Mission: Introducing the Boston Initiative

This is the first part of a series of Q & A blog posts on the Boston Initiative, a church planting effort of Immanuel. There is additional information at the Mission Desk in Immanuel's building at Oak & Clay. Come check it out!

Juan, tell us a little about you and your family.
My name is Juan Maclean and I’m married to my wonderful wife Debbie. We have two sons named Jonas and Owen and a German Shepherd named Bodie. I work as a wedding photographer; I love photography – it’s a great job – I get to meet so many cool people. One of the great perks about my line of work is that I become friends with so many of my clients and now I’m traveling to great places to work. As a church planter in Boston, I hope to have this business while starting out since it will allow me both to provide for my family and meet tons of people. If we were not church planting, honestly, I think we would move to Los Angeles. Our best friends live out there and we love the beach and it is a really laid-back culture. We really love that a lot. I enjoy coffee too.

How were you involved in the life of Immanuel?
We were at Immanuel for four years and for the last two I served as a Deacon. The last year I served as the Lead Deacon. During that time I was given the opportunity to lead all the Deacons in their tasks and implement a new focus on leadership development, which put structures in place and changed our focus from all the work ourselves to being lead servants who not only provide examples of service but also delegate tasks to faithful volunteers. Honestly, being in this situation taught me to communication better, deal with confrontation, and delegate. Additionally members my wife and I served in various ways. We gave premarital counseling to several couples, we showed hospitality to various people, befriending them over dinners and lunches. This led to many friendships, which for us has been the most fruitful thing! We have served a lot through those friendships and all of it has been a great joy!

Where is God leading your family now?
Ultimately, we want to be a part of a church planting movement in the North East, starting in the city of Boston. This goal has been in process for about seven years since God began to move the hearts and minds of my wife and I toward the work of church planting in Boston. We have changed and grown so much in that time, and yet the desire to be part of what God is doing in Boston has remained a strong and driving factor in our lives. We left Virginia to attend seminary and better prepare for this task. Upon graduation we have devoted more time and prayer to continue our preparation. We have found ourselves surrounded by supportive individuals, churches and organizations who have affirmed how God has been leading us. We completed an extensive church planting training and assessment by Acts 29, a missional church planting network, who approved us as church planters. God’s leading has become clear and confirmed: we are to be church planters in the city of Boston. So here we find ourselves, admittedly a little anxious, but excited, expectant, humbled, prayerful, and knowing that we’re on the brink of something great that God is doing.

What is ‘The Boston Initiative?’

The following post will unpack the details of the Boston Initiative and explain different ways you can be involved. Please visit thebostoninitiative.com for more information.