The Father's Heart

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Discipleship

Stories From the Field!

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Wow, this has been an amazing semester and kick off to the year! I’ve been completely blown away by what God has done, and is doing, here in Middle Tennessee among the young men and women He’s drawn us to love and serve. If you’re unfamiliar with The Father’s Heart, fathering and equipping the next generation to see a mighty move of God take place among millennials has been our heartbeat. The reality is, right here in the United States, a huge opportunity for missions has opened up as only about 50% of millennials call themselves Christians. I say opportunity because I see it as just that, a beautiful mission field for God to be glorified in! This will be a generation marked by their love for Jesus!

Day-by-day, week-by-week, we made ourselves available to the Holy Spirit seeking what He desired to do among the young men and women in Middle TN. We felt led to spend much of our time this semester at Middle Tennessee State University, which by the way, is the largest undergrad school in Tennessee. We’d take “Free Prayer” signs or simply walk up to people the Spirit highlighted, introduce ourselves, and share Christ. The results were awesome. We literally had conversations with students every single time we went out on campus. I remember one day, in particular, when Justin was standing up joyfully sharing Christ with a group of 8 or so students, who were totally engaged and open to hearing about Jesus.

There are too many stories to tell them all in this post but I’d love to share what God did in the lives of a couple young men. One student (L) met us when he heard Justin playing a song on his guitar and singing outside at the Quad. Every week, for several weeks, L repeatedly stopped by to see us, during class breaks, and our relationship grew. I spent quite a bit of time with him, had some great conversations about Jesus, and one day, he decided he wanted to walk around campus with our “Free Prayer” sign. He held it proudly and was thrilled to pray with several students. You should have seen the brilliant glow on his face when, while I was speaking with another student, a guy walked up to him and L started praying with him all by himself. L told me the guy said he had hardly ever done anything like that and was so thankful L took the time to pray with him.

Well, L was so excited, he went home that very day and made a ton of flyers to pass out to try to start his own “Discovering Jesus” group. He texted me the flyer, asked for advice, and then wrote, “Thank you for letting me be a part of this beautiful movement.” L is gone for the summer but can’t wait to get back and get his group going when the semester begins in August!

We met another student (M) our very first day on campus. He immediately loved our sign and said he wanted to be apart of what we were doing. M was going through some difficulties and wanted to follow Jesus, but his lifestyle and friends were constantly pulling him away from Christ. M needed a group of folks to love and encourage him in Christ, and he’s been with us since January. We’ve become very close, and he’s growing in the Lord. A couple months ago he sent this text, “I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. You’ve been like a father to me, and continue to encourage me during the hard times in my life. Love you, M.”

I also have to brag on the incredible work God is doing through my man at Belmont, Seth. He’s baptized two students this semester and been a huge encouragement to so many more. God’s doing big things through him, so pray for Belmont and Seth and continued open doors!

God’s just getting started 🙂

Camp Beyond Summer Outreach

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As the school year has come to a close a new season has started.  In January of this year Jon and I were asked to become teachers at a camp committed to helping high school students from China and Taiwan establish life values before heading to U.S. Universities in the years ahead.  The camp is attended by mostly Buddhists and sometimes Muslims who have had little to no understanding of Jesus.

When the Lord opened the door of opportunity for us it was a confirmation to things he had already put on our heart regarding the Pacific Northwest.  In the past few months we have been helping set the curriculum and preparing for classes in June, July and August.  The camp itself is not overtly Christian.  It is however, catered toward helping students understand and deal with pressures around school, parental relationships, addictions, dating and sex, and other life challenges from a Christian perspective.  The goal of the camp director is to provide influence from a Christian perspective allowing teachers to build relationships with students, understand their life struggles, and through relationship lead into decisions around and for Christ.  TFHG was asked to participate because of our strong passion for discipling and empowering others up into greatness for Christ.

The opportunity ahead will open doors to colleges and universities in the U.S. as well as doors to other nations.  We’d like to ask you to please be in prayer for these students.  We want them to have soft hearts, be ready to receive and we want to hear clearly from Holy Spirit on how to minister to them.

Our family will be leaving on May 22 and passing through some cities in the western U.S. where some ministry connections and fruit has already happened.  We will end up at the camp outside of Portland Oregon around the middle of June where Ethan, Hanan, Josiah and Kaitlin will join the international students for 3 weeks before heading back home across the northern U.S.  As we head home, Jon, Larisa and their boys will be arriving in Portland for the July camp and head home August 1st. Justin will be returning on August 2 for the final camp ending at the end of August.  It is going to be an amazing and very busy summer with over 40 international students lives impacted.

If you would like to keep up with the journeys follow us on Facebook or email us and we will put you on our list to receive emails as we go.

Engaging the Lost

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Engaging in meaningful and spiritual conversations with those who don’t know Christ seems terribly daunting for many of us. While we have a deep desire to see our friends, families, and co-workers come into relationship with Jesus, we’re often left not really knowing where to begin.

