So thankful...

Hello again everyone,

Fall in definitely the air, and there are many great stories to report from the work of God across Iowa!

The Men vs. Wild trip that I wrote about in early September was a smashing success (See picture). 18 guys from across Iowa joined in the craziness, and we had a blast roadtripping across Nebraska/Eastern Colorado and then hiking in literally breathtaking venues. It was a fantastic time of networking for me with guys from across the state, but particularly with nine guys from Central who I had known in name only before. These guys are now forming the core of a "missional prayer cell" for men at Central that will be launching in the next week or two! You can pray that God would fuel the movement by his Spirit and that it would bear exceptional fruit: in our lives as sons of God, in the lives of the men of Central College, and hopefully in producing more male staff for God's work across Iowa!

This last weekend, I was with 250 students and staff from Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas for our annual Fall Conference: FC08. Our theme was "Down to Earth", and one of my best friends (and former staff worker/boss!) Jason Brown was the keynote. It was so fun to be with Jason again in a student ministry context, and the conference went exceptionally well. On Saturday night, Jason spoke on "Living as citizens of heaven" through the lens of being "loved and sent". The Spirit was powerfully at work through his talk, and the night culminated with a time of worship and prayer ministry for students who have felt unlovable and unsent in the past. At least two students chose to follow Jesus for the first time that night (!), but all of us were richly blessed by our gracious, heavenly Father!

During the conference, I was privileged to lead a seminar for about 60 men through the lens of David and Goliath. I was so thankful for this time as God challenged all of us to lead our chapters to engage more men on our campuses with the Gospel!

Across Iowa, momentum continues to build on our campuses as students take up the call to live as missionaries to every corner of their campuses. There are truly more stories to be told than there is space, so thank you so much for your prayer and partnership.

With Great Joy!
Jon