Merry Christmas!
We are so happy that we have friends like you to share our holidays with!
It really has been such a wonderful year. Last Spring we moved to Ft Collins to start a brand new YWAM ministry called “Catalyst.” Our focus is on helping young people tap into their potential for positive change in local communities. In May we made the big jump and haven’t had time to look back since!
FAMILY
It is so great to be close to home. We are making up for lost time. We stayed at Teresa and Kelly’s house during the summer so that we could find a nice place to live that would fit within our budget. We did! We leased a great older house right across the street from the Public Library in the heart of Old Town! It is an awesome place for ministry and we have been hosting Bible studies ever since!
Becca and Jessica spend almost every Friday night over at Aunt Teresa’s house with their cousins Kelsey and Brant (Kort and Bobbie’s kids). They come back worn out with and full of great stories! On days off from school, Grampy and Grammy usually take them on some educational adventure.
SCHOOL
We decided to try out public school this year and the kids are doing great! They have both been featured in school assemblies for their good behavior and achievements. Jessie is in the violin program and she can make Kona, our golden retriever, howl like no one else! Becca was selected for the district honor choir. It is so nice to see the investment we have made in their character paying off in the way they treat classmates. They are growing like weeds and having a lot of fun along the way!
BANK
Denise went to work at the 1st National Bank where she had worked when we lived here in 2000. The extra income and health benefits have been very helpful. She has quickly been given a number of responsibilities and she was even featured on the FNB internal website for her customer service skills!
NINE70
Over the summer we integrated into the young adults ministry at Timberline Church (called “nine70”) where made about 250 new friends. In partnership with nine70 we have started:
• a campus organization at Colorado State University.
• an outreach team focused on reaching students at CSU.
• an intensive discipleship program for college students and young professionals.
• a leadership development course for about 25 young leaders in nine70
• meeting one-on-one for ‘life coaching’ with various young adults
All of this dynamic stuff is happening trough the context of a local church!
TIMBERLINE MISSIONS CONFERENCE
One of the reasons we move to Ft Collins was to develop stronger relationships within our home church. Less than three weeks before the annual Timberline Missions Conference an unforeseen situation occurred and the church leaders asked us to take over coordinating the whole event. It was a mad scramble but with the help of 50 volunteers on 8 different teams we ended up pulling off the best event ever! It was a full weekend event with a dozen represented ministries and international guests… ending with a catered banquet for over 850 in multiple venues with streaming live video!! Crazy! What an opportunity to establish new relationships! Since then we have been invited to be on an advisory team to help determine the future direction of Timberline Missions and Outreach programs. Really crazy!!
ONE
We have been mentoring a small group of campus organization leaders who run an event called “ONE.” This semester’s ONE brought about 400 Christian students together from various campus orgs for a night of worship and prayer focused on unity. There were 9 ministries represented in the worship band alone! It was AMAZING!
YWAM
In addition to this we have continued to work with YWAM, mostly helping with communications teams and research. Denise did thousands of dollars worth of free translations for YWAM Latincom.
We have three CSU students that are interested in doing internships with YWAM Catalyst. One young lady is working on a BA in organic agriculture and wants to work with sustainable nutrition in developing countries. We may already have a project in Sierra Leon in the works and she has recruited another organic ag major and a nutritionist to help too! We have a young man doing a BA in business who is interested in helping us with Organizational Development and another is interested in an internship doing construction management. We also looking into working with a PhD candidate in Environmental economics who has experience in sustainable agriculture in developing countries.
THESIS
There isn’t much time to add anything else in, but it is in there anyway. I am working on the research for my Master’s thesis which needs to be finished next spring. I have looked into a PhD program focused on “Religion and social change” at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, but may have to wait another year.
RECESSION
I know that this is a worrisome time for many of you. As a family walking by faith, we can tell you that GOD IS FAITHFUL. No matter how crazy the economy seems, God is able to take care of you.
