Beautiful Feet

Remembering & Celebrating Barbara Widner

2012-01-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

“Barbara Widner went to be with her Lord on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 3:00pm. Barbara and I were team teachers in a Good News Club for 20 years. We met in the same room in the same building every Tuesday after school. Connie Porter remarked that last Tuesday Barbara went to the Big Bible Club. Barbara and I have taught for CEF for 45 years. And what a blessed trip we have had! Oh, what a godly woman who was in love with serving her Lord. Leading children to the Lord was her greatest passion. She was so loved by all who knew her and will be greatly missed. I miss her already.”—Betty Dalton

You may never have met Barbara, but a countless number of children did. Only eternity will tell all of the results of her incredible ministry. In the front of her Bible was a poem that I would like to share with you:

Some would gather money along the path of life,
Some would gather roses and rest from worldly strife.

But I would gather children from among the thorns of sin.
I would seek a golden curl, a freckled, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter in the land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered soon wilt along the way.

But, oh the laughing children as I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven as I take them in with me.

Barbara also saw the need to pray for the children. Will you follow her example? Will you commit to pray for the children of your community, your nation, and your world?

Uganda video update #4

2011-12-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

I depart for Uganda on Saturday! Check out this 3 min video update with the latest news and a prayer request.

Some of the expenses—the vaccinations, in particular—ended up costing more than anticipated. I have gotten approval to increase my trip budget from $2,500 to $3,000 to cover everything. To date I have received $2,730 in donations, or 91% of this new budget. I only need $270 to meet the new goal! Please consider donating $20 or more:

I am excited about what God is going to do through this CYIA training. Please pray for the training staff, the students who are coming to attend, and the children that they will reach with the love of Christ.

Uganda video update #3

2011-12-07T08:07:00.001-08:00

Check out my 2 min video update on what happened this weekend. Thanks for all of your help and support!!!

UPDATE (Dec 26, 2011): Some of the expenses—the vaccinations, in particular—ended up costing more than anticipated. I have gotten approval to increase my trip budget from $2,500 to $3,000 to cover the expenses. To date I have received $2,730 in donations, or 91% of this new budget. Would you consider helping by donating $20 or more?

Thanks to everyone for all of your questions, comments, and encouragement. I look forward to staying in touch with you over these next few weeks.

Uganda video update #2

2011-12-01T15:45:00.001-08:00

Uganda video update #1

2011-11-22T17:02:00.001-08:00

CEF World Day of Prayer

2011-10-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to invite you to join me in going before the Lord for the most important aspect of accomplishing CEF’s ministry: prayer. Without depending on God—who he is and what he does—we cannot reach the children, we cannot disciple them, and we cannot establish them in local churches.

Use this short URL to watch a video message from CEF’s vice president of USA Ministries, Moises Esteves, on the vitality of prayer: http://j.mp/vyQKRg.

Please join me in praying on the CEF World Day of Prayer: Wednesday, November 2. Thank you!

Help Sylvia finish CMI

2011-10-20T14:14:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: As of November 9, Sylvia's cost of CMI is fully paid! Thank you everyone for your help!!!

Sylvia has been on our CYIA summer missions team here in Denver for the past five years. It has been amazing to see her learn and grow and minister to children!

This fall, Sylvia traveled to our HQ in Missouri for the Children’s Ministries Institute (CMI)—an intensive 12-week training. As I write this post, she and her fellow students are just finishing up week nine! They will graduate on November 11.

The cost for CMI is about $4,500. Through scholarships and fundraising, Sylvia has gotten almost all of the funds she needs. However, she still needs about $520 for the final payment, which is due next week (Oct 24-28).

Would you consider a gift to help Sylvia finish CMI?

Click “Donate” to give a secure online donation via credit card or PayPal:

Thank you so much!

- Andrew

Andrew's mission trip to Uganda

2011-10-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

UPDATE (Dec 26, 2011): Some of the expenses—the vaccinations, in particular—ended up costing more than anticipated. I have gotten approval to increase my trip budget from $2,500 to $3,000 to cover the expenses. To date I have received $2,730 in donations, or 91% of this new budget. Would you consider helping by donating $20 or more?

I wanted to share with you about something new and exciting that is coming up:

I have been invited by CEF of Uganda to serve as a facilitator for their seventh annual Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training. They train students to reach children for Christ in 5-Day Clubs, just like we do here in Denver during our summer missions. I am very excited about this opportunity! It will be my first time to travel overseas.

I will be in Uganda from January 2-14, 2012. I will get to speak in chapel services to challenge and encourage the students, as well as help facilitate some training classes and practicum times. CEF of Uganda is expecting about 140 young people to attend the training. It will take place at a school just a few miles outside of Kampala.

The trip budget has been set at $2,500 USD. Would you consider giving $20 or more toward this mission trip? I would really appreciate it! Your support is what makes all of this possible.

Click "Donate" to give a secure online donation via credit card or PayPal:

The children of Uganda are hungry and thirsty for the gospel of Christ. I am excited to be a part of a team building up young missionaries who will reach them with the Good News next year in 2012! Thanks for reading.

Prayer & Praise (Sept 18-24)

2011-09-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

- Well, we had a great summer of ministry with Christian Youth In Action! Praise God for these results: CYIA students taught 886 children all across the Denver metro area. 79 children were counseled for salvation, and 18 were counseled for Christian growth. In addition, the children in clubs raised over $700 for a CEF missionary in East/Central Africa.

