Prayer & Praise (Dec 27 - Jan 2)

- Praise God for a wonderful Christmas celebration with my family! After finishing my fall semester at Metro State, I was able to take two weeks of rest & relaxation before shifting things back into gear with CEF this week. It was a good time, and Christmas was definitely a big highlight.

- CEF of Colorado is focusing on staffing. For me, that means I am working to hire a team to drive our student ministries in Denver: a team of new staffers who will be passionate about reaching children for Christ, mobilizing students for the mission, and partnering with local churches to get it all done!



In January, we are taking our first step in the recruiting process: I will be traveling to Kansas City for “Missions Emphasis Week” at Calvary Bible College (my alma mater) to present the incredible ministry opportunities here in Denver. During this week, recruiters from many different mission agencies and organizations come to Calvary to interact with students and present opportunities for mission. It is a neat time!

Calvary asks all of the recruiters to prepare several potential seminar presentations. Here are some I am working on: (1) “Transformational Student Ministry,” (2) “The Marketplace of Worship,” and (3) “Teamwork in Missions.” Please pray for me this week as I begin doing research, crafting the big ideas, and just work on putting these talks together.

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 20-26)

- Things have been going well in our Good News Club at Mt. View Child Care! We spent the first two weeks of December telling the story of Christmas. In January, we will come back and tell the story of the Magi who came to see Jesus, led by the star.

Praise God for this opportunity that Hannah, Kayla, and I have to build relationships with the children and share the good news of Jesus with them! Pray also for Hannah and Kayla to have a good, refreshing Christmas break with their friends and family before heading back to work, school, ministry, etc. in January.

- Last Friday, Dec 18, I met with the rest of the Denver staff to discuss CEF’s student ministry plans for 2010. It was a very productive time! I am excited about next year and it feels great to have everyone on board. In the week leading up to the meeting, I spent time drafting 10 personal goals and 10 ministry goals for 2010.

Pray for God’s grace heading into the new year, and praise him for the birth of his son!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 6-12)

- Last week, we had the privilege of partnering with the student ministry from a church in Pagosa Springs (about 7 hrs SW of Denver) while they were here in Denver for a weekend mission trip. The twelve students that they brought got involved in senior’s ministry homeless ministry, and children’s ministry, all in one whirlwind weekend.

We hosted a welcome party for them on Friday night and partnered with them in their children’s ministry experience on Saturday afternoon. It was really exciting to see these students taking action on their faith, leaving their comfort zones, and learning the value of doing what they do in the service of something larger than themselves.

- Praise God for how things are coming together for next year! I finished our schedule for Summer 2010 (and all the preparations leading up to it) a full month earlier than last year. I think it may be the best schedule we have ever had. The logistics were not less challenging than prior years, but this one just came together really well.

Thanks so much for your prayers and for praising God along with me!

Prayer & Praise (Nov 22-28)

- We are laying plans to take a group of our students to Boston next summer for “Good News Across America,” a two-week mission trip to help jump-start evangelistic and discipleship ministries to children in partnership with the local churches of Boston.

To this end, I recently found out some news: beginning January 10, Southwest Airlines will begin offering non-stop flights from DIA to Boston Logan. No need for layovers in O’Hare or anywhere else! Praise God for this wonderful development!

- On a more sober note, here is an excerpt from an e-mail I recently received from CEF HQ: “[When] we heard the news about the shootings at Ft. Hood, we immediately began praying for our workers on the base and the chaplains as we considered the comfort they would be providing to the base community in the coming days and weeks.

“There are seven elementary schools on the base at Ft. Hood ... Good News Clubs are in four of the schools and Party Clubs are held in every school. The week after the shootings Good News Clubs were underway.

“David Powell ... shares, ‘I want to praise God for allowing us to have ministry established at Fort Hood, Texas. One of our staff, Caron, was on post, meeting with the chaplains, when they received word of a mass casualty incident. The chaplains quickly deployed to the scene and the surrounding hospitals. The next day Caron received e-mails from the schools in which we are doing clubs asking for prayer. They were feeling the pressures of helping the children process the attack. We are working with the chaplains and support groups to pass out CEF’s “Do You Wonder Why?” booklets to the children and families.’”

Please be in prayer. Thank you.

Prayer & Praise (Nov 15-21)

- In October, I wrote here that my long-term project with CEF’s student ministries in Denver is staffing. We are looking to hire a team of five student ministry coordinators to help build the ministry in different regions of the metro area.

I have spent the past few weeks doing research on job design and job satisfaction. Simply put, I want to create great jobs for these student ministry coordinators! Please pray as I begin drafting the actual job descriptions and lay some groundwork for our initial recruiting efforts in the spring.

- Praise God for the children in our Good News Club at Mt. View! Today we are doing the story of Noah with them. Pray that Hannah, Kayla, and I would clearly convey the things that God wants them to hear.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Nov 1-7)

- Praise for a great weekend trip to Kansas City, Oct 23-25! I got to see some dear friends and enjoy a few days away from my work and school responsibilities. It was a great time and I can’t wait to go back next year!

