Another Year Has Come!

Matthew and I are really excited about this coming year.  Especially because our wedding is just a little over 6 weeks away.  March 3^rd, in Columbus, we will be tying to knot!  We are super excited to begin our life together, but there is much to be done before the wedding.  Currently, we are raising funds for the wedding, and we still need to raise about $5,000 dollars to pay for everything.  In addition to that we are beginning to look for a place to move into together up here in Fargo once we are married, and as you can imagine on a limited budget that is somewhat tricky.  So, there is a lot still to be done, but we are excited and know that God will provide.

Not only are we excited about our wedding, but we are super excited about what is happening with the ministry this year.  This year Mathew and I will be partnering with churches and communities throughout North Dakota (Bismarck, Jamestown, Lisbon, Valley City, and more to come), South Dakota (Watertown and surrounding communities), and Minnesota (Fergus Falls, Breckenridge, Alexandria, Elbow Lake, Pelican Rapids, Devils Lake).  This year as our team begins to engage even more towns across Minnesota we are planning to engage anywhere from 30-40 communities, more than a 100 churches, and reach 100,000’s with the Gospel.

Here is how everything is going:

• Jamestown, ND - We have a meeting this week where pastors from the community are coming together to form a steering/leadership team that will help put together a budget and a timeline for their community, as well as begin to reach out to churches who are not yet engaged. 
• Bismarck, ND - Up until last week we thought Bismarck was not going to move at all.  Then through a lot of prayer God provided us with a local man who was willing to talk to churches and key people across the town, and is leading the charge in Bismarck.  We are hoping to meet with pastors in Bismarck in the next 2-3 weeks.
• Watertown, SD - Next week we are meeting with a local pastor of a Baptist church, and we also have an old friend who just moved into the city who will be working with us to gather more churches together.
• And God continues to open up doors across the region - In Pelican Rapids, we just were connected with a business man and youth worker who is going to engage local pastors.  In Fergus Falls, we have pastors working on getting other pastors together.  And then in Elbow Lake pastors are waiting for a day to meet with us to discuss how to engage their community. 

Each day more communities are being opened are preparing for a huge harvest!

We are not only excited about how the cities are moving, but we are also excited about He is growing our staff and ministry partners.  Currently, we have a school of 20-30 students in Kansas City. In 6 months, they will be given the option to join our team. Along with that, we have schools ready to go in the Summer and Fall of this year that will be training more people, so we can engage more cities, and see more people come to know Jesus.

In addition to more staff we also are getting more ministry partners.  The International House of Prayer will be joining us in cities across the country to help raise up more effective prayer movements that will being praying for revival and major moves of God.  In addition to IHOP, we are also partnering with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), Youth for Christ (YFC),  and Stonecroft Ministries, that will be helping raise up a discipleship movement that will be discipling all those respond at our events, to help foster long-term community transformation in all the communities we partner with.  One of the more exciting partnerships is our partnership with God TV who has agreed to broadcast some of our major events, which will enable us to preach the Gospel world-wide, and we are beginning to develop follow-up strategies for those who respond as a result of the broadcast.

It is awesome to see God open up doors, and to be a part of this amazing movement.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement.  It is because of you guys joining our team that this is all possible, and because of our team and the grace of God, 100,000’s of people will hear the good news of Jesus Christ in 2012.

God Bless!

Amanda and Matt

Some thoughts before dinner....

As I sit and wait to go off to eat with my friends, I wanted to take time to write about some of the things that have been on my heart these past two months....


First off, in 10 days, I will be heading up to Fargo, ND for a few weeks to be apart of the Impact World Tour event that will be happening soon. I could not be more excited! After all my training/schooling, I will get to experience the tour itself.

I am both excited and curious in this time. I am curious to see what it will be like during the three week tour with all the ups and down and how I will handle being on the go non-stop for that period of time. However, I know it will all be good! I am excited and confidant that the Lord is going to do great and mighty things! I am excited about seeing thousands of people come to know Jesus and receiving His gift of salvation. I am excited to meet new people and I am excited to be re-united with Matthew.

Secondly, something that God is continuing to show me is His passion and desire to see every person, every nation, and every generation come to know Jesus and that I am called to be apart of that. It seems like a huge task to take on considering. However, throughout my life, I can honestly say that God has always sitrred my heart to reach the EVERY. Anytime I would read about the Great Comission in Matthew 28: 18-20 passage or the passage in Luke that talks about how the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, I would rise up to the occasion and say "Here I am Lord. I am willing..." That has never changed and I pray that it will not. There are so many that don't know Jesus. They don't know about His love, His grace, His comfort, etc...I want them to know.

I am so thankful and so blessed to be out here working with Impact World Tour. The ministry has such a desire and a passion to see people come to know Jesus in a personal way. They want to reach this generation for Jesus and they are!

I guess the third thing that is on my heart to share is how God is challenging me to rest in Him and in His provision. I have to say, being in the process of writing support letters and asking people to partner with me in this journey is nerve racking. However,  He is showing me how it's a cycle of blessing. That giving the opportunity for people to partner with me is actually allowing them and inviting them to par-take in what God is doing in this nation and around the world. That in the midst of this, I too am also to give and be that same blessing back. I hope that makes sense, because it is a truth that I am learning to better understand.

Well, I must be off....

Blessings to you!

Until Next Time,
Amanda

Kansas City Here I Come!

Hello! Adventures await for me as I will be leaving soon to go to Kansas City, MO to go through a training with YWAM for a ministry called Impact World Tour. God has lead me in this season of my life to do missions in our own backyard, reaching thousands with the salvation message, and inviting them to into a friendship with the most wonderful person named Jesus! I can not tell you all the different emotions (good ones) that are occurring!!!

In case you are wondering, Impact World Tour (IWT) started in 1993 with a mission to reach the cities of the world with the Gospel. Today IWT conducts city-wide campaigns in over 100 cities each year. Their last tour in Ohio resulted in over 20,000 youth giving their lives to Christ and hundreds of discipleship groups launched.  Their heart is to unite churches, go into schools, preach the gospel, see people come into a personal relationship with Jesus and be dicscipled. 

The training will equip me with skills needed to reach whole cities and nations with evangelistic campaigns, organize large scale gatherings to summon the Body of Christ to a unified purpose. Some topics: How to utilize your gifts and talents in missions; working interdenominationally, interculturally and intergenerationally, & mentoring others in Christ.

As apart of the training, I will be sent to Fargo, ND to assist the current Impact World Tour Team in Sept-Oct.  These events consist of dance teams, skater teams, and power teams that perform through school assemblies and evening outreaches, Throughout each performance individuals on the team share their testimony of what God has done in their lives and invite others to come into a personal relationship with Jesus. Thousands respond to the messages at these events and come to know Christ as their personal savior.

Due to the intensity of this training, I will not be able to work a regular job. If you would, pray and consider partnering with me in this Kingdom work. I am asking for 190 people to donate $20 to help my budget goal of $4,000 needed to fulfill the call that God has given me in attending this training. Some have already stepped up to the plate and you can to! It's easy, all you have to do is hit the pay pal donation button on the side of my blog and it will direct you on what to do next.

I am extremely excited to join and be apart of what God is doing in the youth of this nation. I shall be writing continually throughout this portion of my life's journey and hope that you will check in to see my latest adventures and thoughts. I thank you! May God bless you. 

Until next entry,

Amanda

"The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field." --Matthew 9:37