Stepping Out into a New Adventure

Dear friends,
I hope this letter finds you well! I am writing you this letter because I am very excited to share with you about where God has been leading me recently, and tell you more about where the next step of this journey is taking me. 

After many years of praying about the calling that God has placed on my life to pursue missions and discipleship, He has made it clear to me recently that the timing is right for me to fully pursue this calling.  And to this end, I have also seen that the Lord has really opened the door for this to become a reality. Throughout the course of the last few years, and specifically in the last few months, the Lord has worked in a variety of ways to connect me to an organization that I greatly respect in the area of missions and discipleship, Adventure in Missions. 

Adventure in Missions (AIM) is an interdenominational mission’s organization that focuses on discipleship. Since they were established in 1989, they have taken over 90,000 people into the mission field, some for as short as a week and others for as long as a year or longer. In several places around the world (they send groups both domestically and internationally), they have a year-round ministry to “the least of these.”  They believe that by giving people the opportunity to hold orphans, bring hope to the hopeless, and pray for the sick, lives are transformed.   They seek to disciple as Jesus did and their vision is that God would use them to raise up a generation of radically committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

There are so many things that I appreciate about the organization of AIM, but one of the things I am most grateful for is their emphasis on the idea of “listening prayer,” in which they seek the Lord to speak to them as they minister, so that they can respond in obedience to the direction of His voice.  On every short term mission’s trip that AIM sends out, they choose to partner with the local church, so that those that they minister to can receive follow up and further discipleship.  One of the things that I believe that makes AIM unique amongst missions organizations is the way in which they emphasize discipleship, not only for those whom they are ministering to, but for those who are participating in their trips.   It is because of this value on discipleship that they make it a priority to send a trained and well equipped representative of AIM (also known as a project leader) on every short term trip that they send out, to lead the group in ministry and to deeply invest into the lives of the participants of the trip.

So, at this point, you may be wondering, “What does this connection to Adventures in Missions mean for you and your life specifically?”  Well, recently I have been asked to come on staff for this organization, and to step into a position that I believe aligns perfectly with my passions and my gifting: 

In order for an organization like Adventures in Missions to develop and equip the large number of participants that they send out each year, and in order for their numerous trip leaders to go out and lead their trips well, a lot of preparation and development has to go on behind the scenes.   This is where I come in!  I have been asked to work as a “Field Support Representative,” which means that I will have the responsibility of developing and equipping the project leaders that I have previously described.  I will prepare them for their time on the mission field, support them and their team while they are actually on the field, and debrief and guide them as they return home from the field.  In addition to offering training and support to these project leaders, I will work with a small team of people to prepare logistics and do all the pre-trip set up for short term trips that go out.   And last, but definitely not least, whenever the opportunity arises, I will have the incredible opportunity to go out and lead these short term mission trips myself…and I could not be more excited about this!  

So, for those of you who want me to sum up what it is I will be doing:  I will empower the body of Christ to go to the nations.  I will empower the body of Christ to minister the redemptive love of Jesus Christ to a world in need, through the avenue of short term missions.  I will empower the Body of Christ to become radically committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

As with any ministry, no single person can do it alone. Being able to fulfill this calling on my life means that I will need to have a team of people ready to take this journey with me. I would like for you to consider joining that team with me. There are two ways that you can get involved, and both are equally important! The first way is to commit to praying for me, and for my ministry. I am surrendering everything in order to pursue Him and be used by Him, so having faithful prayer warriors is essential. The second way you can get involved is to make a financial donation.

As a missionary I am responsible for raising my financial support. It takes people like you who believe in the calling I have been given, and believe in the message of hope and love that God has for all of His children, to make this possible. Would you take the next few days to pray about how you can help? There are many ways to be a financial supporter. You can donate on a monthly schedule, a quarterly schedule, or a single “love gift” of any amount.    If you are as excited about this journey as I am,  and would like to partner with me, you can go directly to the “support me!” link that is located on this page to make a donation.  Currently, I am praying for 10 people who would be willing to commit to giving $100 per month, and another 20 people who would be willing to commit to giving $25 per month for the next year.  Would you consider being one of these people?
 
As a partner in this ministry, you will be contributing directly to helping others experience Christ's presence in new and exciting ways through the means of short term missions, as well as investing into the future generation of leaders in God's Church! This includes feeding the hungry, loving the orphans, encouraging the widows, and reaching the lost and broken in order to demonstrate Christ's love!
 
Blessings,
Julie