A DAY IN THE LIFE: Promotion

For a summary of what I’m hoping to accomplish in this blog series (in the second week of every month of 2018), I recommend reviewing my explanation here.

The last installment of A Day in the Life is going to be a post about organizational promotion. Is there some reason that I waited to the last month to talk about this? Is this the climactic part of my job that defines what I do?

Simply, no.

This was the part of my new role that I was most unfamiliar with. While it hasn’t been the worst challenge I’ve ever faced, it isn’t the part of me that comes naturally. I’m pretty introverted in my nature. I like to retreat and study, to teach and preach, to create and dream and podcast. While I don’t try to avoid people (and I can even enjoy them in small doses), I typically like to sit just enough away from social situations.

But promotion is the exact opposite of that natural tendency for me. Promotional conferences are about face time and intentional connections with others. It’s about putting your face on the organization and letting the organization grow through your interactions. It’s all about people.

And this actually explains why I didn’t have a post until now. These experiences are so filled with anxiety for me that I never get any videos! I like the challenge, but the focus needed for me to do this part of my job well can be exhausting. One thing is for sure: I sleep extra well on these trips.

We have a natural and annual rhythm to the promotional events we take part in. Every May, we head to the Campus Ministers Retreat put on by the Association of College Ministries at McCormick’s Creek State Park in Indiana. A few weeks later in June, we are usually on our way to wherever that year’s North American Christian Convention is; the NACC (no longer taking place after 2018) is a gathering where people come to hear speakers, attend workshops, and browse the exhibit hall full of different missions organizations.

In July, the Association of College Ministries puts on their annual National Student Conference where many different ministries bring their students to learn from speakers and workshops, as well as network with other opportunities to grow and serve in the field of missions and vocational ministry. Then, right before Thanksgiving, we attend the International Conference on Missions, usually somewhere in the Midwest. This gathering is very similar to the NACC, with more emphasis on networking and service.

These are beneficial times where we get to strengthen our relationships and partnerships with other ministries. We get to meet people interested in the work of campus ministry and often find new recruits at events like these. And of course, we also get to pursue some exposure, helping people recognize our name, our mission, and what we are doing.

Here’s a video diary I made of my most recent trip to ICOM.

A DAY IN THE LIFE: Support Raising

For a summary of what I’m hoping to accomplish in this blog series (in the second week of every month of 2018), I recommend reviewing my explanation here.

It’s the part of our job that very few of us love. I don’t think there are very many of us who get into this support-based ministry gig because fundraising is one of our life goals. However, it’s the part of our job that empowers us to do the thing we are called to do, and oftentimes God uses this portion of our work week to bless us immensely. Whether it’s the ability to trust in God’s provision, grow in our communication skills, work hard to build healthy relationships, or grow in our professionalism, this part of our jobs makes us into better ministers.

Support raising is a job never finished. With the way Impact Campus Ministries does fundraising, it’s incredibly hard work up front, often taking 1–2 years to reach fully-funded status. Once this is done, the hard work is mostly over, but continual and consistent maintenance is needed to stay at a healthy place for your ministry financially.

How do we do it? Well, 90% of good fundraising is done by sitting down, face-to-face, and getting to share your heart and vision for the ministry work you do. Forget the slick presentations and infographics; you don’t need a lot of smoke and mirrors to impress people or trick them into giving. You simply need a great story and vision of how you feel God is calling you to do ministry. We have opportunities to share that vision and ask people if they would be willing to come alongside us as financial supporters. We have supporters of all kinds. Some give large annual gifts and some give $25 a month. We all enjoy having supporters who really power our ministry by being $200 monthly supporters or more. Sometimes, these same people will even show up and give above and beyond their commitments for special campaigns or year-end gifts.

The generosity of others is always a great lesson and encouragement to people like us. It affects us and makes us different people as a result. I know for me, it makes me less and less cynical and more gracious and generous with my own time, money, and other resources. I am thankful for this.

And so one of the things I do every week and month, as we consider A DAY IN THE LIFE, is support raising. I have to make sure it’s something I engage on a regular basis. Whether it’s running a crowdsourced campaign on Facebook to raise funds for a trip, or shouting out to all of my alumni to ask them to consider to giving back, this is an effort that is constantly needed to do what we do.

I suppose it would be a real missed opportunity not to offer a link so that you — YES YOU! — can become a part of our support team. You can go to this link and sign up to give a one-time or recurring gift. You can choose to support the work of my family directly by finding my name, you can choose to sponsor the work I do with students by finding BEMA Ministry on the “Ministry Team” tab, or you can even support the wider work of our organization by selecting the General Fund.

