Monday, December 20, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Dec 19-25)

- Funds have continued to come in to finish off our 2010 program budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA). To date we have received $29,127 (or 87% of our budget). Please continue to pray for the remaining funds.

We are having a “Christmas in January” party for CYIA next month. I am sending out invitations this week and hope that many of our summer missionaries will be able to come! This is a great time in the middle of the school year for them to reconnect with one another and enjoy some good fellowship.

- After nine months on the job as our office manager (the other hat I wear in addition to CYIA Director), I am preparing for a big transition as we get ready for 2011. We are changing our accounting software over to QuickBooks by Intuit, and there are many things that I need to learn how to do in the new system: charitable contributions, bookstore sales, payroll, etc. Please pray for me to learn everything quickly and accurately!

- The fall semester at Metro State finished up this past Wednesday. I have about five weeks off before diving into spring semester. Praise God for this time of rest and relaxation, and pray for me to be able to use the extra time wisely.

Thanks for praying!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Oct 31 - Nov 6)



- We started our Good News Club at Mt. View Child Care again a couple of weeks ago. It has been great getting to reconnect with all of the kids! Many of the same children from last year are there, as well as some new ones. We are starting a six-week series on “Moses: The Lawgiver,” exploring the story of Moses and the Israelites starting with God giving the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. A quick survey the first week revealed that most of the children have never heard this story before. I am excited that my teaching teammate Ruth and I get to share this important chapter in God’s Story with them!

- Funds continue to come in to finish off our 2010 program budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA). To date we have received $27,239 (or 82% of our budget, up from 79% the last time I wrote you). Please continue to pray for the remaining funds to come in.

- This Saturday, Nov 6, I am helping teach a Good News Club workshop down in Castle Rock. Many of the people who will be attending are getting training for the very first time. Please pray for a great work to be done as these fantastic volunteers learn how to share the gospel with children, teach memory verses, and put together a Bible lesson. I will be teaching in the morning and Marney will be teaching in the afternoon.

Thanks for your prayers!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Sept 26 - Oct 2)



- I did two children’s programs this month with the help of CYIA summer missionaries: an all-day program at Southwest Bible Chapel on Sept 11 and an evening program at Templo Evangelico Bautista on Sept 18. Both went extremely well and the children seemed to really engage with the teaching! Praise God for these opportunities to continue getting CYIA students involved in children’s ministry during the school year.

- Our total program budget for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) this calendar year is $33,377. This includes both the funds for general operating expenses and the funds for the students’ individual accounts. To date, we have received $26,310 in donations, or 79% of our budget! This is encouraging when you consider that we are only just now coming out of a recession in which charitable giving was down across the board for non-profits like CEF. Please pray for the remaining funds to come in between now and the end of the year.

- A few weeks ago, I sat down to write out my strategic priorities for ministry during the 2010-11 school year. I will be focusing on three main things: (1) Developing video resources for the ministry, (2) Building new church partnerships and strengthening existing ones, and (3) Fundraising. Please pray for these objectives to bring much glory to God and many new citizens into his kingdom!

Thanks so much for praying.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Aug 15-21)



- The first week of August I got to go to a summer BBQ at Mt. View, the church and daycare center where I taught Good News Club last school year. I got to see several of the kids from club, including Mario, who accepted Christ at club back in December. We had given him a Bible to start reading, so when I hung out with him at the BBQ I asked how his Bible reading was going. (He had started in the beginning at Genesis.) Well, Mario said he has been reading a lot and is now in the Gospel of John!

Praise God for Mario’s salvation and growth in Christ. He has been through a lot with his family in the past few years and it is so awesome to see him holding firm to Christ!

- Last Saturday I got to do a children’s program at a church named Templo Evangelico Bautista along with two of our CYIA summer missionaries. We played soccer with the kids outside and then went inside for a Bible program. It was a lot of fun!

A four-year-old girl named Ashley responded to the invitation at the end of the Bible lesson, but she was too shy to talk so we gave a gospel tract to her older sister that they could read over together at home. Please pray that Ashley would trust Christ her Savior or, if she has already, that she would be willing to talk with us about it when we come next month.

- I start classes again at Metro State on Monday. Please pray for me to work hard, learn a lot, and have a great witness for Christ!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Aug 1-7)



I just got back from Boston last night, wrapping up a great summer of ministry with our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) missionaries. I am posting a few highlights below, and will follow up later in the month with more in-depth posts, including pictures and video from the summer!