- The first week of Good News Club at Mt. View Child Care (two weeks ago now) was a little hectic. Hannah, Kayla, and I ended up being in a large room where it was hard to get an already rowdy group of kids to focus. Last week we had no club due to the heavy snowfall. I’m happy to report that things this week went much better! We were able to do a better job engaging the kids in both games and the lesson, and keep things more organized, all at the same time.

After the lesson, I got to do some counseling with two of the children. One had questions about how to control his reaction when his brothers made him angry; I was able to pray for him and talk with him about how he could depend on Christ for help. The other child had questions about the origin and nature of the Bible; I was able to offer some preliminary answers and ideas, and directed her to 2 Tim 3:16 and 2 Pet 1:21 for more.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Prayer & Praise (Oct 18-24)

- Tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct 20) is our CYIA fundraiser night at Chick-fil-A for folks down south: all day at River Point shopping center and 5-8pm at the Southwest Plaza food court. Pray that it would be a great success, and that we can make much progress toward finishing off our budget for the 2009 calendar year.

- This Wednesday, Oct 21, I will start teaching a Good News Club at Mt. View Child Care with Hannah and Kayla, two of our team leaders from the summer. Pray that (1) we will clearly communicate the gospel in our words and deeds, and (2) we will be able to build some great relationships with the kids over the course of this school year.

- This weekend, Oct 23-25, I am traveling to Kansas City to visit friends and attend a conference at my church there. The conference is called “Proclaim!” and is being led by Ravi Zacharias and Wade Bradshaw.

The description on CCEFC’s website says: “Join us as we wrestle with the reality that actions often speak louder than words, but words speak more clearly than actions.” I am really excited about this! Also, praise God for the opportunity to relax and spend time with friends.

Thanks for much for your prayers and support!

Prayer & Praise (Oct 11-17)

- Four of our summer missionaries (pictured above) finished strong in the 30-hour training course, “Teaching Little Kids,” which wrapped up last week. Please pray for them to have many great opportunities to put into practice all that they learned, reaching preschoolers with the good news of Jesus!

- Tonight (Monday, Oct 12) is our CYIA fundraiser night at Chick-fil-A for folks up north. Next week we are doing one down south. Pray that these would be a great success, as we look to finish off our 2009 calendar year budget!

- Last year I helped teach an after-school Good News Club at Centennial K-8 in Denver. However, we were not able to get a room again this year, so I have not yet been involved with teaching children this school year.

Last week, an opportunity opened up for me to help teach a Good News Club at Mt. View Child Care in Denver. I will be teaching with Hannah and Kayla--two of our summer missionaries--and we will be starting next week. Mt. View has 40-45 elementary-age children enrolled, most of whom are unchurched.

Praise God for this opportunity! I am really excited about getting to (1) reach unreached children with the good news of Jesus, and (2) continue working with two of my team leaders from the summer.

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer & Praise (Oct 4-10)

- Our first of two Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) fundraising nights is coming up on Monday, Oct 12, up in Thornton. The CYIA families up north are busy inviting their friends and family to come eat dinner at Chick-fil-A that night. Please pray for it to be a great success!

- Pray that I would do a good job of balancing our short-term and long-term projects for CYIA. I am finding that it can be easy for me to get focused on one and lose sight of the other.

My main long-term project is staffing. Specifically, we want to hire five CYIA coordinators to build the ministry in different regions of the metro area. This fall I am working on developing the actual positions and job descriptions, brainstorming on recruitment strategies, and coordinating with our headquarters in Missouri on the human resources side of things.

So pray that I will be able to do a good job this fall of executing both our short- and long-term projects concurrently.

- On Sunday, Sept 27, I got to teach the jr. high/high school at my church. Praise God for this opportunity to connect with some of the students there! I will be teaching the jr. high two more times this fall.

Thanks so much for your support in prayer!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 27 - Oct 3)

- This past Saturday, we began a 30-hour training course called “Teaching Little Kids.” The course equips students for teaching and ministering to preschoolers. Four of our summer missionaries are taking the course, which is very exciting! They meet three times a week for two weeks during late September/early October. Please pray for them to engage deeply with the content and get as much out of the course as possible.

- Our budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) covers promotion & recruitment in the spring, general operating expenses in the summer, and development work in the fall. We have received $4,290 to date, leaving us presently with a shortfall of only $650 for the 2009 calendar year. Praise God for this great progress!

During October, we are having fundraising events at Chick-fil-A on Monday, Oct 12 (Thorncreek shopping center), and Tuesday, Oct 20 (River Point shopping center & Southwest Plaza food court) to help raise the remainder of the funds. Please pray that these events would be a great success! With $650, we can pay off the last of our expenses from the summer and cover the rest of our development work this fall.

- Praise God for the growth I have seen in our team leaders this year! I have seen each of them grow in so many ways in who they are as a person and who they are in Christ. To see the difference in who they were at the beginning of summer vs. who they are now (among their peers and in all their fall activities) is such a blessing. This is what it’s all about: transformed lives!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 20-26)

- The CYIA party on Friday, Sept 18, went great! Ten people were able to make it, and we just hung out, played games, ate pizza, shared a lot of laughs, and spent a few minutes talking about fundraising efforts this fall for CYIA. It was exciting getting to see the summer missionaries reconnect with each other!

