Hello friends,

I hope that your year has started off great and that your family is well. It's amazing how the beginning of a new year can stir in us so many desires to start over and to start fresh. I hope that you are feeling the newness of The Lord's mercy and grace every day.

Huge goals in 2017!

As you my recall, last year was a significant year of change and restructuring in the life of our ministry at NEXT Worldwide. It was a good year but also a year of starting over and evaluating how things are done, I am thankful for the positive impact it has had on our ministry. My role here has provided me the opportunity to help lead our ministry to the next level by building from the solid foundation of the last 11 years and passionately pursuing Christ and His gospel work around the world. 

New Pre-Trip Video Training

One of the ways that we are improving our efforts is with all new Pre-Trip Training materials. Everyone that goes on a trip with us goes through a video training series that we have developed to help prepare them for the time on the field and more about what to expect on a trip. We focus on training how to share their faith with our evangelism tool called the Gospel Keys. They will also learn how to work with an interpreter and how to work alongside others in a different culture and setting. We feel this training is essential for them to be fully prepared when they step foot into another country on a NEXT Worldwide church planting mission trip. See the short clip below for a sample of our new training videos!


A short overview of NEXT Worldwide's Strategy and purpose for effective short term mission trips.

500 people in 2018!

As many of you know, you can't reach a goal without thinking and planning ahead for it. We have committed to pray that we would have DOUBLE the amount of people go on our trips in the next year than we had last year. This means that the time to start planning and working towards this goal is NOW. It is our hope and prayer that the Lord will provide the passion, focus, and determination to reach this goal. However, we know that goals can become idols... even the most righteous of goals. So, we pray that we can be good stewards of the ministry He has for us and continually ask the Lord to provide the opportunity, all the energy, and all the wisdom to achieve what we believe is His purpose and goal for NEXT Worldwide. Would you join us in asking the Lord to double the numbers and bring 500 willing hearts to serve and reach the lost alongside us in 2018?

Church Planting in Mexico!

Today we are laying the groundwork to establish new partnerships in Mexico. It has been a couple of years since we have led a trip to Mexico and there is a significant amount of peaceful areas there that are waiting for a gospel-centered church to be established. There are also many pastors and leaders there that are in need of help and we are praying that we will find a couple of these church-planting leaders in Mexico this year with the hopes of establishing new partnerships with them that will last for years to come.

Associate Mission Leaders!

This last year we started a new leadership program that will provide more staff-level leadership for our trips. We have recruited a handful of experienced ministry leaders, who have gone with us for years, to help lead trips this summer. These "Associate Mission Leaders” will make it possible for us to do over 30% more trips each summer. As this program expands, the amount of trips our staff can take will also expand, which is another good reason to find more partnerships like the ones we are pursuing in Mexico.

Being a Champion, not a donor should be transformational not transactional.

Giving to a ministry can easily feel like it's a transaction. It shows up on your bank statement and that's it. What if there was a different way to do this that actually changed you and your family's prospectives and lives?

A friend who supports us shared with me how he will get a globe out with his family and spin around the surface showing his little girls all the ministries they support and the impact that their family has around the world because of it. Yes, they are writing checks and sending money out but they are not letting that function stop there... they are making it a part of their lives and the story their family is writing. We hope all of our ministry partners who give sacrificially are seeing this TRANSFORMATIONAL impact on their own lives as they partner with us.

2016 Year-End Financial Recap

If you recall, our year end goal was an additional $16,000 to start 2017 in the black financially. As of today we have received roughly $3000 in special giving above and beyond our monthly giving. We are hopeful that the remaining $13,000 will be given by new donors that join us either monthly or through those that give with extra funds throughout the year.

As a champion of our ministry you are making a direct impact on the NEXT generation of students who are going out on our trips, sharing the Gospel, and getting solid leadership training. You are also helping to establish the NEXT generation of churches that are being planted where there is no gospel light.

If you are reading this and want to join us in this work we would love to talk with you and share about what impact you can have here and around the world as a champion for NEXT Worldwide. Please contact us if you'd like to talk more.