I recently just got back from a summer of support raising. This is my very brief video diary about fundraising, recapping the experience for you to enjoy:

A DAY IN THE LIFE: Travel

For a summary of what I’m hoping to accomplish in this blog series (in the second week of every month of 2018), I recommend reviewing my explanation here.

These days, I travel a lot. I travel for a whole host of reasons.

Ministry Development. I travel in order to stay in regular contact with the teams that work for Impact Campus Ministries. We have ten (going on eleven) teams around the country in places like the Palouse, Salt Lake City, Missoula, Oklahoma, South Bend, Indianapolis, Tampa, Ft. Myers, and Albany. While we get to see each other at conferences one or two times a year, this just isn’t enough time to work on site-specific development for our staff, so I try to travel and spend time with them in person to work on the things that need to be worked on.

Fundraising. Whether it is recruiting new supporters to help us do the work we do or cultivating the relationships of people who already give, the work here never ends. We take any opportunity we can to meet with people while we’re on the road.

Recruiting. Part of my job as President of ICM is looking for more people who would be willing to do that kind of support raising and work in the field of campus ministry. They can be found everywhere, but the most effective recruiting is always done in person.

Partnering with other organizations. At ICM, we believe we are better whenever we get to work with others. The amount that we are able to share ideas and experiences with each other, as well as the opportunity to combine resources, is exciting and provides continual opportunities to grow, improve, and help others do what God has called them to do better. This work is some of the most fun that I get to have while I’m on the road.

Alumni. Just like supporters and recruits — you can find them everywhere! They are doing incredible things and I love taking the opportunity when I’m in their hometown to meet with them and hear about what God is doing in their life.

Expansion. We are always trying to discern where God is leading us to plant next. There are thousands of campuses around our country and hundreds of thousands of college students. All of them are getting ready to go out and make some kind of difference in our world. Where does God want us to go next to help impact the lives of the next batch of graduates? These are things that make us excited at ICM!

Is this hard work? Yes and no. I love the travel and I love the ability to use my gifts to help others and influence the next generation. But it’s hard not to get carried away by all the things that “have to be done” and say no to what needs to be rejected (for now) so I can be present as a husband and a father. When I’m not careful, my travel schedule can be a real burden to my family. I work hard to stay on top of this; at times, I have failed. Unfortunately, it is far too easy to get swept up in the notion that you are needed and important.

I have to work hard to be a good steward in my travel schedule. I have to be a good steward of our organization’s resources. I have to be a good steward of people and their time. And I have to be a good steward of my family. This is hard work and hopefully something that I pursue with character and integrity.

Here is my video diary for A DAY IN THE LIFE: Travel.

MY BLOG IN 2018: Week Two

I have been wanting to take some time each month this fall to share with you a little bit of what to expect on my blog in the coming year. Starting in January, I will begin a weekly rotation of blog themes that will drive the conversation in 2018. In the last post, I spoke of how I will be taking the first week of each month to share the Top 12 Blog Posts of Covered in His Dust. We’ll look back and see what posts have been used the most and I’ll enjoy speculating as to why they are the favorites.

The second week of my rotation will be dedicated to a series I’m going to call “A Day in the Life,” and it should be a collection of different things I do in my job each day. For many of my supporters, they have commented on how nice it’s been to see updates and the occasional video where they get to see what I do secondhand. It’s just one more way we can make our world a little smaller and I can invite you to see what it’s like to be a campus minister and/or President of Impact Campus Ministries.

Some examples of this might be the work I do with students or showing you some of the groups I teach here on the Palouse. I might do a post on discipleship and “take you on a walk” with one of my disciples. I might show you a meeting or two, such as those with the staff of ICM. I might introduce you to some of the staff at Real Life on the Palouse and talk about my partnership with the church there. And maybe I’ll even do a post on what I enjoy doing with my free time. There are so many things to invite you into!

None of these posts will be designed to be instructive or profound in any way — they’re just a fun trip into my day-to-day life where you get to see a little bit of things from my perspective. Of course, I’m sure there will be some cameo appearances from my family (they are who everyone really wants to see, I know) and we’ll have some fun.

So I look forward to inviting you into my life next year as we explore “A Day in the Life.”

Ministry Update — Summer 2013

We interrupt this blog series to give you our regularly scheduled ministry update.  Blog series to resume next week!

Click here to view our latest newsletter.

The Year of Learning

I have been thinking about how my experience this year has been varying from my experience last year.  If I were to give last school year a designation, I would have called 2011-2012 the "Year of Surprises and Blessings".  God surprised me around every corner by overcoming my cynicism and pessimism about what is possible around me, through me, and through those I work with.

