A Word for 2026...

Hello, friends! 

It's the beginning of a new year, which means it's time for a new word for the year! Every year, right around the turn of the calendar (and my birthday!), I pick a new word or phrase that I want to live by for the year. I picked this up from an old co-worker of mine and it's served my well for years now. 

Last year, my word was "joy." After a really stressful 2024 on a number of fronts, I wanted to incorporate more joy into my life and seek joy in my various interactions. I really feel like God came through for me with this one in 2025. The year certainly had its ups and downs, but overall, I find myself in a better headspace throughout the year. I'm glad that "joy" served me well. 

For 2026, the word I feel like God was pulling me towards the word, "humility." This is for a number of reasons. 

The plan for 2026 is for me to take Sabbatical for the first half of the year, then enter my new role as Nebraska Area Director for the second half of the year. Both of those roles are going to require a lot of humility on my part. 

With the Area Director position, even though I've been on staff for nearly 19 years and have done a bunch of different roles, this Area Director position is going to be new to me. I'm going to need to learn on the job and figure out areas where I need to grow. That's going to require a lot of humility on my part. I'll need to enter with a learner's mindset. 

As for the first half of 2026 during Sabbatical, the humility is going to be a recognition that I'm not God. 2025 ended with a bang in Nebraska. The group at Bellevue is thriving. We hired a full-time staff and a new volunteer out west. 12 students from Nebraska went to Urbana and felt like God was calling each of them to something. We even met a student at Urbana who wasn't part of our group but goes to school in Nebraska and is interested in starting something on her campus! I would LOVE to hang around and help shepherd students and staff over these next few months. There's a fear that if I'm not there, things may not take off, but that's just my pride. I need to be humble enough to trust God and rest during this season of rest. 

My morning prayer so far this year has been, "LORD, show me who I am and show me who I'm not." I feel like that better encapsulates how I'm trying to lean into "humility" in 2026 better than the prayer, "LORD, please humble me." I'm not sure how this humility will reveal itself through the year but I'm eager to see how God moves, like he always does, through my word of the year. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

A Tale of Two Urbanas...

Hello, friends! 

Well, another Urbana has come and gone! This was my 7th Urbana. Though some things were different (hello, Phoenix!), some things were definitely the same. Students came and met the Holy Spirit. Students were inspired to follow Jesus back on their campuses. We got to worship our Global God and connect with students from all over the country. Here's a recap video: 

This is what the students experienced at Urbana. As staff, my experience was VERY different. Here's a recap of my Urbana: 

I'm the one in the back, behind the luggage cart in the elevator, with members of the Asian American Community Gathering team, one of 4 Urbana jobs I had this year. In no particular order, here are my jobs with their descriptions:

Asian American Community Gathering. I was part of the team that led the spaces for Asian American students at Urbana to connect with one another and process their Urbana experience with students from similar ethnic backgrounds. I loved being on this team, not only because they were so much fun, but also because creating a space where Asian American students can connect and feel at home has always been my favorite Urbana job. 

Community Gathering On Site Coordinator: Asian American ministries wasn't the only group with a community gathering. There were 12 in total. My job was to make sure that each community had the things they needed to run their spaces but also stay within the rules of the convention center (like no catered good and reset the room properly). It was fun seeing how the other communities put their own flavors on the spaces. 

Exit Team Leader: This may have been the job I was born to do. If you've been at church with me for any amount of time, you know that my spiritual gifts are preaching, teaching, and parking ministry. =0). As students entered and checked into Urbana, they had to walk through different stations in the convention center. When they finished, we on the Exit Team directed them out of the convention center so they didn't get lost. It was basically like parking ministry but the opposite and it made me very happy. 

Central Region Urbana Coordinator: this was by far the hardest of the jobs. I was dealing with the hotels and making sure everyone got into Phoenix safely. I was also keeping everyone up to date on our donations and finances. In fact, I'm still doing expense reports now! Still, all the work was worth it to get everyone to Urbana. 

All those jobs meant that I didn't actually get to see much of the Urbana programming itself. I did make it to at least one big room session each day and was inspired by the speakers and moved by the worship. But, Urbana wasn't really for me as much as it was for the students, so if I have to miss some seasons to make sure they're able to be fully present, that's ok with me. 

Shout out to Megan, who held down the fort on two fronts. She didn't have an official role at Urbana but was in Phoenix because my sister lives in town. Still, she rocked hospitality, creating breakfast bags for all the rooms and hosting the full from our church so well, all while also watching the kids and hanging out with my family. She was a rock star. 

