Brinkli is here!
As I write to you, I am sitting in the hospital, doting on our daughter Brinkli Paige, who was born on April 10, 2010 at 10:18a. She and Sara are doing amazing as they prepare to come home in the next couple of days. Brinkli is a tiny little girl weighing only 5lbs 8oz, but she is very healthy. We can’t wait for her to meet each of you! Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to being a family of four! Sunnie is doing great and has already chosen the role of little helper with her baby sister. God has blessed us in an overwhelming way through our family dynamics. I can’t wait to see how we all deepen our understanding of Him through our family experiences! We praise God for this healthy baby girl! I have already seen God begin to change us as we respond to Him and the gift he has blessed us with. We look forward to learning how to prepare both Brinki and Sunnie for the platform God is calling them to. We love each of you and are so excited to share this beautiful little girl with you! If you are in the area in the next couple of weeks and want to stop by and see Brinkli, just let us know.
NEW INFLUENCE....
2010 kicked off with a bang for the Cox family as we began the year by helping Grace Chapel through a staff transition that was unexpected, but significantly blessed by God. As the year began, two full-time staff members of Grace Chapel (the foundational church of IMPACT) accepted God’s calling to plant a church. This plant was affirmed and blessed by the leadership at Grace Chapel and both churches are thriving in response to this move. In the transition, I felt called to help where ever I could, so 2010 began with me accepting an interim part time roll at Grace in addition to my role at Back2Back Ministries. This role has not hindered my influence with IMPACT ministries and has enhanced the resources that our IMPACT ministry has had here at Grace.
This has been a great season of influence for our ministry as I have spend much of 2010 speaking to new groups of students. As many of you know, I developed a message series titled “The Princess Story” in 2004. Since then I have spoken this series each winter to students, challenging them to live pure lives as they understand their role in the Story of God. In February and March I have spoken this Story to 4 different student groups covering over 300 students in just a few short weeks! I was so excited to have this platform to share and am continually overwhelmed by the amount of bondage in students lives and the freedom found in response to this simple presentation of the Gospel. Each presentation was met with an overwhelming response to repentance and restoration. I love sharing this story and being a part of God’s invitation to live pure lives.
Other opportunities for new influence came in the arena of conferences. In March alone I spoke at three events in less that 20 days! While our family was exhausted from the schedule change, the fruit from the sacrifice was sufficient! I began the month speaking at IGNITE 4.0, a youth retreat hosted at Butler Springs Christian camp by several youth pastors from Indiana. The weekend was blessed by God as many students made decisions to live for Christ. As I spoke on Romans 12:1-2 I found that God was freeing his children through the truth that they would find renewal in Christ’s love and grace.
On March 25th Cincinnati Christian University hosted their annual Youth Ministry Summit, adding a student leader conference to the Summit schedule. Last summer I was asked to help direct this aspect of the event in partnership with a CCU student, Patrick Garcia. The day was a huge success, with over 90 high school students in attendance and at least 10 of these students committing to pursue full-time ministry. It was so refreshing to partner with college students who are on fire for revival in their generation. The event was so successful that 1twentyone has been asked to help direct it again in 2011.
1twentyone Experiences....
Amid all of the new influences that IMPACT was having this winter/spring, we were also deepening our foundation to raise up a generation to live Christ with an eternal perspective. On March 12-13 we hosted our 3rd Experience Influence at Crossview Christian Church in Waynesville, Oh. This year our 1twentyone team introduced a new 2 year rotation for the event where in year 1 we would train students to “experience influence in the church” and year 2 would train students to “experience influence in culture”. Influencing in the church had not been a part of our past events. This year we invited high school students who wanted to lead worship, preach/teach, lead small groups, perform dramas/plays, offer tech support, or serve in outreach/evangelism to the event. 50 students and 15 adults attended the event and found levels of training to meet their practical needs. We learned a lot from year one, but found the event to be a huge success! One mom contacted me after the event to share that her son had worked through the preaching/teaching experience, applied what he had learned, and won a preaching competition a3 weeks later, giving him a scholarship to Bible College! Other students became better at their craft, making them more influential within the walls of their churches. Next March we will target students who can influence youth culture and train them to be missionaries within their high schools, sports teams, clubs, bands, and peer groups.
Up next for 1twentyone is The Experience @ Butler Springs this summer from June 20-26th. Our team is working diligently to plan a God honoring week of community, discipleship, worship, and teaching. Our theme is “Like You Promised”, based on II Peter 1:3-10. Our goal is to claim the promises of God so that we can live holier lives reflecting His image.
IMPACT GROUPS....
Bridge the gap between youth culture and the church...That is the motto of IMPACT. I like to stay dead center on this motto. It would be easy for us to become a youth group within a youth group, or to die on one philosophy of ministry, alienating anyone different. I love the IMPACT groups in Mason and Centerville because they look so different, but have the foundation to be so successful. These groups are striving to find their voice in youth culture and are gaining ground. In January I met Michelle, a mom of an IMPACT student in Mason. She was attending a new believers class that I was teaching. In the first class she shared that her son Eric had been going to Athlete IMPACT for months when he confessed Jesus as Lord! He then brought his mom to church and within a few weeks she had confessed Jesus as well!
As the school year winds down, so do IMPACT groups. I’m gearing up for next fall where we will be training 4-5 churches in the IMPACT strategy. I’m currently working on an innovative way to train students/mentors, network IMPACT groups, and keep the “main thing the main thing”. My hope is to launch this new structure by August!
Financial Update.......
In our last update we shared that we were working to bring in additional $1200 per month to balance our monthly support needs. Since December God has blessed us with $800 per month of that support! God is so good. Thank you for continuing to support us as we strive to respond to God’s calling on our lives. We are humbled by each of your gifts.
One need we have is for a car. My truck won’t fit either of the girls car seats, and with 2 kids we may need to divide a conquer on activities! I’ll miss my truck (my ministry partner for the last 9 years) but it’s time to get something that fits more people in it! If you have a vehicle you would like to donate or sell cheap, let us know.
As always, we are blessed by God through your love for us. We hope to see each of you soon. Please let us know how we can pray for you and minister to you.
With deep love for all of you,
Chris, Sara, & Sunnie
