Fargo is on move!!!

Fargo is going great! It is finally warming up! We hit 50 degrees last week, which was a great change from the sub-zero temperatures that welcomed me into the city. Although this means that Fargo is having to deal with flood waters, but we are making it through, and sandbagging has been a great way to reach out to the community and meet new people. However, all the families in the Fargo/Moorhead area could definitely use your prayers.

Since I have been up here God has been doing so much to get us ready for the Fall. Right now we are currently working with 14 local churches, and that number is increasing each week as we meet and new people/churches, and we have been able to engage 6 smaller communities outside of the Fargo/Moorhead area to begin trainings, as well as to schedule more outreaches for our Fall campaign that will take place from September 19th-Oct 9th. God is opening up doors for us every day.

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing 50 high schools kids come out to get trained to start small groups/outreaches in their high school. Then the day after the training a group of kids started a group through Facebook and with in 24 hours they already had 60 members join their group. The fields truly are white for the harvest up here!

In addition, to all of those kids raising up small groups through out the community we have raised up, through a partnership with Children's Evangelism Fellowship, 86 small groups for children. But we still have much more work to go. We are estimating that to properly handle the amount of responses we get during the tour with nurturing follow-up and discipleship we will need around 200 small groups for all ages through out the Fargo-Moorhead area, and the surrounding communities.

In addition, to that God has been so faithful to provide financially for the tour. Of our $350,000 budget that we have the community God has already raised close to $200,000 in pledges. In fact last week we received a check for $10,000 from a local business man, and then this week in a church kick-off we had gentleman pledge $45,000 and he began that pledge with a $25,000 check. God is so faithful to provide for His children!

We have a lot of exciting things coming up in the next month that we would love for you to pray with us on. First, is we are having a series of banquets that will help launch new communities, as well as bring on new churches through out the area. We are having 3 banquets in 3 separate communities April 29th and 30th, as well as May 1st. In addition, to our banquets we are beginning what we call local link trainings, which is where we go into local churches and train the church on personal evangelism and follow-up. So far we already have 3 churches who have booked their trainings, and a few more who are looking for dates. It is so cool to see God rallying His troops behind what He is doing here in Fargo. The final thing that we could use your prayers on is engaging the schools. So far we have 2 high schools committed to allowing us to do evening time events, but we are hoping to have about 6 more, and we need to book assemblies in ALL the schools so that we can invite the kids out to the evening performances where we will preach the Gospel. The assemblies are so key! Please pray for favor and openness as we approach the school to book assemblies for next Fall!

Thank you so much for taking time to read what is going on here in Fargo. I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing here in Fargo, and it is so encouraging to see all the churches rally behind this one call to reach their community. It is a huge blessing!

How Much is Enough – the Joy of Giving

God’s heart is always freedom. It is never slavery, stress, or depression. Sometimes I feel we mistake the burdens of the Lord for yoke’s of slavery. Burdens, while at times may be stressful, will always bring us peace, joy, and closeness with the Father. They will be rooted in love, promise, and hope. When we look at them we will see the Lord through and through, as well as the privilege of serving and caring for that burden. Burdens from God bring life and excitement!

However, yokes are an entirely different beast. You see yokes may feel like burdens from God, but they bring desperation and fear. They make us think, “How am I ever going to do that? There is no way! I am going to be a failure!” Or thought that are on similar lines. They make us question ourselves, and there is no hope in a yoke of slavery. There is no peace. It throws us into desperation, and traps us. These yokes then become full of guilt, shame, and fear, and they ultimately become walls between us and our Father. We begin to look at them, and we see disobedience, and we think we are unworthy to approach. This leads to separation for Dad and ultimately leads to death.

Yokes sometimes are unnecessary things that we put on our plates. However, they can also be godly burdens that we attempt to care for through our own means, instead of walking in the Spirit and provision of the Lord. So, instead of the burdens that God puts on our hearts breading joy, peace, and hope like the Lord intended, and instead of them giving us life like God designed them to they bring us death. Satan deceives us and makes us think they are just something else we have to do, and he makes them yokes. They are another thing on our already booked out to-do list, and we get overwhelmed. And this is because we fail to see that these burdens were designed by God for us to do with Him, and that they were not meant to be another task to busy our day. Or another thing we have to give our money to. Rather God meant for them to be something that we did and financed with and through our Him. They were always to build relationship between Dad and His kids.

