One of my coworkers at NNYM says it well: “We don’t own networks; we champion them!” And sometimes that means my job is to find healthy networks that already exist and support them to keep them healthy. That’s exactly what happened this month down in the southeastern part of Denver. I received an email from the youth pastor and next gen pastor at Lifegate Church, saying they were starting a new network. And when I visited last week, it was awesome to see 18 people in attendance! They provided breakfast for everyone, had some great conversations, brought in a guest speaker, and broke everyone into smaller groups for discussion and prayer.
The leader is a youth pastor named Jordan. He’s gone through a lot in his life, but it’s only made him more passionate about reaching the next generation for Jesus. He’s incredibly focused on teens in Denver, especially the unfortunately high number of them who are struggling with mental health and suicidal ideation. I’m really excited to work more with Jordan and other youth leaders like him in the future. Together, we will reach all of the Colorado students for Jesus!
In the coming months, we should also have one or two more networks starting just a bit east and west of there! I’m so excited about what God is doing in Denver. Please join me, though, in not only praying for these networks but also that God will provide us with at least one person to step into a city coordinator role in Denver. Not only will that help me directly, but it will also give us “boots on the ground” right there in the city, similar to how we have city coordinators in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Houston, and others around the country.
Steve Cullum 