Dear Friends,
We are so grateful for you and hope your summer has been full of joy and meaning. Ours has! From training of international missions’ staff to the development of ministry leaders and supporting churches to the investment in the next generation, we LOVE having the privilege of being a part of what God is doing in our city, around our nation, and across the world.
Here are some of the things we’ve been up to:
In our City
- Reaching and mobilizing Gen Z with the gospel. Tim is collaborating with the leadership of Austin’s South by Southwest and Steiger (a ministry focused on bringing the love of Jesus to the global youth culture) to bring evangelism teams to Austin during the festival and, beyond SXSW, to engage Gen Z in hope and anticipation of a next Great Awakening out of their generation.
- Austin Strategic Business Leaders Gathering. In conjunction with SALLT, a ministry mobilizing market-place leaders, we hosted a gathering of key business leaders in Austin and in Oklahoma City to consider how the church can prepare to respond to a potential global economic crisis.
- Preaching and teaching to support Austin partner churches and ministries. Tim had the joy of preaching at two amazing churches this summer: Northwest Fellowship, a wonderful church committed to gospel saturation and leading the Unceasing Prayer movement in Austin and beyond, and Lake Church, a brand new and exploding church plant in Horseshoe Bay committed to bringing the living water of Jesus to the people in the lake area. He also spoke at the launch of a new year of ministry to the students in the Lago Vista area through Northlake Church (another thriving church committed to seeing every man, woman, and child offered the hope of Jesus) and to rising young Austin business leaders at Resource Global, equipping and calling them to gospel saturation. So fun to experience how God is moving across greater Austin!
In our Nation
- Urban Gospel Strategy. Tim, Pastor Daryl Horton of Christ Together Greater Austin, and Will Plitt, Executive Director of Christ Together National, met with high-impact African-American Pastors in Milwaukee to learn about their effective strategy and ministry in the inner-city and urban areas of their city.
- Mentoring Key Pastors and Kingdom Leaders. Tim is serving in a mentor role in a Multipliers.org initiative called “Proxeny,” a learning community of select pastors and kingdom leaders committed to maximizing their kingdom impact. This summer, they came together for an intensive in-person retreat in Nashville, a significant time of pouring into one another’s lives with multiplication intentionality.
In our World
- Via Nations Ministry Leader Training. In June, we traveled to Fayetteville, AR to encourage approximately 70 of Via’s highest level international staff at a 5-day Ministry Leader Training. Tim spoke on the theology of Joy. We loved getting to know many of the leaders and hearing how God is using them across the globe to mobilize missionaries to reach the unreached.
- Via Nations Board Meeting. Tim traveled back to Fayetteville in August to participate in one of two annual in-person board meetings for Via. We are captivated by the mission of reaching the nations via the nations, mobilizing believers in 50 strategic countries which have the greatest missions-sending potential and better, more effective access to unreached countries than we western countries. “Equipping believers to reach the unreached within their reach” – God is raising up nations to reach the nations!
- Rwanda. We leave this Friday, September 6 for a 10-day vision and equipping trip to Rwanda, helping train and encourage national pastors. Please pray for all the things and, most importantly, for God to move, equip, and encourage.
On a Personal Note
- Gigi Bible Class. Cindy has started a new weekly adventure with our two oldest, 5-yr-old grandkids they call Gigi Bible Class. We are using an amazing, easy-to-use curriculum to learn a biblical worldview (please, let her talk all you grandparents and parents into using it – think a female Mr. Rogers video teacher and simple, super-fun games to solidify the teaching). They love it. Our first big idea was “Truth is what is real.” The next was “Feelings are different than truth.” We could all benefit from these big ideas! Check it out at Foundation Worldview.
- Kids. We loved having our oldest Kate home from Abu Dhabi for part of the summer. Ellen and Ben have new jobs, Lady is “co-teaching” Caroline this year (a kind of hybrid homeschooling), and Sam is marrying beautiful Alyssa in January.
Please pray for what is coming!
- Dallas Theological Seminary’s Nathan D. Maier Bible Exposition Conference. In October, Tim has the honor of serving as the speaker for this bible exposition conference at our alma mater. Besides speaking, he will also have mentoring and smaller-setting opportunities to interact with students. Please pray for his effectiveness and the Spirit of God to move through the teaching of His Word.
- Envisioning and Equipping with Christ Together. Please pray for fall envisioning gatherings for pastors in Winston-Salem and in Chicago and for “Traction Immersion" in Atlanta, our equipping gathering for pastors already committed to gospel saturation in their city.
- Cindy teaching women. Please pray for Cindy as she speaks at a women’s retreat and for a women’s evening gathering in September and October.