XPLORE in Spanish!

Look what showed up at the office yesterday… That’s right, the XPLORE study is translated into Spanish! Putting the finishing touches on it over the next few weeks, and it should be available soon!

April updates

I get to enjoy these every day as I walk on the way to the office.

Support

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have allowed God to use you to bless me financially.  Some of you have been on my team for over a year, and I can’t begin to thank you enough for the encouragement that you are to me.  So THANK YOU for allowing God to use you through this ministry.

A few people have asked me recently where I am with support.  I currently need to raise about $500 a month more to reach my full monthly budget.  If you would like to be part of the exciting things God is doing through my ministry with Every Ethne, visit the Join My Team page for more information.

GOer Group

We are nearing the end of another semester and only have 2 GOer Group meetings left.  It’s been an incredible experience.  The 20 or so students that have been involved are amazing.  Many of them are attending summer projects or going on short-term mission trips this summer or next semester.  I’m so excited to see what God does through them this summer and the next few years as they prepare to go long-term.

If you would be interested in joining the prayer or financial team of some of these students, let me know. It would be a huge encouragement to them to know people they haven’t even met want to be part of what God is doing through them.

XPLORE study

The XPLORE study has been reordered again (because we’ve sold or given away so many of our previous printings!), and it’s crazy how people are finding out about it.  We haven’t really even done much promotion yet, so most of it is word-of-mouth!  I have had the privilege of hearing about several students and young adults who have gone through the study and seen their lives have changed as they respond to the challenge to engage in completing the Great Commission.  It’s so exciting and humbling to know that God is allowing me to be a part of something that He is really using to impact the nations.

Every Ethne

We’re on the front end of a lot of big projects here with Every Ethne.  I’ve spent some significant time recently researching video and media equipment, and we’re hoping to kick off a video wing in the next few months.  This is super exciting, as well as a bit overwhelming, since I know how little I actually know about this.  :)  Please pray for us as we’re trying to strike out into this area with enormous potential.

I’ve also been working on ideas for a redesign of the Every Ethne website.  The potential for this is also huge.  We hope to be able to help guide and mobilize students across the country with resources offered through this site.  We’re also brainstorming how to create a version of the GOer Group that will be accessible to students all over the country so that they can find their most strategic role in the Great Commission.

So that’s a lot about me.  What’s going on with all of you?

get together, wedding, and more

(Back, L-R) Bob, Andy, Kyle, Joe (Front, L-R) Kristin, Kim, me, Luke

The Every Ethne get together at the beginning of November was fantastic!  We had a great time getting to know each other better and discussing the current direction and future of Every Ethne.

Kyle and Kara at their shower

Kyle, my national office Every Ethne counterpart, was married to Kara, who works with Clarion Consulting (another USCWM ministry) on November 14!  It was a great wedding at a little place at the Fayetteville airport, and they left the reception in a Cessna airplane!  Super fun.

Autographing the first copy of the XPLORE study.

The XPLORE books came in!  Here I am with co-worker Joe Michie, giving an autographed first edition.  :)  Joe is currently raising support to come on staff with Perspectives to work as the Creative Director.  He’s got some fantastic ideas, and we can’t wait to have him on board!

Old Main, a landmark at the UofA, decked out for Christmas

My biggest project right now is preparing for Urbana ’09, where several other staff members and I will be representing Perspectives, the US Center for World Mission (they have a newly redesigned website, you should check it out!), and The BodyBuilders. I’ve been doing a TON of design work for promotional items.  It’s crazy to me that in about 4 months time, I have had to learn the Adobe Creative Suite and am now in charge of designing things.  Sometimes I feel a little like a kid that ended up in the deep end of the swimming pool before they quite figured out how to doggie paddle, but I’m doing my best to learn and keep up.  :)  Urbana is the largest student mission conference in North America.  It’s hosted every 3 years.  I went in 2006, and it was an incredible experience.  I’m excited to be able to network with students from around the country (and world!), and be able to share with them about the exciting experience of Perspectives.

