Ministry, Kari and I

My wife and I recently did a photo shoot with Randy Bacon (a photographer here in town). We had a great time and came out with some wonderful photos! One interesting part of these pictures, we did them all at the church.

This year celebrates my tenth anniversary in ministry. However, 2009 will mark the ninth anniversary of Kari and I tying the knot! Believe it or not, this is only the second time we've ever done a photo shoot and last time it was with our son. The dynamic was totally different without a young one! We laughed, smiled, cuddled, kissed, and pinched each other!

If you are one of my students looking for some kind of information about SEVEN (the perfect event) then let me tell you this hint...AR.

My Friend Brett

I have a friend. Hard to believe I know...but I've known Brett since college. He is probably the funniest and most "fun" person I know. He married Amy, who was my summer camp sweetheart (in the first grade) and they have two beautiful children. He is incredibly talented in many ways including photography, video production, graphic design, playing the drums and preaching the Word! He joined my student ministry staff at First Baptist Raytown in May 2005 and is still doing great things there!

Brett recently had brain surgery (about three weeks ago) to remove a tumor (non cancerous), which resulted in the loss of hearing in one ear, and a loss of balance. Traumatic enough to say the least, but this week Brett was suffering from serious back pain so Amy took him to the hospital where they found a tumor on his back.


So, Brett will have surgery again next week which will take another four weeks (at least) to recover from. Please join me in praying for Brett, Amy and their kids as they are facing another difficult week followed by difficult weeks to come.


Brett's grin...classic! He was up to something! Picture taken at Kari's 30th surpise party!


I'm Nate and this is what I think is essential.

DNOW pt 2

DNOW ended over a week ago and I'm still processing all that God did.  

We had two brothers (who came as guests) place their trust in Christ!  We had one student surrender to the call to ministry!  And we had many students rededicate their lives to Christ!  

Throughout the weekend we had some intense times of worship, intimate one-on-one with the Lord, and a ton of fun! 

Thanks to all who volunteered at DNOW!  Thanks to all who came!  Thanks to You Lord for meeting with us at DNOW '09!  

DNOW pt 2

DNOW 09

Coming up this weekend is our big weekend retreat called DNOW! Every year I'm excited about this event because of what it does in the lives of our students (not to mention all of the fun and junk food)!

This year, we are kicking things off with The David Crowder Band! I'm expecting a "melt my face off" good time of rock 'n roll and worship (ok, so actually I think DCB would be classified as techno and worship, but you get the point)!

For me, personally, I think I'm most excited about the small group sessions and the impact that they will have on the individual students. There are five small group sessions that consist of teaching, practice, reflection, teaching, practice, & reflection. Everything the students are taught during the teaching time will immediately be put into practice and then discussed by the group.

What makes this so exciting for me is that our topic this year is "Secrets of the Secret Place: Secrets to finding intimacy with God." So everytime the students have "practice" they will be spending time alone with God, in His word, one-on-one with Him, practicing ways of growing closer to Him!

Throughout the weekend, each student will spend a minimum of 100 minutes alone with God!

This is why I'm so excited about DNOW! Spend 100 minutes alone with God, and there is no way you can remain the same!

Next time I post, I'll give you a recap of what God does during DNOW09!

I'm Nate and this is what I think is essential!