Dear friends,
Greetings! Denise and I wanted to give you an update on our lives and some of the exciting things that the Lord has brought our way.
As most of you know, this last year the Lord blessed us with three more great kids – Anna 18, Joe 14, & Abigail 12 – when their mother Mary went to be with the Lord. Since that time the Lord has blessed us in many ways. He provided us with a new home – 3 story, 6 bedroom, 2 ½ bath – in Lake Oswego, a newer Suburban – to carry the troops, and the strength to cope with 7 teenagers.
It has been an exciting school year filled with soccer games – Jake & Mollie, basketball games, Annie, Abigail, & Mollie, a basketball championship for Joe’s team, snowboarding and drum lessons Nick, Joe graduating from 8th grade, Anna working at two restaurants, And Jake and Anna graduating from High School. This fall Jake is heading off to Bible College in Maui and Anna is going to Oregon State.
Denise and I are glad that summer is here. We are looking forward to some great summer activities; Mollie is going on a mission trip to Thailand, Annie, Abigail, & Nick are going to Junior high camp, Joe, Mollie, & Jake are going to High School camp, Abigail & Annie are going to a horse camp. Joe & Mollie are going to Basketball camp, and we are going to take at least a week off for some R & R.
Which brings me to some exciting changes going on in our lives. After 18 months of working construction, I have accepted a job offer from my good friend, Mike Miller to come and join him and his ministry team at Dare to Live Ministries, as the director of the Dare to Live School of Evangelism.
For those who have never met Mike, let me tell you a little about him & his ministry. Almost 30 years ago, Mike started a ministry for young people who were struggling with suicide, after he went through a severe bought of depression that brought him to the brink of suicide. From those experiences, God led Mike into a ministry that involved speaking motivationally to students in public school settings. To date, Mike has spoken to more than 3 million students in the United States and Canada; as well as authored books, video instructional series, and many other endeavors.
When I first met Mike more than 15 years ago, we became instant friends as we realized that we both had a passion for helping young people. Several years later, Mike called me to ask if he could share some thoughts with me about evangelizing the kids in the greater Portland/ Vancouver area. As Mike outlined his vision, my own heart leapt inside my chest. You see, Mike was describing the exact vision that I had imagined several years earlier about reaching youth, while I was up in the West Hills praying over the Portland area. Our meetings together eventually turned into the first youth outreach of its kind. Maybe you remember the “Dead Bloated Cow Tour!” that we had in 2000. There are a lot of details that I could share about how the Lord has continued to sharpen the purpose of Dare to Live ministries, but let me jump up to the present.
Today the Lord has increased Dare to Live ministries greatly. The Ministry is now located in a 10,000 square foot office space in East Vancouver. There are presently 8 people on staff and the vision God has given Mike has continued to expand into 4 distinct areas:
First are the outreaches, which are aimed at taking the gospel to all the Public High schools in Portland and Vancouver metro area. The format is unique in that Mike and his team will bring a first class, high energy, game show type of atmosphere into the school auditoriums. There, the teens experience the elements of Survivor, Fear Factor, and American Gladiator mixed with other challenges. They engage in emotional, physical, mental and spiritual challenges competing for valuable prizes. There is also live music, an awesome break dance troop, comedy, and video presentations combined with professional state of the art sound and lighting equipment, which provide a high-energy atmosphere.
I attended one of these events several weekends ago with my two 14-year-old sons, Nick and Joe. We watched excitedly as the events unfolded. 431 Junior & Senior Students showed up that night and 316 went forward to make a decision for Christ. On the way home, I asked the boys how they liked it. They both rattled on for 35 minutes like junior high girls about how much fun it was. Both asked me repeatedly when this was coming to their school. Needless to say, they were stoked, and so was I!
Second is the outreach center. I mentioned before that Dare to Live was operating on a large campus. This summer, crews will be updating and remodeling these facilities to create more office spaces for other nonprofit ministries; as well as creating a cool place for kids to hang out at. The building will house a recording studio, video studio, game rooms, and other places that kids can come and use their God-given gifts to help others and to just have fun. We plan on it becoming a “safe” place for teens to hang out and have fun without any of the dangers.Third is the Carpenters Garage. This ministry is a full service non-prophet automobile garage in Vancouver Washington which is designed to help meet the unique needs of those who are financially challenged -- like single moms and the elderly. Because of my passion for cars, Mike asked me to oversee the Carpenters Garage ministry.
Finally is the school of evangelism. Last year, 10,000 young people volunteered with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), to take the gospel of Jesus to the remotest parts of the earth. There is a large group of young people who have finished with their high school education, and now want to spend their time and energy serving the Lord and reaching out to the lost in their own back yards. This is the exciting part for me.
Mike has asked to me create a “School of Evangelism” like our YWAM brothers. Basically, this would be a 1 to 2 year Bible-based training course/ discipleship program that would help teens make the transition from faith at home to taking their faith to their community. Our goal is to identify 20 to 40 young people in the coming months that will commit a year of their lives to learning the Word, and walking out their faith in a deeper, more committed way. And I will have the opportunity to personally disciple these young leaders. How cool is that?
I know that I have shared a lot of information with you, but I am really excited about this vision and this opportunity for me personally and for my family. (As my dad said when I explained this opportunity to him, “Kids and Cars have always been your passions! This job is a perfect match for you.”)
This ministry, as with all ministries, is faith based. In other words, the way that this ministry is funded is through us, at Dare to Live, asking our friends and family to help support us prayerfully; and, if you feel led to do so, offer financial support for the vision that I have outlined for you.
Denise and I would like to ask for your support in this ministry. Would you please give us a call on Rick’s cell 503 307 0918 or better yet drop me an email; rickmoyerD2L@gmail.com if you would like to be part of the prayer backing for our ministry and receive email updates.
If you want to contribute financially you can mail checks to;
Dare to Live, Inc.
P.O. Box 2495
Vancouver, Wa. 98668
We love and appreciate you deeply,
Rick & Denise
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