It was an exciting summer, and I saw each of the students grow in different ways, especially the six students who went on the Salt Lake City mission trip I wrote to you about last time. Please pray for all of these students as they are back in school now and striving to live for Jesus in that environment!

- We are planning a CEF banquet for Friday, November 4. Would you pray for us to be able to get all of the table sponsors that we need for this event? We are hoping for this banquet to be a great success in casting the vision about reaching children for Christ and getting more people involved through prayer, finances, volunteering, etc.

- Now that the summer ministry is over, I have shifted my focus to planning for next year as well as just doing overall program development. Please pray for me to stay focused, be effective in developing relationships with our ministry partners, and have great ideas for how we can continue building this ministry! God is faithful, and I am looking forward to the next year.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer & Praise (June 26-July 2)

2011-06-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

- Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training finished up this past Friday, and the students did great! We celebrated the end of two weeks of hard work with a movie night.

During the second week of training, the CYIA students taught six practice 5-Day Clubs. 87 children attended, and 11 of them placed their faith in Christ for the first time!!! The children also brought $112.08 for Florence Aderi, a CEF missionary in East/Central Africa.

- This week is our first full week of 5-Day Clubs for Greater Denver. We have five teams out this week, four of them with a 1st-time team leader. Praise God, they are doing a fantastic job! The teams are teaching clubs in Thornton, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Littleton, Denver, Aurora, and Lafayette. Would you pray for the safety of the teams as they travel?

- Our ministry partners for 5-Day Clubs this week include Crossroads Church, Salvation Army Red Shield, E&R Cannon Child Care, Bullfrogs & Butterflies Child Care, The Journey Community Church, and New Life Evangelical Free Church. Please pray that God would use each of these partnerships to further His glory and kingdom in the lives of the children and their communities.

Thanks!

Prayer & Praise (June 19-25)

2011-06-20T20:02:00.001-07:00

- It has been a busy couple of months since I wrote you last! In April, we finished signing up 18 students (pictured above) to be on our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) team this summer.

In May, I traveled to North Carolina for a week to attend the CEF International Conference, which takes place every three years. We celebrated the fact that CEF now has active ministry to children in 176 nations around the world. (See the flags of the nations pictured below).

- June 6-8 I took our student leaders (pictured below) on a retreat to do leadership training, spiritual formation, and team-building. It was a memorable experience and I think they learned a lot! We were blessed with the use of a home up in mountains, which was great for getting away from the distractions of everyday life.

- Most recently, we just returned from our first week of CYIA training, help at a camp in Allenspark, CO. This week we are holding a second week of training at Hope Crossing Church next to our office here in Denver. The students have been busy taking classes on all the various aspects of children’s ministry, studying the lessons and stories that they will be telling in 5-Day Clubs, and getting to know their teammates better and better!

This week they actually teach one 5-Day Club each day and then come back to the office to evaluate how it went and continue studying. This hands-on training will prepare them for next week when they launch into doing ministry all day, every day. Pray for these students as they courageously take the good news of Jesus to the children of our city!!!

Prayer & Praise (March 20-26)

2011-03-23T13:36:00.001-07:00

- Last time I wrote to you, I was just about to head up to Frontier School of the Bible in Wyoming to represent CEF at their Spring Missions Conference. Well, I am happy to say the trip went great! I got to teach two sessions, meet some really great students, and spread the word about the ministry that CEF is doing with children in Denver and around the world.

- On March 4, we held our annual informational meeting for students and parents to come learn about Christian Youth In Action (CYIA). About 20-30 people turned out for it, and I am really excited about the students that God is bringing to us this year. I think we are going to have a solid team this summer.

The application deadline for our two-week mission trip to Salt Lake City is March 25, and the application deadline for summer missions in Denver is April 4. Please pray for the students to be able to get their paperwork done and turned in on time, and pray especially that God would bring us just the right students for His purpose!

- For the past almost five years we have shared office space with Candlelight Electric, a service company. This arrangement has served us well in many ways, but it has also had its drawbacks. Our lease with Candlelight was up on Dec 31. We are now renting from them on a month-to-month basis, as we wanted to find a new location that would better position us for future ministry.

I have been working closely with a broker for the past few months, and I am pleased to say that just this week we received the final executed lease agreement on a new office suite.

The new building (pictured above) is very visible, easily accessible, and situated right next to a church that we plan to partner with for larger trainings. It is a great location and we have signed a three-year lease. Moving day is planned for April 16. Please pray for everything as we get prepared!

Thank you for all your support!

Prayer & Praise (Feb 6-12)

2011-02-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

- I am taking a few weeks off from Good News Club while my co-teacher, Ruth, goes on a trip to California to help raise her financial support. Ruth is preparing to start serving full-time with CEF of Greater Denver later this year. Will you pray that she has a great trip and can build some solid new relationships? She will be in California from Feb 3-18.

- I leave tonight for Frontier School of the Bible in LaGrange, Wyoming, to represent CEF at their spring missions conference. It is about a 160-mile drive from Denver and the weather is poor today (snow; cold temperatures). Will you pray for safety as I travel?