The reality is that we are not alone. We are never called to do something by ourselves even if we are the only person around. God is always with us, stirring up His saints and angels along with Himself to come to our aid. His Spirit is always there so that we can walk in Him, and be lifted to heights we never thought possible. If we can remember that God is always there to talk to and provide a way I believe burdens will never become yokes, and we will never take on a yoke that we were not meant to. The reason being is that we will be in constant communication with God, and we will only do what He calls us to, and then He will intervene for whatever we need.

This truth, relationship with God, is where the joy of giving and serving lies. Without this relationship with Dad the question will always be, “How much is enough? How much do I need to give?” There will be this constant yoke of, “Am I giving enough? Am I serving enough?” And it will rob us of the joy God intended.

It is so faithful to know that God is faithful to speak and guide His kids. When we are talking with the Lord, and asking Him, “How much should I give or serve?” God is faithful to speak to us. He tells us exactly where and how much to give and serve, and we see life and blessing come from that obedience. He will even stretch us, and we will give in amounts and serve in ways that we never thought possible. We will begin to look for places to give and serve, because the joy of giving will infiltrate our heats as we see that God is faithful to provide everywhere He calls us to give and go.

Then with our eyes fixed on the Father we will stop asking, “How much is enough?” in fear that we will not be provided for. But in the security of our Fathers arms who is faithful to provide, and with us knowing that we are completely taken care of we will begin to ask, “Dad, can I give to them? Can I serve them? Please make a way. I so desperately want to help them” And the Father will delight to pour blessing into us, because he knows we will fulfill His original plan with Abraham. He will know that through blessing us we will bless the nations!

No, we do not give and serve; so that we can get more. That is not what I am saying. Rather, we give and serve because we know that we are secure in our Father’s arms, and there is no fear of lack. We freely give and serve, because we have been freely given too. We realize that there is life and joy in giving and serving, and so we give and serve because we have hope in something out of this world. Giving and serving were always meant to be rooted in hope and joy, and never in obligation and necessity, which leads to slavery. Rather as freed men and women we give our time, resources, and money to celebrate our freedom in the Lord! Giving is a celebration that is meant to be full of joy.

This is a lesson that the Lord has been teaching me, and it has been slow and hard, but it has been so good! In fact, I feel that I need to apologize and ask for forgiveness from some of you. In some of my letters I have unfairly put a yoke on you to help make a way for me to do what God has called me to. I unintentionally put some of you in slavery thinking if you did not give I would not be taken care of. You are giving because you think you need to in order for me to stay in the field. I want you to know that God is completely faithful to make a way for me, and He will provide. I want to encourage some of you that if you are giving out of necessity please stop giving to me. The only reason I want any of you to give is because you have heard a voice from the Lord saying I want you to invest in Matt and what he is doing. Investing in me should bring you life and joy. You should receive pleasure because you know you are allowing thousands of kids to come to the Lord with every campaign that we do. Giving should cause you to celebrate. It should be something you are doing with Dad!

I pray blessing beyond blessing for everyone who reads this letter. Through you God is going to bless the nations and the ends of the earth. For you are secure in the Father’s arms, and that hope has more power than anything on earth! Praise God ! Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Matt

The Liturgical Year - My First Book Review

Hey Guys, so I found this sweet website for anyone who likes to read and write. It is called Booksneeze. All you have to do is have a blog, and then after you read a book write a small review about the book, and post in on your blog and a retailers website like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. So here is my first book review. The book is the Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister.

This book is not simply an exposition of the Liturgical year. It is far more than a simple teaching that tells us about each feast, fast, and season that make up the Liturgical year. This book is a book about the passion of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives. Joan Chittister’s words bring life to something that most people feel is dead and dry. Liturgy while it is rooted in tradition is much more than a set of days and practices that we do in order to fulfill tradition and religious piety.

