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

An Odyssey of Car Miracles

Hello, friends! 

A few Sundays ago, our car wouldn't start. Thankfully, we were in the parking lot after church so we were able to get the car jumped and be on our way. I dropped the family off at home then drove to AutoZone to get the system tested. There were options of what it could be

:
- If it was the battery, no problem because we just recently bought a new battery so it would be under warranty and we'd get it replaced free of charge.

- If it was the alternator, a slight problem but we just had THAT replaced a month ago, so you'd better believe that I'd be fighting to get that replaced free of charge.

- Alas, it was the starter, meaning another good chunk of change would be going down the drain to get it replaced.

It was at that point that Megan and I had the conversation as to whether or not we needed to trade in our van and get something new. We had a tough decision ahead of us. On the one hand, we had the long term decision of whether or not to get a new car. On the other hand, there was the short term decision of whether or not to get the starter replaced. If we get it replaced but then get a new car, then we sort of wasted the money to get the starter replaced. BUT, if we do get it replaced and ride it out, who knows how long until something else breaks down.

We bought that van in 2016 when it had just over 25k miles on it after we found out Megan was pregnant with Thaliea. That van survived our move to Omaha, many trips to South Dakota (and a vacation to Colorado!) and over 125k miles over 9 years. It served us well but we knew we couldn't hold on to it forever. Plus, the dealerships of that particular car company in the Omaha area are pretty bad when it comes to customer service. We'd be getting a new car at some point, there was just a question of how long we could hold out. 

In the short term, we decided to not get the starter replaced and literally pray that the starter wouldn't go bad again at any point. Miracle #1: The starter survived! 

With the starter seemingly in good shape (albeit still a gamble), we decided that we could look for new (to us) cars but we weren't so desperate that we would make a bad deal just because we needed something. That Sunday night, we looked around and found a few options that were close to what we wanted. There was one in particular that was a 2019 Honda Odyssey with about 60k miles on it. The price was in our range so we set up an appointment. 

When we got to the dealership, the car wasn't actually ready. They said it would be ready in an hour so we went to a different dealership to look at a different option. That wasn't going to do it for us, so we went back to the first place. The salesman brought the car out to us... except that he didn't. IT WAS THE WRONG CAR! 

At that point, we had to go, so we told him we would try again tomorrow when the right car was ready. Except we never got the chance. When I called the next day to confirm the appointment, I was told that the car we never got to see had been sold the previous night. Miracle #2: Not getting that car. 

Why was that a miracle? Because Sunday night, I decided to look online again, just to see if there had been any new listings. There I found a 2023 Odyssey with under 35k miles on it, also within our price range. Miracle #3: Finding a better car! 

We tried to set up an appointment to see that car but they said that it wouldn't be ready to look at until Tuesday. There was a small crack in the front bumper that needed to be replaced. Megan was heading out of town for work on Tuesday, so it looked like we were going to be out of luck. EXCEPT WE WEREN'T... Miracle #4: The car got finished early so we were able to look at it on Monday. 

As I said, there was a small crack on the front bumper but that was easily fixed. HOWEVER, what that meant was that since the car no longer had any cosmetic damage, the asking price was going to be much higher. EXCEPT IT WASN'T... Miracle #5: Because we saw the listing at the original, lower price, we were able to buy the car at the lower price. 

The only thing we had left to do was the finances. I wasn't stoked about having a car payment but I knew our budget could handle it within a certain range (Thank you, Public Schools!). But in order to get the payment within our range, we needed to put some money down. How much down? Well, the exact amount that we had... 

Let me explain. Last month, my dad was looking through his files and he found some savings bonds that belonged to me. The amount those bonds were worth was the exact amount that we needed in order to put down a down payment that would get the monthly payments within our budget. Miracle #6: The savings bonds that showed up out of nowhere. 

So, now we have a new (to us) car. It's a Honda, which means we can use the mechanic that fixes our other car (Honda Fit) that we really like. It also means that we don't have to worry about getting a jumpstart in the middle of a parking lot. God really came through for us. The next miracle will be to see if we can keep it clean for more than a week... =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Bye, bye old car!

Hello, new car! 

Running (Around for) Revive!

Hello, friends! 

Last weekend we hosted InterVarsity students from Nebraska and Iowa for Revive, our Fall Conference. Everything that I've heard about Revive is that it was a really great time. The students had fun, folk got connected to one another, and the Holy Spirit moved in some really powerful ways. 

