I hope I can communicate to you the level of excitement I feel at this moment. First some background. While we were on furlough, I attended a conference. Picked up a book that looked good for my kids. Went to the web site for the author and had some questions, so I called. The author himself answered (Mike Seth). He got excited about our ministry and gave me the names of two women who had been to the Ukraine with an interest in doing some innovative ministry to orphans. All three of us seemed to feel an immediate connection. One of the two happened to live in GA and she and her husband invited us over for dinner.
We bonded instantly, and an idea came up immediately (I think it was Diana's) because we knew that our agency was scrambling to find a team to come serve our children during our worldwide conference this summer in Malaysia. Long story short - their team now has all but final (formal) approval to come serve our (about 150) missionary kids.
Why am I excited? First, as you see from the above, all these connections were too amazing to not see God's hand. Second, I can't remember when I have ever in my life proposed anything significant to my superiors that they adopted. I think my ideas have always been too radical. I guess this is a pat on the back from God, saying "you're not so crazy after all, son." And it affirms that I am a part of a great organization.
Third, and most importantly, the ministry itself is amazing. It's called "No More Crumbs" based on the premise that children's ministry does not have to be about merely giving them simple Bible stories, crafts, and Jesus Loves Me. They believe that kids can know God personally at an early age and relate to Him as a loving Father. They believe that kids can gain a deep sense of identity and purpose from God. They believe that kids can learn to pray and worship with depth and passion. They believe that you don't have to just tag along with your parents; you can be a part of God's team today! They believe that kids can minister powerfully to other kids out of this place of intimacy with the Father. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Therefore, fourth, my kids are going to have a great experience that could impact them for life. And fifth, all these other missionary kids are going to get powerfully ministered to. That, I believe, is high leverage ministry. When you minister to the ministers, you get to impact everyone they impact. When you help the kids survive in the mission field, the whole family survives. In a word, this news is a big setback for the kingdom of darkness.
We bonded instantly, and an idea came up immediately (I think it was Diana's) because we knew that our agency was scrambling to find a team to come serve our children during our worldwide conference this summer in Malaysia. Long story short - their team now has all but final (formal) approval to come serve our (about 150) missionary kids.
Why am I excited? First, as you see from the above, all these connections were too amazing to not see God's hand. Second, I can't remember when I have ever in my life proposed anything significant to my superiors that they adopted. I think my ideas have always been too radical. I guess this is a pat on the back from God, saying "you're not so crazy after all, son." And it affirms that I am a part of a great organization.
Third, and most importantly, the ministry itself is amazing. It's called "No More Crumbs" based on the premise that children's ministry does not have to be about merely giving them simple Bible stories, crafts, and Jesus Loves Me. They believe that kids can know God personally at an early age and relate to Him as a loving Father. They believe that kids can gain a deep sense of identity and purpose from God. They believe that kids can learn to pray and worship with depth and passion. They believe that you don't have to just tag along with your parents; you can be a part of God's team today! They believe that kids can minister powerfully to other kids out of this place of intimacy with the Father. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Therefore, fourth, my kids are going to have a great experience that could impact them for life. And fifth, all these other missionary kids are going to get powerfully ministered to. That, I believe, is high leverage ministry. When you minister to the ministers, you get to impact everyone they impact. When you help the kids survive in the mission field, the whole family survives. In a word, this news is a big setback for the kingdom of darkness.
Here is a teaching from one of the leaders, Jenni Means, who will be working with our kids in Malaysia:
Ключи к приобретению надежды и исцеления (Wisdom and Revelation; Keys to Hope and Healing) from CoMission for Children at Risk on Vimeo.
I say "New Horizons" because this kind of stuff gets me more interested in direct ministry with children than I have been in a long time. Before I moved to Virginia in 1994, I worked exclusively with kids, through everything from camp counseling and outdoor education to ESL teaching and working with delinquent youth. Is God pushing me back to pick up an old refrain?
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