Dedicating His Life to Deeper Service

Kay Charlotte spoke to ten Discipleship Training School students at the YWAM center in San Pedro, Dominican Republic this week. Here topic was on Identity in Christ. Yesterday she sent me this photo: 

She wrote:

Today I took the students to a local graveyard. I shared with them from the Scriptures and I asked them, "How do you want your life to count? When it's all over, what do you hope to have accomplished? Who do you hope to have become?"

Little did I know that this young man received a vision from God yesterday. He saw himself at his parents' gravesite dedicating himself to walk in God's ways. He was stunned when he found out we were going on a field trip to a graveyard. He's weeping as I clicked this shot. 

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We are privileged to be in partnership with you! 

Fifteen Photos from Switzerland

Levi and I flew to Burtigny, Switzerland this week to be a part of the Mission Adventures International Theme Team. We met up with 8 other YWAMers from five other nations to pray, wait on the Lord, and brainstorm about the 2014 Mission Adventures theme.  

This trip is special for lots of reasons: 

• I got to travel with my son. Having him participate in my work and enjoy my friends was a real treat.
• This was our first trip to Switzerland, and boy oh boy is this place beautiful! I think I took more than 700 photos in the last four days.
• This will be the 21st Mission Adventures theme I've been a part of defining. It's such a privilege to seek God for his heart and mind for students.

I'm posting this just as we pack up and head to the airport in Geneva. So if you see this, say a prayer for smooth travels and a sweet reunion at home! 

Cool Facts About the University of the Nations

Youth With A Mission's University of the Nations is truly unique. It's a global university designed to train students to be messengers of the Gospel into every sphere of society.

Two weeks ago, the U of N held it's biennial Workshop at our campus in Tijuana, Mexico. Here are some pretty cool facts about the University:

16,500 Total Students in 2010, a 12% Increase from 2008

11,300 Discipleship Training School Students in 2010

5,200 Second-Level Students in 2010

550 Global Training Locations in 2010, a 49% Increase from 2008

160 Countries in Which Courses Are Taught, a 33% Increase from 2008

We are so encouraged by all the amazing thing God is doing in and through the University of the Nations. Kay Charlotte and I are humbled to teach for students in this university and we are very excited to help staff the  Compassion and Mercy Discipleship Training School in Tijuana ths fall. 

Viva Las Vegas!

The Awesome Students of the DTS

I spent the week with five amazing young women at Youth With A Mission in Las Vegas. They are the students of the Abolitionist Discipleship Training School there. They've come from all across the country to sit at the feet of Jesus to learn from Him and become more like Him. 

My role this week was to teach on The Father Heart of God, and Relationships: Love, Sex and Dating. Wow, what an awesome responsibility and an amazing privilege. The experience was a powerful one for me. I really enjoyed spending time with these women and sharing with them about how God sees them. It was incredible to unpack with them the great design God has for us in love and romance. It was humbling for me to share my stories, my failures and my successes. 

A highlight for me was to take our small class to Starbucks, and talk about love around the table. It was so cool to hear from each one of them and discuss how good God is. As I'm writing this, waiting to board my flight, I feel like the time was too short. Even though I long to be home with my family, I wish I could have had more time with these amazing students. I'll be praying for them as they continue with their school. 

Oh, and what's super cool is that next week they'll be studying about their Identity in Christ with my most favorite teacher ever, the wonderful Kay Charlotte! ;)

KC: Staff Leader from Germany

Cat: Just turned 19 the other day—HBDTY!

Allison: Super Cool and Fun

Leah: Deep thinker and writer.

Ruth Ann: Gifted in Leadership

Amber: Eager to learn.

Here Comes the UofN Workshop

The 7000+ Square Feet that Kay Charlotte is whipping into shape… 

The University of the Nations Workshop begins on Tuesday. More than 700 YWAMers will come from all over the world for five days of worship, inspiration and training. Everyone on our campus has been working double over time to make this event possible. Kay Charlotte has been setting up the Expo Tent where there's a coffee shop, a store and booths for all the YWAM ministries that want to share their stories. Here's a few pics of the setup.

The store and cafe seating area is coming into focus…

Some of the cool merch that Craig designed…

Please pray that everything goes smoothly this week and that all our guests have an amazing conference. Pray for our staff as they have been working themselves to the bone to prepare everything. Pray that God would be glorified as we gather together to further the cause of His Kingdom! 

Thoughts for My Kids as they Go Back to School

Proud of my students!

“Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.”

— Luke 2:52 (NLT)

Hey Kids,

It's a brand new school year, and I'm super excited for all that you'll experience in the next 9 months. I pray for you every day, and this year, I'm going to be praying for four things for you:

That You Grow in Wisdom. Yeah, so school is all about acquiring knowledge. And that's a good thing… but wisdom is something else. What I mean by wisdom, is knowledge that is applied in your life. It's knowledge that's lived out. It's knowledge that's not just stuck in your head, but expressed in your decisions and choices.

I Pray that You Grow in Stature. So sure, stature means height, and yes, I want you to get taller this year. But what I'm praying for is that you'll be physically healthy, and that you'll grow. So I pray that you eat your vegetables. Seriously. I pray that you'll have the recommended number of servings of fruit. And I pray that you are active. That you'll enjoy being outside and that you play hard, and that you get involved in stuff like archery and volleyball and gymnastics.

I Pray that You Grow in Favor with God. I pray that in the next nine months you'll know God. And I don't mean that you'll learn a few facts about him, but that you'll develop your relationship with him. I pray that you'll discover how much he loves you. I pray you'll know just how acceptable you are to him. 

I Pray that You Grow in Favor with People. Finally, I hope you grow socially this year too. I pray that you'll continue to increase your circle of friends. I pray that you'll be  great friends to others, and that you'll have great friends that give you permission to become who you really are meant to be. And, I know it's a stretch, but I pray you'll be friends to each other. 

So yeah, go ahead and roll your eyes. Your old man can handle it. Just know that I'm praying you'll grow in every dimension this year. 

Love, 

Dad

Life is About to Accelerate

Vroom, vroom! | © craitza via theStockExchange

After a wonderful summer, our lives are about to speed up dramatically.  

In the next thirty days: 

• The kids go back to school on Monday. Levi is in 8th grade, and Taylor is in 7th. Holy. Moly.
• Kay Charlotte and I will participate in Discipleship Training School, (DTS), Staff Training. We'll train our young leaders in how to do one-on-one meetings with students and how to run a great small group.
• The University of the Nations Workshop, one of YWAM's largest events, will be held at our campus in Tijuana. More than 700 missionaries from around the globe will join us for a week of worship, training, and inspiration.
• Craig will teach in the Las Vegas Discipleship Training School on The Father Heart of God and Relationships.
• Kay Charlotte will teach in the Las Vegas DTS on Identity in Christ.
• And finally, we'll both staff our Compassion and Mercy DTS in Tijuana. There are more than 40 students registered for this school, and we're super-excited to work with them. The best part is that we've been asked to set up their outreach… to Uganda… where they'll build more Homes of Hope! 

Prayers Welcome! As you can imagine, we're very excited about this Fall, and we'd really love your prayers. Pray that we'll have what we need to accomplish everything that God's put in front of us. And pray too for the DTS outreach to Uganda. Of course, both Kay Charlotte and I want to go—but that means taking the kids, and we're not sure if that's what God is calling us to do. Please pray for God's guidance and provision!