Here is a picture from the Starbucks in Denver right now where I am writing this post:

I will be at Frontier for three days, teach two workshops, have a display table set up, and hopefully just have lots of great conversations with the students! Here are the workshop sessions I will be teaching:

TEAMWORK IN MISSIONS: God didn't just call you ... He called others too! But what if you don't really get along with those other people? In this session, we will dig into the book of Acts to see what dynamics of teamwork the early Christians encountered as they carried out their mission, and what lessons we can learn from them as we carry out the mission today.

TRANSFORMATIONAL STUDENT MINISTRY: How does transformation happen? And what does this mean for how we do student ministry? In this session we will explore a simple yet powerful principle from the Scriptures that explains how God has designed us, and then from that insight explore how we and the students we minister to might be changed.

I'm looking forward to it! Thanks so much for your prayers and for your heart for this ministry.

Prayer & Praise (Jan 16-22)

2011-01-17T16:54:00.001-08:00

- On Saturday night (Jan 15), we had our “Christmas in January” party for the CYIA summer missionaries. It was great time!!! We shared a meal, played games, and did a drawing for door prizes.

- We finished off 2010 with contributions for our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) program totaling $29,827 (or 89% of budget). And although we did not quite make budget, this 89% in 2010 represents a great improvement from 2009. There is definitely momentum building for this ministry. I am looking forward to a great 2011!

As I put together the budget for this year, I am incorporating some new ways of cutting costs vs. the way we ran the program last year. Additionally, I am also excited about some new fundraising opportunities/strategies we will be pursuing this year. Will you join me in praying that this ministry to students and children will be fully-funded in 2011 and that, above all else, we would honor God in all we do and listen to His voice in all things?

- At Good News Club last week, I spoke with a six-year-old girl after the Bible lesson. She had professed faith in Christ at club several weeks ago and when I spoke with her today she told me that she wanted to tell her friends at school about Jesus.

“I think that’s a great idea!” I said. Then, looking at Ruth and me, she said: “I want to be like you guys when I grow up! I think it would be fun to go around and teach people about Jesus.”

I don’t know what God’s plans are for this little girl, but I can tell that the Holy Spirit is doing something wonderful in her heart. Please pray that Good News Club will continue to be a source of growth and encouragement for her!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 19-25)

2010-12-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Oct 31 - Nov 6)

2010-10-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 26 - Oct 2)

2010-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Prayer & Praise (Aug 15-21)

2010-08-20T19:01:00.001-07:00

- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Aug 1-7)

2010-08-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

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.

Prayer & Praise (May 23-29)

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- 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!

Prayer & Praise (May 2-8)

2010-05-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

- 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!

Prayer & Praise (March 7-13)

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- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Feb 21-27)

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- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 31 - Feb 6)

2010-02-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 24-30)

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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!

Prayer & Praise (Jan 10-16)

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- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 27 - Jan 2)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

2009-09-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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

2009-09-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

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)

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- 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)

2009-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-08-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-07-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

- 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)

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- 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)

2009-07-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-06-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-06-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-05-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-05-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

- 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)

2009-05-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

- 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)

2009-04-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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

2009-04-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

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)

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- 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)

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- 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)

2009-03-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

- 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...

2009-03-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

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)

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- 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)

2009-03-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

- 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)

2009-02-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

- 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)

2009-02-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

- 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

2009-02-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

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)

2009-02-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

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)

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- 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)

2009-01-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

- 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)

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- 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)

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- 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!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 28 - Jan 3)

2008-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

- Praise God for the five Christmas Party Clubs we had in December at daycares around the city! (I plan to have pictures, stories, & statistics from the clubs in my next newsletter.) We are continuing with a monthly party club at one of the locations.

- On Saturday, Jan 3, I am meeting with past/present/future Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) team leaders to discuss our vision for CYIA. Please pray for a lot of great input and discussion! We are going to think through some ways to make CYIA an even more powerful experience for our summer missionaries and an even more effective ministry in reaching the children of our city for Jesus.

- 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 restful & relaxing Christmas I got to share with my family last week! I hope all of you had an enjoyable celebration as well.

Blessings on your New Year!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T14:25:00.001-08:00

I wanted to let you know about a change I have just made to the blog. If you look to the right side of your screen and scroll down a bit, you will see that I have added a place where you can subscribe to this blog. This enables you to receive and view the latest posts in your feed reader of choice.

I post prayer requests & praise reports every Monday morning. If you use these to pray for the ministry of CEF of Denver, I think the subscription option will be especially useful to you.

Thanks so much! Blessings on you and your family as we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Lord!

Prayer & Praise (Dec 14-20)

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- On Tuesday (Dec 16), Sarah, Philip, and Lauren are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare in southwest Denver. On Thursday (Dec 18), Larea, Lauren, and I are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare out in east Denver. Pray for us to make good connections with the kids and for the gospel to be heard clearly and grasped deeply!

- Last week I finished my first semester as a part-time student at Metro State (after spending the past two years as a full-time student at Calvary Bible College). I have six weeks off before my first class in January! I look forward to getting a lot of work done for both CEF and the young adult community at my church. Please pray that I would use the extra time wisely and also get appropriate rest, relaxation, and time with family & friends.

- 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.

- During Dec & Jan, I am building our Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) leadership team for Summer 2009. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as I seek to get the right people on the bus.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Blessings on your celebration of the gospel this Christmas season!

1 Peter 4:12-19

2008-12-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

We have been studying 1 Peter at Regeneration, the young adult community at Bear Valley Church. This past Sunday (Dec 7), I taught on 1 Peter 4:12-19.

