Hi all,

I am certain that all of you have been pacing the floor, biting your finger nails and wondering when the True Pursuit update would be coming…well pace no more here it is. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated our one year anniversary and I am still a little dumbfounded when I think about it. In some ways it seems like we just started a few weeks ago and in other ways it seems like we have been going for a lot longer than a year. So what have the first 12 months been like, how have we seen God lead, what has He spoken and how has He provided? These are a few of the questions that quickly come up on my screen when I meditate on year one.

When I think of what it has been like to be able to follow my dream and calling, to help men pursue what is true about their lives it makes me want to do cartwheels; but at my age that is a little risky so I just praise Jesus for leading me down this path. There have been many adjustments going from the Young Life schedule which was full and crazy all of the time to a start up ministry schedule that some days was absent of activity. Honestly this is probably the area where I struggled the most…I found myself seeking validation from my schedule (how many men did you meet with today Pete?) and so when I didn’t have a lot going on the enemy was quick to tell me how much of an idiot I was to think I could start a men’s ministry. I am so thankful to my Rear Guard who have been so encouraging and who God has used on many occasions to silence those negative voices.

During the first year of ministry I found myself meeting with a number of men one-on-one, in small groups, hanging out at the local coffee shop and asking God to bring me men that I can connect with. Speaking to men’s groups, helping local churches think about men’s ministry, leading a series on Wild at Heart at a local church, planning shared experiences with men, talking with men long distance on the phone, etc. I am looking forward to much of the same this coming year with addition of trying to organize some weekend camping/hiking/kayaking expeditions and other shared experiences. We continue to ask God daily to lead us, shape us and use us what ever way will bring glory to Him and build His kingdom. One example of how God worked this past year was the opportunity I had to take a group of men through the Wild at Heart DVD series at a local church. A bunch of guys signed up and were really interested in the message. As we concluded the series some 10 weeks later I asked them where they wanted to go from there…a number of men indicated that they wanted something more, something real that gets beyond the regular shallow conversation in most men’s groups and so a couple of months ago we started a small group with three of them and it has been awesome. These guys are honest and hungry and willing to pull back the curtain on their lives a bit and God is meeting us in new ways every Wednesday morning. It is so exciting to realize that we are living in a much larger story than we ever realized and that God is the hero of that story and He is leading and preparing and opening doors constantly. Pray that I would continue to create space in my life daily to listen for and respond to Gods prompting.

Something else that has been very encouraging is the budget. Due to some very generous folks we came close to raising our budget for the first year. I want to thank all of you who helped make that a reality. Obviously the financial part of this whole thing has tended to be the most challenging for me; it is the area I have the least control over. A really helpful statement that John Eldredge makes in his book Wild at Heart is that we should never ask the question how? because how is a dream killer every time. The question we need to be asking is what? What are the desires of my heart, what has God created me to do and then let the God of how do His work.

My son Matthew was able to do his internship for school with me this summer and it was a blessing to spend time working together, dreaming about ministry and asking Jesus to reveal more to us about our hearts, our lives and our calling to come along side men. One of the really helpful things Matthew did was work on the True Pursuit web site to make it a little more interesting and useful. If you haven’t looked at it lately you ought to check it out. www.truepursuit.org.

We would be grateful if you would pray for:

• Wisdom and revelation as we seek to be available to take Jesus plus nothing to men.
• A location to take men “skeet shooting” once a month. This has been a dream of mine for a while and we are struggling to find a location that is close enough to make it plausible.
• For me and Patty to be covered with the kingdom of God, surrounded by the work of Christ, centered in Christ and hidden in Him.
• For the Rear Guard as they work toward raising the budget for year two.
• The Hearts Alive & Free weekend October, 5-8, 2006 at Young Life’s Timber Wolf Lake camp. There are 4-5 men going on this Wild at Heart boot camp type weekend. The enemy is working hard at keeping these men from going on this thing because he fears who they can become. Please pray for protection, perseverance, and that their hearts will be open and read for the healing and restoration that Jesus wants to bring them.

Thank you for standing with us in this adventure.