the school - I can do what I do anywhere. Madison has not been as good of a fit for Gene. Also, there is a saying in Nashville that we have found very true: "No one is actually from here." I think I've only met one person who grew up near Nashville. She is the daughter of a country music legend, who relocated to Franklin, TN, just outside of Nashville when daddy hit it big. The publisher is originally from Indiana, his wife from California, the receptionist from St. Louis, people I have or will be writing with are from: North Carolina, Michigan, California, Georgia, England, Seattle, etc. I think you get the picture. The people we plan on ministering too, walking beside in their spiritual journey, mind the gap with are transplants who came to Nashville because it's where you need to be in the music industry. However, don't let that impress you--people are just people. Besides having incredible talent, they are so normal it would surprise you. They ask the same spiritual questions everyone else does. They too are looking for purpose and direction in life.

How do we know Gene isn't just dragging the family off to Nashville to be a famous writer?

While Gene has many significant relationships in Nashville with writers, publishers, and producers, there will be no line waiting for the Reynolds' when they arrive in the city limits. There are literally hundreds of writers down in Nashville, most of whom are working second jobs just trying to make ends meat. Gene has been told by some industry folks that he has what it takes to be successful as a writer, but this has never, and hopefully never will be his goal. He settled that with God a long time ago. However, he does take his writing very seriously and realizes the better writer he becomes the more it will open doors for him to minister. For the past seventeen years, ministry has been our lives. We believe ministry will be our heart beat until our lives end. With that said, if you ever have concerns that Gene's music is taking priority over our ministry, we invite you to speak into our lives.

Where will you go to church in Nashville?

We have been fortunate to have several conversations with a pastor named Jer Dunlap who is planting a church called Storyline in Nashville. We have decided to commit and serve with this local body of believers. However, he is aware and supportive that our ministry will lead us to go with people to visit other churches when they come to that point of their journey. Jer is very excited and supportive of our ministry.

What is your exact financial need?

We have calculated that for living expenses as well as ministry expenses (discipleship materials, web site, misc. network expenses) we can be most effective with $4000 monthly. (This is 1/2 of what it costs for overseas ministry.)

How much of that do you have already?

it is probably 1/4, maybe. We are just getting started with partnership development.

What will you actually be doing in Nashville?

We expect the first year will be spent getting jobs (Gene:song writing, Juli: Nursing) and getting to know the community (attending PTO meetings, sporting events, city planning events, community partnership events, library workshops, coffee shops, hair stylist, any event listed in the paper that looks like an opportunity, serving in local food pantry, youth outreach program...). We plan to rent and have chosen an apartment community that has many recreational opportunities and a club house available for use.

Ideas to get us started:

• initiating neighborhood-together involvement in community efforts to feed the hungry, clean up parks, youth outreach, partnering with local organizations in meeting community needs
• hosting holiday parties
• hosting book clubs, theology chats, spiritual investigation groups (probably won't name them that, but you get the idea)
• 1:1 discipleship relationships
• maintaining an online spiritual guidance site
  
• working with StoryLine church as Life Coaches / Dream Releasers
  
• designing Spiritual Retreats for those who are desiring a journey, to learn how to spend time with God, training in disciplines such as Scripture study and meditation / prayer
  
• entertaining in our home
• hosting film discussion groups

We expect that with our focus on our "neighbors" and continued effort at revealing the Kingdom within our "neighborhoods" we will see some of what we have seen in Madison carry over to Nashville with a capacity for further development over time. 

Once friendships have formed, once we are able to talk with neighbors at a truly meaningful level about their dreams and needs, praying with and for them about what really matters to them, any number of doors can be thrown wide open. We have experienced this in Madison and have found people are open to sharing with us real needs when offered the opportunity to have someone praying for them. 

Regarding GTM Intl.

What is GTM's accountability structure with its missionaries?

We have an egalitarian approach to infrastructure as apposed to hierarchal at GTM, Inc.. We are not command and control driven rather, resource and relationship. It is more organic and in tune with the values of an emerging generation...more about accountability further on.

Besides your family are there others working with them like this?

Yes, there are six other ministry teams that minister in mutuality to GTM. Four of them function in conjunction with the missions agency role and we manage their finances through the not - for- profit corporation. We receive their support and our accounting department maintains their donor records

If they are forging new territory, do they have outcomes in mind (specifics for their vision)?

GTM original mission statement of global evangelism through music and mission, cooperating with ministries globally, is still the overarching vision. We bring along side our organization other ministries or people whose philosophies flow with that vision. Gene and Juli fit naturally.