One of Peter’s primary purposes in his letter is to help his readers navigate the tension that comes from being both “in Christ” and “in culture.”

Culture is constantly writing what psychologists call social scripts: scripts telling us how to think and feel and act in any conceivable situation. The problem is that some of these social scripts do not honor God. What do we do when Christ calls us to live holy lives as aliens and strangers in this world, but culture continually says, “Stick to the script”?

As sinful and destructive social scripts intensify and dominate our culture, the danger is that we would look at culture, despair, and lose our joy. Peter’s text is instructive for us. In 1 Peter 4:12-19, we learn that suffering should not rob us of our joy. Furthermore, Peter tells us how we can find the strength to go on day after day by finding our joy in Christ, not in culture.

Click here to view the sermon notes.

Prayer Requests (Dec 7-13)

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- On Friday (Dec 12), Emanuel, Erica, and I are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a Salvation Army location in Denver. Pray for us to make good connections with the kids and for the gospel to be heard.

- This is finals week at Metro State. I am thankful for this semester and hope to finish strong. (I also look forward to having a few weeks off before next semester begins!)

- Two weeks ago I wrote about my journey of raising financial support for the ministry of CEF in Denver. In addition to contacting families and individuals about financial support, I also plan to contact several churches in the Denver area. Currently my home church supports me out of its missions budget, and I am looking to secure the support of two additional churches. Please pray that the first steps of this application process in Dec & Jan (for the fiscal year beginning July 1) would go well.

Thanks! Blessings on your holiday season and your celebration of the incarnation.

Prayer Requests (Nov 30 - Dec 6)

2008-12-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

- On Tuesday (Dec 2), Hannah, Larea, & Philip are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare in Aurora. On Friday (Dec 5), Hannah, Lauren, & Anthony are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare in Lakewood. Pray that they would make good connections with the kids and that the gospel would be heard loud and clear!

- Praise Report: Our trip to Allenspark, CO (by Rocky Mountain National Park) last week to check out a potential location for summer ministry training was very fruitful! Debbie took pictures and I took notes, and we e-mailed our report to Bill (the State Director for CEF of Colorado). The camp was absolutely beautiful; I think it will make for a great week if we end up going there.

- As we pursue our vision for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA), I am looking to hire five new staff to coordinate church partnerships, student recruitment, club scheduling, and student mentoring relationships in the NW, NE, SE, SW, and central regions of the Denver metro area. Please pray for me in this early stage as I lay the groundwork for these new positions, draft job descriptions, etc.

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Requests (Nov 23-29)

2008-11-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

- Christmas Party Clubs begin next week! We are returning to five daycares where we taught clubs this past summer; the clubs are scheduled for Dec 2, 5, 12, 16, & 18. We will be playing fun games with the kids, telling a compelling story about the true meaning of Christmas, helping the kids memorize 2 Cor 9:15, and serving a great snack for Jesus’ birthday. Please pray that (1) the gospel would come through loud and clear, and (2) the kids would feel the love of God as we connect with them.

- This Wednesday (Nov 26) I am traveling to Allenspark, CO with two other CEF of Colorado staff to scope out a potential location for our summer ministry training in June 2009. Please pray for a fruitful visit!

- One of my main responsibilities with CEF in 2008-09 is to secure financial support. I need to raise $3,910/month for my salary, benefits, and ministry expenses. Right now I am at about 24% support. This week I am finalizing a rigorous plan to raise the remainder of the funds between Dec 1 and Aug 1. I believe that God has called certain individuals, families, and churches to support me for the ministry of CEF in Denver; it is simply my responsibility to make connections with them. Please pray for fruitful efforts and good relationships with my supporters.

Thanks so much! Blessings,

Andrew

Change of Address

2008-11-17T10:56:00.001-08:00

We have moved offices! Here is our new address, so that you can update your information:

Child Evangelism Fellowship
1731 S. Wadsworth Blvd., #520
Lakewood, CO 80232

Andrew Goes to College

2008-11-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have been at college out-of-state the past two years, but I am back home now and a lot of people have been asking what I am doing school-wise. I though I would just post a quick update summarizing where I am at in my education.

Earlier this year I received an A.A. in Children’s Ministry from Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, MO. This fall I transferred to Metro State here in Denver, where I am studying for a B.A. in Speech Communication.

According to the college catalog, “The Communication Program at Metro State prepares students to be effective in communicating in a diverse and technological world. Students are grounded in theoretical understanding of communication, engaged in practical application, and encouraged to develop competencies in intra, inter, group, and organizational contexts.”

Specifically, I am pursuing a concentration in Rhetoric and Public Address. According to the college catalog, “Graduates in Rhetoric and Public Address have achieved success in law, industrial and organizational communication, educational administration, public relations, speech writing for political figures, teaching, public relations and theology.”

As a result of my studies at Metro State, I hope to develop my communication skills for preaching and teaching. (I am planning to then go to seminary for graduate school.)

Communication is an increasingly valuable resource in our world today. The ability to inform, persuade, entertain, etc. is the driving force behind many new social movements. Therefore, it is be valuable for God's people to be able to articulate, proclaim, and appropriately contextualize the good news of Jesus in a wise, winsome, and compelling manner.