- CYIA Training: We held a two-week training camp in June. We had a large number of 1st-yr summer missionaries, and as I watched them teach 5-Day Clubs throughout the summer, I became convinced that they really came away from the training well-equipped. I learned a lot of lessons, and we still have a ways to go, so I am looking forward to making next year’s training the best ever.

- Ministry in Greater Denver: During June and July, we held three weeks of 5-Day Clubs at homes and backyards, daycare centers, city parks, apartment complexes, and trailer parks all across the Greater Denver area. These clubs included several great new church partners, and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.

Due to some paperwork mishaps over the course of the summer, I only have incomplete statistics, but I can tell you that we taught over 900 children about Jesus in our 5-Day Clubs, and 62 children placed their faith in Jesus for the very first time. Praise God!

- Ministry in Greater Boston: Frank, Connie, and I took a team of eight students to Boston during the last two weeks of July for “Good News Across America,” a huge effort by CEF to build up ministry to children in that city by partnering with churches there. Over 160 CEF workers from around the nation came to Boston for the campaign. We partnered with nearly 30 churches to host 5-Day Clubs, and CEF of Massachusetts conducted Good News Club trainings for the fall.

Over 2,000 children attended the 5-Day Clubs in Boston, and we saw 209 children place their faith in Jesus for the first time! It was a powerful movement that I believe was inspiring to many of the churches with whom we worked. Based on prior years’ ministry campaigns like this, 20 of the 30 churches will successfully start after-school Good News Clubs this fall and begin a powerful new ministry in their communities.

- Summer Ministry Celebration: We are a having a get-together at the CEF office this Friday night, Aug 6, to celebrate. Please pray that many families, individuals, and church partners will be able to make it so that they can meet one another and hear the stories of what God has done.

Stay tuned for more updates about this summer! Thanks for praying.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Prayer & Praise (May 23-29)



- This past weekend (May 21-23), we gathered together our six student leaders for this summer and held our second annual “CYIA Team Leader retreat.” It was great time!

We conducted a number of training sessions where we dug deep into the dynamics of teamwork and ways that they could be effective leaders of their teams. We also had a couple of spiritual challenge sessions, and I believe the student leaders came away spiritually refreshed. Please pray for them this summer as they seek to serve their peers and reach children for Christ!

- On Sunday, May 23, we also held a fundraising luncheon for CYIA at my church. There are three Sunday morning services, and we served food after all three (although we sold out just as the third service was letting out!). All in all, praise God we raised $730 for Summer 2010!!! I also had some great conversations with members of the church about the summer ministry.

- CYIA training camp begins in less than two weeks. There is much to be done between now and then. Pray for me to stay on track and organized as I tackle the various tasks.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Prayer & Praise (May 2-8)



- It has been a busy couple of months! We finished recruiting for 2010 Summer Missions, processed applications, conducted two half-day prep sessions for our final team of Greater Denver students, and held a statewide staff meeting to finalize plans for training camp in June. Connie is busy scheduling our three weeks of 5-Day Clubs.

Elsewhere in the ministry, in March I started an additional part-time role as our office manager for Greater Denver, and in April I went up to Frontier School of the Bible (LaGrange, WY) for a brief recruiting trip with college students there.

Praise God for all that is taking place, and pray that his kingdom would be advanced as a result!

- We have 19 students signed up for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) this summer! There are 9 first-year students and 10 returnees, 6 of whom will be serving as team leaders. (On Saturday, May 1, we held our second of two prep sessions for our students. See the picture above!)

This week we will be sending out the students’ support letters to their friends and family asking for prayer and financial support. We are including a “prayer bookmark” with the student’s picture on it and three short prayer requests. Folks will be able to put this on their refrigerator or on their desk at work as a reminder to pray for the student who is devoting his or her summer to full-time missions. Please pray for a generous response in both prayer and finances as the students prepare for their ministry!

Thanks so much for praying!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Prayer & Praise (March 7-13)



- This past Friday night, March 5, we hosted a “Summer Preview” meeting for students and their parents to come and learn about CEF's summer missions opportunities in 2010. We had nearly an equal number of new students and returning students attend, which was exciting! Many of the returning students also said they were talking with their friends about CYIA. I think this is shaping up to be a great summer!