We have also noticed a drop in our financial support in the past few months. If you would be interested in joining us as a financial partner, we sure would appreciate it! We are in the process of redefining how we do financial support so that we can be much more relational. Exciting changes are coming soon!
Have a very "Merry Christmas!"
We love you all!
Dustin, Denise, Becca and Jessie
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Awesome Days!
We had a fantasic weekend, hosting YWAM friends from out of town and serving our young adults.
This was the last week of our intensive discipleship course. It took 7 weeks to complete the 5 weeks of material but the feedback we got was tremendous.
This afternoon we went to watch "Fireproof." Great Job! Well worth it to see and be insipred to take your marriage seriously and allow God to be a part!
Tonight we spoke at a gathering of young professionals abouut how to integrate evangelism into our lifestyles... Again, another great experience.
Tomorrow morning we will be out on the 'plaza' at CSU for an event called "word." We will be reading the Bible which is always interesting on a public university campus!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Amazing dinner!
Denise and I went out to dinner tonight. While we were enjoying our selves a young lady came up to us and asked, "are you speaking Portuguese?"
This led to the most wonderful two hour conversation with the young lady and her Brazilian fiance. We had almost every possible thing imaginable in common... Faith, politics, experiences, education, family situations, funny stories, social convictions...
I could tell that meeting Paulo and Jill was organized by God, without a shadow of a doubt. It is wonderful to walk by faith and see how God brings things together!
Monday, November 10, 2008
ONE
Tonight we are helping to host a very special event.
"ONE" is a gathering of all the Christians at CSU for no other reason than to pray and worship God as one body. We have been working with a number of other leaders of Christian Campus Organizations at CSU like Navigators, Campus Crusade, Lifeline, and others to pull this event together.
Unity is one of the signs that we really are the body of Christ.
"ONE" is a gathering of all the Christians at CSU for no other reason than to pray and worship God as one body. We have been working with a number of other leaders of Christian Campus Organizations at CSU like Navigators, Campus Crusade, Lifeline, and others to pull this event together.
Unity is one of the signs that we really are the body of Christ.
Life is in the Details...
That's what they say... If it is true, then life for us must be pretty good!
I thought about writing about some little details because Jessica was recently honored at a school assembly for living out the Laurel Elementary "ROAR" values (Respect, Own your behavior, Attitude, Responsibility). In little ways and big ways we can all make a difference in the world around us.
Last week, Denise was featured on the First National Bank employee website because of an unsolicited customer comment about the high quality of her service. Becca was selected for the "District Honor Choir" (only four kids from each school). I met with one of the main Christian leaders here in Fort Collins and it has led to even bigger opportunities to influence.
In the course of our lives we don't always realize the impact we have on the lives around us but if we do our best, and allow God to do the rest, wonderful things often result.
I thought about writing about some little details because Jessica was recently honored at a school assembly for living out the Laurel Elementary "ROAR" values (Respect, Own your behavior, Attitude, Responsibility). In little ways and big ways we can all make a difference in the world around us.
Last week, Denise was featured on the First National Bank employee website because of an unsolicited customer comment about the high quality of her service. Becca was selected for the "District Honor Choir" (only four kids from each school). I met with one of the main Christian leaders here in Fort Collins and it has led to even bigger opportunities to influence.
In the course of our lives we don't always realize the impact we have on the lives around us but if we do our best, and allow God to do the rest, wonderful things often result.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
A “HOLLA”ween Thank You!
Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for us!
Our “NINE70” “HOLLA”ween outreach last night was a HUGE success! On the ‘darkest’ night of the year, we brought the light of Jesus to the heart of our city and it was shining bright!
The party scene on the weekends in Fort Collins is in “Old Town.” This year, Halloween in Old Town was vulgar and ‘dark.’
OUR GOAL
Our goal last night was to take the gospel right to the young people of our city who need it the most… we did! Some opened up, some cried, some got really mad, lots were touched and we got many of them home safely.