The new territory that GTM is forging is to model missions to the next generation and mobilize them. Training emphasizes effective team and doing ministry with the passion of one's God given gifts. Several of the teams cooperating with GTM in a similar capacity as Gene and Juli, are in that arm of the ministry.

GTM believes that "Effective ministry comes of Relationship". It has been a mantra for 27 years. We follow ministry relationship in ALL our missions endeavors.

Does GTM have a Board of Directors?

Yes, we have a board of Directors since thier inception in 1981 - There are seven on the board. Also, they have an additional advisory group that function in conjunction with GTM's Board.

What expectations does GTM have for you and your ministry regarding future goals and personal accountability?

We customize our expectations and accountability for each ministry team that is attached to GTM in missional effort. We do our best to avoid a cookie-cutter environment. Giving ministries, under the umbrella of GTM, latitude to manifest their Divine design.

Our ministry with Gene and Juli is built on the working philosophy of resource and relationship. We encourage their setting of goals, advise them in the process, but take no control in the fulfillment of them. We do expect them to maintain life and work congruent with their goals and will help them course correct when needed. Their place and purpose in service to Christ is emerging and developing to fit in a new generational demand in America. Our position right now in their goals setting is to be supportive, to think innovatively with them, and help them manage the durative time to fulfil steps in this direction.

Our accountability with them is based in the premise of mutuality in ministry and a long history. We are determined to trust the Holy Spirit at work in their lives, We function organically with them both as and family of God (group, fulfilment) and army of Christ (task, function). Transparent lives is the natural result of this approach.

It could appear to some that GTM would provide a framework for ministry that is really designed by you. We know that you are a talented music writer and you have explored that as a career option. Moving to Nashville could be construed as an opportunistic move for your potential career in music, rather than a strategic move for ministry purposes. How can we be sure of your long-term intentions with GTM?

GTM does provide us the opportunity to fulfill our calling according to the leading of the Holy Spirit and using the tools that God has given. It is consistant with our values for ministry, and life in general that functioning according to gifting, God-given passion and style is honoring to our Creator. That GTM provides a framework, that includes accountability and partnership, is the best way to maintain values/agenda harmony within an organization of believers serving along side one another.

Gene and Juli have an emerging apostolic gifting. This will mean that the ministry form will morph from time to time with cultural shifts and gift developmnet as well as opportunities that arise.

more about GTM

GTM Inc. is well established ministry with over 27 years of experience, across the U.S, across the globe. Jim Peters, Debbie Peters and Lavon Reep are the founding members of GTM and have played significant mentoring roles in our lives for >20years. Gene and I have both traveled with them on separate mission trips. We have been more actively mentored by them since moving to Madison when we began to struggle with the "organization" vs "organism" of the Body of Christ. These friends, these mentors, have also helped us to formulate a response to the cultural shift that we are increasingly experiencing.

Currently there are 32 active participants who are engaged daily for Christ in the workplace living 6 days a week church. Influence extents to seven American cities - Nashville, Atlanta, New York, Colorado Springs, Denver, Indianapolis, Phoenix / and four abroad - Helsinki Finland, Stockholm Sweden, St. Petersburg Russia, Ramstien Germany. Not all of them are also financially accountable to GTM, all of them are connected by covenant relationships for accountability and mentoring.

GTM is an international organization that exists to

1. Present the Gospel of Christ through music evangelism concerts in cooperation with mission organizations, churches and national leaders for saturation evangelism and church planting
2. Network with mission organizations, churches, national and emerging leaders to model effective music and evangelism, and to equip Christian musicians to minister the Gospel successfully in their own cultures.

What have you learned in the past 5 years and how would you describe your journey?

The past four years has been a time of being exposed to a cultural mindset that we had to learn to relate to. There has been much about Gene's personal journey of discovery involved in this - learning that he is not a "pastor", he is not a "CEO", that he is an artist, a visionary with an apostolic gifting. Losing his dad was a loss of the voice in his head that said "you can do this", "this is worth doing"... This was a factor in our detour through the Quad Cities. It was also the facing of these leadership / authority submission lessons that caused us to fine tune our values. Looking back, we church planted because we knew we couldn't lead against our values, we left a mega church staff and we parted with the GLBC for the same reason. We prefer to function freely in environments that allow for people to seek, to journey, to investigate, to be who they were created to be. We want to experience all that God has for us, we want to trust the Holy Spirit - even when it doesn't make sense. We like to try new things. We want to be allowed to trust the Holy Spirit in the lives of others and release dreams. This all requires us to be careful to associate with others who are like minded (free spirits, humanitarian hearts, missional worldview). This is the way we can best love the Church, this is the best way for us to represent the Kingdom, honoring our gifts and apostolic wiring. We have learned much about idealism, community and partnerships. We have learned not to "lay hands on anyone too quickly".

