Perfect Christmas Gift

75, a Dozen, and Prayer Request

I am so excited to announce that I now have over 75 individuals on my Faith Promise team and a dozen churches! A big shout out to this awesome team God is assembling--I am SO thankful for each of you. God has hand-picked you, and I can't wait to move forward together to the work in New Zealand!!!

It seems goals are being reached left and right! I only need 10 more partners at $100/month, OR 20 partners at $50/month, OR 40 partners at $25/month! That's it!!!! Praise Jesus!!!! Who is with me? God is opening doors for meetings with people out here in PA beyond what I had expected but exactly as I had prayed. He's so good... SO good. Please keep praying over these meetings over the next three days.

On a less positive note, please pray for one of my best friends who just suddenly lost her mother this week. Pray for memorial arrangements to start working out logistically and also for me to be able to be there to help. I have a very narrow time window in which I could make it to her part of the country this week between church meetings--I need God to move as well as to protect me on the road.

75%... 80%!!!! PRAISE JESUS!

So, remember when God laid it on my heart to pray for 75% funded by the end of November? Today, I am OFFICIALLY at 75% funded, and including verbal commitments that have not yet hit my account, I am UNOFFICIALLY at 80% funded!!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful for a God who delivers on His promises, and He blesses beyond what we can think or imagine!! I could scream, dance, and jump around... but that wouldn't really help communicate to you via this blog how excited I am over God's provision!

While we rejoice and celebrate, let's keep praying! Another 20% of Faith Promise commitments needs to come in over the next month(ish), and I am confident God will continue to respond to our prayers. Tonight, I am sharing my heart for New Zealand with a group of young adults here in Shrewsbury, PA. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through me and call people to join the partnership team.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys... This road has been long, lots of bumps included, but I wouldn't trade it for anything at this point. There's really no way to explain how much God has worked in and on me through this process. Thanks for walking this journey with me... soon, the journey will lead to the land "down under!"--the REAL down under, as in, under Australia. :) Much love in the Lord!

Thankful for Divine Appointments

I love it when God orchestrates a meeting or a conversation. It just leaves me with a profound sense of awe when I KNOW I just encountered someone in a way that was totally due to God's providence. I am extremely thankful to God for these divine appointments in my life, and I don't just mean ones that lead to a partnership in the ministry in New Zealand. I've had some of those--and they are awesome, don't get me wrong... But I love just knowing that God is behind the scenes working in people's lives, preparing the way for them to meet the right people, have the right words, and have ears to hear. Our God is so good. Today, I thank Him for His providence--the way He guides and directs those who love Him.

Thanksgiving and Beyond

My "nephew" made me an adorable turkey craft for Thanksgiving. I LOVE IT! I also love Thanksgiving in general. I tried to really let it soak in, knowing this was likely my last Thanksgiving at home for at least a couple years. I was so blessed to spend time with my family and eat lots of yummy food!

While most people were either in a turkey coma or Black Friday shopping, I headed out Friday for Columbus, Ohio. I made it last evening to my friend's family's home, and we had a great night of fellowship. This morning, I left bright and early for Shrewsbury, PA. I have settled into the apartment with some of my best friends from college, and I am looking forward to a great week of ministry visits and phone calls! Please keep praying for God to work miracles, creating opportunities for me to connect with the right people to invite them to partner with me in the ministry in New Zealand.

Also, please pray that I will have a mind for details as I begin the NZ Visa application. I am trusting God for HIS timing for my arrival in New Zealand, but I want to be a careful steward of my responsibilities in both partnership development and Visa paperwork.

Refreshed and Ready!

I have not felt so enthused and ready for New Zealand.... ever! Here are my reasons.

1. Revival! I was able to be in revival services at my home church. It was AWESOME, and God has been working revival in my spirit for a while now, including giving me victory over some things that have been struggling with for a long time. Praise Jesus!
2. Encouraged about Partnership Development! I am so motivated by the increase in support and having completed Kingdom Come Training. I love meeting with people, inviting them to join the team, and I am confident that God will meet all my needs in time to be in NZ in January if it is His will.
3. I was able to stay in one town for a week and a half! It's amazing how a respite from travel refreshes me physically and emotionally!
4. I am enthused about upcoming opportunities! I will be on the road a LOT over the next couple weeks, and I am sure God will do great things!
5. It is the season of Thanksgiving, and I am thankful... for God's work in my life, His faithfulness to His people, the opportunity to be with friends and family, and the privilege of serving the Kingdom.
6. I got a haircut that I love! It might be superficial, but I was so thankful for a coupon for a cheap cut, being able to donate my hair to Locks of Love, and getting a fun new "do" on my birthday!

Above: Picture of me with my Grandmother at my family birthday dinner.

