Road Signs

I love when I'm hitting that part of a vacation trip where I begin to see signs that I'm close to my destination.  There's something euphoric that begins to happen when I see that road sign or restaurant that screams "you're almost there!"  I'm finding these same road signs in this new journey of ministry.  This past Sunday night I watched as a few friends of mine led 40 high school students to the throne of God through worship.  As I watched hands raise, knees bend, and students cry out to the God of the universe I was overwhelmed with countless memories over the past few years where God has opened a window for me to peer into His world of unhindered worship.  I recognize those road signs and I know that God is near.  

Many of you know that Sara was a cheerleading coach at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy for 9 years.  Her role as a coach was so important to us when we began our ministry in Xenia that we made sacrifices in order to make it possible for her to continue to coach.  I had no idea how influential that decision would be on our new ministry with Back 2 Back.  Two parents of Sara's former cheerleaders are on the board of directors with Back 2 Back and last week the influence of her mentorship took a deeper turn than I could have imagined.  We were completing our student leadership interviews when one of the interviewees shared that she and a friend wanted to start an impact group targeting their gymnastics team.  I knew this student trained at a gym that was run by one of the parents from CHCA and so I asked who she had in mind as a mentor.  To my amazement she shared the name of one of the girls that Sara mentored most heavily during her years at CHCA.  So, long story short, Sara mentored a cheerleader a few years ago, that cheerleader went to Nigeria with Back 2 Back last summer and felt called to partner missions and gymnastics, and last Friday I called her up to mentor a student leading an IMPACT group that targeted gymnasts in the hope of impacting the girls in our Mexico mission this summer.  It reminded me of a time when God prompted me to ask a freshman trumpet player to take up the drums.....Road Signs.

One other Road Sign....Record numbers have signed up for the BSCC High School Retreat again.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we continue to make Him our 1 desire.

Pray.Meditate.Disciple.Move.

In the past month our Impact team has been extremely busy getting ready to launch our fall strategy for Impact.  It has been a rewarding yet challenging month as we held our first night of prayer in our newly created boiler room.  20 high school students showed up to this night of constant prayer as they meditated on one question, "Is God calling you to lead?"  God began stirring in the hearts of many students through this night of prayer and their hunger for Him became more evident to us as we watched them channel their lives into postures of prayer.  This night of prayer was designed to set the stage for a four week leadership training program that begins on September 3rd.  We have the potential to train 20-30 student leaders in the next month.  Once this training is completed, students will be challenged to step out on faith and lead a new IMPACT group as they are mentored by one of our trained adults.  We are praying and hoping for 3 new groups to launch this fall with additional groups launching at the first of the year.  

Continue to pray for our leadership, our wisdom, our courage, and our strength as we invest in a generation that will change the world.

Ministry Update

It has been almost 2 months since I moved into my office in Mason.  As each day passes, I find more of a purpose in my ministry here.  There are so many passionate Kingdom builders partnering in this ministry.  I have been meeting and planning with several of these leaders on a weekly basis as we complete our strategy for the 2008-2009 school year.  We have a unified team with a common vision for what Impact could look like in the Mason area.  Currently, we are preparing for an adult mentor meeting and training time the first week of August followed by  a night of prayer on August 15th.  On this night we are launching into our fall strategic plan by inviting students to make a commitment to prayer.  We'll then be training and empowering student leaders and adult mentors to launch Impact groups the 1st week of September.  Our Impact team consists of Brian Munafo (youth pastor), Scott Chamberlain (Campus Director), Kim Greer (Campus Director) and myself.  We'll be inviting students to step up as leaders in the next week and we are all anxiously waiting to see how many and how effective our impact groups will be this fall.  We are starting the year with 10 adult volunteers who are interested in mentoring student leaders.  This offers the possibility of having at least 5 groups start the school year.  As we plan and pray, please lift us up in your own time of prayer.  Please pray for wisdom, provision, energy, patience, and student leadership opportunities.  

I can almost taste it!!

The title of this post is self explanatory to many of you.  Today has been a milestone day as I received a commitment of support that leaves us only $9,000.00 away from reaching our goal for support!!! God has blown me away with his unfailing love and willingness to provide for my family through those who love Him.  Please continue to pray that I would remain diligent in my season of fasting and prayer as we beg God to complete this fundraising venture...I'm so ready to utter the words "fajita barbacoa burrito, please".

This has been a great week already (it's only Tuesday) as our B2B Impact staff began to strategize the plan for Grace Chapel.  The team (Kim and Scott-Back2Back staff and Brian-Grace Youth Pastor) have a huge heart for the students of this area and are sold out to the Cause of Christ.  Our 1st staff meeting was highly beneficial.  Our goal is to launch our fall plan at the first home football game for Mason High School.  In the next few weeks we'll be finalizing role responsibilities, equipping student leaders, and launching new impact groups in the Mason area.  

Sunnie got stung by a been this weekend (her first experience) and Sara did some damage to her back in her role as Sunnie's mom.  Both have recovered and Sunnie loves telling the story of how the bee stung her and she "shooed" it away and said, "no, no, no bee".    We had an extended weekend with the holiday and I was reminded just how amazing it is to be a husband and a dad.  I love my girls.

What a Month!

It was one month ago that, with tear filled eyes, Sara and I worshipped for the last time as leaders of Focus Student Ministires.  I'll never forget the overwhelming moment when the students surrounded us with prayer as they laid hands on us and worshipped with us for one last time....you can never have another "first".  Xenia will always be the "first" for so many God experiences for our family.

Since that night, God has continued to carry us through this new journey with Him as we joined the staff of Back2BackMinistries on June 2nd.  It was a quick turnaround as I met the staff of Grace Chapel on that first day and began to strategize how the Impact ministry of B2B could most effectively minister to the student ministry of Grace Chapel.  In the short time that I have ministered with this team, I must say that I am impressed by their passion and unity in pursuit to Love God and Love Others.

In the midst of this transition, I spent the majority of my time planning and leading the high school week of camp at Butler Springs Christian Camp.  We were blessed with a record number of campers (175).  Our goal was to engage each student in a Dialogue with God and an invitation to live for the Cause of Christ.  God affirmed this plan through countless spiritual healings, 14 baptisms, 20 commitments to full-time ministry, and an overwhelming love offering for my support with back2back totalling close to $4,000!!!  This week affirmed to me just how important this generation is to the Kingdom of God in this world.  He is calling them out and many of them are responding to the call!!

Sara and Sunnie are doing well.  Sunnie has added countless amounts of words to her vocabulary including "cool dadda", which I love.  We've been stretched at home, though.  Just before I left for camp we had a couple of appliances quit working and we've struggled through some health concerns and moments of exhaustion.  I'm home for the summer, though, and am hoping that consistent prayer and a routine will help to bring relief to our family.

Please continue to pray for us.  We have raised over 75% of our needed support and are working hard to finalize the last 25%.  God has provided so much for us to this point and we know that He will continue to bless our family as we chase after Him.