January Update
Dear Friends,
You are a continual source of joy and encouragement to us as you pray and give so faithfully. We are excited about 2024 and the new things God is doing in Texas with leaders, students, parents, educators, and schools.
The apostle Paul listed 76 people by name who were part of his network on his missionary journeys, not counting the many others unnamed who were part of everything he did. It takes a large group of collaborative leaders to reach a region. He established the church through a network of leaders. That is what we’re about in Texas.
Here is our newly reworked NNYM National Vision and Mission statement for 2024 so you will know better how I invest in the next generation.
OUR VISION: To see every youth leader thrive in a deeper connection with God and each other so that every young person is changed by the story of Jesus.
MISSION STATEMENT: We create collaborative spaces for youth leaders to be personally encouraged, professionally equipped, and spiritually strengthened for faithful and effective ministry with the next generation.
LOCAL
I was the 9th-10th grade boys' sponsor for Declaration Church’s winter retreat. It was cold, but the Lord moved powerfully. My long-time friend, Runks Runkles spoke, and the Jadon Parker Band did a great job leading worship. We got to bring some of our Five Oaks ministry students with us and I got to share the gospel with them and build lasting relationships with other students during the retreat. Please pray for Hector. He’s close to going all in with Jesus!
STATE
STORM weekend in Burleson was so fun as I led a breakout session on “See You On Campus” with students, challenging them to lead monthly prayer walks and share their faith on campus. I got to be with some of my former students and see many close friends from the Network I began way back in the 80s. It’s still going strong!
Our network in Spring and Willis are both healthy and doing a great job of connecting with other ministries in the Montgomery County area. It was a joy to meet with them and our county NNYM leader, John Alexander. We now have new networks in Northeast Texas and the panhandle.
My good friend and youth pastor I’ve been mentoring for the past year and a half, Anthony Tollett, was ordained to the ministry at Chambers Creek Baptist on January 28th. I am very proud of this young man and his growth in the ministry.
On February 8 and 9, I will be convening at our second annual “Accelerate Texas” event at Tri-Rivers Retreat Center, Hico, Texas, with 37 key leaders and strategists from across the state and nation, to develop plans to increase campus ministries and reach more students across Texas, including juvenile justice systems, youth camps, inner-city schools, bi-vocational leaders, educators and across all demographics. We are well on the way to completing all 10 of our strategic goals from last year, and it will be exciting to plan with and activate more ministries and leaders as we work together to see students transformed by God’s power.
NATIONAL
At our January ‘First Friday’ meeting, I was honored by our national NNYM staff in the area of Widespread Prayer, one of our five areas of focus. I hope to see many more prayer initiatives across Texas and the US as we collaborate with some incredible ministries. Our “Pray for Texas Schools” Facebook group has over 500 praying regularly for our students, and “Pray for Gen Z” initiative has over 3000 people praying in 72 countries. It’s been happening daily at noon since Memorial Day.
Global-Movement DFW is now an official partner with NXT Move Global, which is a global community of transformational relationships. The goal is not to duplicate regional efforts but to strengthen global leaders’ initiatives by building strong relationships and facilitating collaboration. We hosted the worldwide NXT Move event at DBU back in September of 2022. What we develop strategically and share from Texas will impact ministries all over the world.
PERSONAL
Please be in prayer for Carol. She missed the last step on the stairwell at our daughter’s house while we were house-sitting and landed on the tile, resulting in a small hip fracture. It was repaired and she’s doing well in recovery, but it’s a long process. We celebrated our 50th anniversary a week later spending a couple of days in Galveston. We will take some more time off and celebrate later in the year after she heals and finishes Physical Therapy.
Also, be in prayer for Accelerate Texas in Hico, on February 8th and 9th. We have some incredible strategists and influential state leaders coming. I want to make sure we make the most of our time and continue to build a great collaborative team. Texas is big, and the task of reaching 3 million students is a large undertaking. But God-sized goals are great and require trust in His resources. We look forward to what the Lord has in store.
Updates/Prayers
Movement DFW plans
Carol’s Recovery
Accelerate/Activate Texas strategic Texas plan.
Camps to allow us to do gospel-advancing training for up to 250,000 students/leaders in 2024.
Thank you all again for your love and support.