This year has been a great one so far.  It too has been a blessing, but in a completely different way.  It has been a year of being humbled and challenged.  And while the entire experience has been very tiring over the last few months, I wouldn't trade it for a moment; I'm going to be much better on the other side of this experience.  God is at work molding me, pruning me, and teaching me to continue to grow in my leadership abilities.

If I could be so bold as to make a presumptuous prediction:
2012-2013 is the Year of Learning

It's been a year of learning about my personal capacity.  I pushed the limits of what I was trying to do this summer.  I set goals that were a little too high and expectations that were probably even higher.  From fundraising to personal growth to what I hoped to accomplish in my ministry, I kept trying to feed the "expansion monster".  I wanted my knowledge to expand, my ministry to expand, our funding to expand, our impact to expand...   I forgot to listen to what God was doing; I ran past Him.  I bless Him for His gentle call back to where He was on the path.

It's been a year of learning how my plans are not always (or even most of the time) God's plans.  To hold my dreams loosely and wait on what God wants to do in the lives of other people was incredibly important to my sanity this first quarter.  This is not to say that it wasn't a personal struggle -- it most certainly was.  But to constantly be reminded that just because our interns don't respond the way I envisioned them responding, or just because my disciples don't see life the way that I see it, or just because I'm not able to be the rabbinic Superman at the BEMA House that I wanted to be, this doesn't mean that God is not directing our steps, impacting lives, speaking to our hearts and setting captives free.

It's been a year of learning about the things I still struggle with personally.  Pride.  It rears its ugly head from time to time.  And it hurts.  When I don't hold it in check, it can hurt other people.  This leads to confession and the need to seek forgiveness from other people.  People are most often ready to grant that forgiveness and that actually leads to another challenge -- accepting grace!  When you know that you've dropped the ball and blown it and the offended party tells you that they know and that it is OK, can you accept the grace?  Do you continue to try and "right the wrong"?  Prove your genuineness?  To accept love is harder than we might think.  But it makes us better, doesn't it?  To be a part of that story is compelling and I long to put that on display to others.

It's been a year of learning.  The Spirit is such a tricky thing to discern.  As Jesus said, like the wind, She blows this way and that, and it's impossible to tell where She's coming from or where She's going.  But you know that the Spirit is working.  (see John 3:8)

To stay faithful to the call.  To be ready to jump out of the way and let God move.
This is a tricky thing to learn.

But it's good.
And it's going to be a good year.

DOC 2012!

September was the time for our second annual Dutch Oven Cookout and the efforts did not disappoint.

Just as last year, we had a ton of fun.  All of those 'Dutch Oveners' (I counted somewhere between 20-25 ovens) amaze me with their cast iron cooking genius.  The food is delicious and the company is even better.  In fact, I was pretty sure that the food actually got better this year.  Chicken and beef marinaded in pure delicious goodness. Vegetables, mac 'n cheese, casseroles, and potatoes covered the tables, not to mention my favorites -- the cherry and peach cobblers.

This is the greatest fundraiser ever.  It's a win, win, win for everybody.  People get to celebrate a hobby of theirs.  Food is delicious.  The world of campus ministry is supported.  The live music from the Garrett and the Collins' family always entertains.





The raffle was even better than last year.  The ladies added a silent auction portion.  We still had two tables of baskets that were made and donated by some very gifted and creative people.  And, of course, one of Liz Mandelkow's incredible quilts.  We raised well over $3000 at the event -- which was an increase over last year's number.  Praise God!



Again, our family's big thanks goes out to all those who worked so hard to pull this event off.  To the Mandelkow's and the Lookingbill's -- thank you for your love and support and all of your hard work.  To all those numerous people that help out, thank you.  And to all of you who came out to support us, despite the drizzle and the clouds and the 'climatic uncertainty'...  thanks to you, too :)

The Next Great Frontier: Internship

When Nate and Megan came to me last year and asked what the possibilities would be of working with Impact Campus Ministries as interns on the Moscow/Pullman team, I didn't realize how unprepared I was for that question.

Of course, at meetings amongst the team, we had discussed the possibilities of interns and how great it would be.  We had even mentioned Nate and Megan's name as potential recruits for such a task, but had determined to wait on God and His leading before we pursued those conversations.  What an answer to prayer as they came and approached us about the very thing we had discussed behind closed doors.

And yet, we didn't have any idea what God would do with what He had laid before us.