Communication is key for the mission of God in this world, whether it takes place through moving people to collective action through rousing sermons or helping someone who does not belong to Jesus come to grips with the gospel through interpersonal conversations.

Communication—in all its forms—is the currency of the future, and the gospel has always been a message to be proclaimed. This is the motivation behind my current studies at school. I have really enjoyed this first semester so far, and I am looking forward to my studies in the future.

Prayer Requests (Oct 19-25)

2008-10-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

- This December we are having Christmas Party Clubs at several of the daycare locations we worked with this summer. The clubs will be taught by our summer missionaries during after-school hours. Pray that we are able to just love the kids and tell them the truth about Jesus!

- This year we joined the regional training camp in Wyoming for our summer ministry training. We were planning to do the same thing next year in 2009 and then find our own facility for a Colorado state training camp in 2010. However, we recently learned that the regional event will not be held next year; each state will be having their own training. This means we have to find our own facility a year earlier than planned. Please pray for Bill Raymer, the state director for CEF of Colorado, as he researches potential locations.

- The CEF office is moving. This past week we moved all of our stuff out of the building at Mississippi & Kalamath in Denver. We will be moving into a new building at Wadsworth & Jewell in Lakewood. It was a carpet company's warehouse until recently, so we have a lot of work to do in converting it to office space. Pray that the construction and transition go smoothly over these next few weeks!

- Margaret Goldberg (our Good News Club coordinator for the NE Denver metro area) and I have been teaching a club at Centennial K-8 school in Denver this semester. The club is growing larger each week, and we are starting to get to know the kids a lot better. Praise God for the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with them from the Scriptures! Pray that we would be faithful in ministry and love the kids well.

Thanks so much for praying! Be blessed.

On Economic Crises

2008-10-19T22:39:00.001-07:00

I am taking a composition class at MSCD this semester. In light of the current economic crisis, I decided to write one of my papers on a past economic crisis: the Great Depression.

In the paper, I present the perspectives of four authors on the causes of the Great Depression and act as a "moderator" of sorts, letting the authors' ideas interact with one another.

It was an interesting and intensive project, and I probably didn't do a very good job, but I sure learned a lot.

P.S. If you are interested in reading the paper, you can take a look at it here.

CEF Update - Good News Clubs

2008-09-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

The 2008-2009 school year is our first year to officially have Good News Clubs (GNCs) in the Denver Public School (DPS) system! However, we are experiencing a few road bumps along the way.

Sabin International School (an ECE-5 DPS school) granted us the use of their facilities for an after-school Bible club, but prohibited us from doing any sort of advertising. Well, we can't have a club unless kids come!

We prayed about the situation at our weekly staff metting. Larea Harris, our GNC coordinator for the city/county of Denver, contacted the lawyer for DPS. He reviewed the relevant case law and agreed that CEF should be allowed to advertise the club. Praise God for this answer to prayer! We are excited about building relationships with kids in DPS schools and introducing them to Jesus through the Scriptures.

Pray that churches in the city/county of Denver would partner with CEF to minister to the children of their communities by "adopting" schools and starting GNCs there.

We currently have two GNC coordinators serving on staff: Larea Harris for the city/county of Denver, and Margaret Goldberg for the NE metro area. We are looking to hire three more coordinators so that we can more effectively partner with churches in the NW, SE, and SW regions of the metro area. Please pray for these new staff.

Thanks so much! We are excited about the year of ministry ahead.

The Events at Caesarea Philippi (Part III)

2008-09-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

We have now wrapped our three-part series at Regeneration (http://www.bvchurch.org/regeneration) about the pivotal events at Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16. We began this series by asking two questions: Who is Jesus? And what are the implications of his identity for us as his followers?

The answer to the first question is that Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, he is the Messiah who wants to build a messianic community around himself called the church. But he is not the Messiah of Jewish expectations. He did not come in the first century to overthrow Rome, restore Israel to her former glory, and set up the kingdom of God on earth. He did not come to change Israel’s circumstances. He came to change people’s hearts. He came to give Jews and Gentiles alike new life through his suffering-death-resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 16, Jesus predicts his suffering-death-resurrection for the very first time. Peter is horrified and rebukes Jesus. In reply, Jesus says that Peter is not thinking the things of God, but the things of men.

Jesus is the Messiah, a suffering servant who came to give new life to Jews and Gentiles alike. What about our second question? What are the implications of his identity for us as his followers?

In vv. 24-28, Jesus speaks honestly about the cost of discipleship.

What does he say? (1) Deny yourself, (2) pick up your cross, and (3) follow me. This is hard teaching. Jesus is calling his followers to be self-abandoned, not self-absorbed.

If you want to be a part of Jesus’ legacy, you must make a change of course—no matter what the cost—and follow him. And you must follow him daily. Being a disciple is about staying the course.

By charting this new course in life (and staying the course), you will take part in Jesus’ mission of seeking first the kingdom of God: a realm where God is rightly worshipped, neighbors rightly loved, and the earth rightly ruled and cared for.

Here are my notes: http://www.xtreak.com/go/spinwizard/133802/matt_ch16_vv24-28.pdf

The Events at Caesarea Philippi (Part II)

2008-09-08T11:48:00.001-07:00

Sometimes God intervenes in our circumstances in miraculous ways. But sometimes he doesn’t. Does he just love some people more than others? Do we just not have enough faith sometimes? I guess the real question is, what exactly is God interested in doing in our lives and our world? Is there some rhyme or reason to his ways?