Urbana will next be held in 2028. I don't know where it will be but I'll be ready to do whatever is asked of me.

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Onward to Sabbatical!!!

Hello, friends!

Many have asked us about our upcoming Sabbatical and what we will be doing. Below you will find some answers to some commonly asked questions:

What is Sabbatical: The word sabbatical is drawn from the word Sabbath.  The Hebrew word for Sabbath means to ‘close’ or ‘rest’ and is connected with the last day of Creation when God rested.  (Genesis 2:3)    God both models and commands Sabbath rest for his people. A sabbatical is an extended period of time when a ministry leader sets aside her/his normal responsibilities for the purpose of rest and renewal. A sabbatical is a release from the regular (and often demanding) rhythms of ministry for the physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual well-being of the leader. As a reflection of God's provision of a sabbatical for his people, InterVarsity grants to its employees a sabbatical for every 7 years of service.  

Why Sabbatical? Bette Dickinson in her newest book “The Art of Vinemaking” describes dormancy in grape vines similarly to how I imagine the need for and gift of Sabbatical: “Vines essentially go to sleep during dormancy, conserving energy for the season to come. In the same way, rest allows us to replenish what’s been depleted. We are restored physically, mentally, and spiritually, so we can face future challenges with renewed clarity and strength.” No we won’t just be sleeping, but we will be investing in our inward growth to better serve staff and students in the future.

Will you still be paid? Yes! We will still be paid throughout our sabbatical.  

What will you do? In order to take a Sabbatical we each developed a plan and had it approved by our supervisor. I, Megan, am focusing on spiritual formation & organizational learning. I have a number of books on my list to read, am planning to make a gratitude journal, and learn more about managing and leading organizational change. I’ll meet with a spiritual director once a month, take a monthly retreat, and invest in spiritual disciplines to prepare me for the next season of ministry. I also hope to reconnect with local community after a busy semester. Adam will be focused on preparing for the next stage of ministry as he gets ready to step into the Nebraska Area Director role. This will include trying to figure out new rhythms of life and doing some intentional learning on how to supervise and lead teams well. We’ll also be taking a family trip to Washington, DC and a “just us” pilgrimage guided by InterVarsity Staff in Italy.

Who will be covering your work? While we are on Sabbatical there is an interim ministries staff who will take parts of our work. Our supervisor & co-workers will take on other parts of our work through working with student leaders on the campuses we serve and supervising staff we lead.  We’ve worked hard these past few months to make the transition go as seamless as possible for students and staff we lead

We don’t take the gift of Sabbatical lightly and know just how blessed we are to receive it. Thank you for your prayers & partnership! 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam and Megan

We had Thai for our "entering Sabbatical" celebration dinner!

Onward to Urbana!!!

Hello, friends! 

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! I am very excited for 2026 as it will include a 6 month Sabbatical as well as starting a new position with InterVarsity as the Area Ministry Director for Nebraska. 2026 is going to have a lot of changes but I'm sure it'll turn out just great. Besides, it can't be too much more wild than 2025, right? 

RIGHT?! =0). 

Before we turn the calendar towards the new year, we have one last BIG thing happening in 2025. 2025 is an Urbana year! 

Urbana, InterVarsity's tri-annual global missions conference is one of the most iconic things that we do as an organization. Christian leaders from Billy Graham and Tom Skinner to Francis Chan and Michelle Higgins have brought the word from the Urbana stage over the years. We've seen hundreds (if not thousands) of students give their lives to Jesus and thousands more say "yes" to God's calling of being a missionary wherever they end up in life. Megan and I both had significant experiences at an Urbana in the past (one even included an angel!) and we know that we're not alone. 

This will be Urbana number 7 for me and this has easily the hardest Urbana ever. Urbana was first housed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (thus the name) before moving to St. Louis for a few cycles (oh man, those were the days...). Urbana 22 was in Indianapolis and this year we'll be heading to Phoenix. Since all those other locations were relatively close, this was the first Urbana where we in the Central Region had to consider flights as part of the Urbana travel experience. 

In 2022, I started the Urbana Together program for the Central Region. The premise was simple enough: ask our students to write letters to their friends and family, asking them to help send those students to Urbana. Essentially, it was treating Urbana like a short-term mission trip. We had 40 students sign up for the Urbana Together program and raised exactly what we needed for our students to attend Urbana and it was great! 

Our goal for Urbana 25 was to have 77 students attend Urbana and partake in the Urbana Together program, essentially doubling the number of participants. Praise the LORD, we had 80 students sign up! 