FREE CONCERT
We hit the streets with about 45 young people from nine70 around 9pm. We started the night by hosting a free two-hour, open air concert with a Christian rapper named ‘Chaz,’ right in the middle of Old Town. A steady shoulder to shoulder crowd of over 350 included celebrities like Sarah Palin with a baby, Jesus on a skateboard, a gorilla, three Jolly Green Giants, 8’ beer bottles, the “fruit of the loom” guys, a very realistic storm trooper, dozens of inappropriately dressed nursery rhyme characters, and hundreds that I am going to be trying very hard to forget.
POWERFUL TESTIMONY
After the first one-hour set, Jackie (one of the officers on our CSU student Organization) shared her testimony. It was powerful! One young lady in particular said, “I am not a Christian, but you really inspired me… I am going to take a serious look…”
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
The second set was a “straight up” gospel message and hip-hop style worship. On the fringe, long lines of hundreds who were waiting to get into the clubs were also a ‘captive’ audience. I heard one guy shout, “Quit singing those Jesus songs!!” There was tension in the air. It reminded me of the third chapter of John. We usually camp out on John 3:16 but a few verses later Jesus says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light… for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” There was no mistake, the Light was shining. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21
HOLLA!
At midnight our vans started filling up and we stayed busy until almost 3am. We have people sign up for our free rides on a ‘waiting list’ like at a restaurant. The ones that really want a ride stay close, so again we had a crowd of about 50 milling around us for three hours. Our people just ‘hang out,’ give free food, warm drinks, etc… Invariably, curiosity kills the cat and someone asks, “Why are you doing this for free?” A door to a more serious conversation about God’s love opens and we step into it. Even if the door only stays open for a few seconds, for those standing nearby the answer is irresistible.
IN THE VAN
In the vans is where the action is. At the end of the night, most people have done what they came to do. For many, it wasn’t as satisfying as they had anticipated and they are starting to come back to reality. Our kindness opens a door, the ‘walls’ come down and lots of meaningful conversations follow. Even if only a couple people talk, a whole vanload gets to listen. One guy started crying and chose NOT to go home so that he could ride around again and finish talking about God.
My voice is hoarse from yelling out names. It was the longest, wildest night I have seen in a while…
THE GREAT COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives us a special mandate. If you can hang with me, there is something I’d like to challenge you with. The imperative command of this whole statement, in the original Greek, rests on the main verb “make disciples.” The rest of the verbs are participles. In other words, the meaning of this text is: “Going (to the nations), make disciples…” It doesn’t “flow” as well, but it highlights something important.
Jesus isn’t saying that everyone has to quit their job and go to a foreign country to engage in fulfilling the Great Commission. He is recognizing that in our day to day lives, we are all ‘going’ into different places and areas of society. In the process of ‘going’ we are supposed to “make disciples!” In your family, on your job, among your friends, at the store, across the street, in a HOLLA van or anywhere God leads you “…make disciples.”
Thanks again for all your support! We love you!
Dustin Barrington
YWAM Catalyst
______________________________
GLOSSARY
NINE70 - A young adult ministry of about 150 at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado that we are serving by overseeing discipleship, outreach and leadership development.
HOLLA - The last Friday night of every month nine70 goes to “Old Town” where all hundreds of young adults go to party, get drunk and hook up. We offer free food and free rides home to people who have indulged too much to drive safely. During our van rides many of them open up and we get awesome opportunities to share the gospel and lead people to Jesus.
OLD TOWN - a blocked off walking mall of historic buildings that was the inspiration and model for ‘Downtown Disney’ at Walt Disney World in Florida. Unlike Disney, the real one is home to half a dozen bars and nightclubs (e.g. Zaidagos, Suite152, Lucky Joe’s, Copper Smiths, Washington’s, etc...)
Our “NINE70” “HOLLA”ween outreach last night was a HUGE success! On the ‘darkest’ night of the year, we brought the light of Jesus to the heart of our city and it was shining bright!