Our application deadline for summer missions is April 1. Please pray for students and their parents this month as they prayerfully consider this opportunity. CYIA is an incredible time for students to put their faith into action and make an impact in the lives of boys and girls! We are shooting for a team of 20-25 students this year, and I think things are on track for us to have that team.

- Please pray for me as I begin designing our team leader weekend retreat that will take place in May and continue working with Bill, our state director, on designing the two-week CYIA training camp that will take place in June. This year we are exploring creating an opportunity for 12 and 13-year-olds to join us in Denver for the second week of training as part of a “jr. missionary” program. Praise God for the young students who have already shown interest in this! Please pray for the details of it to come together well.

Thanks so much for praying!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Feb 21-27)



- A big praise this week: in our Good News Club last Wednesday, a girl named Jade (who is new to the daycare and new to the club) trusted in Christ as her Savior! Her interest in the gospel was palpable all throughout as Hannah taught the Bible lesson. When Hannah gave the invitation, Jade immediately responded and Hannah was able to counsel her one-on-one. Praise God!

You might remember that in December a boy named Mario placed his faith in Christ at Good News Club. Both Jade and Mario got their very own Bibles so that they can begin to probe the Scriptures and grow in their faith. Please pray for both of these children. I don’t know much about Jade yet, but I know Mario comes from a difficult family situation, and he will need Christ to be his daily source of strength.

- Last week I got an e-mail from Martha Olango, a friend of mine who attended Calvary Bible College at the same time as I and also attended the same church in Kansas City. She is now serving the Lord with CEF back in her home of East Africa.

One of her responsibilities is helping with the Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training camps for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. These trainings take place in December and January. She sent me a copy of her latest newsletter with pictures and a report from these CYIA programs. I thought I would pass it along for you to enjoy as well! You can check it out here.

- Tomorrow (Thursday, February 25) I am going to Colorado Christian University. It is their missions week, and I am going to present opportunities for summer internships with CEF of Denver, as well as full-time service opportunities for graduating seniors. I will get to set up a display table in chapel, and also have an informal lunch meeting with any students who are interested. Please pray for this opportunity and any meaningful connections it might provide!

Thanks!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Jan 31 - Feb 6)



- Praise God for the recruiting trip to Kansas City last week! I was able to represent CEF of Colorado at Calvary Bible College’s “Missions Emphasis” conference. I had some wonderful conversations with students throughout the week and got to teach a seminar called “Teamwork in Missions.”

On the last day of the conference, the chapel speaker gave a whirlwind tour of many things that God is doing around the world. It was inspiring: it can be so easy to get caught up in what is going on in my little corner of the world that I forget to pay attention to what God is doing outside my sphere of influence. Our God is an awesome God indeed!

All-in-all, I also feel like I learned a lot about how to conduct this type of trip. There was a definite learning curve involved, but I now feel much more confident for conducting future staff recruiting trips. I am working to schedule several more in 2010 to college campuses both in Colorado and out-of-state (most likely in the fall, but possibly in the spring as well).

- Please pray for me this month as I focus on our two main priorities for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) in February: recruiting students and raising funds! This is an exciting season of the year.

Thanks so much for praying!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Jan 24-30)

I'm in Kansas City at Calvary Bible College for "Missions Emphasis Week," representing CEF of Colorado. Pray for a great week of connecting with students, sharing the ministry, and getting caught up in what God is doing to advance his kingdom!

Thanks!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Prayer & Praise (Jan 10-16)

- Continue to pray as I prepare for my recruiting trip to Calvary Bible College, January 25-29 in Kansas City, MO. I am writing the seminars I will be teaching, creating a CYIA display table (with a tri-fold display board, CYIA-branded tablecloth, Summer 2009 slideshow, etc.), and finalizing the job description for our student ministry coordinators.





- Hannah and I started up Good News Club again last week at Mt. View Child Care. (Kayla was sick and wasn’t able to join us.) It was great to see the kids again! We played lots of games and taught the story of the Magi.

In early December, I counseled a boy at club named Mario and he prayed to receive Christ as his Savior. Well, last week I had the privilege of giving him his very own Bible! He was so excited to get it, immediately running to show it to his teacher at the daycare. When we taught the memory verse, he opened up his Bible and tried to find it. It was great to see him so excited about God’s Word! Praise God for Mario and please pray for his growth in Christ.

Thanks!