I look forward to our team leaders taking increased ownership of the ministry as we evaluate this year, plan for next year, and raise funds to make it all happen. Please pray that our efforts will be used by God in transforming students’ lives through local missions.

- I have a lot going on outside of CEF during the next week: two papers and two exams at school, and a sermon for the youth at my church. Please pray that I can get everything done efficiently and effectively.

- I have been thinking lately that I am very blessed to have the examples of many godly people in my life. Praise God for his goodness and grace in providing these examples and relationships! Pray that I would pay attention to all that he wants to show me.

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 13-19)

- Tonight (Monday, Sept 14) I am conducting a teacher training seminar for about 10-15 children’s ministry volunteers at a church up in Estes Park. I am really excited about this! We are going to spend two hours together talking about (1) how to help children understand the message of salvation, and (2) how to counsel the unsaved child for salvation. Please pray that the training will be effective in equipping these volunteers for their ministry to the children.

- This Friday, Sept 18, I am hosting a party for our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) summer missionaries. This is the first chance since summertime for everyone to reconnect with each other again. We are having pizza and games, so it should be a lot of fun! We will also take a few minutes to talk about a CYIA fundraiser coming up in October that they can promote it at their churches. Pray for a great time together and that many of the summer missionaries would be able to come!

- Praise God for the wonderful church family that I have been blessed with at Bear Valley Church. This summer we did some major renovations on the church building and this past Sunday was our “grand opening” with all of the projects completed! Praise God for the improved facilities and pray that we would use them well for the sake of God’s glory and kingdom.

Thanks for praying!

Recent Sermons

I serve on the teaching team for the young adult community at my church. Our purpose is to faithfully proclaim the gospel, leveraging the preaching/teaching of the Scriptures for life transformation.

Here are my most recent sermons, from a couple of series we did over the summer, one on 2 Peter and the other on Malachi. Let me know what you think!

04-19-09: Introduction to 2 Peter - (sorry, no mp3!)

05-03-09: Cultivating Godliness (2 Peter 1:5-11) - (download mp3)

05-31-09: Truth & Falsehood (2 Peter 2) - (download mp3)

06-28-09: Christian Hope (2 Peter 3:1-13) - (download mp3)

07-12-09: Christian Living (2 Peter 3:14-18) - (download mp3)

08-02-09: Introduction to Malachi - (download mp3)

08-09-09: The Dark Night of the Soul (Malachi 1:1-5, 3:13-15) - (download mp3)

08-16-09: Giving God Our Best (Malachi 1:6-14, 3:6-12) - (download mp3)

08-23-09: The Fear of the Lord (Malachi 2:1-3:5, 3:16-4:6) - (download mp3)

Prayer & Praise (Aug 30 - Sept 5)

- During late September/early October we are offering a 30-hour course called “Teaching Little Kids,” which equips people for teaching and ministering the gospel to preschoolers. It will be hosted by Crossroads Church in Thornton. We are really excited about this! Five of our summer missionaries have signed up to take the course, and five others are considering it. Please pray that many of them would be able to take the course and find opportunities for school-year ministry with children.

- I am working on our fall schedule for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) development work. The major events have been finalized; now I will begin working on setting up many smaller lunch meetings and coffee meetings throughout the next few months as we raise funds, strategize for ministry, etc. Please pray for many fruitful connections and conversations!

- This past Sunday I had the opportunity to help with the children’s ministry at a new church plant in Aurora that is just getting started. Praise God for the many wonderful people who are working hard and have dedicated themselves to spreading the gospel in that part of the city!

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Aug 16-22)

- This week I started school again at Metro State. It was little bit surreal taking the bus downtown again after three months off! I am taking three classes this semester (9 hrs). Please pray that I will work hard, get a lot out of my studies, and do a good job of balancing work and school.

- Last week I told you that we had received 49% of the funds for our original budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA). We use these funds to cover everything from promotion & recruitment in the spring to general operating expenses in the summer to development work in the fall.

I am pleased to say we have now passed the halfway point! To date we have received $3,890 (or 51% of budget). This would mean we still need $3,760 (or 49%). However, as I also mentioned last week, we actually came in under budget in a number of key areas this summer. So I crunched the numbers this morning, and with it looks like with just $1,100 we will be able to pay off our expenses from the summer and cover our development work this fall! Please join with me in praying for the provision of these funds.

- On Aug 6, I had a meeting with our team leaders from the summer (pictured above) to get their feedback on how they thought the summer went, ideas for next year, etc. It went very well! Praise God for all of the great feedback they were able to give! It has been a blessing to work with them, and I look forward to making things even better next year.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Aug 9-15)

- Well, the Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) summer program has come to a close. It has been a whirlwind summer for sure!

We had 14 summer missionaries (jr. high thru college-age). They taught 67 Bible clubs across metro Denver, with 1,054 children enrolled. 64 children professed faith in Jesus for the first time! It was very rewarding to see each of the students grow through putting their faith into action and reaching out to the mission field of Denver’s children.

