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!