Instead, Chittister shows that liturgy is a tool. It is a set of days and seasons that transform our minds, and cause us to continually enter into relationship with Jesus. It is a constant reminder of Jesus, so that we can daily tell Him how much we love, and are thankful to be in relationship with Him. It is a reminder and a call to the life He lived, so that we can learn how to live it as well. It teaches us how to live our natural lives, with the Spiritual world Christ has brought us into. She shows that the Liturgical calendar may be the greatest tool that any Christian can possess in the task of transforming their minds for Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Her writing style is easy and simple to understand, but it is deep and life changing. Her words are definitely anointed by God to bring life to anyone who truly seeks to live purely and holy for Christ. I recommend this book for anyone who is curious and seeking guidance in the faith, but I would especially recommend it for anyone who is struggling and drowning in the stagnation of tradition and religiosity. If the words in this book are truly dealt with and chewed over it will bring life and excitement back into our many forgotten and overlooked traditions. And it will work to restore the true meaning that has been lost in so many of our religious holidays, especially Christmas and Easter.

It is a great tool to have in your library as we seek to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28: 19-20)! Praise God for Joan and her words!

Take the First Step

Have you ever received a vision from God that was so big you were not sure where to start and what to do? The uncertainty of the vision just caused you to remain still, because you were not sure how to approach what the Lord was asking you to do. You wanted to see something, some sort of movement that would indicate to you that the Lord was indeed the voice that communicated to you this vision. You were looking for something that would give you certainty to move forward. You heard the call, but you wanted more.

I found my self in this exact situation the last few weeks. The Lord has without a doubt called me and my team to Fargo to bring revival. He has called us here to spur a movement in the church that will be long lasting, and will not only cause community transformation, but nationwide and global transformation. He has called us to a movement that we believe will redefine church for this generation, and that centers around discipleship. Fargo plays huge part in that movement!

The past few weeks I have been so mesmerized at this calling that I have been still and waiting, reluctant to taking any steps, because of how big the vision is. I wanted God to give me certainty that this was truly him before I really stepped out. I wanted some moment or some signal. In the midst of all of this God spoke a gentle word of encouragement and rebuke to me. He said, “Matt if Moses would have waited for the waters to separate before He started walking the seas would never have split. You just need to start walking and I will make a way. You can trust me. You are not alone. Be bold keep pushing forward, revival will come.”

I think this is the reality for many of us. We have heard the Lord, and despite all of the uncertainty we face we just need to take the first step, and let God show us His power and might!

As a ministry we have started to walk, and God is already starting to part the sea. So far we have close to 20 churches either on board with the movement or about to make a commitment to the movement God has called the Impact World Tour to spark here in Fargo. He has raised 1/3 of our budget in 2 months, $130,000. He has gifted us with an amazing venue in the middle of the city for practically nothing. Churches are mobilizing for training and preparing small groups for the events in the fall like we could never have imagined. He has been so faithful to provide and lead the movement He has called us to.

You are a huge part of what is happening out here in Fargo. It is your prayers and your financial support that have enabled me to be here. You have helped our ministry till the soil in Fargo, and your prayers and supplications have paid off. God has heard your prayers along with ours and has faithfully responded. Praise God for His faithfulness. I want to encourage you. If you are waiting for the waters to part just take the first step. The seas will split because God is completely faithful to provide for and guide us where He has called us to go. My life is a huge testament to that.

I pray that God would bless you richly, and would give you the faith to take the first step no matter what sea He is sea he is calling you to split.

Quick to Forgive

God is so quick to forgive! I moved up to Fargo this past week, on Valentines Day actually. My first week in Fargo was amazing. I live with an amazing pastor and his wife. They are so hospitable and just fun to be around. The meetings I have been around have totally been set up by Jesus. People are eager and hungry to hear about God, and how we can partner together to help Jesus reach Fargo. I have already seen 2 churches come on and a small satellite city opened up. It just has been really dynamic.

I feel an expectation for something great to happen here in Fargo. God has something up His sleeve. I just feel it in my spirit. Something else in my spirit says it has to center on this big flood that is predicted for Fargo. All the news papers and government people say it is going to be big. In fact they are filling 3 million sandbags preparing for it. But to be honest, I do not think there is going to be a flood at all, which I know saying that comes at the stake of being weird and overly charismatic. I think God wants to mobilize His church to stand up and pray against it, and push back the flood gates. I think He wants to show Fargo He is indeed alive and the He loves them. But how do you share that with a city who has experienced a flood the past 4 years running? How do you share that to a city that you just walked into, and on top of that you are the young guy?