- CEF’s pioneering ministry campaign in Little Rock, AR, also finished up well. 109 CEF workers from around the nation (including our own Emanuel from Denver) partnered with 30 local churches in Little Rock to jump-start outreach ministries to children. These faithful workers taught 1,874 children in just one week! 252 of these children professed faith in Jesus for the first time.

Please pray that the effort will prove successful in helping the churches of Little Rock establish on-going outreach ministries to children in that city.

- Our budget for CYIA this year is $7,650. This covers everything from promotion & recruitment in the spring to general operating expenses in the summer to development work in the fall.

To date we have received $3,730 of these funds (or 49% of budget). We still need $3,920 (or 51%). We have actually been coming in under budget in a number of key areas, but please pray for financial support to continue to come in during the next several weeks.

- Praise God for the nearly 60 people who were able to come to our end-of-summer ministry celebration last Friday! It was a great time of hearing testimonies from the students, seeing pictures from the summer, and enjoying a meal together.

Thanks for your support in prayer!!! Blessings.

Prayer & Praise (July 26 - Aug 1)

- Today we kick off our 4th week of 5-Day Clubs here in metro Denver! We have three teams teaching at various locations in Arvada, Aurora, Denver, and Lakewood.

So far this summer we have taught 786 children in 48 clubs. We have seen 52 children place their faith in Jesus for the first time! Children in the clubs have also brought over $210 in missionary offering for the Petkofs (CEF missionaries in Greece). Please pray for continued fruitful ministry this week!

- This week, CEF continues an aggressive ministry campaign in Little Rock, AR, to help pioneer ministry to children in that area. Over 100 CEF missionaries from around the nation came to help with the effort! They are working in partnership with dozens of local churches in order to jump-start gospel ministry.

Continue to pray for Emanuel, our team leader we sent from Denver to take part in the campaign, as well as everyone else involved! Pray especially for the event to be successful in jump-starting on-going ministries to children.

- Our budget for CYIA this year is $7,650 (to cover general operating expenses). To date we have received $3,730 of these funds (49% of budget). We still need $3,920 (or 51%). Thankfully we are actually coming in under budget in a number of key areas, but please pray for financial support to continue to come in over the next few weeks.

- On Friday, August 7, we are having an end-of-summer celebration for CYIA. Praise God in advance for this opportunity for friends and family, prayer partners, financial supporters, 5-Day Club coordinators, staff, and committee members to all come together and be encouraged by what God has done! (I will be sending out an e-mail invite later on today ... we would love for you to join us!)

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (July 12-18)

- Last week we took nine of our summer missionaries on a service learning trip to CEF World HQ in Warrenton, Missouri (about 1 hr west of St. Louis). Praise God for the opportunity we had to take this trip! The teens did many hours of volunteer service around the campus during the week, learned about various ministries of CEF worldwide (including ministry opportunities for students), and just got to hang out and have a great time.

There was our group there, as well as a group from Iowa and a group from Texas. I think it was really an edifying and eye-opening experience for everyone involved! At the end of the week, Jon (the guy at HQ who was heading up the event) had everyone fill out a response form about the various ministry opportunities that had been presented throughout the course of the week. He is going to be sending me the responses from all of our Denver students. I am excited to see what God does with these fantastic young people in the years to come!

- I received many ideas for this next year of ministry during my time at HQ last week. Please pray for wisdom in developing and implementing these ideas in the months to come.



- July 20-Aug 1, CEF is undertaking a ministry campaign in Little Rock, AR, to help pioneer ministry to children in that area. Over 100 CEF missionaries from around the nation will be coming to help with the effort! We are working in partnership with dozens of local churches in order to jump-start ministry.

From Denver, we are sending Emanuel, one of our team leaders this summer. (He participated in a similar pioneer ministry campaign last summer in Chicago.) Frank & Connie Porter will also be helping with the training at the beginning.

Please pray for Emanuel and everyone else participating in Little Rock ’09! Pray for physical and spiritual strength for the workers, and pray for the event to be successful in jump-starting on-going ministries to children.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support! Blessings.

Prayer & Praise (June 28 - July 11)

- June 22-26 was our first week of 5-Day Clubs this summer! There were some last minute cancellations and other scheduling headaches, but once those were worked out everything went great. I think our 1st-year summer missionaries really enjoyed their first full week of teaching!

Please pray that our future weeks of clubs would continue to be effective in reaching children for Jesus and spiritually forming the hearts and minds of our summer missionaries.

- July 5-11 we are taking eight of our summer missionaries on a trip to CEF World HQ in Warrenton, Missouri (about 1 hr west of St. Louis) to do some volunteer service, learn about CEF’s ministry worldwide, and meet other summer missionaries from around the nation! It is almost 800 miles from Denver to Warrenton, so we will traveling all day on Sunday, July 5, and Saturday, July 11. Please pray for a safe trip!

Pray also that the glimpse into CEF’s ministry worldwide would impact the students. Maybe God is calling some of them into full-time ministry. May He is even calling some of them into further ministry with CEF. Who knows? Whatever the case may be, I hope and pray that this will be a fun and fruitful trip for all who go!

