daddy4ms

As pastors, we have been discussing mission trips a lot lately.  We are praying and seeking God for where the youth should go in the summer of 2014.  Today, as we were discussing a location over coffee, I was reminded of the mission trip I took to Guatemala in 2003 with GracePoint Community Church Youth.  We worked with an organization called People for Missions and they operate House of Hope which has orphanages in several different countries.  They are located in Zacapa in Guatemala.  It brought back many great memories and made me reminisce about my youth from Colorado.  Below is a picture of one of the girls from House of Hope.  It makes feel old to think that she might have graduated from high school by now.

Last night, I had the opportunity to hear Francis Chan speak at Central Christian Church in Wichita.  He was speaking on behalf of World Impact.  For those who are unfamiliar, World Impact serves the urban poor in several cities throughout the United States.  Check them out here .  It was a great night of worship and the Word.  Chan, as always, spoke some powerful and challenging words.  Here are a few notes that I took.  He shared about how he is serving in San Francisco in the Tenderloin.  Hey, GracePoint Youth, remember when we served there in 2001.  He has a prayer team of 20 individuals who start by praying for apartment buildings.  After prayer, Chan and others from his team start knocking on doors.  They ask two questions: What do you need? How can we pray?  I wonder how those two questions could impact lives where you and I live. He challenged the church and its leaders to seriously consider how we interpret Scriptu...

Today is Prayer for Hesston Schools. We will gather at the flagpoles of the local schools to pray for the upcoming year. Everyone is invited whether you have a child in school or if you are an interested community member. The schedule is as follows: Hesston Elementary at 7 p.m., Hesston High at 7:25 p.m., & Hesston Middle School at 7:45 p.m. I hope you will join us! As I think about the importance of prayer, I am reminded of a few people who have helped me to grow in the area of prayer. I fondly remember praying with my friend, Carol Conner at the Denver Coliseum before Acquire the Fire or Dare 2 Share or at Littleton High School before school began. Carol and I prayed weekly for our youth ministry as well. She taught me much about the ministry of prayer. Also, I remember praying with Melanie Soard for our church and other needs. We had many great conversations about prayer together. I was glad to learn from Fred Lian & others as we incorporated a prayer ...