79 Days of Summer
Chris Tomlin, Newsboys, TobyMac, Skillet and David Crowder are just a few of the people I had the opportunity to team up with this summer while speaking at these big outdoor festivals in the US. On top of that, I had the opportunity to speak at six camps in Ontario, BC and the US. It was such an amazing summer where we saw thousands of people come to Christ.
I sit here right now still amazed that I “get to do this”
As of Labour Day weekend, I have spoken around 180 times in 2017. I couldn’t do this without you as I know people aren’t booking me because of my good looks. God has blessed this ministry, but He has used you to help me with support, encouragement, and prayer.
Going into the fall, I am going to intentionally slow down a little bit on the speaking side with only about 60 speaking engagements stretching from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island.
After 79 Days of Summer, here are a few things coming up which I would love some prayer on…
2230 Young Professionals
Believe it or not, speaking isn’t all that I do. Less than 2 years ago, I planted a ministry in London, Ontario geared towards people who are done university and college. In Canada, recent research shows that 70% of people who grow up in the church are no longer in the church by the time they are around 22 years old. This ministry has been focused on keeping the 30% connected to the local church and reconnecting the 70% back into the local church by simply running a ministry where they are the main focus. Our community has over 300 young professionals as of this moment as the ball continues to roll. There’s a lot of work that goes into leading this, so I will be putting some more time into 2230 as we move forward with a unique strategy as there’s nothing else like it in the country.
Pray as we take a step forward into the second phase of this ministry – that the 30%, our leadership, local churches, and pastors can all jump on board reaching the 70%.
(I will share the third phrase on another day)
Hiring an Assistant
Youth for Christ Canada has approved the first step for me to hire a part-time assistant to help take a little bit of the administration and tech load off my plate. Weirdly enough, I actually love admin, and it’s #2 on my spiritual gift test…I think most people are in shock right now. Again, my looks alone don’t get me too far. Anyway, I reached out to YFC as I believe this will help myself and these ministries become even more effective with some extra hands with a better skill set to help pour into it.
Pray that I can find the person with the right skill set and personality for this role. They will have to fundraise their salary which isn’t always the most attractive part, so please pray that part doesn’t scare the right person away.
Fundraising
The goal when it comes to my salary was to raise about half of it and have the other half come through honorariums when I speak. Right now maybe 35% is coming in from donations, while the rest is coming from speaking. The reality is about 225-240 speaking engagements make up the 65% right now, and as much as I LOVE speaking, while connecting with so many leaders and people in the process, I’m starting to realize it’s not healthy to do this much speaking, and it’s almost possible to focus on the personal side of my life if I have to maintain that number of engagements to earn a minimal salary. As a result, I need to spend more time to try and balance this out more so I could have the opportunity to take on less of a load when needed without financial worry.
Pray that new people could jump on board with this ministry financially, that the generous people who gave a one-time gift last year still see value and want to give again, annnnd because I love people but not askin; please pray for a miracle donation so I don’t have to talk about the money part again. (I think we all have that prayer request.) Ps. This has very little to do with “more money”, and everything to do with my pace of life, my health and personal life outside of ministry.
More
These are just a few big things I will be focused on this fall, but on top of these, I will be rebuilding my website, creating a much better social media presence so you are able to stay more up-to-date with what I do; I will hope to spend more time on the book I have been writing; I will be working through the YFC credentialing process; managing my Fantasy Football team to its second straight championship victory; and lastly, I will begin preparation for the Spring tour.
If you could remember me in prayer as we head into the fall, that would be great! Lots of great things are happening, as well a pretty full speaking schedule. I am so thankful you and I are on this team together. You rock!
Mike Gordon