December 19, 2011
Greetings from the Kinkades,
It is definitely the Christmas Season and the lights and glitter are everywhere. It is always great to put up the Christmas tree at our house. Each year our family buys a new ornament, and as we put the ornaments on the tree they remind us of the blessings from our past- helping to give us hope for the future. Many say that the season is all about the children, but it is really about The Child, Emanuel- God with us. May we use the glitter and lights to expose our children and others to the truth and fullness of Emanuel.
Saying that Christmas is all about the children reminds me of the misunderstanding many have about CSB Ministries. Many think that CSB Ministries is a children's ministry. However, CSB Ministries is not about the children. CSB Ministries is about empowering men in their role to disciple boys to become godly men, and partnering with GEM's to do the same for women and girls. The result of this empowerment is definitely a great ministry to kids, but the power in what we do is in how we empower the adults of the Church.
CSB Ministries has been helping men create a legacy of discipleship for nearly 75 years. Like our families' tree ornaments remind us of a blessed past and give us hope for the future, great plans are underway to celebrate CSB Ministries past and to enter into the future with great energy. Plans are set to celebrate in Waupaca, Wisconsin, July 26-30 2012. Impressive speakers and events are lined up to help us celebrate. In addition, our celebration dovetails with Oshkosh Air Show for a "one- two punch" of awesomeness. Go to www.csbnvision.com for more information and to register.
In my role to empower men, a large portion of my time has been devoted to the development of Treks these past three years. The deadline for getting the Spring volume ready for the shelf is very short compared to the Fall volume. This Fall, I was able to get the Spring volume ready for print by our primary deadline, and it has been on the shelf ready for the field since early November.
This latest Treks, volume 4.2, completes a four year cycle of Treks material. I hope to be able to revisit volume 1 and continue the Treks tradition of continual improvement. I would like to have the opportunity to edit and rewrite the first year of material, and possibly add supplemental material to empower the men in encouraging boys to work out the lessons in their everyday lives. At this point I am not sure how my vision will coordinate with our revision of the Stockade and Battalion programs. Please pray for clear direction for the future of our material as we strive to powerfully bring our core elements to a new generation of men.
Early Fall saw a successful surge in contact with our member churches. I really desire to create a circle of communication that will help us continue to better realize the needs of men in the field and to help the men to better utilize the tools available to them. In today's world, you would think that contact would be easier than ever, but it seems that the electronic communications like email, twitter, facebook, IM, etc., has created a lot of "noise" to get through- both for myself and the men in the field. Pray that I will be able to diligently develop the desired circle of communication to help empower the men of our member churches.
Empowering men across the region means sharing CSB Ministries with new churches looking for sustainable ministries for men. I have been developing a list of potential churches to contact. My plan is have this fresh list of contacts fully organized for contact and follow-up beginning the first of the year. This should give us good exposure before churches begin planning for their Fall 2012 season. Pray for Roger Campbell and myself as we begin to prayerfully work through these churches starting in January.
Camp planning is a continual process. In many ways, the Fall is more busy than most other times because we need to pull together all of our programming plans, schedules, budgets, and promotions. We have put together a new schedule based on the great response to last year's changes. Father and son Stockade will get a week of their own. There is an all new Father and son Battalion camp with its own program, and the advantages and excitement of Battalion and Stockade camp operating congruently will be realized for two weeks. I hope you have received this year's schedule and are planning on participating as a leader and/or camper. Please pray for us as we work out the details of the programs and schedule, and as we promote camp.
Our camp director from last season, Pastor Dave Buncher, has begun a church plant in Twinsburg, so he will not be available for us this next season. Please pray for Dave and this undertaking. If we do not find a new summer camp director, the responsibility will be mine. However, this scenario does not optimize our ministry in Ohio. Please pray for us as we seek another director for this season.
On the financial front we are on track toward our best year of support since we began full-time with CSB Ministries. If this trend continues through the fiscal year, we will not have to take a cut from our current salary. I was excited to see that we were only $1700 per month short of full support over the last 12 months. Thank you so much to all of our regular and special gift partners. You are our lifeline in ministry! Please pray for additional partners to help us advance toward full support and full salary.
Thank you for your continuing prayer for our ministry impact and for your support. If you are not a current part of our support team, will you prayerfully consider joining or rejoining? To designate your gifts toward our ministry in the Ohio Region, send them to CSB Ministries, PO Box 150, Wheaton, Ill., 60187, and mark them "The Kinkades' Ministry Support Team" Account # 312026. Or go to www.csbministries.org and designate your donation toward our account. Thank you so much!
In His Service,
Dale L. Kinkade Jr.
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