Honestly, I think that is only the beginning of the supernatural things that God wants to do up here in Fargo. I think He is mobilizing an army of young people/youth that will see people healed, that will dream dreams and have visions, and maybe even raise the dead if called to it. I think the reality talked about in the book of Joel is quickly approaching us. I think Fargo is about to see it first hand. How do you prepare for that? How do you voice that in a society that is so skeptical and censored (the Western world in general)?

Nonetheless this is what I feel God doing. I feel Him preparing us for something great, for something huge. It is going to take complete devotion and surrender to Him. It is going to take the faithful to truly lay own their lives from Him. I think I was called to lead out in this movement. I think IWT is a catalyst that is going to launch something bigger than what we could have ever dreamed. I get to be part of it.

My vision for Fargo is great. I want to mobilize youth groups. I want to serve the homeless and heal the sick. I want people to walk out of hospitals because the Son shined on them, and peopled were healed. I want to see the Church mobilized with all denominations, Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists praying together because we are one church seeking one strategy to reach the community we are in. I want resources to be freely given and freely taken for the sake of spreading the Kingdom to another neighborhood. And honestly I don't just want to do that, but I feel called to do it. I feel called to be an idealist that makes the ideal reality. And at times it all sounds crazy to even me.

But I am excited and I am happy. God has put me in the perfect place to do it, with the perfect ministry, and the perfect mentors. I am working with churches, in charge of brining in new ones and expanding our family to all denominations, and opening up new cities. That really excites me. I love working with Christ's bride. It is so rewarding, and I get to run the prayer committee, which is near to my heart and so important. God has just set me up!

By now you are asking what does this all have to do with forgiveness. This is just Matt being an idealist and going on a rant. Well this weekend I lost all of that. I sinned. Satan attacked me, and I gave in and fell. I lacked discipline, and I paid for it. After I sinned I was filled with so much guilt and shame I thought I was unqualified and ruined. I thought I would never win, and I look at my vision and saw it was too lofty, because I was dirty and not good enough.

As I usually do I quickly went to God and asked for forgiveness, and nothing changed. Guilt and shame was still lingering over me. I knew I was forgiven, but I didn't feel it. I still felt dirty and unclean. Then I told my leader and friend, James. I confessed to him my sin, and immediately I felt God begin to clean me off and heal me. Then James told me something that is so crucial for us to understand. He said, "You are forgiven. Jesus does not even remember what you did. There is no probation period to forgiveness. He has completely forgiven you and moved on, and you need to do the same thing" (maybe not exact, but it is close).

The minute I heard that something changed in my heart. God reinstated me. It was like He gave me the power to forgive myself. He told me all that He had for me never changed because I messed up. He assured me I was growing, and said He was so proud of me. He actually told me I was too hard on myself. Most of all He told me that He loved me and that would never change, and that He is always quick to forgive and reinstate us.

He forgave me. He healed me. He cleansed me. He reinstated me. And now the sky is the limit. And He is quick to forgive, so that all may join in. No one is exempt. God forgiveness is limitless, complete, and immediate. There is no one He want forgive. That is the God I serve and love to talk about. Now, I cannot wait to see what He is about to do!

Finally Moving Up to Fargo!

I know it has been a long time coming. Many of you heard that I was moving up to Fargo almost a month ago. But the day is finally here. I will be moving up to Fargo Monday, and will be living up there at least until October when the campaign goes through the Fargo area, which we have termed the Red River Valley with the local people.

So, why the delay? Why has it taken me a little over a month to finally move up to Fargo? The reason is that the Lord wanted to teach me something. He actually wanted to teach me a lot of things. He wanted to destroy the pride in my heart, so that I could receive His love. He wanted to destroy the pride in my heart, so that I could actually help people. He wanted to destroy the pride in my heart, so that I could see that I have nothing, but in that confession He would give me everything. He wanted me to receive the Kingdom that I had been denying by trying to maintain a prideful image of myself that was never true, and was in all reality killing me and granting me death.

