Prayer & Praise (Oct 11-17)

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer & Praise (Oct 4-10)

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks so much for your support in prayer!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 27 - Oct 3)

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

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

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

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

Prayer & Praise (Sept 20-26)

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

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

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

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

Thanks so much for praying!

Prayer & Praise (Sept 13-19)

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

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

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

Thanks for praying!

Recent Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer & Praise (Aug 30 - Sept 5)

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

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

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

Thanks so much for praying!