Category: Thoughts

I received this picture last night from a friend with this message: “I thought you would enjoy some pictures of our little daughter … preparing for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in St. Paul. She is only 4 months old, so may or may not be able to actually go this year (depends on the weather and how cold it is)…:-)”

In just a few years, maybe we will be able to get another picture of her out there passing out tracts! When children begin passing out tracts when they are young, they avoid the “fear stage” that most adults have to go through in learning to passing out tracts. Tract distribution is simply a way of life and you don’t know any different [smile]. (Not to mention, being cute is a big advantage for them!)

When our family speaks on “family ministry,” we stress how important it is for children to get a taste for ministry. When a child realizes “God used me today” that is very significant in their lives. Nothing else compares.

Passing out tracts with my dad on St Patrick’s day is my first memory of evangelism, and a few things stand out in my mind. 1) What we were doing was really important 2) I knew that somehow I could do it as well as big people 3) I knew my dad was pleased.

I think those three things made me want to keep doing it.

“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength” Psalm 8:2

Over the turn of the New Year, Sarah and I attended a conference in Tennessee called “Rise Up” – it’s a conference connected with our church. We were so refreshed by the fellowship. We were able to spend time with many friends and “friends of friends.” We also appreciated the depth in the Bible teaching (one of the main reasons we went).

There was an additional Bible study time from about 9pm – 10pm each evening for the young people on Ephesians 6. I’m now convinced that I do not think about the armor of God enough – each piece has such a rich supply of meaning for us! (In the picture above, “spokesmen” from various teams were sharing insights they had received through the studying the passage together.)

At 10pm, we had hymn sings … which was SO much fun because the singing was GREAT.

Late on the last night, four of us began talking about witnessing. More and more kept joining our circle until it grew to this group of about twenty. Though we didn’t all know each other, there was a bond as we were all discussing how we can be better witnesses (and better followers) of Christ. We just sat around answering each other’s questions, and I was so encouraged by the good insights shared and the zeal for the Lord in the group!

Around 12:30 am, someone mentioned, “I think we are supposed to be out of the hotel ballroom by now,” so we ended with a special time of prayer. I think I will always remember that spontaneous late night discussion.

I just looked over my notes from the conference. Here are a few quotes I jotted down during the sessions. They probably aren’t word for word, but hopefully they’re pretty close.

“In Acts, every time they had a problem they had a prayer meeting.” -Mike Attwood

“There are 530 million north Americans that need to be reached with the gospel in the next generation.” -Scott Degroff

“Our own personal relationship with Jesus must remain top priority. If we have that, we will remain unshaken in our Christian life.” -Roy Hill

“We cannot be filled with the Spirit and filled with self at the same time.” -Scott Degroff

“If my wife treated me the way the bride of Christ in America is treating Jesus it would break my heart. I am jealous on His behalf; I want His bride to love Him!” -Scott Degroff

“The enemy of usefulness is pride.” -Mike Attwood

“One of the best ways to encourage someone is to remind them of what the Lord has already said. That’s what the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (or “Encourager”), does (John 14:26).” –Lynn DeGroff

“Ask yourself ‘Am I going to be happy to give account to Christ of this past year?’ You cannot live it over. It’s done. And you will give account for it.” -Scott Degroff

“The term ‘evil speaking’ (Eph. 4:31) means ‘speaking down about the people of God.’… Have you ever found that you thought more and talked more about Christians the way Satan [the accuser of the brethren] does instead of the way Christ [who is interceding for us] does and been convicted about that?” –Scott Degroff (Also see James 4:11)

“If you stumble, instantly confess it and come right back to that place of intimacy with the Lord.” – Scott Degroff

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:9-10)

When speaking on witnessing at the Radiant Purity conferences, I have been recommending to the girls that they spend more time in Romans—saturating their thoughts with the gospel so that it overflows into their lives and witness. I’ve been suggesting that they do the “Romans Challenge” which I did last winter: reading Romans 1-8 daily for thirty or fifty days. Last winter over 100 others did it with me, and it was wonderful to be able to share reports and study tips with each other. They would send tips and testimonies to me, and I’d combine them in a weekly e-mail.

I decided to host another “Romans Challenge” in September for those who are interested, and I have been announcing it at conferences.

I’ve been encouraged by the enthusiasm of the girls who come up to me afterwards with their e-mail address, asking to be included in the September “Romans challenge.” Last night I spent some time entering all the e-mails into my computer.

If any of you would be interested in more information about this challenge, see my post from last February and leave a comment if you’d like to be included! Also feel free to pass the word to any friends you know who may be interested.

Even if you don’t do this Romans challenge, I recommend you do something similar with a book of the Bible sometime. Read it over and over for a period of time, and watch as the Lord gives you a deeper, broader understanding of it. And remember—you are not the only one out there desiring to seek the Lord diligently. It can be easy to begin feeling alone in your Christian walk at times, but remember—there many other young people that are also seeking, craving the Word—wanting to be stretched, to grow deeper, stronger. Traveling around the states doing conferences gives us the opportunity to see that the Lord is raising up a generation that is seeking Him!

Here are just a few of testimonies from those who did the Romans challenge last winter:

“You don’t realize the wonderful logic of the book of Romans until you read it through like this. … I have really enjoyed it and am always tempted to read the rest of Romans. You realize that you learn so much this way and it has really motivated me to want to do it with all the books of the Bible!” ~Katrina

“It would be difficult to express what God is doing in me through y’all’s testimony and especially through His Word. . . The truth of His glorious plan is sinking in, becoming my own. – Ben

“This has been such blessing… I don’t want the 50 days to end. 🙂 I started compiling all of my notes into a fun notebook … I feel like I have a much better understanding of Romans and how it all fits together, because of this.” –Becca

“Thank you so much for sending the tips and ideas. They help to keep it fresh and help me dig deeper. 🙂 I have been sharing what I am learning about with others quite a bit. Reading it so much keeps it constantly on my mind, so I can’t help mentioning it!” Hannah