Last week was a great week from a booking standpoint as we were able to schedule 14 new events. Praise God for that. I'm not sure, but that has to be some sort of record in our short existence as a ministry. Please pray that the bookings continue to come in and that we continue to work hard - and smart - at that process.
Quick story about that, a good friend of ours e-mailed me on Wednesday last week and asked how he could pray for us. I told him to pray specifically for bookings. That day we scheduled 9 events. Like our earthly fathers, I know that sometimes God answers our requests by saying "no" or "later" and not always "yes", but we will never know unless we ask. Might as well ask, right? And if we end by submitting our will to the will of God, it makes it easier to accept whatever answer He gives. Because no matter what His answer is, it is always the right answer. The more we do that, I believe, the more our will and desires will grow closer to the will and desires of our Father.
I thank God for our faithful friend, and for all of you who are supporting us through prayer.
-Ryan
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Penton's Progress
Just wanted to let you know that Joel and Bethany send out a monthly e-newsletter to keep people informed on the happenings of the ministry from their perspective. They write about some different things than what we post here. Feel free to sign up to receive the Penton's Progress by clicking here.
-Emily
-Emily
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
YouTube Follow Up Videos
After each of the outreach events we do, we send out e-mails to encourage people that made first-time decisions or rededications to Christ. We also send out a 5-course Bible study for new believers, with a section going out each week for 5 continuous weeks. To beef up those efforts, we are in the process of shooting short videos to go along with each part of the study. We used Joel's handheld Flip cam and intentionally tried to create the YouTube (informal and intimate, kind of unprofessional) feel. Click here to watch the first one we've done. It is the lead-in video to the 5 study/video series. Any feedback you have would be great. Just leave a comment here on the blog.
Blessings,
Ryan
Blessings,
Ryan
Monday, January 19, 2009
A New Birth
We have some good news! After 23 hours of labor (yes, 23!), Joel Stephen Penton III was born on Saturday at 2:03pm. We got the chance to visit Joel, Bethany, and baby Joel yesterday at the hospital. Mommy and baby are both doing very well. Please pray for the Penton family as they begin this new phase in their lives.
We can't wait to babysit!
-Emily
Thursday, January 15, 2009
JP3
Joel and Bethany are expecting their first child, Joel III, and they are going into the hospital on Friday. It is actually about a week overdue at this point. Please pray for a healthy baby and a smooth delivery process. We'll keep you updated!
Ryan
Ryan
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Worship Chapel
Today I braved the snowy roads to be in Canton at Heritage Christian School (good thing Em wasn't with me - let's just say she doesn't do well on the roads when there's even a slight possibility of snow and ice). It's a small school, with only about 125 students in grades 6-12. Last year they had Joel and I to do a chapel. This year they invited me back to do a full chapel of just music. We followed Isaiah 6:1-8 (one of my favorite passages; read it if you can) to help guide our worship.
Because so much of the ministry we do is geared towards unchurched people, we intentionally stay away from doing corporate praise and worship music at our outreach events. Let's just say that a kid wearing black makeup that smokes pot and listens to Marilyn Manson probably wouldn't be cool with singing "Shine, Jesus, Shine." Seriously, though, I miss having opportunities like this chapel when we can get together with a group of believers and just praise God through singing. Pray that these students can continue to fall in love with Jesus and have a genuine desire to worship Him - in singing, and more importantly, with their lives.
P.S. Sorry, no pics today. We hope to include them in future posts.
-Ryan
Because so much of the ministry we do is geared towards unchurched people, we intentionally stay away from doing corporate praise and worship music at our outreach events. Let's just say that a kid wearing black makeup that smokes pot and listens to Marilyn Manson probably wouldn't be cool with singing "Shine, Jesus, Shine." Seriously, though, I miss having opportunities like this chapel when we can get together with a group of believers and just praise God through singing. Pray that these students can continue to fall in love with Jesus and have a genuine desire to worship Him - in singing, and more importantly, with their lives.
P.S. Sorry, no pics today. We hope to include them in future posts.
-Ryan
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Blog Debut
Welcome to the official blog for me (Ryan) and Emily and our minstry with Joel and Bethany Penton through FCA! We decided this was the most effective, cost-efficient, and personal way for us to keep you updated with what's going on in the ministry. We will, from time-to-time, post things that the Lord is teaching us in our own walks with Him, in hopes of encouraging you. However, the primary purpose for this blog is to share with you how the ministry is impacting the lives of others.
We promise to update the blog at least once a month, but the goal is to post shorter updates as they happen. I think we find that monthly newsletters can become long, and frankly, sometimes hard to get through (at least for me). So hopefully this encourages you to check back often.
With this first post, we thought it would be best to share the background of the ministry. Even though most of you probably know what we do, here it is for those who don't...
My Story
I joined staff with Central Ohio FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) in June of 2007. I was brought on to work exclusively with my good friend, Joel Penton, who was already on staff as a full-time speaker. Not only was I put in charge of the ministry’s business operations, but I also got the opportunity to travel to events with Joel and share my music. We decided our mission would be focused on reaching unchurched students for Christ. Thus, I spent much of my time scheduling public school assemblies and working to set up corresponding evening outreach events for each assembly.
A Successful 2007-08 School Year
By God’s grace and through a lot of hard work, we got the 2007-08 school year filled up with speaking opportunities. We presented at 165 assemblies and were able to set up 30 evening outreach events. At these events, students from the assemblies were invited back and we boldly shared the Gospel, many times to an audience that was largely unchurched. We know of nearly 600 who indicated they accepted Jesus for the first time and many more that made a recommitment to Him at last year’s events.
Moving Forward
We are continuing to do assemblies and events this school year. We've had some amazing opportunities and we are excited for what the future holds. Please pray for new opportunities for us to share the Gospel.
Blessings,
Ryan
We promise to update the blog at least once a month, but the goal is to post shorter updates as they happen. I think we find that monthly newsletters can become long, and frankly, sometimes hard to get through (at least for me). So hopefully this encourages you to check back often.
With this first post, we thought it would be best to share the background of the ministry. Even though most of you probably know what we do, here it is for those who don't...
My Story
I joined staff with Central Ohio FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) in June of 2007. I was brought on to work exclusively with my good friend, Joel Penton, who was already on staff as a full-time speaker. Not only was I put in charge of the ministry’s business operations, but I also got the opportunity to travel to events with Joel and share my music. We decided our mission would be focused on reaching unchurched students for Christ. Thus, I spent much of my time scheduling public school assemblies and working to set up corresponding evening outreach events for each assembly.
A Successful 2007-08 School Year
By God’s grace and through a lot of hard work, we got the 2007-08 school year filled up with speaking opportunities. We presented at 165 assemblies and were able to set up 30 evening outreach events. At these events, students from the assemblies were invited back and we boldly shared the Gospel, many times to an audience that was largely unchurched. We know of nearly 600 who indicated they accepted Jesus for the first time and many more that made a recommitment to Him at last year’s events.
Moving Forward
We are continuing to do assemblies and events this school year. We've had some amazing opportunities and we are excited for what the future holds. Please pray for new opportunities for us to share the Gospel.
Blessings,
Ryan
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