Two years ago we made the decision to “relaunch” the classic Sonlife training in North America. One month ago that became a visible reality with the formal relaunch of SEMP (Students Equipped to Minister to Peers) at Moody. With a sold‐out crowd we saw God show up in some powerful ways.
Not only did we have many ‘divine encounters’ on the streets of Chicago, but it was a special joy for me to get to know four special‐needs individuals who asked if they could attend.
Passionate about Jesus, each of these men were handicapped mentally… yet their zeal for the Lord and genuine hearts soon became evident to everyone. Sharing their on‐the‐street experiences one evening at our worship celebration… it was a special joy for me to see all 500+ students give them a standing ovation.
God was truly at work as students were equipped to share the love of Christ with their friends. Almost 2000 letters were mailed back home to non‐ Christian friends… sharing the gospel and arranging follow‐up meetings when they returned home. (bottom left).
Another great joy for me was to see these 500+ students take an offering the last night for the multiplication of SEMP in Latin America. Over $3300 was raised and two sets of donors decided to match that gift… making this total offering over $10,000.
God truly has a heart and plan for training the next generation in evangelism!
CLASSIC TRAINING RELAUNCH
October 4‐6, we will be conducting the second phase of this reLaunch, with a “LIVE 2:6 Conference” in Chicago. Our prayer is to have 120 of our former trainers return to be equipped in what we are calling 2:6 Groups (after I John 2:6) . These 2:6 Groups will consist of 10‐15 young leaders, meeting together over a period of 2 years to study the Life of Christ and hold each other accountable to develop disciple‐making ministries. Our faith goal is to see 100 2:6 Groups launched next year with 1000 2:6 Groups by 2020. Would you pray for this!
Can you imagine 100 groups with a total of 1000+ young leaders, holding each other accountable to “walk as Jesus walked”? For the last 2 years, several of us have been field‐testing these 2:6 Groups, and my group alone saw dozens of young people come to Christ as they developed outreach oriented ministries… doing what Jesus did. Can you imagine the impact of this being multiplied all over North America? Pray with us for the supernatural work of the Lord in this endeavor!
100 COUNTRY STRATEGY
This last January, Steve Hudson (see photo below) joined the staff of GYI. With his addition, Steve has been a great asset in helping us move the Vision of GYI forward. Our BHAG (Big Holy Audacious Goal) has been to be in 100 Countries by 2020.
With Steve’s help and leadership, we have made some great steps forward in this process, such as:
• Agreeing upon a clear strategy with unified global terminology… helping us to work together in training.
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Identifying five distinct phases of what a movement of multiplying disciples would look like in a country. Each of these five phases reflect the values we see in the Life of Christ, and have practical measurement points for each phase, allowing for self assessment.
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Currently, we have assessed each of the countries we are in and defined which phase each country is at… and what needs to happen to move them forward into the next phase. At present we have 23 countries in the multiplication phases, another 19 countries in the foundational stages, and 35 Countries in the preparation stages. Another 11 Counties have been targeted for the future… with a remaining 12 yet to be identified as a part of this “100 Country Strategy”.
All in all, we have a clearly defined plan and are seeing God move us forward. With great excitement, we are laboring together as a team around the Globe to see Ps 78:4‐7 become a reality. Pray that God would strengthen and encourage our Country Leaders, who are serving on the frontlines of the battle to make it all happen.
WITH JESUS
This last February I had the privilege of traveling with Steve Hudson to Africa, where we attended the African Leadership Summit. Meeting with the Country leaders from across Africa, one of the young leaders that stood out was a young man named David Yallo. Just this last month, Yallo was tragically killed on a recent trip to Tanzania, when the bus he was riding in collided with a large truck.
Here is what Steve Hudson wrote about Yallo. “I met Yallo in January and was immediately struck by his heart for God and his unbridled enthusiasm to minister to others. He was a young man who had a huge vision for reaching his generation for Christ. We hit it off immediately. Yallo and I have been communicating at least twice a month since January. We talked ministry and harassed each other. He always called me an old geezer and I called him wet behind the ears. Two months ago I mailed him a Harmony of the Gospel for his ongoing study. Yallo just finished leading an 80 member missions team in Kenya which saw over 2000 people led to Christ. He was an amazing young man in his mid 20’s. His last prayer request was…” Please pray with me as I go to Tanzania next week, for Jesus to speak through me and that I may be more like Jesus in all that I do. All of will truly miss you Yallo... but the life you lived has caused all of us to examine our own passion and priorities.”
KINGDOM ADVANCEMENT
One of my greatest joys is seeing God surface supporters of various Kingdom projects around the globe. Over this last month several exciting projects have been moving forward… let me just highlight a few:
Zambia
J‐Life Zambia has begun the building of a new training center on some land donated by the Chieftan who wants the youth in his country reached. A number of businessmen have supported this project and it is exciting to see the walls begin to go up. Pray for JLife Zambia.
