Director's Notes from the Road - Feb 2019

The past few weeks have included a lot of miles and events.  Lynne and I ended January at the Refresh Conference at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa.  It was a great time of spiritual refreshing as we heard preaching from some of our heroes like Les Ollila, Marty Herron, and Douglas Maclaughlin.  Lynne and I connected and reconnected with friends that we went to school with and others in ministries that have been a part of our “circle” for the last 25 years or so.  I also had a chance to meet up with a few students and recruit a bit.
 
After a few days at home we headed out on a 10-day trip to the Carolinas and Georgia.  The anchor for the trip was attending the CORE counseling conference and the Bible Conference at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC.  Lynne and I were challenged with the ministry of Harvest USA as they address and invest in the issues the church faces regarding sexuality and gender confusion.  The Bible conference theme was “Prayer.”  What a fantastic time of challenge and prayer!  We also had a display table at the conferences and had many opportunities to inform people about God’s work up here at Victory and recruit staff.   These conferences are great times to connect, network, and build relationships with people.  We have good friends around BJU, and it is encouraging and edifying to keep up the connections.
 
While out east, we also stopped in and visited the Ballards, a former student and his parents.  John and Beth are great parents and pour their lives into their sons.  I think they were as encouraging to us as we were to them.  Lynne and I were also able to spend a day with Lynne’s brother and sister-in-law a couple of hours drive away in Georgia.

Ministry is about redemptively connecting with people.  Everywhere we go we meet hurting and struggling people.  My conclusion is that in some ways we are all hurting and in need of encouragement and exhortation to trust God and dig into His Word.  Life can be hard.  Our Hope is Jesus.  We rejoice that God uses us wherever we go.
 
Please pray for us as we have major trips planned to Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota over the next couple of months to visit supporting churches and promote the ministry.  Pray specifically for God’s provision for our staffing needs of a Residence Manager and several single Resident Assistants.

Mark Massey

Director of Victory Family Ministries