What do Sam and Spencer think of all this?

Spencer: "I don't really want to go, but I want to be where God wants us."
Sam: "I don't want to move from here. At the same time, I want to go." 

In a letter to our friend in Nicaragua recently, Sam wrote, "I am happy to go and do what God is calling us to do, I am sad that I will be far away from my friends here and a lot of my family."

Will you continue to home school?

Our answer to how long we plan to home school has always been "until tomorrow". (The advice of a home school mom that we interviewed in the decision making process.) Sam has expressed interest in going back to public school. We have investigated schools in Nashville. We chose an area with a fairly good reputation to keep our options open. We still believe home school is best for Spencer, but we are open. As with any family, school options some times will come to matters of resources - financial and time. Being in the school system provides us with a good networking opportunity, as does home school.

It sounds like you would be doing what every believer is called to do in their spare time. Why should support you to do this full time?

Great question! We have asked that of ourselves. We have asked that of other missionaries. We ask that of anyone who seems to be doing something that comes easy for them or looks to us to be a lot of fun. Who wouldn't want to make millions playing baseball? Who wouldn't want to have a personal jet for taking them from meeting to meeting? Who wouldn't want to make a living praying or studying the Bible or writing? Well, we all know that while it may appear to be an easy thing, people who focus on the use of their gifts are usually working very hard at what seems to come easy. There is always a cost.

Beyond education, we have had opportunity to experience the ups and downs of discipleship relationships. We have lead in churches of various styles and sizes. We have learned to learn to trust the Holy Spirit in the lives of others. We are willing to spend the time to pray and mentor those with tough questions and life experiences. We have grown accustomed to giving up our personal space to make room for the spontaneous gathering. We believe that God is calling us to reach those who, like us, have a deep desire to connect with God and tough questions that are now putting walls between them and that very God who is seeking them out. We believe we can mentor those who are seeking. We will obviously have more time to invest, more energy to invest if we are not working full time jobs in effort to fund our mission. We believe that God will form community with these people - that the Kingdom of God will be revealed. The more time we have to focus on this, the more likely we are to see a undeniable move of God among His people.

We do however, as a strategic move, plan to work jobs in the community so that we never loose sight of people in the marketplace. It has been our dream for the past two years that Gene's music would also one day completely fund our mission and raising support would no longer be necessary. That would be our preference, we trust God in that and in His timing. We also have come to believe that raising support, relying on the generousity of our friends, as well as trusting the Holy Spirit in the lives of others is something that God is still asking of us. We have learned fantastic lessons of faith by parntering with others - interdependence is what we were made for, this is our lesson in it. We have played both roles - the support role and the recipient, both come with powerful lessons on the Body of Christ.

As we have considered our mission and the impact on our kids we have not been able to get away from the simplicity of "God's call" to go. He has not called Juli to be an RN, or Gene to be a song-writer. He has called us to "go and make disciples". He has given us an apostolic gifting and asked us to trust Him in this new work He is doing. He is seeking those who are lost, He asks us to be available. He has burned this on our hearts.

What about Madison?

What about the people you have reached in Madison? Don't you think that you should be encouraging them to go to church? If they don't go to church, then aren't they just friends? How is a group of friends that are not connected to one another sustainable?

Churches close their doors every day. People leave and join churches every day. Are we able to say that starting a church today will be sustainable? How will they know if they don't hear. They aren't going to church, they have made a conscious decision not to. Why not be in community with them anyway - we just don't put it on the map, name it, and make the rules.

One statement made by a influential business owner, who is also a believer with a long history in Madison sticks out to us. When asked what the presence of the church is in Madison, she replied, "non-existent"..."While many of their buildings sit right in the center of the city, they exist on the fringes, they are no longer heard at all - that is if they are even trying, I don't know". Maybe one day, this will become an understood, embraced, powerful manifestation of the Body of Christ in itself. People who follow Jesus out in the community, living the life of the Kingdom of God, who just find one another on the sailing crews, in the market place, at book clubs. All of a sudden that which seems would be invisible is more visible than any church could ever be.