- Praise God for the opportunities I have already had this summer to connect with some of the students personally. No matter how much planning and fundraising and promotion and recruitment and teaching and training I do, the fact is that ministry always happens in relationships. Please pray for many more opportunities to connect with our summer missionaries in the weeks to come.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (June 21-27)

- We finished up our two-week Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training this past Friday! June 7-14 we went to Highlands Presbyterian Camp & Retreat Center in Allenspark, CO, where students gathered from all over the state to receive the training they need to teach kids this summer. It was gorgeous! The students worked hard and had a great time.

They learned all about how to teach kids, share the gospel, manage a group of kids, and work as a team. Pray that they would remember these things as we progress throughout the summer.

- June 15-19 we continued the training for the Denver chapter students here at our local office in Lakewood. The students got to put into practice what they had learned the week before by teaching one kids’ club each day and then evaluating it afterwards with their team.

I love getting to see the students grow at CYIA training. So much happens in just two weeks! They grow in their relationship with Christ, they grow in their confidence as teachers, and they grow together as friends and teammates.

Please pray that the growth they experience this summer would prove by God’s grace to be enduring change and transformation in their lives.

- Our budget for CYIA this year is $7,650 for the general operating expenses (i.e. separate from the summer missionaries’ individual expenses). To date we have received $3,430 (or 45%) of these funds, with $4,220 (or 55%) left to be raised. Praise God for the many supporters who have contributed already, and pray for many more to join in!

- Here in Colorado, we are blessed with a wonderful State Director for CEF: Bill Raymer who lives down in Canon City. CEF’s nationwide goal is to have a State Director in all 50 states. Praise God for four new state directors who were installed by the Board of Trustees during the month of May! They will be serving in Kentucky, Utah, Missouri, and Louisiana.

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (May 31 - June 6)

- Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training camp begins this Sunday, June 7, at Highlands Presbyterian Camp & Retreat Center! It is located right on the southeast edge of beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. We will be there June 7-14 and then continue training locally at our office in Lakewood from June 15-19.

Please pray for this to be an effective time of equipping young people to minister the gospel! I look forward to everyone working hard, having a lot of fun, and growing together as friends and teammates during our week at camp.

- Our 14 summer missionaries mailed out their support letters about two weeks ago. Please pray for recipients to respond with generosity and enthusiasm for the ministry! I think we have a great team this year, and I look forward to seeing many people rise up to support them.

- Praise God for Hannah & Sarah, and all their help this week in getting ready for CYIA training! Hannah is finishing up a one-year internship with CEF here in Denver, and Sarah is a long-time summer missionary who goes to school at Metro State. Their hard work has been invaluable.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Prayer & Praise (May 24-30)

- This Saturday, May 30, is our second of two preparatory sessions to help the summer missionaries get ready for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training camp. Please pray that this will be a great time of training and team-building.

In the morning, they will give and be evaluated on their presentation of the Wordless Book. In the afternoon, they will learn all about the history of CEF, what we believe, what 5-Day Clubs will look like this year, and what to expect at CYIA training camp in June. It’s hard to believe that summer is almost here!

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the funds needed for my personal support and for the CYIA program.

- Next Tuesday, June 2, I am moving into a condo in Wheat Ridge; I will be renting it along with a friend of mine from church. Pray that the move goes smoothly.

- Praise God for the wonderful prayer time that our staff had this morning! We all live and minister in different parts of the city, so it is good when we get to come together.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (May 17-23)

- This past Friday, May 15, Hannah and I traveled down to Canon City for a statewide staff meeting in preparation for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training camp in June. It was very productive!

Pray for each of the 15 training camp staff who will be teaching, serving as dorm leaders, etc. This week, pray especially for us as we prepare our respective teaching assignments, in order that the summer missionaries might be well-equipped for gospel ministry to the children.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the funds needed for my personal support and for the CYIA program.

- Praise God for each of the 14 summer missionaries who are working in metro Denver this summer!

- Just as an extra, here is a great article CEF recently posted on the main website about our ministry to children in the U.S.

Thanks for praying. Blessings on your life and ministry!

Prayer & Praise (May 10-16)

- Praise God for a great CYIA Team Leader retreat this past weekend! This was our first annual retreat, and it was a blast. We had a great time together seeking God first, growing as a team, and maturing as leaders.

- Praise God for my semester at Metro State finishing up on Tuesday! I handed in my final paper at noon. It was good feeling! (The paper was one for my Intro to Philosophy class; I wrote about theism and the problem of evil. You can read the paper here.)

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the funds needed for my personal support and for the CYIA program.

- This Saturday, May 16, Hannah and I are conducting a catch-up session for the two summer missionaries that missed our first CYIA pre-training. Pray that it goes well!

Thanks so much! I appreciate your prayers and support.

Prayer & Praise (May 3-9)

- This weekend, May 8-10, is our first annual Team Leader retreat for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA)!!! If you can’t tell, I am super excited! :-)

The purpose of the weekend is for us to seek God first, grow as a team, and mature as leaders. For 48 hours we are going to retreat from our everyday responsibilities and relationships in order to prepare for the coming summer of ministry.

Please pray for me this week as I finish preparing for the teaching sessions and finalize all of the other little details.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the funds needed for my personal support and for the CYIA program. Currently I am 28% supported and our CYIA general fund is at 35% of the 2009 budget.