71%, KCT Update, Youth Ministry Challenge/Question

• We are officially at 71% Faith Promise! God is continuing to work behind the scenes--I am aware of enough Faith Promises still to come that should put me at 76% or better! Please keep praying for full funding SOON! My hope is to be fully funded before Christmas so that I can enjoy Christmas with my family before leaving without thinking about support.
• Kingdom Come Training has been AWESOME! I am so thankful for this training in how to develop healthy partnerships with my team. The class will end on Wednesday, and then I will just continue with a weekly coaching meeting until we hit the 100% mark.

On a youth ministry level, I have a few thoughts I wanted to share.

• First, I wanted to follow up on some of the book reviews I did a while back. Specifically, I had reviewed Burned by Ellen Hopkins but had not yet touched on other books in this series. Since then, I read Crank and part of Tricks as well. Crank did seem to have a bit more of a point--basically that drugs will lead you to consequences including an addiction that is not easily overcome. However, it was still "filthy" in my opinion--very sexualized, focused on a girl losing her virginity, and the language and overall tenor of the book was very dark. Whatever redeemable quality may have been in Crank was more than made up for by Tricks. I could not finish this book because it was so dirty. The title says it all. This was seriously literary porn geared toward teenagers. Please don't let your kids read this stuff!
• I received an awesome reminder this week about how the church should be approaching youth ministry. My home church is in revival with the Fox family, and Dr. Bryce Fox shared a story that broke my heart. He spoke of a young girl at a church camp who was weeping after the service. When he asked her how he could pray for her, she began to share this story. She had been trying to reach one of the "roughest and toughest" boys at her school for Jesus. She was spending time with him, trying to show him the love of Christ. She finally invited him to church, but he said (paraphrased), "If I decided I wanted to find God and would find him at church, then I'd go. But if I want to find God, and they play games at church, then I don't want to go." The girl began to cry harder and said, "I can't bring him with me to church because I know we will play games!" Youth workers, I don't share this to communicate that we should never play games and have fun with our students. I do share it as a reminder that students are looking for TRUTH and REALITY, and unfortunately there are times and situations when they don't find those things in a student ministry. Let us remember our priority--to share the life-giving hope of the Gospel with every adolescent we can!
• I am also wrestling again with a topic I have wrestled with many times in the past--how do we effectively reach FAMILIES as youth pastors?? Anyone who works with students understands where I'm going with this. If a family comes to Jesus, the chances of a student remaining faithful to God in adulthood are much higher. While I am confident that God can save anyone despite their circumstances, how awesome would it be if we were successfully reaching whole families rather than just individuals! What does it look like to run a "family youth ministry?" We need to engage this question--and then engage it again--and again. This is not something that we can solve overnight, but as youth pastors, we cannot give up on wrestling with the potential our ministries have to transform homes, reconcile familial relationships, and strengthen the church as a whole rather than just youth group attendance. We have an obligation to help families mirror the kind of family discipleship described in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Unfortunately, we are often starting with a student who is curious about God and whose parents maybe couldn't care less. I plan to post some ideas about how to approach this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts first. Any takers?
  

What is "Partnership?"

Perhaps you have heard me over this past year talk about "partnership" with me in God's work in New Zealand, but you really don't know what that means. Let me explain! On my blog and when I speak, I talk about the work of a missionary being like a thousand piece puzzle. The only way the ministry happens is if the missionary as well as other members of the Body "claim their piece" of the work through partnership. Here's what partnership "looks like."

1) On my part...

• I become an extension of YOUR ministry in New Zealand through sharing the life-giving hope of the Gospel with students and helping equip national leaders and churches in New Zealand for on-going, sustainable youth ministries.
• I keep in touch with you, updating you on what God is doing and how you can pray through quarterly newsletters and monthly prayer/praise updates (via email or regular mail) as well as at least weekly blog postings.
• I lift you up to the Father in prayer on a regular basis.

2) On your part...

• You claim the ministry in NZ as YOUR ministry through a monthly financial investment.
• You pray for the ministry in NZ regularly in response to the prayer needs expressed in my regular correspondence with you.
• You keep me updated on how I can pray for you, your family, and your local ministry involvement.

Is there any reason why you couldn't partner with me in this way? If not, sign up today! CLICK HERE!

Another 4%!!

WOW! Another 4% of verbal commitment has already come in this morning!!!! Once all this officially hits, we should be at 75% ALREADY! My pastor in Mississippi told me at the end of last month that he would not pray for 75% by the end of November--he would only pray for 100% by the end of November. Pastor, your prayers are powerful and effective--God is increasing my faith and bringing my goals closer to alignment with yours!!!!