Last week at Regeneration (http://www.bvchurch.org/regeneration) we began a trek through Matthew 16:13-28. In vv. 13-20, Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah. For Peter, the Messiah was a conquering king who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel to her former glory. In reply, Jesus taught his disciples that he wants to build a messianic community called the church.

This week, in vv. 21-23, we find that Jesus’ own ideas about the Messiah are very different from Peter’s ideas. For Jesus, the Messiah is a suffering servant (cf. Isaiah 52:13-53:12). This is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus predicts his suffering-death-resurrection.

Living under the thumb of the Roman Empire, Peter was looking for a Messiah who would change his circumstances. But Jesus did not come to change Peter’s circumstances. He came to give Peter new life.

What does Jesus’ suffering-death-resurrection have to do with our lives today? Simply put, Jesus did not suffer-die-resurrect so that he can intervene in your circumstances at your every whim. He did not suffer-die-resurrect so that any unfavorable circumstances outside of your control can be changed in your favor. He suffered-died-resurrected in order to give you new life.

God has not promised to always change your circumstances. But he has promised to give you new life in Jesus so that you can worship him rightly, love your neighbor rightly, and rule over the earth rightly. And he has promised to give you grace and mercy in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Sometimes God does intervene in our circumstances in miraculous ways. When that happens, we should be overjoyed and praise him and tell the story. But THE GOSPEL is the good news of the Messiah doing what he came to do. It is the good new that Jesus is a suffering servant who suffered-died-resurrected in order to give us new life. In the future, Jesus will come again: this time as a conquering king. He will come as the Messiah who changes our circumstances: there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:1-5).

Right here, right now, God is not always interested in changing your circumstances; he is interested in changing you.

Here is a link to my notes: http://www.xtreak.com/go/spinwizard/133254/matt_ch16_vv21-23.pdf

2008 DNC

2008-09-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

The historic 2008 Democratic National Convention was held last week right here in Denver. My church (http://www.bvchurch.org) partnered with Riverside Baptist and thirty other churches from the Denver area to minister to the security personnel at the DNC.

We served bottled water, Gatorade, hot meals, and sandwhiches to the police officers, firefighters, EMTs, Secret Service, Homeland Security, and ATF personnel who worked the convention. Food was prepared at Riverside Baptist, loaded into cargo supply vans, and delivered to sites all across the downtown area where officers could come take a break from their twelve hour shift and get some cold water and a hot meal. Our motto was, "Serving a cup of cold water in Jesus' name."

Here are some stats I got in an e-mail today:

- 647 volunteers from 32 churches served and ministered to the security personnel at the DNC
- 50,500 meals were served over the course of the week . . . how many each day? A lot! You can do the math.
- 1,750 New Testaments were given away and 147 individuals made professions of new faith in Jesus

I had the incredible opportunity to be a driver for this event. I delivered food and beverages to many different sites around the city. It was a great experience just getting to see everything happening downtown! And it was a sheer blessing just getting to love my city.

Thanks to everyone at Riverside and Bear Valley and the other churches for making this happen. It was the experience of a lifetime.

The Events at Caesarea Philippi (Part I)

2008-09-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Jesus is the greatest leader that the world has ever seen or ever will see. But who is Jesus? We need to know, because his identity has implications for us as his followers. It impacts whether we decide to follow him at all. In fact, we make decisions about any leader based on two things: their identity and their ideas.

So who is Jesus? What is his identity? And what are the implications of his identity for us today?

In Matthew 16:13-20, we find out that Jesus is the Messiah, and he wants to build a messianic community called the church. Preaching-teaching-healing is Jesus’ life. The church is Jesus’ legacy. The church is people. It is a community of people who have been given new life in Christ. They are committed to his leadership and work to carry out his mission.

So Jesus wants to build the church. What is the implication for us? Loving the Messiah means loving his legacy. Simply put, loving Jesus means loving the church.

Here are my notes: http://www.xtreak.com/go/spinwizard/132631/matt_ch16_vv13-20.pdf

Leviticus - Don't Undo What God Has Done

2008-09-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we have just wrapped up our summer study of Leviticus for the Sunday night service at my church (http://www.bvchurch.org/regeneration). Leviticus 25–27 covers a range of topics: Ch. 25 is about the jubilee year. Ch. 26 is about blessings for obedience (covenant-keeping) and judgment for disobedience (covenant-breaking). Ch. 27 is about the regulations for dedication and redemption of persons, animals, houses, land, and tithes.

By studying the story of YHWH and Israel, we learn that God has given us a dwelling place and a covenant relationship with himself. What is the big idea in these final chapters of Leviticus? Don’t undo what God has done!

God has given us a dwelling place (the earth) and put us in charge. But it’s a stewardship, not an ownership. We must not undo what God has done by acting like we own the place.

God has given us a covenant relationship with himself through the person and work of Jesus. In our relationships, we are to extend the same goodness and generosity to others that God extends to us in our covenant relationship with him. We must not undo what God has done by looking out for number one when we ought rather to be loving our neighbor.

Here is a link to my notes: http://www.xtreak.com/go/spinwizard/132630/jubilee_teaching_outline.pdf

This has been a great study! Leviticus is one of the most frequently avoided books in the Bible, but this summer I think we have seen that, indeed, all Scripture is profitable.

