June 21-July 4th marks our 4th Annual TNT Fireworks Fundraiser. As we prepare, there are many needs that could allow us to raise even more money if we can cut our expenses down. Here’s the list so far:

1. A generator (biggest need)
2. gas for the generator (or gas cards)
3. bottled water
4. snacks
5. tarps to cover the fireworks (in case it rains!)
6. garbage bags
7. cotton twine to bunt the sides
8. packing tape
9. razor box cutters (2 or 3)

If you can let use or give us any of these items, it will help tremendously as we prepare for our mission in the fall. Please email us: info@f2fmi.org if you can help in any way. We will also be looking for volunteers soon to help us run the tent. More info soon, so watch this space!

See my final albums from the UK: Week 2 | Final Days

Last Saturday night was an exciting time for me in my ministry. It was the climax of 27 events last week. There were big screens, lights and thumping music from my friends Nu Life and Twelve24. Students from schools that we had toured earlier in the week through Lifefaqs turned up at the show. There were 75 who volunteered to counsel, work security, collect media and set up equipment. Hundreds gathered to hear the bands, and most importantly, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I decided to share the raw footage of my life at home with my wife, Amy as she nears the end of her life. I talked about some of the horrors the cancer has brought in to our lives. I accounted for all that we lost, our fears and even our doubts.

At the same time, I shared my hope: that Amy’s life is only just beginning. I shared how only hours earlier, one of Amy’s last memories on this planet was witnessing her mother and sister give their hearts to Jesus via Skype as I led them in prayer. I talked about how Amy had seen the Lord in the room with us earlier in the week on several occasions. I explained how she had been reaching out to Him. I also explained how this comforts me to know that God is so close.

I offered an invitation to those who need hope. I shared with them Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and him with me.” I explained how Jesus is truly providing an escape from death and from our own negative decisions. When the moment of decision came, I stood in awe as 30 teens moved forward to meet counselors and do business with God.

Already the stories are pouring in about how Jesus is touching lives. A mother and daughter gave their lives to Jesus Christ after hearing about Amy’s mum and sister. Another young woman who had never before been to church stopped me in the hallway to tell me that she had made a commitment to follow the Lord. Still another pair of boys from my class at New London High School came up to me to tell me they had given their lives to the Lord. I was so blessed to see how God was using Amy’s story to reach lost and hurting souls. I praise God that through our suffering, salvation has freely flowed from the testimony Amy and I share as we follow Christ.

Thank you all for your support. So many of you are praying and believing God with us as Amy prepares to go on to glory. It is such an encouragement to us to read your notes, prayers and encouragement. We also are delighted to share in the harvest of salvation stories that we have witnessed with you.

So much more to come… I look forward to being with many of you this Easter Sunday at Calvary Chapel and see even more come to know Him for the first time!

Even when we’re weary, life doesn’t quit throwing experiences our way. We might be at the end of our rope, exhausted, angry, frustrated, confused and life keeps going. Life doesn’t give us a “time out” just because we are a little emotional (or really emotional). However, sometimes it seems easy to check out from life when things are stressful, aggravating, demoralizing and confusing. Bottling it up seems easier than dealing with things and allowing ourselves to become numb keeps us functional.

This past week was very difficult here in our home. Amy suffered two episodes that we think were strokes. She sleeps a lot and we have a growing sense that she is going home to be with the Lord very soon. In the four years that Amy has had cancer, we have both felt many things, wrestled with our faith and clung to each other. There have been times where I have indeed checked out. There have been times when Amy and I have asked a lot of questions and doubted. There has been fear, impatience, frustration, stress and anger. The grim reaper has been a regular dinner guest and slept over our house on many a night.

On the other hand, this week will be my largest outreach to date. During the day, through my work with the Lifefaqs Foundation, our team will take UK hip-hop band, Twelve24 in to schools throughout our community sharing a message of hope to more than 3,000 students. On an entirely different track through my ministry f2fmi, we will tour youth groups in the evenings and have a massive concert on March 27th to share God’s love and celebrate all that we have accomplished throughout the week. I am sure we will see salvation spring forth throughout the area in a fantastic new way.

Needless to say, Amy and I are living in a moment with two extremes: both pain and joy. Where do we find the inspiration to move forward? Where do we get the energy to organize and execute some 27 events throughout the week whilst dealing with such a massive life issue? Because Jesus is not dead, friends! As Christians, we believe that when Jesus Christ died for our sins 2,000 years ago, He was making amends for the things that we have done wrong and when He rose from the dead, a new hope was born that there is an escape from the sickness and pain of this world.

This message is what we believe. It is our hope. What better time is there to raise the banner and to declare the mercy of God to the world than when it looks like the end is eminent? It’s not over friends — for you, for me or for Amy. Jesus’ divine blood was spilled so that by believing in Him, not one drop of human blood should be lost in our battle with death when He burst from the ground and life erupted from that empty tomb!

How do we have faith in times of trial? By remembering that Jesus has already defeated death. He has already forgiven any wrong doing we may have done. Because we know He’s already sorted everything out, if we really believe it, we can live intentionally, purposefully and passionately. We can do the unexpected; the opposite of what those who don’t believe would do — we can rejoice in mourning, we can love our enemies, we can clench on to our hope when it looks like all our luck has run out. Easter is coming soon. Let’s remember what that is all about and remember who else is coming soon too.

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” -Hebrews 12:3

This week, UK hip-hop band, Twelve24 will tour schools, youth groups, group homes and churches. Twelve24 is part of the work of The Message Trust, an organization dedicated to serving teenagers in greater Manchester. Our very own Ryan Griggs is a member of Twelve24. I recruited him several years ago to try out and he got in! Now he returns to help us in our quest to reach students in public schools.

For the last 25 years or so, Andy Hawthorne has been leading the charge in the toughest parts of the city: on the streets, in troubled neighborhoods, in the prisons and schools as well as uniting the churches. “Diary of a Dangerous Vision” is the account of that story and how it has played out for the good of the city.

The Message probably produced the first musicianaries of its kind: The World Wide Message Tribe. The book chronicles the early years of schools work and how God used the Tribe to impact the church, the music industry and thousands of teenagers with the gospel. The Message does much more than build bands. They run a school of discipleship called Genetik, a prison ministry Reflex, an inner-city outreach program called Eden and Life Centers along side them. The Message has also been involved with mass evangelism through their work with different bands as well as working in partnership with world-renowned speakers like Luis Palau and Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor in London. Co-creators of the Message, Mark Pennells and Zarc Porter started Innervation Trust, a ministry I have served with for more than five years recruiting for other schools bands that have emerged since the days of the Tribe.

Andy’s book is passionate and his call to the church to step out in faith and live the urban adventure for God is compelling. The story of the Message has had a massive impact on my ministry. That is why this week is so exciting. Having Twelve24 here in Southeastern Connecticut is a dream come true. It’s as if I get to add a chapter to this book as we reap some of the fruit of this wonderful ministry. If you want  to know more about where f2fmi is going, you should definitely read this book and catch a vision for the things that have deeply impacted me.

We need volunteers! Would you like to help during our schools week or be a part of our main event? Here are some of the areas that you can serve:

• Stage Crew – Work as a stage hand and help the main event to flow smoothly.
• Set up/Break down – Help us get the main event venue set up before the concert or help us pack up at the end.
• Security – Help us usher people in to the auditorium safely and keep people in designated areas.
• Ticketing/Will call – Help us get people through the door as quickly as possible.
• Media – Help us make the show more exciting by working with our media crew.
• Merchandising – Help us run all the tables associated with the bands/ministries to sell their products.
• Hospitality – Help us feed the bands, provide host homes, or keep the Green Room supplied with refreshments during the event.
• Childcare – Provide a gift to other adults with children who want to serve at our event by looking after their little ones during the concert.
• Prayer – Be part of a special team committed to praying throughout the event for the main event attendees.
• Counseling – Volunteer to minister to decision makers during the call to action.

REGISTRATION TO VOLUNTEER IS CLOSED.

This March, f2fmi and The Lifefaqs Foundation will launch our most aggressive mission in Southeastern Connecticut to date. Touring schools, group homes, youth groups and churches, Twelve24 will bring their message and music to teens throughout our region. Twelve24 will confront issues that teenagers face today by using their message and personal stories to influence the choices that young people are making. Bookings are coming in left and right and we expect to do more than 15 different missions during the week.

However, all this cannot happen without your help! We need to get the band here and the goal is to raise $2,500 for their airfare this month. Will you help us make history in Southeastern Connecticut? Give your gift today of any amount and it will be applied directly to the airfare of the band.

Click HERE to give a 1x gift through the Lifefaqs Foundation (Paypal) and be a part of bringing Twelve24 for their first USA appearance!

You can also send your check by mail and make it payable to:

The Lifefaqs Foundation
P.O. Box 38
Montville, CT 06353

What is a musicianary, you ask? Good question! Why we haven’t taken time to explain this in all these years is beyond us. A MUSICIANARY is a MUSIC-MISSIONARY. The term is not original… we tried to buy the domain name when we first thought of it. Apparently, others have thought of this term and all the good ones are gone.

How did f2fmi get involved with Musicianaries?
Good question! It all started when Amy and I were living in the UK. in 2004. I was a radio d.j. at the University I attended and was invited to m.c. an event with thebandwithnoname at the end of a schools week in Canterbury. I became great friends with the lead singer, chipK and was impressed with the powerful way the band presented the Christian message. They spoke a language young people could understand using MTV-style performances with singing and dancing in school assemblies, lunch time concerts, character education classes and at Friday night concerts.

On Tour with the Band
After returning to the USA, I received a book deal from Tate Publishing. As a way of cross marketing the book, I named my book after the band’s 2nd album – Schizophrenix. Then, I went on tour with the band for 2 months in 2005 running their sound, doing some preaching and sitting through dozens of auditions. At the end of the tour, there were several recruits and I opened f2fmi in Belpre, Ohio to help musicianaries get to England once they had been accepted in to a band produced by Innervation Trust.

Carissa & Kylie
The first two musicianaries that f2fmi sent to England were Carissa Jardio and Kylie Evans in 2006. Carissa was from Tampa and went to the renown hip-hop church, Crossover. Kylie was part of a dance studio in Missouri, hailing from Lee’s Summit. The two girls raised support in months and the next thing they knew, they had both landed parts in thebandwithnoname as backup dancers.

The Lodz Mission with Passion 4 People International
Another big happening in 2006 was a collaborative NGA mission to Lodz, Poland. I was recruited to direct the mission for Evangelist Brad Butcher of Passion 4 People International. I took thebandwithnoname in to the schools of Lodz leading to a concert at the end of the week for more than 800 students.

Lucy & Jennifer
The next two to go to England were Lucy Wells and Jennifer Elrod. Lucy’s parents are missionaries from England that moved to Atlanta, GA with Operation Mobilization. We sent Lucy back as a reverse-missionary to the country of her birth! Jennifer, also from Georgia raised support to be in an Innervation band. Lucy is our longest standing musicianary, performing in the all-girl pop band, tbc.

Genetik
Musicianaries were coming home before their contracts were up. We were troubled by this because of the amount of work it took to get them over there. The question was raised, “How do we prepare them better so they will stay?” Trainings were introduced. Meetings and phone conferences followed. Paperwork. The answer turned out to be using The Message Trust, another schools work organization, to train our aspiring music missionaries. The Message founded an academy for music and evangelism called Genetik. We began to send our missionaries through their program in order to see if they could cut it in the UK before offering them permanent positions in schools bands.

Ryan & Morgan
Enter Ryan Griggs and Morgan Dinerstein. When I re-opened the f2fmi office in 2007 in Connecticut, I met both Ryan and Morgan at my new home church, Calvary Chapel. Both of them were presented with the opportunity. Both of them went to Genetik. Ryan was offered an internship with The Message and toured for a semester in a new project called Genetik Revolution. When his internship was over, Ryan and the team were offered permanent roles with The Message. The band was renamed Twelve24 and thrust in to schools all over Manchester in the fall 2008.

tbc in the USA
f2fmi changed roles in 2009 from tour coordinator to regional partner. We hosted tbc in Southeastern Connecticut for one of their famous schools weeks! tbc did many shows throughout the week leading up to a main event at Connecticut College’s Palmer Auditorium for 400+. You can read the official Mission Report here.

How will f2fmi Support the work of Musicianaries in 2010?
2010 is already proving to be an exciting year. Both Ryan and Lucy will remain in the UK touring the schools in their respective bands. f2fmi remains committed to keeping them on the field and rallying support for their cause in 2 major ways:

1. f2fmi and The Lifefaqs Foundation will bring Twelve24 to Connecticut in March to tour our schools and reach students in our community!

2. f2fmi is also committed to finding another musicianary for Innervation’s tbc. Are you between 18-24? Do you rap, dance, or sing and have a passion to share your faith? Would you like to become a MUSICIANARY? For more information, click here.