- Praise God for the wonderful year Marney and I had teaching Good News Club! We had our last meeting of the school year last week. Please pray that the children would continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus over the summer.

Thanks for praying. Blessings on your week!

Prayer & Praise (April 26 - May 2)

- Praise God for our club at Salvation Army Red Shield last Friday! We taught the children about feeding the old self vs. feeding the new self for those who are in Christ. We had some great visuals, and I think they really comprehended the lesson.

Pray that the children who are in Christ would be strengthened in their walk and that those who are not would be drawn toward putting their faith in Jesus.

- Please pray for fundraising efforts toward this summer. Our budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) this year is $7,650. We currently have $2,650 (or 35%) of these funds and need to raise another $5,000 (or 65%).

- This week I am working hard on sessions for our CYIA Team Leader retreat coming up May 8-10. We are doing three sessions for spiritual formation (the theme: learning to seek God first!) and five sessions for leadership development.

Please pray for me as I create the environments and develop the various sessions. I think the retreat promises to be a transformative weekend for our young leaders.

Thanks so much!

Prayer & Praise (April 19-25)

- On Saturday we held our first of two preparatory sessions to help our summer missionaries get ready for training camp in June. (The picture above is of some of them hanging out and playing games after we were done for the day.) The weather was less than desirable, but we still made it!

I can already tell we are going to have a fun and strong crew this year. In this first session, we trained them in how to share the gospel in a child’s vocabulary using the Wordless Book. After much planning and preparation, it was exciting to finally see this year’s program get underway.

- On Friday, I was looking at having 18 summer missionaries signed up for this year. Over the weekend, that number dropped down to 14. This was a bit disappointing, but I know that God will send us exactly the young people he wants us to train and equip this year.

Please pray for wisdom in handling the new scheduling dynamics this creates for our 5-Day Clubs, or possibly for some late recruits (which would allow us to go through with our original scheduling goals).

- This Friday, April 24, we are having our monthly kids’ club at Salvation Army Red Shield. Praise God for this opportunity to teach the children and connect with them! Pray for Lauren, Larea, and I as we teach.

- Praise God for the fruitful times I have had studying 2 Peter the past few weeks! God is so good in giving us the Scriptures.

Thanks for your prayers.

Prayer & Praise (April 12-18)

- Praise God for the opportunity that Hannah and I had to minister at a kids’ Easter festival in east Denver this past Saturday! We started out the afternoon helping the kids make bracelets with beads the colors of the Wordless Book, explaining each color as they added it to the bracelet and giving them a tract to take home so that they could remember the gospel story behind the colors. We ended the afternoon with my sister Christine making animal balloons, which the kids loved!

Please pray for Pastor Richmond and his church as they continue ministering in east Denver. (We will be working with them this summer to have 5-Day Clubs in one or more of the city parks around their church.)

- The application deadline for summer missionaries is this week (April 15). Please pray for a well-formed team to come together by God’s grace!

Each year we hold two preparatory sessions to help our summer missionaries get ready for training camp. Our first session is this Saturday, April 18, from 9am-3pm. Pray for Hannah, Larea, and I as we teach.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

Thanks so much for your support in prayer! Grace and peace to you.

Prayer & Praise (April 5-11)

- Our application deadline for summer missionaries is coming up soon (April 15). We are praying for 21 summer missionaries, and for 7 of them to serve as team leaders. Please pray that the crew for this summer would come together seamlessly by God’s grace, and pray that each person would begin preparing their hearts and minds for ministry even now.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God for a fruitful meeting with Hannah and Larea last week! Things are shaping up well for this summer, and we are all really excited about what God is going to do.

Thanks for praying!

Recent Sermons

I serve on the teaching team for the young adult community at my church. Our purpose is to faithfully proclaim the gospel and leverage the preaching/teaching of the Scriptures for life transformation.

Here are my most recent sermons, from a series we just wrapped up on work & vocation:

02-22-09: Redeeming Work, Part I: To Work Or Not To Work? - (download mp3)

03-15-09: Redeeming Work, Part IV: Godliness In The Workplace - (download mp3)

03-29-09: Redeeming Work, Part VI: A Parable About Work - (sorry, no mp3!)

Prayer & Praise (March 29 - April 4)

- We have had lots of great contacts lately with folks who are interested in hosting 5-Day Clubs this summer. Please pray for all of the scheduling details to come together smoothly, and pray especially for Connie who is handling the scheduling.

- Each year we hold two preparatory sessions to get our summer missionaries ready for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training camp in June. The first session is coming up on April 18; the second session will be May 30.

Please pray for Hannah, Larea, and I as we meet together this week to discuss both the pre-training sessions and the CYIA Team Leader retreat in May.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God for a fruitful CEF of CO staff meeting this past Saturday! I found our time together very encouraging. Additionally, much progress was made in our preparations for the summer.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Prayer & Praise (March 22-28)

- Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 24) I am meeting with the missions team (and hopefully the youth pastor) at Grace Church in Arvada to present our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) program to them and discuss a possible church partnership.

