Today, I Offer You No Hope

After our final drama piece at the detention center I walked up to the front of the room. Looking at each of the young men in their eyes I said these words, “Today, I offer you no hope. No hope whatsoever. I don’t promise you a better life. I offer you nothing.” It was silent in the room as I let a few seconds go by without saying a word and just looked at as many faces as I could. Then I said it one more time, “I offer you no hope… unless, you open up the door of your heart to hear what I have to say. Please for just a few moments listen to the most important message you will ever hear. Our team is not here because we feel sorry for you. We are here because we care about your eternal salvation.”

Then I began to speak to them about sin, God’s judgment for sin and finally God’s plan of forgiveness for their life if they repent and put their faith in God. When I was done speaking, my team and I went out into the crowd to pray for as many juveniles as we could.

As I finished praying for one young man another young man named Anthony called me over requesting to speak to me. With all sincerity he looked me in the eyes and said,"You guys came just for me. I thought I was the only person in the room you were talking to.” I spent about twenty minutes listening to him and encouraging him that no matter what happens in his life never to quit. Then I prayed for him and his situation because he was going to be released from the program soon.

I believe that this was a defining moment in this young man’s life. He was hungry to surrender his life over to God, to let go of the past and forgive everyone who wronged him. Please pray for Anthony as the Holy Spirit reminds you.

America Tour 2010

Before the tour we weren’t quite sure what the theme of the outreach would be, but towards the end it became apparent and was best described by a line in a song that one of our students wrote last fall. “You are God above it all. No matter the circumstance, You are still bigger than my hopelessness.”

Despite a majority of our team getting sick, narrowly missing tornadoes, media equipment being lost, and our external hard drive crashing which contained all of our recorded video and pictures from tour, the outreach proved that God was still God no matter the circumstances.

Time and time again throughout the tour we encountered hopeless situations. From the numerous girls who were addicted to cutting themselves to the single mother diagnosed with cancer and raising 4 children on her own, we had the humbling privilege to minister to so many people from many walks of life.

One of our most memorable experiences was the opportunity we had to pray for forty-eight teenagers in a detention center. Many of them came from broken homes with either no mother or father, and consequently their lives were filled with bitterness and poor choices.

Our team did an amazing job ministering 17 times within 20 days at several youth groups, churches, a food bank, Dallas detention center and on the streets of Oklahoma City. All in all we were able to reach approximately 3,000 people with the gospel.

I Don't Want to Live Anymore!

While in Southern California during a youth service of about 100 youth, my wife and one other team member felt there was someone in the service that was suicidal. So after a powerful evening of ministering in drama it was time for the altar call. I approached the mic with a grieved heart and said, “Someone here is suicidal.” You could hear a pin drop as my words echoed across the room. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re going through, but I want you to know that God cared enough about you to let us know about your thoughts of suicide.” I proceeded to say that I was not God, but I strongly believed that if they chose to end it all that night or any other night then the odds of them entering heaven would be against them. “If you kill yourself,” I added, “you will not be ending the pain.” I then took a few moments to make a plea for them to choose life, encouraging them to hang on and not give up because life will get better!

I found out later that evening that there was a young man in the audience battling suicide. He came forward for prayer during the altar time and left encouraged with a new sense of hope that God would help him through that difficult time. We discovered later that this student had been in the pastor’s office before service telling the pastor, “I don’t want to live anymore!” The pastor was very grateful to our team for taking the time to reach out to that young man and pray with him. Remember that when God is telling you to share something with a person or about a situation, you must obey Him. For you never know whose life you could save.

A Look Back at 2007

Every year God shows His faithfulness to us in new ways. This past year was no exception. When faced with adversity God’s help prevailed.

In early March, Dustin was laid off from his production job which was supplementing our ministry income. Needless to say we were devastated, not so much about losing a job but more because we have a child to support. All we could do was pray and believe God to provide.

Dustin has always dreamed of working for Christ For The Nations, our alma mater, but the doors had never quite opened for him. After two and half months of looking for steady income, God gave us the desires of our heart and opened up a position at CFNI. He was hired as the Director of Recruitment and Director of Drama at the school. It’s a career that truly suits his passion because he has the opportunity to recruit students to attend the school that revolutionized his life.

Also, in June our son, Aidan turned 1. His life is such a blessing to us; he brings us so much joy and love. It’s amazing to watch him grow up right before our eyes. We try to cherish every moment.

Fall was quite busy in the performing arts area as we had the opportunity to lead the drama ministry that we were a part of when we attended CFNI. Back then it was called Creative Musical Drama. The new name for the ministry is “The Remnant.” We have the honor of teaching drama to amazing young people who love the Lord. This coming year will be quite exciting as we plan to take our students on an America Outreach Trip. We’ll keep you posted in the months ahead.

Over all, God has been faithful to provide for all our needs. Were there times we didn’t know where the money would come from? Sure. But we knew if we stayed faithful in the little things, trusted God, and continued to give, the Lord would do the rest.

As we look back at 2007 we can’t help but say “THANK YOU, LORD FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR US!”