Hello from us to you!

This is a new year and around here the theme has been “All Things New”. Literally, it’s as if everything we are doing these days is new, not that any roles have changed but there is a sense of “new” in everything.

We kicked of 2017 with youth camp beginning on January 1st for a full week of Sunday to Saturday fun. With this years theme being “All Things New” it seemed fitting as we began on the 1st of the year. Expectation and excitement were high as we kicked off and it was amazing to see how God spoke so specifically to so many different individuals through the great times of worship, preaching and prayer. In talking to students after camp, so many were able to hear God’s voice and gained confidence in who they are in Christ, not to mention those that got saved and met God for the first time. You’d probably be surprised that one of the most liked and talked about things from camp isn’t the games or the preaching, not even the worship….it’s the second to last morning when all of us (almost 250 people this year) go out into the two nearest villages and preach the gospel/pick up trash/wash clothes. It’s a chance for the students to put into practice all that God has done in and spoken to them, giving testimonies of His goodness.

Every year, a week after camp ends, we begin Ignite (the six month discipleship program/church interns here at Life Church). Ignite is one of the best and most challenging parts of our lives here. This year we have twenty students who are committing six months or their lives for a full three days a week (not including Sunday’s and a few Saturday classes) of seeking God, evangelism, Bible classes and even cleaning the church. Every year we begin Ignite with a “Wilderness Trip”, basically we go to the middle of nowhere for four days and three nights and test the students through team challenges. The purpose is to get everyone out of their comfort zones and to get close to everyone before we begin classes and monotony of daily classes. We have seen huge benefits in doing this, the shy ones break out of their shells, the leaders are shown and everyone is tested in their patience. Character is always shown (in all of us) and everyone leaves with a bond already made with one another, not to mention a confidence that they can persevere through anything that comes their way. We are so excited to see what God is going to do in their lives!

Before most of the hectic season began (when is life ever not busy though?) we decide that for Christmas we wanted to get away for a minute. Those two days we spent in Jinja (a town in Uganda where the source of the Nile River is) were a breath of fresh air to both of us! It is amazing what rest can do for the body and soul. We even white-water rafted on the Nile, that was a great adventure!

As we look at all that’s to come this year we look with expectation, anticipating that great things that God is going to do!

Here are a few prayer points that we would love to have you join us in prayer for:

1. This new year of students in Ignite – that they meet God in a new way and build a strong biblical foundation to build the rest of their lives upon.
2. GenAlive (the youth ministry we lead at Life Church) to see a whole new level of growth. Both in individuals coming to know the Lord and growth as a whole. We’re believing for GenAlive to double this year.
3. Life Church is in the middle of transition of senior leadership right now and we are believing that God is going to bring the church to a whole new level.
4. Personally for growth in both Seth and I in every area of our lives (marriage, friendships, pastoring young people, etc). Continual growth is Seth’s mantra….to always be learning! He’s much better at it than I am.