April 10, 2008

Dear Friends & Family,

We are embarking on a new and glorious adventure into the mission field. Dianna and I (Scott) have had a desire to minister even before we were married. We have made several valiant attempts over the years, but now realize the missing key has been quality, intensive training. The International House of Prayer Mission Base in Kansas, Missouri is without a doubt the perfect place for our entire family to learn how to serve Jesus Christ and our fellow man.

Five weeks ago we (Scott, Dianna, Karis, and Caleb) started our three month training. My above comment about quality, intensive training is now an official reality. The quality of instruction is phenomenal and as for intensive, how does seven days a week sound? The full days include classroom time, prayer room time, and service in the community. Karis and Caleb are receiving the same instruction and hands on application in the children’s track.

The goal for Dianna and I is to go on full time staff, which requires we raise our own support. At the completion of our three month internship we will each be working part time until the full amount of support we need can be raised. This letter is to bring you up to date on what God is doing in the Gittleson family and to invite you into this great adventure on to the mission field with us. We are adopting the fasted life style taught here by cutting back on all non-essentials, but even so rent, utilities, food and the like do not go away. Dianna and I want to give you the opportunity to support our ministry, which includes our standing in the gap for you and your family. As you well know a great battle continues in the spirit world in which a very real enemy is out there to cause you and I harm. We know without a doubt that we have been called to the frontlines of this spiritual battle and you can aid in keeping us supplied.

IHOP-KC is a 24-hour 7-day a week prayer furnace that is committed to prayer and fasting for revival and the ushering in of our Lord, Jesus. In the midst of the 24/7 prayer furnace and missions base there are nearly 500 full-time staff members devoting their life to prayer, fasting, preaching the gospel, and serving the poor. These staff members are missionaries to the city, the nation, and the globe through intercession, preaching, and serving. IHOP sends and receives people from every nation of the earth.

IHOP-KC is a non-profit ministry, but is not structured like a traditional church or “Para-Church” ministry. All of the missionaries on the base raise their own support. Families and singles alike commit to living “simplified lives”. This includes Mike Bickle and all of the Senior Leadership team as well. While not yet the norm, this is not unique to IHOP, the ministries founded by Loren Cunningham and Bill Bright, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and Campus Crusades for Christ all have the same requirement for their staff. These two ministries have more than 35,000 full time staff in the field. Compare that to the largest salaried “Para-Church” ministry, “Focus On The Family”, which has only 1,300 staff members.

We humbly request your participation in what God is calling us to do. Not everyone is called to do what we are doing. Some are “Senders” others are “Sent”. Many of you have been called by the Lord to work in the “Marketplace” or your own home, and we would like to partner with you in praying for your calling. God’s desire is that we rally around each other and together fulfill the Great Commission. No matter what part we play together we can cause a greater impact upon the Nations.

Our Commitment to our Partners:

1. To pray for you, your family, and other special requests.
2. To send you personal and ministry updates.
3. An open invitation to visit, the House of Prayer, for spiritual refreshing.
4. To live a simple “fasted” lifestyle based upon God ordained principles.

Those who choose to partner with us as intercessory missionaries do so in two ways:

1. Prayer support
2. Financial support

We are not looking for our supporters to give money out of obligation or guilt, but for ones who will commit to an affordable, stress-free, realistic amount of money they can maintain month after month. It is our hearts desire that it not become a burden for you to give, but a joy just as the Lord intended it.

We encourage you to pray about supporting us. Note that all of your contributions are tax-deductible if you make checks payable to IHOP. Checks made out to us individually are not tax-deductible, but we would receive 100% of your support.

We need your prayers as we prepare by faith to make the transition into full time ministry.

Thank you for taking your time to read this letter and your prayer support.

Love,

Scott, Dianna, Karis, and Caleb

P.S. Remember to share your personal prayer requests with us via the enclosed response cards.

P.P.S Much is happening in each of us individually and as a family unit. We are being stirred to

Proclaim the gospel and the great joy and power of the fasted life style (Matthew 5-7) to the

church locally and the nations. Specifically we have been asked to minister at a church plant in

Golden, Colorado, to spend time helping a prayer house in Canada, and feel very strongly that

a trip to Israel to connect with Scott’s Jewish roots and to work with the Jerusalem House of

Prayer are before us. We will keep you updated on what God is doing in and through us.