I’ll never forget as a high school history teacher, teaching on World War I.  One of the things that intrigued me the most was our government’s mobilization of the people at home.  One of the great slogans was Wheatless, Meatless, Heatless.  In those days, we had Meatless Mondays and Wheatless Wednesdays.  In WWI alone, 13 million families signed a pledge to go Meatless and Wheatless to win a war they would never see!  They became the great ‘unseen force’ sending the troops on their way to win a war.

Listen to Paul, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”  Romans 10:14-15  Here, Paul gives us one of the great Kingdom principles, “How can they preach unless they are SENT?” He gives a clear calling for Senders!

My time in Central America was amazing. In Honduras, I met an American missionary / business man and his staff of 150 Hondurans at a 2,000-acre ranch in the mountains of San Marcos De Colon. Mission Lazarus is reaching Hondurans in about a 150-mile radius within their region by teaching them leather making, carpentry, and sowing skills, creating jobs on their coffee bean farm, giving 50 orphans a home and education, all while sharing the gospel and planting churches. I don’t know if I have ever been more impressed with a leadership and their vision to reach their region for Christ.

When I was a boy, I saw my grandfather start, build and then sell a series of businesses and he always did it with a partner.  Some of them were very good but others never kept up their end of the bargain, but my grandfather believed you could accomplish more with the help of others than you could by yourself.  He wasn’t really walking with the Lord in those early days, but he always seemed to have such wisdom from heaven.  Partnership is an idea that He inspired in the hearts of men!

Our work began about 20 years ago as I traveled throughout the Czech Republic and Poland working in small church planting projects, equipping young leaders to build and multiply small groups within their local churches. In those early trips, two significant things occurred – 1) a portion of the Lord Jesus’ heart for Europe was injected into my veins creating the burden needed to start PI and 2) a simple strategy arose . . . find, equip, and hold up the arms of indigenous leaders to bear much fruit within their own lands! This is the heart and soul of Prepare International!

November and December were incredible months of travel for our team. We literally reached the four corners of the Earth by touching Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America with all of our traveling team deployed. Read more about the God stories that happened as they traveled!

We are humbled to report, Pursue Missions, the missions arm of Church on the Rock, invited Prepare International to be loved on at their annual banquet through financial and spiritual blessings.

Our ‘family’ has grown!  What to do when your family grows?  But not just grows, but grows with the adding of others from different cultures!  Hmmm… sounds like the Kingdom. What does PI do?  We get a strategy from God.  A strategy to ensure that PI will thrive as a family of families at home so that we can be an effective representation and propagator of the Family of God, His Kingdom.  Taking a trip with the ‘staff and their spouses’ was one part of the strategy!

In Poland:  We were with Josiah and Brandi (and Tommy and Lindsay Hood).  We were able to love on our kids, see their new home, Krakow.  Then I and Lindsay imparted Playing Around with PrayGround to KDM (their church) children’s leaders.

In Belgium:  I spoke at a Family Conference held on the North Sea to young families from various churches.  Maitlyn and Taryn gave testimonies.

What did you do in location: Worked with church planters and met with Partners in Bratislava, Slovakia.

What did you do in each location?

Romania- We had 4 PI schools each in a different location. The topic for the schools was Power Ministry Today. We also had 10 healing services in 9 different cities.

Budapest, Hungary- We had healing prayer training. Tuesday and Wednesday we had healing services.

Poltava, Ukraine-We had a Prepare School on Power Ministry Today. Sunday we had a healing service.

Because we have young children, rarely do Lindsay and I get a chance to travel together. So in September, I had the privilege of traveling to Central Europe with my wife. Our first weekend in Gdansk, Poland, a beautiful city along the Baltic Sea, was filled with hungry leaders intentionally advancing the Kingdom of God in a nation with under 2% Evangelical Christians.  

My daughter Aspyn and I went to Kenya August 18th – September 1st. I can honestly say it was amazing in many ways. First, it was our first trip to Kenya. Next, it was great to spend time with Aspyn in Africa. Then there were the people, the students in the Prepare International classes, the families, and the culture. We stayed in two main areas while we were in Kenya, Mombasa (southern Coast) and Nairobi (the Capital).  Discussion at both cities buzzed around the themes of church organization and leadership and the importance of raising up leaders to share in the ministry of the church. I was amazed at the hunger for God’s principles and their interest in discipleship/mentorship.  

I can’t remember the last time one of my teaching trips wasn’t amazing.  This trip to Costa Rica and Peru was no exception.  We launched our second school in Peru in the coastal city of Huacho.  It’s hard to describe the excitement of teaching a room full of students who are hungry for the training we provide!  It’s almost as if they are pulling it from me even before I have a chance to speak it out loud. Pastor Esteban shared that this training is what they’ve been desperately needing.  Thank you, Esteban, for your hard work preparing for the school.  It was a great launch!  – Drew Brown

Never thought I’d quote a line from the 1939 Gene Autry song, but “I’m back in the saddle again!” After much of the summer spent in sabbatical rest, it feels great to be back at the helm of Prepare International!

The New Testament tells us that Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.  However, what nobody taught us is that the gospel of the Kingdom isn’t just about salvation! It’s not just about going to heaven!  It’s about the rule and reign of Jesus replacing, correcting and healing everything the devil did to mess everything up! 

In Isaiah 54 God instructs us to spread out our tent, to lengthen our cords and strengthen our tent stakes.  As school begins, I see multiple Facebook posts from parents having to lengthen the cords as their children grow and enter Kindergarten, start to drive or leave for college.  Parents look forward to the empty nest time only to be much surprised by the myriad of emotions they experience.

When Randy and I were first married, we cried out to God that He would use our family as a battle ax in His hand to aggressively advance His Kingdom. Like many others, fell on our face before God asking how to be good parents.  Throughout the years I have reminded myself that God loves my kids more than I do, even when that seems impossible to comprehend.  He not only loves them, but He perfectly loves them. It was during one of those prayers; I realized Randy, and I don’t own our kids, we are stewards of THE Father.

You know there are many things I love about PI, but I think each trip I take I cherish the stories of how God is using PI students to reach the forgotten places of the world. Let me paint a picture for you of Sarah’s* journey.

Political unrest and severe drought have combined to create a dire situation for millions needing work in Africa. Currently, there is a mass exodus of people heading to Vredendal, South Africa, with the hope of finding work so they can send financial support back to their starving families. Sarah is a young, 18-year-old girl desperate to feed her 1-year-old son. She makes the painful decision to leave her baby with family in Zimbabwe to travel roughly 1,200 miles to find employment.

There are those people who cross your path and leave you changed forever. They can pass for a moment or for a season, but the impact is the same. Last year, I met a young girl who left an impression. Someone who would leave a God-print on my heart. And with great anticipation, I looked forward to reuniting with her as our PI team traveled to the Czech Republic to assist several of PI’s partners by leading a creative camp for youth.