A New Year

Well, it has been a while since I have sent out a sign of life. So I figured its about time to let everyone know whats new. And theres plenty to tell. (Other than I'm alive) I'll start with the holidays though, thats a good place to start.
This Christmas was a lot harder than last actually, there was a lot of thinking about home and missing it. I think it was harder mainly because last year I was in India preaching the gospel to the lost, so I wasn't to preoccupied with where I want to spend Christmas, and what better way to spend it really! Telling people about the baby Christ, and the resurrected Saviour. This year I was serving on base building the new building and helping very practically, so I spent a LOT of time thinking about home. But I still know that what I was doing over this Christmas was eternally important as well. This building will be used to impact the world in big ways sending missionaries into Hollywood! From there they have a platform to impact the world in MASSIVE ways. Media is so strong.
But as for what I actually did this Christmas. I got invited to a friend of mines house for Christmas day and I got treated like a king, it was insane. We had lamb roast, pork roast and roast beef all for one meal, it was great. So I spent the day with a family, although not my own it was better than being alone. Then on New Years I went downtown Brisbane and watched fireworks on the River with some friends from the base, so that was also a great time. Overall its been a relaxing, fun holiday season.
Now for news on whats next for me, it has been confirmed that I will be leading the August Beach 2 Bush school, as well as joining the Beach 2 Bush leadership team. So my next years is full of new frontiers of leadership for me. I will be staffing one more school which starts up on January 14th I believe. Then instead of going on overseas outreach though, I will begin to plan the August school, which involves booking speakers, accepting students, spiritually preparing, getting a budget lined up and planning the itinerary for our internal Australian ministry and overseas outreaches. Its going to be a challenge for me, but its exciting to know that at the end of it I will have have acquired many useful skills for life and ministry. As well as doing all of this over the next year as a part of the Beach 2 Bush leadership team, I will be casting vision for the Beach 2 Bush ministry as well as helping to plan and make decisions strategically on cities we are trying to influence and places we are trying to gain favour in.
Beach 2 Bush is a ministry that typically attracts backpacker minded people and takes them in disciples them in biblical worldview and teaches them how to minister to post-modern thinkers. Then we take them out on what is called the backpackers trail on the east coast of Queensland and we travel with backpackers seeing all the sites they see and relating to them getting close to them and influencing them both through our lives, our love and our words. We often see travelers who are searching for something end up finding that eternal answer that they didn't even know they were looking for, in other words, many salvations. Now thats the beach side of things, in the bush we go to rural communities were there are few pastors and the do maybe 5 services a day at 5 different churches in 5 different towns. So we come and we serve the rural church like noones business. We show them the heart of Christ. And from that position of serving we have gained SO much influence, city councils and towns are now asking us to run events and giving us the town square to run an evangelism conference or just a concert for the youth where we can totally relate to the youth and befriend them and influence the town.

Thats the small picture of Beach2 Bush, the big picture is to gain sway with politicians and city councils being able to use that favour to run events, and what not. But this favour has even helped in getting us visas so the Lords workers can stay here and continue to work. Its helped in getting politicians voted in and getting the name of God out there, and it all started with and rides on the back of servanthood for communities. They love us because we truly show them Gods love and love them. Us a bunch of youth are having significant pull in political arenas and its only growing faster and faster. And THAT is what I get to be a part of for this season. Its going to be an exciting couple years.

And thats what my next year or two is all about. Exciting times. If you want to pray for something other than me pray for the influence of the Kingdom of God to continue to grow, and that he would use us as a willing vessel to do that.

Peace, Love and Prayers!!

P.S. - I hope this all flowed and made sense, I wrote it quite quick...maybe I'll proof read it if I have time later! Blessings in this New Year!