CYIA is a transformative summer missions experience for young people. Please pray that my time with Grace Church will be profitable and that CEF will prove be a good partner for this evangelistically-minded church.

- This Saturday, March 28, our State Director will be coming up from Canon City for a CEF of CO staff meeting. In the afternoon, he and I are going to sit down and block out the schedule for June’s statewide summer ministry training camp. Pray for lots of good ideas and brainstorming to come out of this session!

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God that our monthly kids’ club at Salvation Army Red Shield last Friday went so well! We shared a missionary story with the kids and taught them, “You can use what you are good at to serve God.”
I think they all really grasped the big idea. Pray that it will stick with them and bear fruit in their lives!

Thanks for praying. Blessings,

Andrew

Prayer & Praise (March 15-21)

- This Friday, March 20, we are having our monthly kids’ club at Salvation Army Red Shield. Praise God for this opportunity to teach the children and connect with them! Pray for Larea, Lauren, Erica, and I as we teach.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver. I will be renting a condo in Wheat Ridge with some friends starting June 1, and I would like to have roughly 80% of my support by then to help the transition go smoothly.

- Much of the next month and a half will be spent preparing for our CYIA team leader retreat weekend (May 8-10). We will be focusing on leadership development and spiritual formation.

Please pray for me as I work on the schedule for the weekend, recruit help, plan the environments, and develop the training sessions. I think this is going to be a really fantastic experience for everyone who comes! Pray for God’s grace as I prepare.

Thanks!

You Are Invited To...

If you live in the metro Denver area, I would like to invite you to an evening to learn about a new church planting movement that is being started in San Jose, CA. My friends Chris & Cassie are a part of this. Come hear their story! Here are the vital stats for the event:

Day: Friday, March 20

Time: 6:30-8:00pm

Place: Bear Valley Church
10001 W Jewell Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80232

Check out the website for more information. I hope to see you there!

Prayer & Praise (March 8-14)

- In May, I am conducting a weekend retreat for the summer missionaries who will be serving as team leaders in Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) this year. We are going to be focusing on leadership development and spiritual formation. I want each of the team leaders to be energized for seeking God first as they lead their team.

I am really excited about this! We are going to explore issues such as urban ministry, religious pluralism, conflict resolution, etc. Please pray for me as I develop each of the sessions and plan the various environments that we will have over the weekend.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God for the 50+ children’s Bible clubs that have been scheduled for this summer thus far! Our goal is to train 20 young people to teach 120 Bible clubs, reaching 2,000 children in metro Denver with the good news of Jesus.

Thanks!

Prayer & Praise (March 1-7)

- Praise God for the great CYIA kick-off event we had this past Friday! I thought it went very well. We had 16 returning and prospective summer missionaries (along with assorted parents and siblings) come for pizza, games, and an informative presentation about our vision & mission for CYIA this year.

Our theme for Summer 2009 is “transformation.” We talked from 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 about craving transformation.

Specifically, we want to see (1) students transformed in their faith through working in teams, teaching the Bible, internalizing the gospel, and showing God’s love to the children, and (2) children transformed in their lives by placing their faith in Jesus for salvation and learning to live for him.

Our goal for Summer 2009 is to train 20 young people to teach 120 Bible clubs in metro Denver, reaching 2,000 children with the good news of Jesus.

- This week I am writing, printing, & mailing my quarterly newsletter, Beautiful Feet. One of my favorite things is writing the devotional article for the back page. Pray that this process would go well and that I could write something that would be edifying for God’s people.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Several of our team leaders this year will not be old enough to drive their team, so this week I am beginning the process of recruiting drivers for the summer. Please pray that all the spots will get filled.

Do you know someone who might be willing to spend a week this summer driving a team of two to four young people on fire for God? If so, let me know.

Thanks so much for your prayers & support. You are invaluable to this ministry!

Prayer & Praise (Feb 22-28)

- This Fri, Feb 27, we are having our big kick-off event in preparation for Summer 2009. This will be an informational party for all returning and prospective summer missionaries. I am really excited! We are going to eat pizza, play games, and hear a presentation about what is coming up this summer.

Please pray for me this week as I prepare! I want to craft a presentation that is clear, concise, and compelling. I want something that will connect with the youth, answer any questions they may have, and generate lots of interest/excitement for the summer.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver. This week I am talking with two missions pastors at churches that I think would be a good fit for CEF and us for them.

- Praise God for his grace and mercy in my life and in the lives of others.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Feb 15-21)

- This Fri, Feb 20, Larea, Erica, Lauren, & I are teaching our monthly kids’ club at Salvation Army Red Shield.

Our theme for the club will be “Watch what you say!” We are going to talk about the power of words and how God wants us to use our words. This is a huge issue for children and youth today; I am thinking of creating some discussion groups around the various anecdotes in the lesson to help the children internalize the teaching. We’ll see. The memory verse for the day is going to be Psalm 19:14 (look it up ... it’s a good one!).

Praise God for the opportunity we have to teach the children!!!

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says: “The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” (1). I think this is so true. Please pray for greater depth in my relationship with God this week. It is only from depth that we can then minister to others.

Thanks so much!