And, speaking of Perspectives, have you checked to see if there’s a class in your area this spring?  Many alumni have stated that taking Perspectives has been one of the most influential things they’ve ever done in their entire Christian walk.  Check it out and register for a class at www.perspectives.org!

XPLORE and WI

I’m so sorry for neglecting this blog for so long.  I hope to do better in the upcoming weeks, but things have been a little crazy lately.  Mostly I’ve been waiting for time to do a proper update, but since that time doesn’t seem to be arriving, I figure a few short updates are better than nothing.

XPLORE study 2.0

After several months of reworking and redesigning, the updated XPLORE study is ready for print!  This has been my main project since moving to Arkansas, and it’s exciting to see it progressing this far.  I can’t wait until we get to start distributing copies of it and getting it out there as a tool to mobilize students to involvement in the Great Commission!  Stay tuned for information in the near future about how to get copies of this to use with student ministries you’re involved with, or to get to students you know!

Wisconsin

As I said in the previous post, my sister was in a car accident recently.  I drove to Wisconsin last weekend to be around for a little while and help out.  I’ll be here through this coming weekend, so if you’re in the area and want to see me, let me know.

Labor Day weekend

Well, it’s pretty exciting living in Arkansas for several reasons.  One is that I now am within driving distance of my good friend Rachael, who lives in the Dallas area.  So, I decided to come down to visit for Labor Day weekend.  I visited Irving Bible Church again today and saw several friends and supporters there.  I’ll be heading back to Fayetteville tomorrow evening.

Next Friday and Saturday are the Go 1040 conference (check out the website for more info).  Every Ethne is helping out a little with the conference, and we’re focusing on follow-up with students afterwards.  So I’m sure that will be keeping us busy.  Please pray that God will use this opportunity to mobilize a lot of college students in the northwest Arkansas area to go to the 10/40 window.

I’m also hoping to get some good work done on the XPLORE study this week.  The ideal goal is to get it done by the end of the week… There’s still quite a bit to do, so I have a feeling that deadline may be stretching it a bit, but I would really like to get it as close as possible by the end of the week. 

So, what are you doing for Labor Day?

saturday

Today was a pretty low-key Saturday.  I touched base with a friend I haven’t seen since high school, which was pretty neat.  I didn’t realize there are actually several people from my home town of Chilton right here in northwest Arkansas.  It’s always amusing to me how there’s people I have some sort of connection to just about everywhere I go.

Tonight I went to coffee with a bunch of students from the UofA.  It was a lot of fun, and I am really enjoying making some friends and getting to know more people.

Tomorrow I’m going to church at New Heights.  I’m at least planning on being part of one of their Discovery classes next month, if not making this my “home base,” so to speak.  This class goes over the basics of the church, like who they are and what makes them tick.  I’m looking forward to learning about that and meeting some new people in the process.

Work on the XPLORE booklet is progressing.  We’re trying to get it done on a pretty tight deadline so we can have copies to start some studies this semester.  So we’ll see.  Please pray for me, that I’ll be able to focus and have some supernaturally infused creativity so that we can get this done and ready to be used as a tool to mobilize college students around the country.

I’m starting to feel a little more like I actually live here, which is pretty neat and kind of weird at the same time.  I haven’t lived in one place for longer than 2 months since May 2008.  So, this staying put thing is pretty new.  I’ve been in Fayetteville for a little bit over a month now.  I feel like I have a fairly good grip on the basics of where things are, and I’m starting to get a feel for what life is going to look like here.   I think the hardest thing for me is not really having a solid group of friends yet.  I know full well that community doesn’t happen overnight, and I’m fully aware it’s going to take some time and effort on my part to make that happen.  Please pray for me in this transition, that I’ll be able to proactive enough to find situations and meet the people that can be that tight community I need.   I know it will happen in due time, but pray for strength and patience for me until it does.

Have a blessed Sunday!