Now comes the hard part. In 2022, I just covered the Urbana Together program while 3 of my coworkers in the Regional Office covered the housing, registration, and travel accommodations. This year, 2 of those coworkers moved out of the Central Region for New Zealand and the third member was coming off of her own Sabbatical. Which means that every part of the Urbana process came down to me. Friends, we're making it but it has been a bit of a struggle. There are a LOT of logistics to cover, and it probably needed to be a full-time job for a staff, not just part of an already full portfolio for me. Alas, we're making it work. 

What I know is that God is good and that Urbana will be awesome. There will almost certainly something that will go wrong. A flight will get delayed or a student will drop at the last minute. There will be some sort of mini-crisis that we'll navigate and the students will all have a good time. I also know that as soon as Urbana is over, you can count on me taking a nice long nap on the plane home... =0). 

There are two big ways that you can be part of the Urbana process. The first is to be praying for us. Please pray for those logistics. Pray for God to be preparing the hearts of the students as they prepare to head to Phoenix. Pray for me as I try to juggle all these final details. 

A second way that you can be part of Urbana 25 is by giving! Like I said, we're trying to send our students to Urbana with limited financial liability on their part. If you'd like to give to a scholarship, you can do so by following this link.

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

New Life at Bellevue!!!

Hello, friends! 

Wild story from yesterday that I just have to share! 

M* has been leading our Bible study at Bellevue. She gave her life to Jesus at Ambition (our conference in Denver this January) and felt a call to be more intentional in her invitations at Revive. At Revive (Our Fall Conference in Omaha this October), her friend Q* gave his life to Jesus and since then, the spiritual warfare has been HEAVY for M*. One co-leader ghosted the group, another one (also M*'s roommate) is super mad at M* and stopped coming, and Q* has started using drugs and alcohol again. She's been a trooper but REALLY feeling it. I only met with her via the phone once a week but I felt like I really needed to pray for her before Sabbatical so I met with her yesterday afternoon. 

C*, one of Q's's friends, was with her. C* hasn't gone to church since he was young but started coming to Bible study when Q* invited him. I decided to do some listening prayer for M*. C* didn't hear anything (understandable) but when I asked M* what she heard, she said "I heard that we need to pray for C*." So we prayed for C*. 

Actually, what I did was guide C* through a visualization and listening prayer. I had C* visualize a safe space, then has Jesus enter that space. C* could then tell Jesus what was on his mind and then Jesus responded. It was there that Brandyn decided to give his life to Jesus! 

After C* prayed to give his life to Jesus, I asked him how he felt. He said that he got a chill but it wasn't a cold chill. Just goosebumps. M* said, "I knew it! That's the same feeling I had at Ambition!" =0). I now need to buy a new Bible since I gave mine to C*, but I'd say that's well worth it. Woot!

Please be praying for C* as he starts his new life with Jesus. Please be praying a prayer of protection over M* as she continues to lead. Please pray that the LORD will break Q's auction. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

* Names changed for privacy

A New Adventure In a Familiar Place...

Hello, friends! 

A few years ago, for our anniversary, Megan and I drove to Sioux Falls for a Carrie Underwood concert to celebrate our anniversary. While we were waiting for the concert to start, Megan asked me if I'm glad that we moved to Omaha. I told her that wherever she and the kids were, I would be happy, so yes, I was glad that we'd moved to Omaha. I also told her that I'd finally come to terms with 2 facts about Omaha: there were too many hills and there was no good Chinese food. Now that I was at peace with Omaha, I was happy to be living here. 

If you had told me in 2002, my Junior Year of high school, that I would ever be leaving Southern California, I would have told you that you were crazy. I would have said the same thing about leaving St. Louis in 2006 or leaving CoMO in 2011. But, the LORD works in mysterious ways and sometimes plans change... 

Wow, rereading this, it REALLY sounds like we're moving... Don't worry, we're not. =0). 

Let's try starting this again, shall we? 

In 2015, I was invited by my supervisor to Memphis for a 1-day conference on Justice in Fundraising. It opened my eyes to the ways that many non-profit funding systems are inherently unjust in their setup and it got me thinking about ways to address those injustices. I don't quite remember if it was on the way there or on the way back, but sometime during that trip, I heard about the protests happening at Mizzou. As soon as I got back, I made my way to the Black Culture Center to pray with and support the Black Students on campus and my commitment to finding ways to unbreak unjust systems was solidified. In 2018, after we moved to Omaha, I took on my current role as Regional Ministry Coordinator for Ministry Partnership Development. It was now my job to take on the busted systems and try to rebuild them in a way that led to a more just, equitable, and life-giving way of doing MPD. 