Thailand
One of our gifted leaders in Thailand, Wirot Khwanton, has seen a number of AIDS people come to Christ in a region of his country. In an effort to serve them, as they are often separated from others, is to build them a church and safe‐haven for their needs. This facility is nearly completed… and it is a great joy to have a small part in advancing this ministry.
Eastern Europe
Over 80 English Camps are being conducted this summer across Eastern Europe. Teaching English, sharing the gospel, and helping churches reach the next generation of young leaders. What a great ministry the Lord has raised up in Josiah Venture. Let’s pray for them as they seek to move forward in their 2X3 campaign... doubling the fruit in the next 3 years.
Latin America
The Latin America Multiplication Center, built over the last few years by the sacrifice of a number of people… is now beginning another year of training young Latino’s who feel called by God to be sent out as missionaries. As Mark Edward’s writes, “August 24‐October 2 we will be running our next Missionary Training at the Multiplication Center in San Isidro de Heredia in Costa Rica. Please pray for the new 12 young Latino missionaries in training.”
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
A husband and wife are getting ready for bed. The wife is standing in front of a full length mirror taking a hard look at herself.
"You know, dear," she says, "I look in the mirror and I see an old woman. My face is all wrinkled, every thing else is either sagging or bloated. I've got fat legs, and my arms are all flabby." She turns to her husband and says, "Tell me something positive to make me feel better about myself."
He studies hard for a moment thinking about it and then says in a soft, thoughtful voice, "Well, there's nothing wrong with your eyesight."
Services for the husband will be held Saturday morning at 10:30 AM at Morris Memorial Chapel. Female friends of the family are invited.
Someone has said that if you are trying to ride a dead horse… the best strategy, for goodness sake, is to just dismount. But some people just don’t want to give up on dead horses.
As the U.S. Congress tries to convince the American people on the benefits of the new Health Care plan many have called “a dead horse”, maybe some of these old attempts to revive a dead horse could work.
How to revive a Dead Horse:
1. Buy a stronger whip.
2. Change riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other places to see how they ride dead horses.
5. Keep lowering the standards until the dead horse looks alive.
6. Hire outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
7. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed.
8. Donate the dead horse to a recognized charity, thereby deducting its full original cost.
9. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.
10. Declare that a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better.
11. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
The Fourth of July was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism. "We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy is that, in this country, we are all free."
One little boy came walking up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said, "I'm not free. I'm four."
Bumper Stickers:
~ A woman's work is never done. So why bother?
~ Camping is nature's way of promoting the motel business.
~ DIAPER spelled backward is REPAID. Think about it...
~ Four out of five people think the fifth is an idiot.
~ Furniture Disease is when you reach that stage in life when your chest starts sliding down into your drawers.
~ Handwritten sign, posted over one of those hot air hand dryers: "Please push button and listen for a short message from our CEO."
~ I am not stupid. Everyone else is just smarter than me.
~ I gave up jogging for my health. My thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my underwear.
~ If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
~ Last night I played a blank tape at full blast. The mime next door went nuts.
~ She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.
~ To prevent sagging skin eat till the wrinkles fill out.
A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery store. As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, "Son, can you tell me where the Post Office is?"
The little boy replied, "Sure! Just go straight down this street a coupla blocks and turn to your right."
The man thanked the boy kindly and said, "I'm the new pastor in town. I'd like for you to come to church on Sunday. I'll show you how to get to Heaven."
The little boy replied with a chuckle. "Awww, come on... You don't even know the way to the Post Office."
Support for Dann and Char Spader or the ministries of Global Youth Initiative can be sent to: Global Youth Initiative c/o Josiah Venture, P.O. Box 4317, Wheaton Illinois 60189-4317
Support for Dann and Char Spader or the ministries of Global Youth Initiative can be sent to: Global Youth Initiative c/o Josiah Venture, P.O. Box 4317, Wheaton Illinois 60189-4317
Here is what Steve Hudson wrote about Yallo. “I met Yallo in January and was immediately struck by his heart for God and his unbridled enthusiasm to minister to others. He was a young man who had a huge vision for reaching his generation for Christ. We hit it off immediately. Yallo and I have been communicating at least twice a month since January. We talked ministry and harassed each other. He always called me an old geezer and I called him wet behind the ears. Two months ago I mailed him a Harmony of the Gospel for his ongoing study. Yallo just finished leading an 80 member missions team in Kenya which saw over 2000 people led to Christ. He was an amazing young man in his mid 20’s. His last prayer request was…” Please pray with me as I go to Tanzania next week, for Jesus to speak through me and that I may be more like Jesus in all that I do. All of will truly miss you Yallo... but the life you lived has caused all of us to examine our own passion and priorities.”