I have to confess a recurring theme in my life from the past week or so. I have been praying for God to give me more discernment and boldness about actually asking people to become financial partners. Almost unwillingly at first, I obeyed the Holy Spirit's promptings multiple times this week. No joke, every time I heard these words, "I was just waiting for you to ask!" Wow. What a lesson this has been for me!!! How many times do we (1) fail to ask God to meet our needs or (2) fail to ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to partner with us in God's work!!!! The Body of Christ is meant to operate in COMMUNITY, but we will be "going solo" until we are willing to invite people to join us in what God is doing. Holy Spirit, thank You for the lesson.

Another 11%

I'm amazed as I watch God move. Another 11% or so of verbal commitments have come in over the last 24 hours! I can't wait to see the percentage officially start to go up, up, and up! I want to welcome new churches and individuals to the team--it's so good to have you all on board!

I am enjoying my time in northern Indiana, although I'm pretty tired and still sick. I will update with more details of my time here later, but I wanted to get the word out of how God is working!

As Good as Dead

The following is an excerpt from an email I just sent to a missionary friend. After explaining to her what God has shown me, I thought I should share it with all of you too!

The Holy Spirit keeps bringing a passage of Scripture to my mind from Romans 4 about Abraham's faith. It says in verse 19, "He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead,... or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb." It goes on to say that he actually was STRENGTHENED in his faith! I've been thinking about this a lot... Abraham didn't consider his own body as good as dead when God first gave him the promise. He proved that with the whole Hagar incident. It was only after years of waiting and realizing that he could do NOTHING to fulfill the promise that his faith was strengthened through counting himself as good as dead. I feel like this is my testimony of the process God has taken me through in support raising! At first, I thought I had to raise support. Now, I realize that I am as good as dead! And my faith is stronger! How awesome is this!?

58%! No, You Didn't Misread That!

In about a week's time, our Faith Promise has gone up by 10%!!! How awesome is our God?! One of my prayer partners posted on my Facebook status, "When GOD'S timing becomes NOW, ain't no stopping HIM!!" I love it! Thank you for being a part of this movement! I can't express how much I appreciate all of you on the team, both prayer and financial. It is through YOUR obedience that God is WORKING!

The next several days will be pretty full. Tonight, I have a meeting with some good friends about the ministry in New Zealand. Sunday, I leave for six days on the road. I will be speaking at Carthage Wesleyan Church Sunday morning, connecting with friends at Brookhaven Wesleyan on Sunday night, meeting with potential partners in the Marion area on Monday during the day, recruiting for Wesley Biblical Seminary at Christian University Seminary Fairs Tuesday-Thursday during the day, continuing Kingdom Come Training in the early evenings, and meeting with potential partners after that into the late evening. Please be in prayer for the following:

• Safety while traveling.
• Divine appointments with students God is calling to seminary.
• Divine appointments with future partners.
• Divine appointments with some of my former students in youth ministry.
  
• Physical strength as I've been battling a cold or sinus infection--not sure which yet.

Thanks, again, for your partnership! God is blessing!!!!

52% and Masquerade at Abby Manor

Today I officially hit 52% Faith Promise! :) I hope you can sense my excitement and the momentum that is increasing in this team building process! I fully expect to post a new percentage tomorrow!!!!

I realized that I have not posted many updates recently about ministry in Indiana. I had to share some pictures with you all from our most recent youth event at The Grounds. We took a night off from service to throw a party, and it was one epic party! We bought a kit for one of those "who-dun-it" mystery dinner parties. Everyone is assigned a character and they come to the party in character for the whole evening. At the party, a crime occurs, and everyone tries to figure out "who-dun-it." The setting: a masquerade at Abby Manor.

Elijah and Steven sporting their formal wear and masks.

Andrea and I before the party really got started. Andrea was the mastermind behind the whole game--she did an AWESOME job! She has really taken over almost completely as the lead role in the youth ministry. It is so encouraging to me to know I will be leaving it in her hands!

Several of the youth in character, hanging out in the living room.

51% Party!!!!!

Let's throw a party together! We just hit 51% Faith Promise! I'm so excited to pass the halfway point, but I'm also still greatly anticipating reaching the milestone of 75% THIS MONTH! Like I said before, this is a serious faith endeavor, but I totally believe our God is ABLE and WILLING to do it! Please keep praying for those people God has called to partner with me in this work to sense and obey that call! This week, Faith Promises have been coming in on a daily basis--I am so encouraged!!!

Kingdom Come Training, the training I started Monday about partnering with others in God's work to reach the nations, is going well. It has already been a source of encouragement and renewed boldness and zeal for the team building process. Thank you all for the prayers--please keep them coming!!!! Also, if you are feeling led to learn more about what it might look like for you to partners with me in this work, I would love to meet with you whether in person or via skype or the phone. Please let me know! amber.livermore@gmail.com, 812-779-7282