Off to Kansas City

With 59 days left until the tour begins in the Fall we are off to Kansas City. This coming week we will be joining the rest of IWT USA staff to learn and seek the Lord together for our ministry. We are in really exciting times, as we are growing and God is expanding our vision. There is a possibility for a long term base that will be planted in Fargo, as well as a school/base that will be built in Kansas City, that will help us train more staff, which will allow us to reach more cities and people! We will be praying into all of these possibilities this next week, as well as asking for fresh vision and revelation for the ministry. Please keep us in your prayers, and pray clarity as well as a rejuvenation as we spend time with the Lord.

Not only am I excited about how God is going to direct the ministry, but I am really expectant that God will give me a lot of personal direction on how I fit into all of these big plans. There are a lot of options and possibilities, so I am excited to have an entire week to seek God on all of this. And I am excited to be reunited with Amanda, who is doing her training down in Kansas City with IWT, and to be able to pray with her as well! (Please pray for guidance for our relationship as well) So, it is going to be a great week.

There is also a lot of excitement that is brewing here in Fargo. This last week we were able to engage leadership in two more cities that we have been working on for the past 2 months. In one community we have 5 churches committed to making the event a success, and in the other we have a church doing a kick-off this weekend, and volunteers from around the community that are rallying together to make it happen. In addition, we have 2-4 more churches that will be coming on board in the Fargo-Moorhead area. It is exciting to see God work, expanding the movement.

August is looking like it is going to be a packed month. We have 2 more staff moving into the area! We have 2 more banquets, engaging with the Catholic church, which is an amazing open door from the Lord, we actually were able to receive the approval from the Bishop of the Fargo Diocese, talk about favor! Not to mention numerous trainings and community nights of prayer and worship, and continue to develop the needed structures for discipleship and prayer in all the communities!

Please pray that we would have endurance and stamina in the busy season, as well as protection. Pray that God would raise up laborers, as we are seeking more volunteers to meet with kids and start small groups. And pray that more churches and ministries would come on board for this amazing move of God.

Also, I am looking for help/donations for two upcoming travel costs/plane tickets. One is so that I can take part in my bestfriends wedding in late September, the cost of the plane ticket right now is around $500 dollars. As well as a ticket out to LA in late November to attend/work at the Call2All International Congress. The plane ticket, hotel, and food will cost around $800 for the trip. Donations and prayers would be much appreciated! God bless!

Slowing Down!

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in Heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few."

-Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

This week has been a busy one. There is so much to do, and we only have 10 weeks to do it. We still need to finish up our contracts with schools. There are 4 communities that still need to launch executive teams to lead their community, not to mention the countless things that need to be set-up in the community to ensure effective care, prayer, and follow-up. There is the budget that still needs completed, materials that we need to find and resource, and volunteers that we need to raise up. There is a lot to do, and at times it gets really overwhelming.

Then there is also the extra stress of what needs to be done with my finances. All the thank-you's that need to go out. The phone calls that need to be made. The letters that need to be wrote. So, that I can raise the money needed to pay bills and plan for the future.

It is easy to let all of this plague my mind, and I am sure that you have similar situations that are easy for you to let plague your mind. This week God brought this verse up amidst all that was going on, Ecclesiastes 5: 1-2. He spoke to me, and just said, "Matt, slow down! I want to talk to you. I have something to tell you."

I finally slowed down this morning, and He spoke to me. I was reading in 1 Thessalonians, and I got to Chapter 1, verse 5, which reads, "because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." The Lord just started speaking to me about my word, and how He wants to unite it with His power, but that I need to wait on Him. I need to seek Him in the silence, so that He can fill me up with His presence for this is where the power is, waiting on Him. As all of this was pouring into me I received a peace and a calmness that cannot be explained. Everything is going to be ok because big brother Jesus is here! There is nothing to worry about.

So, often we are so quick to speak that we miss the whisper of Jesus, which is waiting to give us life and joy. We forget to be quick to listen, and we get busy speaking and doing, and then we get restless and overwhelmed, and we wonder where is God. We forget to wait on God who is so eager to show us the way, and frantically searching for Him, we miss Him. He is not far off, but He is near! (Eph. 2:13). We just need to slow down to see and hear Him. I think it may be time for us all to just slow down. Stop speaking. Stop doing. And just listen for the glorious whisper of our Dad. For He is in Heaven, and we are only on earth, and He has some amazing secrets to tell us and lavish on us. Secrets that will give us life, and life abundantly. Whenever we are ready to listen He is ready to speak!

The Trip Home and My First Week Back!

The past two weeks have been full of ups and downs. There have been times of excitement, but also times of utter depression and desperation. However, amongst it all God has been faithful to reveal His hope and His mercy. He has been faithful to lift me up and use me. His love has once again proven itself to be more than enough.

My trip home was full of meetings. I met with 3-6 people every day; spreading the vision and looking for partners. God was awesome in lining me up with amazing people. I was able to connect with with around 40 people on my trip home, and I had 8 people commit to monthly partnerships, and a hand full more who are going to pray into it, which is awesome. I believe it will be no time until my monthly budget of $2000 is completely covered, with this new group of supporters I should be around $800 a month, which is fantastic, but there is still work to be done!

I was also able to meet with a lot of friends and family, which was really good. I miss them all so much, so having time to catch up with them is always good. Although because of the busyness of my schedule there was not nearly enough time!

One of the most exciting times of my trip back home was being able to spend time with my new girlfriend, Amanda, and her family. Amanda is an amazing gift from God, and I am so excited to see how God will use us together. She will be coming out to Kansas City in July to begin training with Impact World Tour, and I cannot wait to see what God does. And we would love your prayers as God guides us together!

I was also privileged to have the opportunity to preach at my home church, First Baptist Church of Massillon. Every time I go back I get excited to see how God is moving and growing my church family back home. It was so cool to see God move on Sunday morning. I am always amazed to see God work in stirring hearts and freeing his people. It was cool to see the altar steps filled both services of people seeking the Lord and getting freed! God is so good!

With all that in one week needless to say I was exhausted, and still am a little bit. But God is doing so much here in Fargo, and we are getting ready to kick it into high gear. This week we were busy with getting all of our venue contracts signed and into our office, so that we can begin preparing our schedule for the outreaches in the Fall. So, far we have 5 of our 9 contacts in and are expecting the other 4 will be in later next week, which is really exciting that will take away a ton of stress!

Once that is done the rest of the time will be involved in mobilizing the church to prayer, discipleship, and evangelism to prepare for the mighty harvest that will be coming in September and October. We will have a lot of upcoming trainings in small group training and evangelism. In addition, to that we are working on getting the logistical side of the tour taken care of, such as, housing, food, transport, materials, publicity, etc. So, there is a lot to be done, but God is more than faithful to guide and provide!

I would love all of your prayers and support. Please be praying for peace and rest. These last few weeks have been full of restlessness and anxiety, which is not of the Lord. God is teaching me to rest in his peace and security, but my analytical mind likes to think of every option, which is only driving me crazy. So, please pray that I would learn to focus on God and what needs to be done here in Fargo, and that I would learn to rest in His words, and not question them to be too good to be true.

We serve a great God! And I am so privileged to be doing what I am. Thank you for your prayers, and if you feel led to help support what God is doing here in Fargo through me feel free to click the donate button at the side of the page! God bless!