The party scene on the weekends in Fort Collins is in “Old Town.” This year, Halloween in Old Town was vulgar and ‘dark.’
OUR GOAL
Our goal last night was to take the gospel right to the young people of our city who need it the most… we did! Some opened up, some cried, some got really mad, lots were touched and we got many of them home safely.
FREE CONCERT
We hit the streets with about 45 young people from nine70 around 9pm. We started the night by hosting a free two-hour, open air concert with a Christian rapper named ‘Chaz,’ right in the middle of Old Town. A steady shoulder to shoulder crowd of over 350 included celebrities like Sarah Palin with a baby, Jesus on a skateboard, a gorilla, three Jolly Green Giants, 8’ beer bottles, the “fruit of the loom” guys, a very realistic storm trooper, dozens of inappropriately dressed nursery rhyme characters, and hundreds that I am going to be trying very hard to forget.
POWERFUL TESTIMONY
After the first one-hour set, Jackie (one of the officers on our CSU student Organization) shared her testimony. It was powerful! One young lady in particular said, “I am not a Christian, but you really inspired me… I am going to take a serious look…”
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
The second set was a “straight up” gospel message and hip-hop style worship. On the fringe, long lines of hundreds who were waiting to get into the clubs were also a ‘captive’ audience. I heard one guy shout, “Quit singing those Jesus songs!!” There was tension in the air. It reminded me of the third chapter of John. We usually camp out on John 3:16 but a few verses later Jesus says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light… for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” There was no mistake, the Light was shining. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21
HOLLA!
At midnight our vans started filling up and we stayed busy until almost 3am. We have people sign up for our free rides on a ‘waiting list’ like at a restaurant. The ones that really want a ride stay close, so again we had a crowd of about 50 milling around us for three hours. Our people just ‘hang out,’ give free food, warm drinks, etc… Invariably, curiosity kills the cat and someone asks, “Why are you doing this for free?” A door to a more serious conversation about God’s love opens and we step into it. Even if the door only stays open for a few seconds, for those standing nearby the answer is irresistible.
IN THE VAN
In the vans is where the action is. At the end of the night, most people have done what they came to do. For many, it wasn’t as satisfying as they had anticipated and they are starting to come back to reality. Our kindness opens a door, the ‘walls’ come down and lots of meaningful conversations follow. Even if only a couple people talk, a whole vanload gets to listen. One guy started crying and chose NOT to go home so that he could ride around again and finish talking about God.
My voice is hoarse from yelling out names. It was the longest, wildest night I have seen in a while…
THE GREAT COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives us a special mandate. If you can hang with me, there is something I’d like to challenge you with. The imperative command of this whole statement, in the original Greek, rests on the main verb “make disciples.” The rest of the verbs are participles. In other words, the meaning of this text is: “Going (to the nations), make disciples…” It doesn’t “flow” as well, but it highlights something important.
Jesus isn’t saying that everyone has to quit their job and go to a foreign country to engage in fulfilling the Great Commission. He is recognizing that in our day to day lives, we are all ‘going’ into different places and areas of society. In the process of ‘going’ we are supposed to “make disciples!” In your family, on your job, among your friends, at the store, across the street, in a HOLLA van or anywhere God leads you “…make disciples.”
Thanks again for all your support! We love you!
Dustin Barrington
YWAM Catalyst
______________________________
GLOSSARY
NINE70 - A young adult ministry of about 150 at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado that we are serving by overseeing discipleship, outreach and leadership development.
HOLLA - The last Friday night of every month nine70 goes to “Old Town” where all hundreds of young adults go to party, get drunk and hook up. We offer free food and free rides home to people who have indulged too much to drive safely. During our van rides many of them open up and we get awesome opportunities to share the gospel and lead people to Jesus.
