Happy Fall!
God is good and doing incredible things to reach people and further His purposes. We hope you have seen His hand at work in your life and in your circles of influence. We certainly have and are trying not to miss a thing!
With that in mind, here are some key ways God has been moving in our lives since our last update:
In our City
Discipleship. Our greatest joy and calling is making disciples who make disciples. We have given our lives to this calling yet have experienced, and noticed other leaders experiencing, challenges to truly reproduce multiple generations of disciple-makers. In the past several months, we have embarked on a pathway of making disciple-makers that is simple to reproduce with the gospel as our “curriculum” and the Holy Spirit as our teacher. It takes us on an adventure of following Jesus together no matter where we are in our spiritual journey. Tim asked David Putman, the developer of this Gospel Disciple Life 5.3.2 Disciple-Making Method, to disciple him and his friend Rick Randall, Director of Christ Together Greater Austin, with a vision to disciple pastors and leaders across the city with this tool which is not only simple but virally reproducible and sustainable in the midst of a full life. Both Rick and Tim have now launched several of their own "5.3.2 microgroups" and are enjoying the ride they are on with Jesus. Cindy hopes to launch two different groups soon. We are excited about what God will do in our own lives as well as the lives of those joining us and those who they invite in the future.
In our Nation
- Christ Together National. Tim continues meeting weekly with the Christ Together National Leadership Team and monthly with the Christ Together National Board as they pursue mobilizing cities for gospel saturation across our nation.
- Developing Pastors. A significant avenue of developing pastors has been Multipliers Pathway Cohort. Having just returned from helping teach and coach at a cohort gathering in Illinois, we admire this group’s heart for equipping pastors and churches to be multipliers of the gospel.
- Staff Training for The Met Church Houston. Tim spent a day with the extraordinary staff, leaders, and Lead Pastor Ky Faciane (previous key leader in Christ Together Austin and pastor of Bannockburn Baptist), engaging them around ensuring gospel saturation in their community and mobilizing each church member into personal evangelism.
In our World
- Via Nations Board meeting in Dallas. In August, Tim gathered with Via’s board, strategizing toward maximum effectiveness in mobilizing the nations to reach the nations. What an honor to serve alongside some of God’s kingdom’s most missionally passionate, gifted, and experienced individuals! Please pray for God’s leading in this ground-breaking approach to reaching the nations.
- Jordan. September was a wild month with two trips to the Middle East. Early in the month, Tim traveled with Via’s Executive Director Dave Rofkahr and fellow board member Dale Burke to train Jordan pastors and their wives in leadership. He loved getting a glimpse of what God is doing through the churches and in the refugee camps as people come to faith across sects that are far from God and hostile to one another.
- Saudi Arabia. Less than a week after returning from Jordan, we both left for a few days in Riyadh, serving as religious representatives with a Texas delegation launching GoldenPoint Global’s business partnership with Saudi. Arriving before the official events began, we were able to meet with several groups of “workers” to learn how God is moving and how we might support what He is doing as more avenues for the gospel are opening. What a privilege!
Teaching, Equipping, and Mentoring
- Lake Church, Horeshoe Bay. Tim spoke again in late July and mid-August a at Lake Church on Know Whose You Are and God’s Plan for Your Growth. God’s doing a work in the Horsehoe Bay community through this new church!
- Mentoring/Coaching/Encouraging. One of the joys of this stage of our ministry is the bandwidth to say yes and yes to so many pastors, pastors’ wives, and ministry leaders in our city, nation, and world to pray, encourage, listen, learn, and offer biblical wisdom as God gives it. We are regularly inspired by what God is doing through these friends.
On a Personal Note
- Kate was home from Abu Dhabi for the month of August. We always love it when she is in town. Her visits pull us all together more often.
- Travel with Friends. In the midst of a heavy travel season, we also enjoyed a couple of awesome trips with friends who hosted us in beautiful locations. Our trip to Italy in July united us with friends of 40 years who motivate us with their passion for making disciple-makers and relishing life. Grahams and Smiths, we love y’all. October included another trip with close friends now living in different parts of the country. What a great week of meaningful conversations and lots of laughter in a rainy but gorgeous Hilton Head! After all the travel in the past 3 months, we are tired but the good kind of tired.
- Grandkids – MORE COMING! Grandkids number 7 and 8 are on the way. Nieka and Ben are due the beginning of March with another little girl. Lady and Matt are expecting a boy toward the end of May. We know you know how excited we are!
Please pray for what is coming!
We would love for you to pray for:
- Cindy teaching at North Way’s Women’s “Refresh” Weekend. This coming weekend (October 24-25), Cindy speaks to the women of North Way. She loves this group of friends and can’t wait to be with them.
- Neigborhood Hallowiener. We are hosting our annual party for our neighbors on Halloween. Pray for them to experience the love and joy of Jesus through us.
- Preaching opportunities. Tim will preach twice at Northlake Church in Lago Vista over the next couple of months and at the newly minted Lakeview Bible Church in December. Pray he serves both congregations well and honors God with the teaching of the Word!