As leaders, we had talked about internships purely from an idealistic standpoint (not that we were naive, but we were being pragmatic).  We talked about the things it would add to the team and the things that God would do throughout the organization as each team grew, expanded and recruited interns -- and how that would blossom into future laborers in the world of campus ministry.  We chatted about how good it would be for those interns to have an experience in vocational ministry and the opportunity to get their "feet wet".  We acknowledged how great it would be to get them a jump start on support raising.  We imagined all the ways that God would move in their lives and the things that they would learn and the way that they would grow.

In so many ways, campus ministry internships would be the next great frontier in their lives.

Why didn't I realize that it would be the next great frontier of our own lives and ministries?

I won't presume to speak for Eric, but I know that I have been profoundly challenged as a minister and a leader by the presence of these two young adults.  They being life -- real life -- into the picture every day.  They have big questions; they have questions I wasn't prepared for.  I was ready to field the questions about ministry and how I do my job.  I was prepared for the questions about theology and spiritual formation.

But I wasn't prepared for how those questions would shape a couple of individuals that are designed and crafted by the great Storyteller for roles in His great story.  I wasn't prepared to watch the emotions, the thrills, the ideas, the creativity and the doubts all come together into this glorious mess of growth and how it intertwines with all of the questions I WAS expecting.

The questions about theology that come wrapped in emotion.
The questions about how to do vocational campus ministry that are drenched in doubt.
The questions about the possibilities that are draped in creativity.

I wasn't prepared for the complexity and weight of what we would do every day that we showed up to work.
And I wasn't prepared for the sudden realization that I what did every day had intense implications for the life of a new colleague in the field of ministry -- this heavy awareness of the gravity of what we do.


And you know... I'm glad I wasn't prepared.

This first month on the job for these interns has challenged me in ways I haven't been challenged in a long, long time.  I'll be a much better leader in 12 months than I am today.  And I'm grateful for that.  I'm grateful to God for leading us into this opportunity and I'm grateful for these two interns that had the audacity to want to leap into the unknown -- with us. 

And I'm incredibly grateful for the grace that they both give me every day as I struggle to figure out how to lead them well.  I don't think I'm hiding my insecurity well anymore; I'm pretty sure they're on to me.  There are some places that I have no idea what I'm doing.  They are incredibly gracious in those areas, which makes me glad to march into the unknown with them. 

And I think I wouldn't be too presumptuous to suggest that all the things we expected to happen are true as well.  I think this will be an incredible year for Nate and Megan.  I think that they too will be better because of the time they spend on our team.  I think it will be a great training ground for vocational ministry and support raising.  And I know for a fact that our team is better because of their presence.  Their perspective as recent graduates is priceless.  They're relational spunk and giftedness is an asset to each event they are involved in.  They bring skills and talents to the table that our team just did not possess before.


So, all in all, I would highly recommend internships.  I would recommend them for your ministry and your team.  I would recommend them for anybody wondering if they might be called into the world of vocational ministry.  But I would also invite everyone in the process to be ready for the things that God will do through the experience.

May we continue to be open to the things that God wants to teach us; may we be humble enough to realize how much potential there is to be unearthed.

Mid-Summer Update

Well, we are halfway through the summer and I thought it would be incredibly timely to update you on how our summer is going.  We left the Palouse up north with two goals in mind for this summer season of 2012.  First, we wanted to make sure that we took time to say thank you to all of our supporters this last year.  Second, we needed to raise funds for the team ministry and all that God is doing for next year.  I’ve been calling the two goals the “THANK YOU” and the “PLEASE”.

THE THANK YOU.   This has been – by far – the favorite part of our summer.  We have loved getting back “home” and seeing all of the faces that we know and love.  It is very fulfilling to let them all know how much they mean to us and what God is doing through their generosity in our ministry.

THE PLEASE.  This part of our plan has been struggling this year.  Part of that struggle is that it is a whole lot easier for me to schedule “thank you’s” than it is to schedule “please’s”.  The other reasons come down to just a barrage of economical realities, summer schedules, and unexpected responses.  We currently are sitting around 20% of our summer goal and need to hit it hard in the coming weeks.  If you’ve ever thought about supporting our ministry, now is a perfect time to consider doing so.  We could use your help as a financial partner and God is doing some BIG stuff in our ministry.  Just contact me if you’d like to talk about the possibility of helping us out.

There will be some other really big things to celebrate at the end of the summer.  For now, I’m hoping to let some of the details settle and have a good sense of where we are at coming out of the summer before I share some of that, but I will say this: IT IS EXICITING!!  God is doing some awesome stuff with the future of BEMA Discipleship and I can’t wait to tell you more!

If you would, be praying for our support-raising this summer, for our house, and for God’s continued direction, guidance and blessing.  And again, thank you to all of you who interact with our ministry on so many levels!