For the past month the Lord has been drawing me into His presence and encountering me like never before. In fact, at the beginning of this journey He asked me to set aside 2 hours a day, so He could spend more time with me. It was the best decision I ever made, and surprisingly it was easy for the most part. I mean there were days it was hard to go to the prayer room and sit, but once I got there it was always amazing. God was so faithful to meet me and talk to me. He indwelt in me so that it was easy to stay in His presence for hours on hours. It had nothing to do with me being awesome and disciplined because the reality is that I am not. In fact, one of my biggest worries in going up to Fargo is whether or not I will be able to engage with the Lord in this same way, because it is so crucial to the Christian life.

It was in these times that God had spoken with me, and was dealing with the lies and the pain that was inside that I felt for the first time that I really had something to offer that could change the world. The Lord gave me amazing vision for Fargo and for the Impact World Tour, and even for the world in general. He communicated to me amazing truths about His heart for me and His kingdom. It was truly a dynamic one that is worth sharing, but there is so much to share. He took me up to His throne room and put me in His presence where every disease, worry, and affliction is removed and replaced with love, mercy, and grace.

For the first time I realized this this was not metaphorical. It is real. You can literally go to a place where all of your pain and hurts are wiped away. You do not have stop living to go there. Heaven is not some place that we cannot experience in the here and now. All that we have to do is stop denying God's love. We just give up our preconceived notions of what life is. We stop trying to live and ask God what to do, and then gently He wraps His arms around us and He lifts us up to Heaven and He heals us and gives us peace. He makes things right. This is what every Christian has to offer to the world. The path or way to God and His throne. We cannot offer some great sermon or awesome prayer. Those mean nothing in and of them self, but we know the way to the Father. It is the way that was given to us through and by Jesus and is empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is all that we have to offer, and this is why it has taken me a month to get to Fargo. It was the way home that Jesus was teaching me this last month. It was what He had to show me before I could go to Fargo.

Now I know the way, and now I am going to Fargo. I am a little nervous because I feel like I have a lack of vision and direction, even though God has given me more the enough. I am just not use to living with so simple instructions that seem kind of vague. I usually have more direction, more tasks. So this is all a little weird to me. It is a new way of life living with no need to strive and do things. My only job is to go to the throne every day to hang out with Jesus, and when I am able bring people with me, which is awesome.

I am nervous also because I feel a little empty, like my tire that has been made flat. I was on a mountain top Wednesday, and now I am little down, feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. But God has assured me I know the way, and the way has much to offer. Even though it seems vague. It is very powerful. Through us just simply loving God and loving God with people God shows up and miracles and supernatural things happen, because God is just so good. It is a simple lesson, but one that took me a little long to learn.

So, Monday, I am heading up to Fargo and I am stoked. I have nothing to offer and that is awesome, because now I can just love Jesus and there is no stress to perform attached. Through loving Jesus He will lead me to people and to places, and He will pour out and show me awesome things about who He is, and in that people will get saved, people will be healed, and a city will be changed. That is exciting, and I get to be a part of it just by simply loving Jesus, nothing more and nothing less. Great things are sure to happen.

In fact, He is already doing great things in Fargo. Last weekend was amazing. We had our launch weekend in Fargo. In our discipleship seminar we were able to begin training 70 leaders who will begin to work on opening neighborhood network centers across the region in conjunction with the local church. Praise God. We also saw God raise a little over $90,000 for the campaign, which means we have already raised 1/3 of our budget. And last weekend we are able to book our first venue at the Scheels Arena in Fargo. God is opening up so many doors to help bring transformation in Fargo. It is awesome to watch. It is almost like Fargo is a gift to me and the ministry. God just wants to show me what He can do, and it is 100% worthy of praise. We definitely serve an awesome God!

I would really appreciate your prayers for the move up there. Also, want to ask that you would pray for the team as we begin to encounter High Schools to schedule outreaches as well as other local churches to partner with them. Pray that we would walk in the grace and favor of the Lord. The last thing I want to ask that you would pray for is that God would continue to bless me with a fervency and desperation for prayer and His word, as we seek to build my inner man together. He is truly doing awesome things in me each day. Again, thank you all for your prayers and support! You all are a huge part of everything God is doing!