OLD TOWN - a blocked off walking mall of historic buildings that was the inspiration and model for ‘Downtown Disney’ at Walt Disney World in Florida. Unlike Disney, the real one is home to half a dozen bars and nightclubs (e.g. Zaidagos, Suite152, Lucky Joe’s, Copper Smiths, Washington’s, etc...)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
PLEASE PRAY FOR US!! One year report...
Please pray for us!
We are coordinating a missions conference involving over 1,000 this weekend. Due to a sudden staff change at our local church we were asked to coordinate this event about two weeks ago. It is absolutely amazing how all of the details have come together. Only God!
We have about 50 volunteers on 9 different teams taking care of everything from displays to hosting international guests to a catered meal for over 1,000. Please pray that the weekend will go well and that all of the attendees will be blessed and encouraged to reach out to those who need God.
Even though this sounds totally crazy we know that this is something that God had in mind when He started speaking to us one year ago about returning to Colorado to work with Timberline Church.
One Year Report
It is so exciting to see how God works in our lives as we step out in faith!
About one year ago we stepped out into a new adventure. Here is short overview of what God has done.
YWAM
As you know, we have been working with Youth With A Mission for over 4 years now. Within weeks of joining YWAM we were asked to coordinate a global prayer event called “50 Days” that ended up becoming the single largest event in YWAM history.
On the heels of that event, we were invited by the International Chairman of YWAM to direct the implementation of a global coordinating system called “4K.” During the two years that we were building this 4K system, it was adopted by a coalition of Christian organizations called the Global Pastors Network. Now, over 300 major Christian organizations are using 4K to cooperate in fulfilling the Great Commission.
As we were preparing to deliver our finished product to the YWAM Global Leadership Team, Denise and I began to receive a surprising new direction. We felt that the Lord spoke very clearly to us that we would be returning to Colorado to develop the “next step” and to work with Timberline Church in Fort Collins.
The Next Step
After three years of working with international leaders we have come to some basic conclusions. There are unprecedented opportunities for changing the world in our generation and at both the global and local levels there is a strong interest in “working together” to create positive change.
We believe that the “next step” is the development of a decentralized global platform for connecting people, opportunities and resources so that the gospel can go to all people, all places and all areas of society.
As crazy as it sounds, little us have been invited into a circle of relationships that are all focused on providing this type of capacity to the global body of Christ.
“It’s all about relationships”
One of the things that God has been emphasizing to us is that all outreach is local. It is at the local level that positive change actually influences personal lives. In YWAM we say it often, “It’s all about relationships…” Global change is actually local change in many different communities which are experiencing similar circumstances.
Timberline Church
How does a local church fit into our global calling?
We don’t fully know yet, but we do know that God has opened some amazing doors for us to influence our home church of 6,000. Over the past few years God has given us opportunities to develop personal relationships with the senior staff. One year ago we felt that the Lord said we would work with Timberline Church. What do you do with that? Tell the Pastor of a mega church “hey, guess what…” We felt that we would be working with Missions and Outreach but it just never developed.
When the shootings happened at YWAM Denver last December, I was coordinating media relations during that situation and we ended up being contacted by one of the Pastors at Timberline. Over a few weeks the conversation developed into an invitation to oversee outreach, discipleship and leadership development for the Timberline Young Adults ministry. Since then we have moved to Fort Collins, started a new YWAM ministry, integrated into the Young Adults ministry (nine70) as volunteer staff, started a student organization at CSU, started an outreach team, an intensive discipleship training environment and leadership development program. Its been busy!
Even so, we felt that there was some sort of mission connection that wasn’t “there” yet. We knew we were supposed to be integrating into the missions focused community within our church but we didn’t know how. About six weeks ago we were asked by the former mission pastor to help coordinate a portion of the Missions Conference. A situation arose and the leaders of the church asked us to oversee the entire event about two weeks ago. In the last two weeks we have built and served all of the relationships that we had hoped to establish while releasing a little army of volunteers to pull off a major event.
