In our Monday morning WMU staff meeting, we always pray for the missionaries on the prayer calendar and then share personal prayer requests and praises. Today Jon shared that Terry Thomas had contacted him to share the good news of his son’s commitment to Christ. Tyler has attended both Camp Courage and Mission Adventure Camp several summers. Terry wanted to share the good news and to also say thank you for the experiences that had contributed to his son in making a profession of faith.This was not a quick decision, but rather one that came from the teaching times at his church as well as gospel centered camping experiences.This young man has been taught the truths of the gospel, absorbed them, thought about them, and came to understand that they applied to him. Thank you Jon and all who have been a part of faithfully sharing the gospel. (There’s more to this story and I will share Tyler’s story in another blog.)

During the Girls in Action Overnight for girls in grades 4-6 and their leaders this past weekend at Jonathan Creek, the girls participated in Bible Storying. The girls not only heard the gospel, but they also learned to share the gospel with others through making their own evangelism cube. How important it is that we not only share the gospel with children, but that we also equip them to share Jesus with their friends.

At the three Excel WMU Training events (July 19, August 16, and September 13), we are offering a conference entitled “Witnessing at Any Age.” The purpose of this class is to equip children and adults to share faith in Christ with others because a “silent witness” is not enough. Participants will learn how to tell the gospel story and teach others to do so, too.  We are offerig this conference because in WMU we want to encourage people of all ages to share their faith, including children and youth.  Our students have access to the place that most of us do not – our schools.  Kids who are equipped and encouraged to share their faith can do so when they are playing with friends, talking on the school bus, etc.

The reports from our first three weeks of Kentucky Changers are exciting.
June 7-13, Hopkinsville: 16 churches represented with 151 students and 83 adult volunteers for a total of 234 participants.
June 21-27, Lawrenceburg/Frankfort: 18 churches represented with 174 students and 77 adult volunteers for a total of 251 participants.
July 5-12, Richmond: 24 churches represented with 214 students and 90 adult volunteers for a total of 304 participants.
July 13-18, Louisville: 7 churches represented with 75 students and 35 adult volunteers for a total of 110 participants.

That gives us a total of 65 churches with 614 students and 285 adult volunteers for a total of 899 participants. We are very pleased with this first year of Kentucky Changers in the WMU family.  The final numbers are not yet in for decisions made since the Louisville project is still under way and we also like to confirm any decisions made as students returned home that were a result of Changers, but the preliminary report for the first three weeks is that there were 24 salvations, 29 commitments to ministry, and 37 rededication decisions.   We will give a final report in a few weeks.

During Kentucky Changers, students lead a devotional each day on the job site. Our videographer, John Richards, captured a student sharing his testimony with the others. Jackson’s testimony on brokenness is a wonderful story of redemption. Pray for our students as they share Christ with their friends and classmates. What a mission field in every community!  Pray for those who have made professions of faith this summer through VBS, camps, and experiences like Kentucky Changers. Pray that they will be dynamic witnesses for Christ

Seeing people make life changing commitments is the goal of all that we do in WMU. Whether this happens is in the groups we teach in our churches, through the events that we sponsor, or through prayer and financial support of missionaries around the world, we want to see lost people saved and believers grow in their faith. Sounds like the Great Commission to me!