Prayer Requests (August 10-16)

2008-08-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

- This fall I will be working to raise the financial support for my position with CEF. Pray that I will be able to build good relationships with new supporters and nuture my relationships with existing supporters.

- This fall I will also be drafting a 5-year plan for our Christian Youth In Action program here in Denver (CEF's summertime ministry). Pray that I would stick close to Jesus and pay attention to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit in this process.

- My grandpa passed away several weeks ago. This weekend my family and I are flying to Arizona for the memorial service. Pray for comfort and healing, especially for my grandma.

- Pray for victory over sin and, again, that I would stick close to Jesus day by day.

- Praise God for his goodness to us (you, me, everyone). He is good, isn't he? If you are like me, you don't think about this often enough.

Leviticus - The Priesthood

2008-08-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I gave a talk about Leviticus 8-10 for the Sunday night service at BVC (http://www.bvchurch.org/regeneration). These chapters comprise one of the few narrative portions of Leviticus.

The big idea is that God wants to dwell with his people, but in order for this to happen, his people must distinguish between the holy and the common, the unclean and the clean. We cannot behave as if God is not with us. We must behave differently as a result of his presence.

Here are my notes: http://www.xtreak.com/go/spinwizard/130141/priesthood_teaching_outline.pdf

A Little Bit of Humor

2008-07-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

My sister introduced me to an absolutely hilarious blog called, "Stuff White People Like." Here are some of the entries I most enjoyed...

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/03/11/87-outdoor-performance-clothes/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/03/03/80-the-idea-of-soccer/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/03/48-whole-foods-and-grocery-co-ops/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/30/40-indie-music/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/30/39-apple-products/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/18/5-farmers-markets/

The first one is especially true of white people in Denver :-)

Prayer Requests (July 14-18)

2008-07-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been away from the blog for a while. If you would like, here are some things to pray for this week:

- We have five teams out this week (instead of our usual four). This means that some of our younger, less experienced team members are having to step into leadership roles. Pray that God would give them all of the wisdom and strength they need for their new responsibilities. They are doing a great job so far!

- Here is a breakdown of where our teams are teaching this week: (1) Hannah's team is teaching kids' Bible clubs at homes in Thornton and Brighton. (2) Jessica's team is teaching at a several homes and one daycare in Thornton. (3) Kayla's team is teaching at a daycare in Arvada. (4) Sarah's team is teaching at two church programs and one Salvation Army day camp in inner city Denver. (5) Tessa's team is teaching at a daycare in Wheat Ridge and a home in Morrison.

- Pray for lots of team unity, so that we can minister effectively to the children.

- On a personal note, my grandfather passed away this weekend. Your prayers are appreciated. My dad is flying down to Arizona this week for the burial, then my whole family and I are flying down in August for the memorial service.

Thanks so much!!! I hope you are having a great summer loving God and loving people. Stay in touch!

Hickenlooper's "State of the City" Address

2008-07-02T13:27:00.001-07:00

Mayor of Denver John Hickenlooper delivered his annual "State of the City" address yesterday in the atrium of the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building. I decided to travel downtown and listen to him live and in person. I'm the guy in the photo above with his foot sticking out into the center aisle (it was cramped, okay?).

You can view a complete transcript of the speech here: http://www.movedigital.com/go/spinwizard/127057/2008_state_of_the_city.pdf

I am learning that in order to minister in the city—to love and serve the city, and introduce people to Jesus—you must know the city. Admittedly, in an address such as Hickenlooper’s the city is putting its best foot forward, but I still think listening in can be a helpful way to learn.

Hickenlooper spoke briefly (but emphatically) about public safety, explaining the measures that have been taken to make Denver a safe city. He then moved to talking about education, saying of several educational programs, "These programs represent the priceless currency of opportunity."

In recent weeks, I have been listening to some of Barack Obama's more important speeches from the campaign trail, and this seems to be a common thread. Education means opportunity. Education means a better city. Education means a better America.

But does it? What if an individual has a great education but poor moral values? Will we have a better city?

We need education infused with virtue. This, to me, is a more complete picture than education alone (though it is still not the whole picture).

Hickenlooper spent the greater portion of his address talking about how Denver is going green (and particularly how these efforts intersect with economic interests). "Sustainability has come to mean the strategies that promote economic development while also protecting our environment and improving our quality of life. Some would suggest that these goals are in conflict. In truth they are inseparable," he said.

A few highlights: RTD's FasTracks program is bringing 122 miles of new light rail/commuter rail to the area, as well as adding over 21,000 new parking spaces at existing transit Park-n-Rides. Denver's bicycle system is being expanded both in Denver proper and in its northern suburbs. With respect to sustainable green building and development practices, the city government is going to lead by example: any and all new municipal construction projects will be pursued according to green building standards (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19). A forthcoming solar plant at DIA will generate 3.5 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity per year. Hickenlooper proudly reported: "Denver was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of 12 Solar Cities nationwide." Finally, Hickenlooper described how, currently, a commercial building can have a certified energy audit; then he asked: "Why couldn't a similar program be created for people's homes?"

When all was said and done, Hickenlooper did not introduce any new initiatives (and this is not a bad thing: there is plenty going on already, and the city should not bite off more than it can chew). I think he puts too much hope in education. Education alone will not give us a better city. We need our young people to receive a great education and be infused with virtue (which really means we need Jesus). I found his talk about going green to be encouraging, overall.

