Heaven is celebrating as 40 new Christ followers were reached in Oklahoma during our summer mission trips to Norman and Tulsa. Praise God that these new believers are now following Jesus! Leaders In Training took two week-long trips to these cities with about 95 people to preach the Gospel, serve the local churches, and reach lost kids with the message of Jesus.
Our proven method of mission trip execution, partnering with Immanuel Baptist Church in Norman and Mobile Missions Network in Tulsa, delivered with excellence as Dr. Clint and I led these trips. We have three amazing leaders with the spiritual gift of administration who helped us: DeAnn Noyes in Norman and Janet Burgen with the help of Mallory Cram in Tulsa.
Pastor Jason and Laura Garner from Immanuel Baptist Church in Norman invited us to partner with IBC to bring the Gospel to the children at three sites in the city. We ran Kid Power Camps on Monday through Thursday at a local rec center, a local feeding ministry site, and the church. We saw just a few kids show up for the first two days, but attendance grew, and the kids became more interested in the Gospel as the week went on. Our students led ten kids to Christ during that week, sparking excitement and enthusiasm in the missionaries and the new believers! Pastor Jason reported that two more came to Christ after we left.
We were able to meet with Pastor Jason’s kid’s and youth ministry teams to get to know them and share the power and urgency of Leaders In Training with them. They are excited to start L.I.T. this fall and bring in a harvest of new young people to revitalize their kid’s ministry into the future!
The teams that came from Trinity Baptist Church, Lakeshore, New Life, and Horizon Christian Fellowship did an amazing job! They served the Lord obediently and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit as they preached the Gospel in the camps and worshipped Jesus at the altars at night. God moved powerfully through Dr. Clint, Steve Ramsey, and Samantha Noyes as they inspired our kids through the scriptures.
Special thanks are deserved to Pastor Ken and Letha and their team from Immanuel Baptist for their hospitality. And a huge shout out to the leaders of the missionary churches: DeAnn Noyes, Kelli Statton, Jody Beckham, and Josh and Ashley Gallagher. They did an amazing job of training and guiding their L.I.T.s to make disciples all week in Norman!
In Tulsa, we resided at Church Inside Out/Mobile Missions Network headquarters at Red Fork Campus. We had the opportunity to collaborate and serve alongside Pastor Mike and Sarah Lehew and Pastor Earl and Christin Krumsiek. And we received amazing care and sustenance from Julie Burgess! Huge thanks and inspiration from Pastor Mike and Church Inside Out as they showed how to take church to the community. We visited four of their 25 mobile missions sites and saw 28 people put their faith in Christ for salvation! The kids, CSALTS (teens), and adult leaders did an amazing job and were so hungry for the presence of God in worship, in the Word, and at the altar all week long.
Janet and Mallory led us well and kept everything organized and smooth. We witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the children as they preached, taught, and led the Camp Inside Out events in the city. Special thanks and recognition to the church leaders that brought their teams: Kellie Laskowski from Georgetown in Michigan, Nannette Rankin from First Baptist Church Topeka, Kristi Haynes from Southgate Church in Springfield, MO, and the Whitney family led by parents, Nick and Michelle.
All of this power and life has lit a new fire of inspiration and vision in Dr. Clint and me at Leaders In Training. We feel a fresh energy and zeal to reach more churches around the world with our urgent message. It is time to bring preteens out of the church desert where they are asked to bide and wait with little to do until they grow up. We feel a burning passion to share with churches all around the world that there is a better way to make disciples through our kids. And so many new churches are hearing this message and getting excited to start their own L.I.T. ministries and mission trips!
Be in prayer for several upcoming events and decisions that we will be making. I am speaking at a kid’s camp in upstate NY this week.
There will be a Kingdom Impact Conference on November 10-12 that promises to be a powerful meeting of key leaders for inspiration and vision with the new training handbook. If you are passionate to learn more about the L.I.T. vision and execution, sign up to attend this conference. You will come away inspired, empowered, and excited about what God is doing through L.I.T.
Pray, partner with us, and get excited about how God is changing hearts and lives in the local churches for kingdom purposes. The kingdom of God is here and now for preteens in local churches.