Recent Sermons

As some of you may know, I serve on the teaching-preaching team for the young adult community at my church. We are just about to wrap up a six part series on theology. I personally give the message about once a month (sometimes twice a month). Here are my two most recent, both from our current theology series:

01-11-09: What Christians Believe: Transcendence & Immanence

02-08-09: What Christians Believe: The Holy Spirit & The Church

Prayer & Praise (Feb 8-14)

So sorry that I missed last week’s update! We are back on track now ... here is what’s going on, and how you can be involved through prayer and intercession:

- We are focusing our promotion & recruitment strategy for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) on two concepts: (1) church partnerships, and (2) word-of-mouth. In the past couple of weeks, I have given five promotional talks in various settings at two different churches with which we are building partnerships. Today I mailed out the first round of CYIA applications (18 total). In each packet I enclosed a brochure about CYIA, encouraging the applicant to invite at least one friend to join them for the experience this summer.

Our targeted goal for Summer 2009 is to schedule 120 kids’ Bible clubs and train 20 summer missionaries to teach them. (We scheduled the first 40 clubs today!) In this, please pray for fruitful ministry, for God’s glory and kingdom.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God for a new staff member candidate who put in her application this week! (We currently have seven staff members for metro Denver, including myself.) On Monday, we got to meet her and hear the incredible story of God’s work in her life. It was such a blessing!

Thanks so much for your prayers! Grace and peace to you.

Prayer & Praise (Jan 25-31)

- January thru March is promotion & recruitment time for our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) program. Please pray that I could cast a compelling vision to the students and that those whom God has called would respond!

This week I am doing a CYIA promo on Tuesday, Jan 27, at one of the community groups for the youth at Bear Valley Church (BVC) and another on Wednesday, Jan 28, at Grace Covenant’s Awana group. Additionally, my CYIA promo originally scheduled for Sunday, Jan 25, at BVC’s youth group worship service has been rescheduled for Sunday, Feb 1.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver. Praise God for a new supporter who joined the team in January!

- School has started again. (I am studying at Metro State for a B.A in Speech Communication.) This semester I have two classes: (1) Cultural Influences on Communication, and (2) Intro to Philosophy. Please pray that I could work hard and work smart in my studies.

Thanks!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 18-24)

- January thru March is promotion & recruitment time for our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) program! I am doing my first CYIA promo this Sunday, Jan 25, at Bear Valley Church’s youth group. Please pray that I could cast a compelling vision to them and that the students God has called would respond.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver. Please pray also that I could continue to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with my existing financial support team.

- This week I turned in my staff report for 2008 to Bill Raymer, State Director for CEF of CO, to be submitted to the state board. In it I laid out 10 ministry goals and 10 personal goals for the year 2009. Pray that I would be faithful to God and could be fruitful in ministry as I work toward each of these goals.

Thanks!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 11-17)

- If you pray for the ministry of CEF in Denver on a regular basis, I have a great resource for you... here are all of the important dates for our 2009 Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) program. You can add these to your calendar or prayer list or whatever it is that you use to pray.

I appreciate and covet your prayers as we move forward with the program for 2009. As I said in the last update, you and your prayers are the lifeblood of this ministry! Please pray that 2009 would see students transformed in their faith through doing ministry and children transformed in their lives through coming to faith in Jesus.

- This Fri, Jan 16, Larea, Erica, Lauren, & I are teaching a kids’ club at Salvation Army Red Shield. (We will be continuing to teach this club on the third Friday of every month.) I am excited about this opportunity! This is a club I taught during my internship (before I went to Calvary Bible College), and the kids at Red Shield are just fantastic. It will be good to start the club back up again.

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver.

- Praise God for the young adult community at my church, which nourishes me with community and gives me opportunities to serve. I am regularly reminded that the local church, as God designed it, truly is the hope of the world!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 4-10)

- On Sat, Jan 3, I met with past/present/future Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) team leaders to discuss our vision for CYIA. It was a great time of fellowship and unfiltered discussion!

Statistically, The Barna Group reports that 61% of today’s young adults “had been churched at one point during their teen years but they are now spiritually disengaged (i.e., not actively attending church, reading the Bible, or praying).” Something is lacking in the spiritual formation of America’s youth. We hope that CYIA--a transformative experience for youth--can play a role in addressing this issue for the youth of metro Denver.

Additionally, there are over 300,000 early childhood and elementary-age children in metro Denver. This is the mission field for our summer missionaries, and we want to be as effective in our ministry to the children as possible.

Pray for us as we move forward with some ideas for making CYIA a more powerful experience for our summer missionaries and a more effective ministry in to the children of our great city!

- Continue to pray that I could make good connections with families, individuals, and churches as I seek to raise the $3,910/month I need for doing ministry with CEF in Denver. Praise God for three new supporters who joined the team in December!

This week I am mailing out a round of 20 appeal letters, which I will follow-up with phone calls in order to gain face-to-face appointments. Pray for many opportunities to share our vision for CYIA with potential supporters!

- The Good News Club that Margaret and I teach at Centennial K-8 school starts up again this week! I am excited. I hate being away from the kids for more than a week at a time!

Thanks for your prayers. You and your prayers are the lifeblood of this ministry!