Promo Video

Check out the most recent promo video for YWAM Jax Beach.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from a pioneer in the protestant missions movement.  In my personal opinion, if more believers would dig into the Bible, they would see God's desire to see his fame spread throughout the whole earth.  This would lead to more people working alongside Father to fulfill the great commission.  

"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map." - William Carey

William Carey

Son of Hamas

One of the things I like about international travel is that airports and airplanes are great places to get some reading in.  One of the books I read this past trip was Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef.  This book quickly had me hooked and I had trouble putting it down.  It is an autobiographical look at the life of a young Palestinian man whose father is one of the founding members of Hamas.  The book follows his journey from being a young dedicated follower of Hamas, to becoming an agent for the Israeli government, and finally his journey from following Islam to following Jesus.  I found this book very interesting and insightful, regardless of one's views on the Israel/Palestine situation.

How the Time Flies

This past week marked the end of Lyla's school year.  It's hard to believe our little girl has completed kindergarten.  Vanessa and I are so proud of her.  Realizing how quickly time flies has been a good reminder to me that I need to enjoy every day and not get caught up in the things that don't really matter.

Speaking of Jesus

I recently finished Carl Madeiras' most recent book Speaking of Jesus: the Art of Not-Evangelism.   Going into it I was a bit uncertain about how I would feel about the concept.  Carl tends to be on the cutting edge (or controversial side) of reaching out to Muslims.   With that in mind, I was mentally prepared to disagree with a large portion of what he had to say.   Much to my surprise, I found I agree with most of what Madeiras discusses.   In essence, he is challenging people to return to the sole focus of the Gospel - Jesus.   Too often, Madeiras says, we focus on trying to sell people Christianity or convince them that our theological way of thinking is better than theirs.  When approaching evangelism from this angle, we frequently leave out the most amazing and polarizing aspect of the Gospel message, which is Jesus.   I found this book to be very refreshing.  I especially like how he drew not only from his experiences working with Muslims, but also from everyday experiences with people here in America.   I would definitely recommend giving it a read.

Trip Recap

Thanks so much for all who covered my trip to East Asia in your prayers.  It was really good to spend some time with friends working there.  A big thanks also to all who prayed for Sage, who ended up in the hospital with Peri-orbital Cellulitis (an aggressive eye infection)  while I was gone.  She's back to her normal chipper self.    In spite of worrying about Sage's health, I really enjoyed getting back into an Asian culture.  It seems that whenever I step off the plane, I instantly feel a sense of coming home. 

Sage in the hospital

One of my favorite dishes in the world

Sunrise in the mountains

Quote of the Week

The past few days we've had the pleasure of spending time with an old friend from our time in China.  His new role is helping to raise awareness of the 3,400  unengaged people groups in the world.  An unengaged people group is one that is not only considered unreached (percentage of christians is too low to evangelize their own people), but also one where there is currently no one working to reach them.  While talking I was reminded of the words of James Gilmour, a Scottish missionary to China and Mongolia in the 1800's.  My hope and prayer is that Father will raise up people to bring the good news to each one of these groups.

"I thought it reasonable that I should seek the work where the work was most abundant and the workers fewest" - James Gilmour

James Gilmour

Small Thoughts - Mother's Day Edition

On this day when we celebrate mothers, I feel truly blessed to be married to Vanessa, who is an amazing mother to our little girls.  Here is what Lyla and Sage had to say about their Mommy.

Quote of the Week

After spending two weeks in Asia, which I really enjoyed, this week's quote is neither deep nor profound.  But, it does speak a simple truth.

"There's no place like home" Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz

Secondary Schools

Today I want to share a brief video that talks about why we run secondary schools at YWAM Jax Beach.  The guy in this video is a good friend who lives in SE Asia and did his SOFM here in Jacksonville Beach.

Quote of the Week

This week's quote comes from Robert E Speer, a leader in the Student Volunteer Movement in the early 1900's.  I find this quote relevant today in light of the stats we looked at a few weeks back. I am certain that our failure to be more involved in reaching the unreached has nothing to do with a lack of people or resources.

"There is nothing in the world or the church - except the church's disobedience - to render the

evangelization of the world in this generation an impossibility" - Robert Speer

Robert E Speer