Christianity in China

2008-06-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting article from the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/chi-jesus-1-1-webjun22,0,1980190.story

To Whom It May Concern...

2008-06-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the first week of CYIA training are up on facebook.

Edit: pictures from the second week are now up too.

Leviticus - The Grain Offering

2008-06-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

We are just two weeks into our study of the book of Leviticus at Regeneration (http://www.bvchurch.org/regeneration). I preached Sunday night on Leviticus 2, 6:14-23.

This is a text written for a worshipping community—the camp of Israel. It basically lays the groundwork for a grain offering where the worshipper and the worshipping community thank YHWH for (1) delivering them from Egypt, (2) entering into a covenant relationship with them, and (3) forgiving them of sin (in the burnt offering, which we studied last week). The worshipper and worshipping community demonstrate commitment to the covenant relationship. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, whether in sickness or in health, they are committed to YHWH (who is already committed to them).

It also lays the groundwork for the camp of Israel to be a place where each member of the camp was involved in meeting the needs of the other members. The priests mediated between the worshipping community and YHWH. They met the people's need for worship. The worshipping community, in turn, met the priests' need for daily bread. It is a beautiful picture.

Here are the notes I used: http://www.movedigital.com/go/spinwizard/126419/grain_offering_teaching_outline.pdf. They were thrown together rather hastily, but hopefully you can still get the idea.

And here are my PowerPoint slides, if you're into that sort of thing: http://www.movedigital.com/go/spinwizard/126420/lev_ch2_ch6vv14-23.pdf

That's all folks!

CYIA Training

2008-06-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Whew! We just completed our two weeks of summer ministry training. I operated on little sleep and lots of caffeine, but hey, it's only for two weeks out of the year and it is totally worth it! Pictured above is our group of kids who are teaching this summer, along with the four team leaders - Hannah, Jessica, Sarah, and myself (click on the picture for a larger image). They are so much fun to work with/hang out with and each have such a unique personality. What a great group!

For the first week, we joined the regional training camp up in Wyoming for classes, study time, and spiritual formation. The second week we returned to Denver and conducted training in our local office (near Santa Fe & Mississippi), with each team working hard to practice and flesh out the concepts we studied the first week.

Starting Monday (June 23), we are sending out four teams to teach kids' Bible clubs around the city. For the first week, my team is going to a daycare in the morning (in Arvada) and a trailer park in the afternoon (in Broomfield). If you would like, please pray that we would teach effectively and build meaningful relationships with the children.

(Note to self: I love my job.)

Getting to Know the City

2008-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have a brand new urban ministry track at CYIA training this year. I am teaching a session called, "Urban 5-Day Clubs: Getting to Know the City."

In my research this week, I have been heavily consulting an article by Tim Keller (pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and author of the recent book, The Reason for God) called, "Advancing the Gospel into the 21st Century: City-Focused Strategy." It is absolutely fantastic.

If you are a Christian and you live in the city, read this article! It can be found here: http://theresurgence.com/tim_keller_2004-02_advancing_the_gospel_into_the_21st_century_part_4

Chapel Sermon

2008-06-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to preach for Student Senate Chapel during the Spring 2008 semester at Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO). I thought I would make the sermon available for download for anyone who might be interested:

http://www.movedigital.com/go/spinwizard/123945/2-01_The_Events_At_Caesarea_Philippi.m4a

In the sermon, I basically work through the text of Matt 16:13-28, which asks and answers two questions: (1) Who is Jesus? (2) What does it mean to follow Him?

If it sounds like I am rushing through the second half of the text, it's because I am. I probably had enough material prepared for two sermons! :-)

You can follow along on the PowerPoint slides here:

http://www.movedigital.com/go/spinwizard/123946/chapel_slides.pdf

If you have a chance, spend some time in Matt 16:13-28. There were a lot of great themes that I didn't have time to explore. It is such a rich text of Holy Scripture!

Prayer Requests

2008-05-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) training is being held June 8-20. Young people from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming will be coming to study and prepare for their respective summer ministries. It will be held at the facilities of Frontier School of the Bible (in LaGrange, Wyoming) for the first week and in each team’s local area for the second week.

Please pray that the youth will work hard, learn all of their Bible lessons and missionary stories for the summer, gain God’s heart for the children, build new friendships, and grow in Christ. Pray that the staff will have wisdom, be united, and teach effectively.

I am teaching two classes at the training camp: one on Bible lesson preparation and presentation, the other on urban ministry. I am really excited about the urban ministry class! (It is one that I have not taught before.)

The people of the world are moving to the cities of the world like never before. According to a 2005 report by the U.N. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 50% of the world’s population and 80% of the U.S. population lives in the city (http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005WUPHighlights_Final_Report.pdf, accessed April 19, 2008). In 1950, there were only two cities in the world with a population of 10 million or more: New York City and Tokyo. Today, there are twenty cities in the world with a population of 10 million or more.

According to research from CEF Headquarters, there are 372,039 children between the ages of 5-14 in the Denver-Boulder-Greeley area. This is our mission field for the summer. CYIA training will be followed by five weeks of teaching kids’ Bible clubs around the city. Pray that this ministry will be fruitful.

Thanks so much!

The World Needs Jesus

2008-05-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

Xenophobia in South Africa: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/25/southafrica1