An amazing truth the Lord has shown me, as we go out intentionally to share Christ, is that people are more open to Jesus than many of us realize. We often feel like, if we engage in a spiritual conversation with someone, they’re not going to be interested, and it’ll probably end up in a fight. Maybe it’s the way we interact on social media that gives us this idea, but nonetheless, I don’t believe it’s the reality as the Holy Spirit is working on people’s hearts every moment of everyday. I sincerely believe Jesus’ words about the harvest being plentiful ring out as much today as they did when He spoke them a couple thousand years ago. It’s not a harvest problem, it’s a laborer problem. The church, myself included, has not done a great job modeling what this practically looks like, so we’re left unprepared and unsure about how to go about it.

One very simple way we engage students at MTSU and Belmont is with “Free Prayer” signs. We find areas students gather, or walk to class, and hold up cardboard signs that say “Free Prayer.” I’ve been amazed at how many young men and women walk right up to us and ask for prayer; we’ve even seen over 20 in an hour. Some are believers in Jesus and others are not. We’ve had students who recently lost grandparents, are struggling with relationships, school’s been tough, etc., who are thrilled we’re willing to pray with them. We use it as a way for them to encounter Jesus, let Him meet their needs and open up conversations about Him. About a week ago, I went out with a couple guys and we prayed with 6 students. We met up with two of these students afterward to go through a book we use to disciple and let folks experience Jesus!

So, give it a try! Offer prayer to your co-workers, family, friends, those in Walmart or at soccer practice. You’ll probably be surprised by how many are not only willing but overwhelmingly thankful you’ve taken time to pray with them. God will move in power as He loves them more than you do! So, pray in faith and expect results; He’s a really good Father.

We’ve also seen the power of intentionally going to the same place(s) every week so we can get to know people. It’s amazing how many folks we meet literally every time we hang out in the Student Union or Quad at MTSU. If we want to reach people for Jesus, we have to go places where there are those who don’t know Him, but I’m sure we all do. Think about the check-out person at the grocery store, or the young lady who makes your cup of coffee at Starbucks. Next time you go in, ask for their name, write it down and intentionally go back to them next time. They’ll be surprised you care about them enough to know their name. Let it lead to deeper conversations as you return regularly.

There’s much more I could talk about here, and I’ll continue writing to help empower us all to reach this world for Jesus! If you’d like help, and would like to see it modeled, we’d love to go with you! So, send us an email and we’ll do it! My email is jon@tfhglobal.com, and Justin’s is justin@tfhglobal.com. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Becoming Disciple Makers

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Last year we started a Wednesday night “church group” among millennials interested in getting closer to Christ with a vision to reach their campus and communities for Jesus.  It started with a couple of young men, eventually grew to include women and has continued to grow to include an amazing group of young people growing with a passion to see Jesus glorified in their schools, workplaces, and communities.  As we turned the new year the Lord put it on our hearts to start trying to hand it off and give much more attention to the work of making disciples among others.

Our time together usually consists of a meal, praying together, going through the word and/or worship.  We began using some basic disciple making tools as our topic of discussion since those include the word and prayer.  They also provide a simple reproducible way for each person to do the same with others.  We have started encouraging the group to take the same simple lessons and share them with others they are around every day.  Since starting, we have had even more people join the group and take interest in reaching others.

It is amazing how many people we meet who want to reach others for Christ but do not know where to begin.  Lifelong Christians who have been faithful don’t understand simple basics like why the gospel is called the good news.  The church seems to understand whether we should allow women teachers, instrumental music, or how, when, and who should baptize (although we are sometimes wrong) but we still miss the basic.  Having simple and practical discussions with this group and training them on these basic truths has proven very fruitful.

We have been using a tool called Pocket Disciple.  It was created by a friend, Erik Fish, who has focused primarily on colleges and universities around the U.S.  The material is very easy to understand and replicate and teaches students to be active in sharing their own experiences with others.  The material is not just for the millennial generation and I encourage you to check it out.  If you would like someone to walk you through using it email us and we can set up a training so you can start doing the same.

Since introducing the material 3 weeks ago we have had multiple students give stories about sharing it with others in their circle of influence.  This past weekend we heard from a student who said he has someone who now wants to get baptized and follow Jesus the same way.  We are just starting to see a growing momentum and are excited to bring you updates on movements happening at MTSU, Belmont, and other universities as students are obedient to share Jesus using these simple tools.

Keep up with our newsletters to receive updates on what Jesus is doing in Middle Tennessee.

Interview with Engaging Missions Show

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After our recent trip to Myanmar and Thailand, Josiah and I participated in an interview with my friend Bryan Entzminger, host of the Engaging Missions Show.  We kicked off a series of shows on kids in ministry (something really close to my heart).  I am super excited about this series and the future guests.  Please consider visiting and subscribing to the Engaging Missions Show if you have a heart for missions or you would like to be encouraged by all that God is doing around the world.

If you have not heard some of our stories from Myanmar and the amazing things God did take time to listen to a few of them here.  Josiah is a little nervous starting out but I was so proud of him not only in learning to operate with the Holy Spirit at 11 years old but also to get on the radio and share his heart and the stories from our trip.  I hope you enjoy.

Listen here or please consider visiting The Engaging Missions Show website.