July Get Together

Right before the 4th of July, 4 Young Leaders in the Twin Cities area (including me and Staci) had an opportunity to gather together for a cookout and some mutual encouragement. It was a joy to see how everyone has been doing in the last year and very energizing to be around passionate, committed people.

Lymes Disease

While hiking on the Ice Age Trail in June with Virginia, I managed to contract Lymes Disease from a deer tick. So far Virginia has shown no signs of having it. We are praying for protection for her. My symptoms have been: a rash around the bites, muscle soreness, fatigue, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms. It has not been fun. I've slept a lot, but have managed to continue working through it to this point. I'm currently taking lots of natural remedies and waiting for my blood test to come back so I can get on antibiotics. Meanwhile, God has slowly been healing me (not as quick as I want) through other people's prayers. So please, join in on that concert of prayer for God's glory.

Full Time At Tentmakers

As of June 1, I have been able to move to full-time status at Tentmakers. Although I am still working on Young Leaders only 3 days a week until I can raise my financial support status, the other 2 days a week I am doing some internal bookkeeping for the organization. It has been such a blessing to be able to go to the same office every day. This alone has brought much more continuity into my life.

Summer 2007

This summer we have been hosting a number of different week-long events.

One is called Caleb, which is geared to expand the mind and to give potential mentors for Young Leaders insight into what Young Leaders will be experiencing. This is a vital step to establishing a good relationship between the mentor and the Young Leader during the 2 year follow up stage. We had one Caleb in May and are preparing for more in August, September, and throughout the rest of the year.

We are also running a Discipleship Plunge in July, which is for college-aged and 20-somethings to get a small glimpse of what Young Leaders would be like. This is a great opportunity for those that are interested in Young Leaders, but can't get away for the longer 40 day experience. But for others, it is part of the discerning and prayer process to see if Young Leaders is something that God is calling them to. We are looking at doing possibly 2 more Discipleship Plunge's in January.

These are two key things that are helping us prepare for an outstanding 40 day Young Leader experience in 2008.

Young Leader Vision: To raise up young men and women with vision, courage, character, and faith in Jesus Christ who have the imagination, moral fiber, and tenacity to lead the Church, industry, government, education, and other walks of life.

Spreading the Vision

One Thursday in February, Dick Amundson, the President of Tentmakers, and I made a one day trip to Sioux Falls, SD for Young Leaders. Along the way, we stopped in Mankato to visit with the regional head of Fellowship of Christian Athletes; we visited a pastor outside of Sioux Falls; we split up and had a couple of one-on-one appointments with candidates and supporters; then we gathered in the evening with a professor from the University of Sioux Falls and eight students to lead a workshop on Young Leaders. After a full and blessed day, we arrived home after midnight and had a planning meeting Friday afternoon. Of course, to prepare for that day took many phone calls and e-mails beforehand and many more afterwards as well.
I have had many days like that in the Twin Cities, Sioux Falls, SD, back to Taylor University in IN (where I went to school), Wilmar & Winthrop & Fairmont, MN. I am planning trips in the next few months to North Dakota, St. Cloud, and perhaps Madison, WI.

Foundational Instructor Skills Training (FIST)

This week at the Tentmaker office, I had a chance to go through FIST- the next step in becoming an official Tentmaker trainer. I improved my confidence in being up front, and learned some valuable things in general about the philosophy of education and training.

Looking for Additional Partners in Ministry

It takes a lot of prayer, finances, and hard work to get a new ministry up and running successfully. With December’s matching grant money, we were able to raise almost $10,000! Thank you for all who were able to give financially during and after that month. The next step is to raise up a support team who will partner with me on a regular basis to meet the annual goal of $75,240. If you aren’t already doing so, would you pray to see if this is a ministry that God would have you join in? We’ve included a support card and a return mailing envelope with this update for your convenience. Thank you!

Nominations Now Being Accepted

Do you know of a friend or family member 18-27 years old who would like to receive this solid foundation in Christ-like servant leadership? Would you consider nominating them for this program? If so, you can use the enclosed response card to nominate individuals for 2007 or 2008.

Life As A Young Leader Participant

• Book Reviews

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman- read this and you’ll never view T.V. the same again!

The Call by Os Guinness- What is God’s call on your life? Everyone has one- not just “official” ministers.

• Put It Into Practice Staci meets with 2-4 other women for accountability on Thursdays. I meet with 2-4 other young men at the same time. We’re currently going through the gospel of John. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know these guys and their lives better.

• Gaining Wisdom I have continued to meet occasionally with Bob Amos- the pastor of our church. We certainly keep one another inspired with the passion of the vision of a house church model.
I have been meeting monthly with Roland Wells- a Minneapolis pastor who started a ministry called School of Urban Ministry that Staci and I went through a few years ago. We have been reading through books such as Growing the World’s Largest Church by Karen Hurston, The Twelve Keys to An Effective Church by Kennon L. Callahan and How Your Church Family Works by Peter Steinke. He’s also helping me to evaluate what I do with my time to help me make some priority decisions.

• Ongoing Training The first weekend in February, Staci, Moriah, and I made a trip to Ann Arbor, MI. The ‘06 Young Leaders met for a follow-up session. We met there to learn more about community, discipling, and ministering on a college campus from an ecumenical group called the Servants of the Word.
While there, Staci led a workshop on the active literacies, and I led one on using the Bible for daily devotional times.

• Solitude & Planning One weekend in January, Staci and I ventured up to Wilderness North without the kids. It was a precious time of stepping back from the daily routine, looking at how we run our family, thinking about the type of values we want to instill in our children, and dreaming about the way that we want to live our lives.

Staci’s Section

I have been doing a lot of follow-up reading on Classical Education and the Active Literacies, or Trivium, as we begin to look at how to educate our children. I am excited to be leading my 2nd workshop on the Active Literacies in April for my Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS) group.

We have been implementing a time of (short) family prayer in the morning meditating on God and His character. We have all enjoyed digging into “family church” in the evening as we read a short Bible story and then ask 3 questions: 1) What was the story about? 2) What was your favorite part? 3) What is God teaching us through this story?

I will have Ginny leave you with one of the verses she has memorized that often comes in handy for reminding Momma, and even Grandma, about being anxious: “Don’t fret or worry, it only leads to harm.” Psalm 37:8

Kids Corner

Ginny and I are “doing kindergarten” a little bit each day. We are having fun reading, learning letters and their sounds, counting, painting, and making playgrounds out of couch cushions. She loves to help me bake. Ginny also enjoys "reading" books to her brother and sister. She "reads" so matter of factly that you would think she is actually reading the book!

Joseph just tries to keep pace and always has a mischievous grin on his face. He loves doing puzzles, coloring, and anything to do with wheels. He turned 2 in February and is my little man now.

Moriah is a bundle of joy and contentedness. She loves when her big brother and sister give her hugs and kisses. She has contagious laughter and somehow manages to still sleep with her siblings around!

Thank you again for your support and partnership.

For His Glory, until we meet again,

Owen, Staci, Virginia, Joseph, and Moriah

Owen's Cell:952.451.6072

Tentmakers 7600 Bass Lake Rd #104 New Hope MN 55428