January/February Update
"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." - 1 Thess. 5:11
Thanks to you, we’ve been able to make some great headway in getting Prayer, Care, and Share ministries to campuses in Texas…and way beyond! Here are some NNYM Texas January - February Highlights, so far in 2021…
+ The first weekend of the year, 18 leaders and 20 leadership students from FBC Kaufman were trained in Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry (JFYM). Their student pastor, Taylor Dunn, who will now be the Network leader in that area hosted us, and we were able to do the retreat at no cost. JFYM training is now online in English and Spanish and will soon be available in Russian and Swahili. (Our Oak Grove Baptist Church leaders and students were privileged to be part of the audience for the English filming.)
+ I attended our NNYM National Staff Gathering in San Diego praying and developing strategic plans for communities. It was great to be among some tremendous, longtime friends and national student ministry influencers. Ryan Gilchrist will join our growing Texas staff in March as the DFW Coordinator.
+ Along with NNYM Regional Coordinator, Kevin Miles, I spent two days in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl in preparation for Together '22. 50 years ago, Bill Bright, Billy Graham, and others led Explo ’72 at the Cotton Bowl accelerating a great spiritual renewal during the Jesus Movement. Together '22 will be the largest evangelistic training event in 50 years! Groups from across the U.S. will gather in Dallas to be trained and sent home to share! My team will be hosting a youth pastor hospitality area to encourage leaders to work together and establish prayer, care, and share ministries on their campuses. We will give them resources to help them plan strategies for the year including See You at the Pole, 9-month Mission Trip, Dare2Share Live, Fields of Faith (FCA), and more.
+ I was able to have some significant network meetings and connect with Lifeway Youth Staff, DFW key leaders, the New Braunfels Network, Fort Bend Student Network, the Fort Worth Hispanic Pastors Group, the National Fuel Director for the Urban Youth Network, and some key Christ-following political leaders in Texas.
+ We continued actionable research in the DFW area with Movement DFW and area churches. We also finished a detailed description for our national strategists as part of our Campus Summit, representing over 65 student ministries across the nation. We’re planning for 350 strategists nationwide to identify a Prayer, Care, and Share Ministry on every campus! Also, ten Congressionally sanctioned Bibles were placed in Texas schools as “historical documents” through “The American Bible Project”. Special thanks go to Steven Skelton and Don Brown. They will be used in the 4th , 8th, and 11th grades in teaching the American Revolution.
+ The MLK mission weekend in Houston with Declaration Church (where I serve as a resident missionary) was a great success. We are currently planning with the church up to five mission trips this year. The leadership at Declaration are tremendous friends and supporters! I have also been privileged to supply as worship leaders at Calvary Baptist in Rosenberg. On February 25th, we will celebrate 15 years of ministry at MLK City Church Ministries with Ed Small, Angela Knight, and the children in Third Ward, Houston.
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PRAYER PARTNERS: Please continue to pray for:
Together '22 - to fill the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
A Prayer, Care, and Share ministry on every campus in Texas. Key leaders in Metro areas.
Actions to take following our research to reverse the trend of students leaving the faith.
Preparation for mission work in Guatemala, Houston, Portland, Anchorage, and Turkey.
Links International projects globally in 40+ countries.
Declaration Church 220 Camp and Peak Week Sports Camp. Connection with local student leaders and increased favor with the YMCA in Spring.
Paisano Camp in Alpine, Texas this July. (I will be their Family Camp Missions Speaker)