After 7+ wonderful years in the job, I have decided to move onto the next chapter in my ministry career. Starting in July, after our Sabbatical in the first half of 2026, I will take on the new role as Area Ministry Director for the state of Nebraska. 

The AMD role for Nebraska has been left empty for a few years now. In fact, currently there are zero paid staff in Nebraska whose primary role is student ministry in the state. Megan and I both live in Nebraska but our responsibilities are on the Regional level. We have one friend who also lives in Omaha who works for InterVarsity but he's part of the National Planting Team. All three of us have been doing student ministry for a few hours a week but it hasn't been our main focus and it's been pretty obvious that Nebraska needs someone who can dedicate a majority of their time and energy to the students, staff, and faculty in Nebraska. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to answer that calling. 

My process actually began last year, as we prepared for the Ambition conference in Denver in January. We recruited a number of students to join us in Denver, most of whom weren't actually InterVarsity students. But, the LORD moved and coming out of that conference, 1 student gave her life to Jesus and 2 new campus groups were started in Nebraska. In spite of there being no staff presence, The LORD was still going to move. This increase in student activity made it pretty obvious to me that someone was going to have to step into a leadership role. That need only increased this past semester as ministry continued to grow. This also included a few potential staff joining the conversation, which is something that we'd been praying for for a long time. 

Honestly, I didn't want it to be me. I love my current job and I feel like I've made an impact in the work that I've done. I also know that the work isn't finished and that there's still more that I can do in my current role. I'm also aware that the change in ministry responsibilities will mean that my schedule will need to change and that those changes will mean a change in schedule for my family as well. These are all factors that made me hesitant to apply for the role and hesitant to accept it when it was offered to me. 

And yet, here we are. What became really clear to me was that this was an invitation from the LORD and that I needed to say, "yes," not because it would be easy but because it was time to say "yes." So I did, and I know it was the right call. 

Like I said, first up is Sabbatical after the first of the year (more on that next week), then I'll formally start in July of 2026. Until then, will you please lift us up in your prayers. Pray for me as I say goodbye to a job that I've loved for the past 8 years. Pray for our family as we navigate new rhythms. Pray for our new potential staff as they prepare for life in ministry. Pray for the students here in Nebraska as they continue to seek Jesus. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

A bit of a break...

Hello, friends! 

The Fall semester has absolutely flown by. It's hard to believe that October is already over (happy Halloween!) and the November is right around the corner. Before you know it, it'll be the holidays and preparation for Urbana. Then, it'll be 2026! 

One of the things that will be coming in 2026 is that Megan and I will be taking a bit of a break... NO, not from each other! We'll probably actually be seeing each other a lot more since we'll be on Sabbatical for the first half of 2026. 

InterVarsity does a lot of really great things. One of those things is Sabbatical. Every 7 years, staff qualify for a 6 month Sabbatical. That Sabbatical can be spent studying, pursuing spiritual formation, resting, or some other project. The key is that we won't be holding our ministry activities. 

We last took Sabbatical in 2018. We actually used that Sabbatical to move to Omaha. We wanted some unadulterated time to get used to our new city. We wanted to find a church and community. I wanted to find a good beef noodle soup (unfortunately, that never happened) and learn the bus routes (that DID happen!). During this Sabbatical, we won't be moving (thankfully) but we will be taking some time to reset and reconnect with Jesus. 

Seven years (really, 8 since we moved) is a long time and a short time at the same time. On the one hand, we still haven't quite lived in Omaha for as long as I lived in Missouri. But, the time that we've spent here has been really significant. We bought a house, started new roles, had a third kid (JoJo!) served as elders at our church, made new friends, got the kids into school, and survived a pandemic, all while living in Omaha these past 7 (8!) years. In terms of ministry, we've seen staff thrive, other staff leave, students groups get planted and cease to exist, and generally face all the highs and lows that come with ministry. I'm still very much in love with the job but I can also recognize that having 6 months without ministry responsibilities will be a good thing. 

Number one on our priority list right now is the preparation. We need to write our Sabbatical plans and have them approved. We also need to make sure that the roles we would normally have in the Spring Semester are covered. We also need to make sure our finances are in good share since we won't be doing any Ministry Partnership Development during our Sabbatical. 

For that last bit of preparation, this is where I'd love for you to consider partnering with us. If you'd like to give a one-time gift, or even better, become a recurring donor in these next few months, it would help us ease the financial and mental burdens for us so we can enter into Sabbatical well. If you're interested, you can follow this link here. 

Last thing: It is Halloween, so here are some photos of the costumes. I'm pretty sure I nailed my costume... =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam