Speaking of my Dad and Mom, they have both been in and out of the hospital this month (in fact Mom is in the hospital now, hoping to go home tomorrow). Please pray for health and strength!
Just yesterday we had a Christmas gathering at the home of Kem's Granny Green. Almost all the cousins, aunts and uncles were there - the first time in a long time we've all been together to celebrate Christmas. Good times!
We made a quick trip to North Carolina earlier this month with some dear friends, just to get away for a couple days of fun.
The lodge-like gathering room where we shared our meals
Our kids and their friends at the ice skating rink
Ministry Updates
In late November I attended the Kansas City Omega Challenge Summit, where 3 distinct Omega Challenge partnerships launched (this is a partnership plan I've helped develop which brings churches, missions agencies, and local grassroots practitioners together to reach diaspora unreached people group populations in American cities.) Multiple ministries and individuals will partner together to reach 3 distinct diaspora people groups with large populations in Kansas City - one is from the Middle East and two are from North Africa. By the end of our meeting, one team was already planning the New Year's Eve party they will have with their North African friends!
On the home front, I recently began surveying local churches, campus ministries, and individuals in Gainesville to find out what local, cross-cultural ministry is happening. We have internationals here with direct ties to parts of the world that are “unreached” with the Gospel - Muslims from “closed” Middle Eastern or North African nations, Hindu Indians, Buddhist Vietnamese, etc. What is the church of Gainesville doing collectively to engage “the unreached who have moved into our back yard?” That is specifically the type of ministry activity I am looking for. (If you are local and have any info in this regard, send me a note!)
I recently put together a simple thing called "Pick 6" to encourage church folks to intentionally build gospel-focused friendships cross-culturally. Click on the link and check it out. And if you are willing to "pick 6" this coming year, let me know!
We have about a dozen students registered for our Spring Perspectives Class. If you've never taken Perspectives and you are local to Gainesville, plan to join us! This class changed everything for me, and I am anxious to see God work similarly in our students this Spring!
Our NextMove Teamscontinue to make progress towards "Solutions for Diaspora Missions." By September we hope to have a comprehensive package of their findings formatted into something of a "tool kit" for missions agencies to effectively integrate diaspora missions into their overall ministry.
I have just begun the process of contacting Workshop Leaders for the Vision 5:9 "Abide, Bear Fruit" Consultation in Asia next October. As Workshop Coordinator for this event, over the next 10 months I will be working with about 30 global missions leaders to plan 40 workshops for about 1,200 consultation attendees, many of whom will be Majority World / Global South missions leaders. What a privilege to serve this community!
Thanks so much for your prayers, love, friendship, and generous support that make our ministry possible!