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One last thing I want to share with you. God has blown my mind this week with this one verse. Look up Isaiah 54:10. After you read it. Research the phrase about throwing the mountains into the sea, and why it is so widely used in the Bible. Then reread that verse. God will rock your world. At least He did mine. His love is so good! Let me know what He tells you. I am really curious to hear what you all hear through this verse. God bless!

Launching Fargo

Hey everybody,

I wanted to take this time to update you on how the tour is going in Fargo. For those of you who have no idea about what I am talking about, I work/volunteer with a ministry called the Impact World Tour (IWT) as a coordinator, organizing city outreaches and discipleship networks. The heart of IWT is to partner with local leadership across the country and the world to help mobilize and awaken the body of Christ to prayer, evangelism, and discipleship to reach this emerging generation. You can also visit www.ywamcampaigns.org to get more info on who we are, or you can just ask me and we can have a great conversation!

The tour up in Fargo however is doing very well. We, with the locals, have decided to call the tour, Impact Red River Vally, so that it applies to the whole region we are trying to reach. Right now we are forming/finalizing our local executive committee that will provide local leadership to the region. In addition, to that we should have our office found and set up in Fargo within the next few weeks. These are huge answers to prayer, and a testimony of God's faithfulness to provide!

Next weekend will be a pivotal weekend in launching the tour in the Red River Valley. On Friday and Saturday (February 4th and 5th), we will be holding our first training/seminar in the area for discipleship that will give the community an introductory look on starting Neighborhood Network Centers through out Fargo in schools, restaurants, coffee shops, homes, etc. This training will then be followed with other trainings sessions provided by us, as well as trainings offered by local youth leaders and Children's Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). We are excited with where God is leading us. He is really calling us to focus on starting these Neighborhood Network Centers to help form a Discipleship Network that will reach out to the community in the neighborhoods. This seminar is the first step in that process.

In addition, to the Discipleship Seminar on Friday and Saturday, we will be having a major dessert banquet on Saturday night, February 5th. The banquet will help us further spread the vision of the Discipleship Networks and IWT to Red River Valley. Currently we have 40 people RSVP'd with still 20 more table hosts waiting to send in their lists. So, we are praying and believing for around 150-200 people to show up. In addition to vision casting, the banquet will be a major push to help us raise the budget needed to have the tour in the Fall. This is a major part of us launching the tour in Fargo.

On Sunday (February 6th) we will have our first Church Kick-Offs up in Fargo. So far we have 3 churches scheduled. CKO's are a major part of spreading the vision and mobilizing the region. Our main goal in a CKO is to awaken the church to the urgency and need for evangelism and discipleship. Especially since it is reported that only 2% of Christians are regularly sharing their faith, and only 4% of this emerging generation are attending church/actively seeking Jesus. It is in these presentations that we help come alongside the local church and encourage them to work with us as we seek God to spur revival in the community. We will ask the church to participate in 3 ways pray, give, and serve. First we encourage them to begin praying for God to reach their community, as well as specific family members and friend that they want to share the gospel with. Then we lead them to seek the Lord to see if they are called to invest financially into this vision, and to give only what they hear from Jesus to give, nothing more and nothing less. The key is obedience, not how much is given. Then we end by asking each believer to volunteer with us and become a part of organizing outreaches in the local high schools and developing a discipleship network that will disciple and reach out the region.

Needless to say we are very busy and excited as we approach this weekend. It will definitely set the tone for this upcoming year in Fargo, and so far it is looking very promising. It would be awesome if you could join us in prayer as we are praying for the local church in Fargo and the surrounding communities. Please pray for the banquet and seminar that they would be well attended and effective in communicating the vision and message that Christ has for the area, and pray for protection and wisdom for all of those are involved in organizing and putting on these exciting events.

God bless,

Matt

P.S. Please join me in prayer as I am seeking the Lord for provision. A major struggle that I am facing right now is finances. The Lord has communicated to me that I am in the right place and to be patient, but I am slowly falling behind on my bills, specifically my student loans. Right now this really is my biggest block to ministry and staying with IWT and spreading the gospel, so I am praying for breakthrough and following God as He directs me. He is more than faithful to provide, but would love some prayer partners!