When God says something, we choose to respond in faith. We don’t know everything about where we are headed, God can open doors that no one can shut! Some aspects still look impossible at this point but with God all things are possible! Thank you all so much for your support in this journey. We love you and appreciate you all!
We are coordinating a missions conference involving over 1,000 this weekend. Due to a sudden staff change at our local church we were asked to coordinate this event about two weeks ago. It is absolutely amazing how all of the details have come together. Only God!
We have about 50 volunteers on 9 different teams taking care of everything from displays to hosting international guests to a catered meal for over 1,000. Please pray that the weekend will go well and that all of the attendees will be blessed and encouraged to reach out to those who need God.
Even though this sounds totally crazy we know that this is something that God had in mind when He started speaking to us one year ago about returning to Colorado to work with Timberline Church.
One Year Report
It is so exciting to see how God works in our lives as we step out in faith!
About one year ago we stepped out into a new adventure. Here is short overview of what God has done.
YWAM
As you know, we have been working with Youth With A Mission for over 4 years now. Within weeks of joining YWAM we were asked to coordinate a global prayer event called “50 Days” that ended up becoming the single largest event in YWAM history.
On the heels of that event, we were invited by the International Chairman of YWAM to direct the implementation of a global coordinating system called “4K.” During the two years that we were building this 4K system, it was adopted by a coalition of Christian organizations called the Global Pastors Network. Now, over 300 major Christian organizations are using 4K to cooperate in fulfilling the Great Commission.
As we were preparing to deliver our finished product to the YWAM Global Leadership Team, Denise and I began to receive a surprising new direction. We felt that the Lord spoke very clearly to us that we would be returning to Colorado to develop the “next step” and to work with Timberline Church in Fort Collins.
The Next Step
After three years of working with international leaders we have come to some basic conclusions. There are unprecedented opportunities for changing the world in our generation and at both the global and local levels there is a strong interest in “working together” to create positive change.
We believe that the “next step” is the development of a decentralized global platform for connecting people, opportunities and resources so that the gospel can go to all people, all places and all areas of society.
As crazy as it sounds, little us have been invited into a circle of relationships that are all focused on providing this type of capacity to the global body of Christ.
“It’s all about relationships”
One of the things that God has been emphasizing to us is that all outreach is local. It is at the local level that positive change actually influences personal lives. In YWAM we say it often, “It’s all about relationships…” Global change is actually local change in many different communities which are experiencing similar circumstances.
Timberline Church
How does a local church fit into our global calling?
We don’t fully know yet, but we do know that God has opened some amazing doors for us to influence our home church of 6,000. Over the past few years God has given us opportunities to develop personal relationships with the senior staff. One year ago we felt that the Lord said we would work with Timberline Church. What do you do with that? Tell the Pastor of a mega church “hey, guess what…” We felt that we would be working with Missions and Outreach but it just never developed.
When the shootings happened at YWAM Denver last December, I was coordinating media relations during that situation and we ended up being contacted by one of the Pastors at Timberline. Over a few weeks the conversation developed into an invitation to oversee outreach, discipleship and leadership development for the Timberline Young Adults ministry. Since then we have moved to Fort Collins, started a new YWAM ministry, integrated into the Young Adults ministry (nine70) as volunteer staff, started a student organization at CSU, started an outreach team, an intensive discipleship training environment and leadership development program. Its been busy!
Even so, we felt that there was some sort of mission connection that wasn’t “there” yet. We knew we were supposed to be integrating into the missions focused community within our church but we didn’t know how. About six weeks ago we were asked by the former mission pastor to help coordinate a portion of the Missions Conference. A situation arose and the leaders of the church asked us to oversee the entire event about two weeks ago. In the last two weeks we have built and served all of the relationships that we had hoped to establish while releasing a little army of volunteers to pull off a major event.
When God says something, we choose to respond in faith. We don’t know everything about where we are headed, God can open doors that no one can shut! Some aspects still look impossible at this point but with God all things are possible! Thank you all so much for your support in this journey. We love you and appreciate you all!
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