My First Day Home

I am excited for the big things that God is going to do on this trip home. Through many hours of prayer and petition the Lord has spoken many words through many people of expectancy and favor. Today is the first day of meetings for this trip. The goal and purpose of this trip is to become fully funded, so that I can continue to do what the Lord has called me to.

Our nation is a stage of crisis. In a matter of 3 generations the church has lost over 61% of its church participants. The World War II generation also, known as the Builders, recorded that 65% of Americans were actively involved in church, which meant they attended church 10-13 times a month. Now today, the millennial generation, our kids, grandkids, brothers and sisters, are recording 4% church involvement. This means that for this generation they attend church on average of 2 times a month. This is due largely to the fact that we have missed two generations with the Gospel message. The last major evangelistic thrust in America was the Jesus Movement in the 70’s where the likes of Billy Graham and Ravenhill captivated hearts with the Gospel.

We are no longer in that era where we can simply preach the Gospel and people will respond and return to church. The framework of church has largely been lost in this culture’s mindset. This is why the work of Impact World Tour and Call2All America is so pivotal and timely. We will prepare the churches to reach out and disciple this lost generation, and then we will preach the Gospel where they are at in a way they can understand and accept. It is a movement that will be focused on 3 main initiatives that must work together: prayer and fasting, discipleship, and evangelism.

This is what I have devoted my life to seeing raised up. However, I cannot do this alone, and if left to do it along will fail. I need men and women like you to come around me to lift me not only through prayer and guidance, but also financially. In order to continue in this work I must raise a monthly budget of $2000/month, of which I am currently only at $300/month. Monthly supporters are crucial to the effectiveness of my ministry.

I want to boldly ask you to not only pray and intercede for the success of this trip, but also to prayerfully consider becoming part of my ministry team. When I asked God what was I to give to see this lost generation reached with the Gospel, He told me to give my life. Now, I want you to ask the same question. What is it worth to see a generation reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What is your part in seeing that happen?

Jesus wants our kids back! So, let’s go get them together.

There are multiple ways that you can support me. The easiest is to click the dontate button on the side of this page, and then you can do electronically over the internet. Or, you can make checks payable to YWAM Campaigns and mail those into YWAM Campaigns / PO Box 38 / Grandview, MO 64030 with a note marking the check for Matt Woods. If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me at mwoods@iwtusa.org.

The Unexpected

Have you ever had one of those unexpected God moments? It is something that you were never looking for, but inside you were yearning for. You were just going about your normal day, and then God drops it in your lap.

Yesterday I was at McDonald’s with two guys, Josh and Devon, that I am doing discipleship with. It was a normal Monday with the guys. We were going through scripture and eating fries, and then we met Erick. Erick had just gotten out of a same day release surgery, and was stranded in Fargo, with his home 2 hours away.

Seeing the Bibles laid out on the table, Erick asked what we were doing. After talking to him about Jesus and the Gospel Erick immediately asked to be baptized. Once we talked to him a little bit longer we found out we had the privilege of reaping a harvest that someone else had sewn earlier.

Then the question became, where do we go? At first we thought a church. But could not find a pastor. Then we thought the River? But did not have a change of clothes. Finally, we went decided to go the house where I live. Luckily, the Pastor I live with was home.

After talking with Pastor Dave a little bit, and being insistent on getting baptized before he went home we decided to baptize him in the tub. So, we gave a change of clothes. Pastor’s Dave wife (Mary) got the camera. We led him through a prayer, and then Dave, right in the bath tub, baptized him in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – from death in sin to life in Jesus Christ!

Then we began the long ride home to drop him off in his home town in Thief River Falls. On the way, home he could not stop smiling. He was a changed man. He talked about the weight of what he did wrong in the past being lifted. Then with my phone he began calling his family and friends, and talking to them about his baptism, and what God had done for him. He was sharing his faith, literally within minutes of being baptized! He was a witness for Jesus Christ!

Now he is home. He has a bible. He is getting connected with a church, and keeping in contact with us. He is starting a new life and has vision. He wants become a counselor to help kids through the rough situations that he has been through. Soon he will get his baptism pictures, so that he can always remember and celebrate the day where we was reborn from death to life.

We were never expecting it! But, God had it planned. Now looking back at that day it makes me beg the question. Am I ready? Am I willing? Am I ready and willing for God’s interventions? Am I ready and willing for God to change my schedule? I was this time, but is there any point in my schedule where I am too busy and focused that I miss God’s plan and gifts? If so, that needs to change. I could have missed Erick, and he could still be in Fargo, and struggling with the weight of his sin. Thank God that did not happen!

Have you had any of these moments? If so, leave a comment and share your story. Would you encourage us with God’s unexpected surprise in your life?

How privileged we are to be the recipient of God’s surprises in our life?!

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!