I say "from what I've heard" because honestly, I didn't participate in much of the actual conference itself. Between running snacks and running around with the kids, there was plenty to do. Allow me to break down my Revive. 

Friday:

- 9am: Take Thaliea to Costco, the Asian Market, and Walmart to go shopping for snacks. Did I buy too much? Definitely. Do I regret any of it? Certainly not. =0). 

- 11:30am: Back at the church to start setting up with the rest of the staff.

- 1pm: Staff meeting.

- 2:pm: Start setting up welcome snacks, which was coffee, hot water for tea, and chips. This included cleaning out the hot liquid containers and learning how to use the church 7:coffee maker. 

- 4:30pm: Dinner volunteers (Thanks, One Hope Church!) arrive and we begin dinner orientation.

- 5:15pm: Dinner arrives (shout out to Bridge Church for providing dinner!).

- 7:00pm: Dinner cleanup while the session starts.

- 8pm: Start heating up water for post-session snack (hooray for ramen!).

- 9pm: Run snacks after the session, which also includes trying to convince folk to take extra slices of pizza from dinner.

- 9:30pm: Clean up.

- 11pm: Home for the night.

Saturday:

- 7:15am: Head to the church with Thaliea to set up the morning breakfast spread (bagels, fruit, baked goods, and coffee/tea) as well as the mid-morning snack (granola bars).

- 8:10am: Switch with Megan to take the boys to sports.

- 8:30am: Coach Ezra's soccer match (Black Widows win!).

- 9:30am: Watch Jonah's soccer match (Cheetahs win!)..

- 11:30am: Watch Ezra's flag football game (Fire Phoenix lose...).

- 1:15pm: Drop the boys off with Megan and pick up Thaliea to take her to dance.

- 2:15pm: Back at the church to set up afternoon snacks (popcorn and trail mix)

- 4pm: Dinner volunteers (thanks, West Hills Church!) arrive and we begin setting up for dinner (baked potato bar!)

- 5:30pm: Serve dinner.

- 7pm: Clean up dinner.

- 7:30pm: Start setting out all the leftover snacks so that students can take them home after the session.

- 8:30pm: Connect with Bellevue and MCC students to hear about their experience.

- 9pm: Giveaway ALL the snacks

- 9:30pm: Clean up the church so it's ready for service tomorrow.

- 11pm: Home for the night. 

Three big lessons from the weekend: 

- Hospitality is hard work! Megan is the one with the gift of hospitality and I see how valuable that gift is. I'm sure that she could have found a way to do everything better, faster, and for cheaper. Mad respect to everyone who has that gift. 

- Kid Time and Conference Time is hard work! We opted to d o Revive in Omaha because it would be easier logistically for us. That was true for the conference but because that also meant we were in town for all the kid activities, it was much more complicated than if we were all at a retreat site somewhere. 

- The Holy Spirit loves to move at Fall Conference. The one thing that I heard consistently when talking with students was that the Holy Spirit did his thing, like he always does. Our Bellevue students were especially impacted, including one student who may have recommitted his life to Jesus (I still need to follow up). 

Thanks to everyone who prayed and gave so we could make Revive happen! 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Revive!

Hello, friends! 

We are just one week away from Revive, InterVarsity Nebraska and Iowa's Fall Conference. It's been a few years since Nebraska has hosted a Fall Conference, so it's an exciting but kind of wild time right now. 

The process started last semester at Ambition. We had a number of students from Nebraska come and have really transformative experiences. The result was 2 new bible studies starting in Omaha and Lincoln. Suddenly, we doubled the number of campuses where there was student work. The past few years, we had traveled to Iowa's Fall Retreat but there was a real question about whether or not it would make more sense to host our own to continue to momentum of what God was doing in Nebraska. We decided to take the leap and Revive was born. In fact, from those initial conversations, Iowa decided that they would join in this year, meaning we were hosting students from two different states. 

Revive is going to be really great. We'll be bringing in an excellent speaker from Los Angeles as well as a worship leader from Colorado Springs. There will be workshops, fun times, and probably too much food. =0). 

Our big thing right now is recruitment. With just a week to go until Revive starts, we still have students who are on the fence about attending. This includes some students from our church, who were invited to attend since it'll be here in Omaha. There are lots of logistics that still need to be sorted but those don't matter if there aren't students there to experience those logistics. 

So, friends, would you spend a few minutes praying for our Revive recruitment over the next few days? Would you pray that students who are on the fence about attending would say "yes" to going? Would you pray that a friend would bring a friend? Would you pray that there be some surprise signups in the next few days? 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam