blast
THE AGK BLAST
THE AGK BLAST
November ‘24 EDITION
THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED NOVEMBER 27-29 FOR THANKSGIVING
Devo with
Pastor Ryan
““The wilderness is a place of beautiful pain that strengthens the soul. So, I will choose to value extended time in the place where bushes host fire and ravens bring food.””
Waiting in the Wilderness
By Assistant Superintendent Ryan Wheeler, Living Word Assembly, Chanute
“God, bless the Chinese church. Raise up pastors. Shine your light in the darkness….”
The smell of coffee. The whispering murmur of agreement. I rubbed some lingering sleep from my eyes. The weekly staff prayer meeting began at 8 a.m. every Tuesday, one hour before I normally arrived at my office as Student Ministry Director at Lee’s Summit Community Church.
That prayer, uttered by our lead pastor for the underground church in China, sparked something unexpected in me—a sudden and overwhelming sense that God was calling me and my young family to leave our comfortable and familiar lives in Lee’s Summit, MO. But the voice of God wasn’t calling us to missionary work in China. Instead, my heart and mind were flooded with thoughts of Chanute, KS.
One year later, we moved by faith and began waiting on God. I worked at a hardware store while Grace stayed home and cared for our two young sons (18 months and newborn). Waiting is hard. I don’t like waiting in lines at Walmart or traffic lights, much less for needed life guidance from God.
Waiting in the wilderness is even harder. It represents dry, uncomfortable, and even painful seasons of life that tempt you to run in search of rescue or cower in place and complain.
After six months at the hardware store, I was hired as the administrator at Chanute Christian Academy. I was 27 years old and had no experience in the educational field. The job was hard, and ignorant mistakes constantly humbled me. Every day brought a fresh fight to find joy. Yet years passed. I felt stuck and forgotten. I felt confused and disillusioned. I was waiting in the wilderness with no sign of relief.
I sense there are AGK ministers who understand what I’m talking about. The details are different, but you know what it feels like to wait in the wilderness. Even if you have not experienced this, you will. But take hope; there is a treasure to be found in the wilderness! Here are two encouraging truths to ponder:
The mechanics of His design are still mysterious to me; however, I can testify that His Word proves true. There is sweetness in my soul as I think about my 13-year wait in the wilderness. Will I jump for joy if God “allures” me to another stay there? I doubt it. But even though my enthusiasm might fail, my faith will remember. The wilderness is a place of beautiful pain that strengthens the soul. So, I will choose to value extended time in the place where bushes host fire and ravens bring food.
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It is my conviction that in the West, we are killing ourselves with comfort and convenience. Waiting offers neither. Though unpleasant, exposure to the pain of waiting can act as a life-saving vaccine for the pandemic of ease. And while you wait, beautiful things have the opportunity to grow: faith, endurance, strength, and wisdom, to name a few.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.Isaiah 40:31 ESV
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The burning bush for Moses, the pillar of cloud and fire for the Israelites, food delivery ravens for Elijah, and ministering angels for Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we see God showing up intimately in the wilderness.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.Hosea 2:14-15 ESV
I made a discovery in the wilderness- God brought me there because of love. In that wilderness, God turned the pain of my past into hope for the future.
A spiritually-focused weekend designed to engage, encourage, and equip Kansas students and leaders. Each service will challenge us to become true followers of Jesus by fully engaging in worship, the Word, and the altar. Our desire is that every person will leave feeling encouraged by the services, times of connection, and fun. Our prayer is to see the next generation be equipped to RUN FREE! (John 8:36)
YTH CON
Date:
November 1-2, 2024
Cost:
Leaders $35
student$55
Location:
BETHEL LIFE CENTER
WICHITA, ks
Men’s Conference Recap
Broken Records & Broken Chains
Psalm 107:13-16 (NLT)
13 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. 15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.
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…can require immense force to break. A Grade 80 alloy steel chain with a 1/2-inch diameter, the kind of chains used for towing vehicles, can withstand over 25,000 pounds (11,340 kg) of force—equivalent to the weight of two fully grown elephants.
Evidence shows that men today feel bound by many chains—mental health, economic pressures, work life balance, identity and purpose, isolation and loneliness, sin and addiction.
Imagine, if you can, the seismic force required to break the chains that bind fully grown men.
The answer?
The Savior—our Messiah Jesus.
At this conference we celebrated countless broken records:
• Almost 300 men in attendance!
• 36 recommitments to follow Jesus!
• $1500 raised for LFTL
• Close to 500 pounds of meat consumed (that matters)
• 50+ golfers and dozens at skeet shooting / bowling
But above all, we celebrated a record-breaking number of broken chains!
Many people mentioned the freedom they encountered. One Kansas man said, “I walked in as a husband and dad who was secretly carrying so much guilt and shame, but now I feel God has removed it and given me joy, hope, purpose, and a plan for my future!” God has certainly blessed us again with a fun and powerful conference.
We kicked off the event with various man activities throughout the city of Wichita, which culminated in a fantastic tailgate party and cornhole tournament—but don’t worry, any teams knocked out in the early stages were able to enjoy a stellar car show! We then launched our services with a LFTL Steak dinner and laughed as we listened to comedy from Taylor Johnson. This warmed everyone up for worship and a powerful word from our speaker Coach Phillip Deas. You can watch those on our AGK Men’s Ministry Youtube channel!
All of this couldn’t have been possible without our incredible community partners: Scheels Sporting Goods, C3 Gunworks, FireBible, 360Man, AG Solutions, Eddys Chevrolet, Murphy & Sons, Auburn Hills Golf-course, the LFTL Steak team, the Kansas Men’s Ministries Lead Team, the incredible worship team and serve team at ZAIK Church and SO MANY MORE!
Pastors and Men’s Ministry Directors, do yourselves a favor and mark your calendars for September 12th-13th 2025, because we are already anticipating our chain breaking God to do even greater things!
See you next year!
Soli Deo Gloria,
- Pastor Stephen Luna
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CREDENTIAL APPLICATION DEADLINE
Our next Credential Interview date is February 3, 2025. If you would like to be included in this date the application deadline is December 1, 2024. Please contact our office at credentials@agkansas.com to begin the application process.
Gender Identity, God’s Design, and Walking in Newness of Life
There’s a lot of talk about gender identity these days. We innately long to feel at home in our skin and to be comfortable with who we are. But where should humanity look to find its true identity?…
JAN 17
10 am - 12:30 pm
the assembly
at goddard
AN INTENTIONAL time of PRAYer over our jerusalem, judea, and samaria. we will pray over our families, churches, and callings, to seek fresh vision from god.
FORMERLY PRAYER SUMMIT
2024 AGK Light for the Lost
Celebration Tour
AGK is a cooperative fellowship of churches working together with a common mission to support one another in evangelism and missions. Imagine the global impact on the world of 137 AGK churches supporting our Kansas missionaries and by providing the tools to share the Gospel.
Kansas Light for the Lost heart is supporting the Assemblies of God mission statement: “To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God. To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son. To be a people who demonstrate God's love and compassion for all the world.”
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…a tour of opportunities. The LFTL Steak Team was involved in an accident on the way home from cooking at the Kansas Men’s Conference. We are thankful God protected them. But the steak wagon was lost. With less than 2 weeks before the tour, we had to determine how we were going to provide meals at nine locations. Our host churches were amazing as they stepped up and took over providing every meal.
Our AGK churches join together with a cooperative heart in providing our Kansas Missionaries with $150,000 of Faith Promises for evangelistic resources. Thank You, Jesus!
We are not done yet, as there were a few churches that were not able to attend one of our tour celebrations. Pray about how God will use your church to help fulfill the AG vision of evangelizing the world.
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credential renewals
An email was sent out in mid-September to all credentialed ministers who have email addresses on file with General Council that included instructions for this year’s renewal season. If a credentialed minister does not have an email address on file with the General Council or does not have internet access, they will need to contact the AGK Network office to request their renewal information. This can be provided to the minister either digitally or via the U.S. mail. The General Secretary’s office will no longer be sending any hard copy renewals to ministers. All renewals are requested and preferred to be submitted electronically and online; however, paper renewals are still accepted. Ministers have from November 1, 2024, until December 31, 2024, to renew without incurring late fees. All renewals received between Jan 1st-Jan. 15th will be charged additional late fees. Credentials not renewed by January 15th will lapse.
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Ministers will renew online at https://ministerrenewal.ag.org. This site will be available on November 1, 2024.
The Ministers renewal site includes a helpful FAQ section with useful information and step-by-step instructions at https://ministerrenewal.ag.org/Home/FAQ
If you have difficulty logging in, please email accounts@ag.org for assistance.
All GC dues and late fees (if owed) can be paid within the renewal system instead of through AG Giving. Additionally, dues can be paid with a check or card via the contribution form at the time of a paper renewal submission.
Ministers, please note: Within the renewal site once a payment is made, please DO NOT exit the site until your renewal has been submitted and the option to download a PDF is displayed. If you exit prematurely your renewal is not guaranteed to be complete.
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After submitting their online renewal, ministers will have the opportunity to upload a photo for use on their fellowship card and in the online minister directory if desired.
The General Secretary’s Office is no longer producing paper renewal forms. Hard copy renewals will be made available to ministers from the Network upon request and will be received and processed by the General Secretary’s office when submitted.
We are still giving God thanks for all He did during our time together at the annual WOVEN Women’s Ministries Conference. This year’s theme was CAPTIVATED and the entire weekend focused on 1 John 4:16, “We know how much God loves us and we have and we have put our trust in his love.
Women’s Conference Recap
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…filled Evangel Assembly of God in Wichita for the intentional purpose of letting His love captivate our hearts in fresh ways. CAPTIVATED provided space for women to pursue the presence of God together through several different avenues. A beautiful foundation was laid for us throughout the conference as the worship team helped us first turn our eyes towards Jesus. We heard the tender “tethered to Jesus “ stories of women coming to know His love and how it looks to trust Him in various seasons of life. Our guest speaker, Elly Marroquin, challenged and championed us to be captivated by God’s Word and to let our lives reflect what our hearts have come to know. CAPTIVATED attendees were also able to hear from two of our Kansas AG World Missionaries, Misty Elliot and Jenni Conrady. We have the honor of linking arms with these two women through the WOVEN financial arm THREADS. Because of the generosity of the women of Kansas we are able to help these missionaries make their homes a soft place and safe space for their families. During the weekend, women were also provided the opportunity to reflect and respond through journaling and prayer to what they were hearing, learning, and experiencing in real time. The prayer behind this time was for women to record in the moment what they felt God was revealing to them so that they could recall it after they had left the conference. We give God all the thanks and glory for the impact this weekend made on the lives of the women of Kansas. We believe these impacts extend to our homes, communities, and churches across the state and beyond.
rw360
Going beyond emotional intelligence
RW360’s vision is that Christians around the world would draw others to Christ by developing relationships that are astonishingly loving, united, joyful, durable, creative, and fruitful.
RW360’s mission is to equip Christians to develop strong, enduring, and appealing relationships that display the love of Jesus Christ and the transforming power of his gospel.
We provide educational resources, seminars and training to help churches, seminaries, ministries, and businesses around the world. We also provide conflict coaching, mediation, and arbitration services to help resolve family conflicts, business disputes, church divisions, and lawsuits in a way that restores relationships, promotes justice, and brings glory to God.
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Kid Con Recap
Kid Con was an exciting event this year filled with all kinds of activities! Our AGK Kids had a great time with some of our evening activities like a silent disco and Disney karaoke, as well as fun afternoon games with our cabins. Most importantly, our kids learned that God is writing their stories. They got to hear from Taylor Johnson about how God is with us and that we have a story to share. The kids got to go through breakouts to discover the answers to the following questions:
What is my story?
Who needs to hear my story?
How do I tell my story?
Thank you to Wheat State Retreat Center for hosting us and for all who prayed for this event. Our AGK Kids have a story to tell, and God is still writing their story.
