November 2025
Friends,
As we enter this season of gratitude, I want to share a moment that has stayed with me.
I recently spoke at FBC Cuero, challenging students and leaders to view their school as a nine-month mission trip. The next week, 65 students showed up at FCA—many saying they wanted to live out that challenge. Their youth pastor, Tyler Dingle, has stepped up as our new regional coordinator, and momentum is already building.
Moments like this remind me why we do this work—and why I’m so grateful you’re standing with me.
Here’s what your partnership is helping advance:
GLOBAL
We had an incredible GenImpact call with Panshack, a courageous leader in Nigeria who continues to develop trainers of trainers through Jesus Focused Youth Ministry. In a region where persecution is daily reality, your prayers make a real difference for him and his network.
Our free global training platform, JFYMO (Jesus Focused Youth Ministry Online), continues to reach leaders hungry for equipping. Pray as we expand this resource worldwide. I was honored to meet with Kevin Miles of GenImpact to strategize how God might broaden this reach even further.
My young friends in Singapore remain a joy. Their hunger for strategy, training, and mentoring is inspiring, and I’m grateful for the trust God is building there. They call me “Grandpa Rick,” and I’m honored.
Our NxtMove North America leadership call was packed with vision as we worked toward the next steps of one bold goal: every student, everywhere, hearing the gospel.
NATIONAL
Dare 2 Share’s Day of Global Evangelism was a powerful milestone. As the Texas leader, I was encouraged to see 6,715 groups registered in 87 countries, mobilizing 298,156 teens to share the gospel in one unified day.
I also spent time at camp in Waxahachie, partnering with John Decker on JFYMO and Campus Connections—strategic tools for equipping the next generation.
A big praise: the National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM) will hold its 2026 national staff gathering at Lakeview Camp in Waxahachie. My longtime friend Jaroy Carpenter, camp director and networker, is helping us prepare.
I also met with the Every Student Sent team to strengthen the bridge from high school to college, helping students step onto campus already connected to community, discipleship, and mission.
Texas
Our First Priority clubs in Montgomery County are thriving, supported by a unified network of youth leaders. Because churches are working together, students are coming to Christ every week. Praise God!
Momentum is strong toward launching new clubs in Cuero, Victoria, and the Lubbock region, and the DFW area continues to grow steadily.
In Dayton, youth pastor Cameron Eiland has stepped in as coordinator. I also had the privilege of speaking at their After Pole rally in September. New networks are forming in Amarillo, Longview, and Beaumont. San Antonio remains a major priority, and we now have seven committed leaders on the ground—including one who develops youth leaders nationally, and Keli Caraveo, who helps lead our statewide prayer strategy, “Lock the Shields.”
LOCAL
During Dare 2 Share Global Day, our local Momentum gathering equipped 27 students and leaders with the gospel. Our campus missionaries led worship and even served another local church that same weekend. Watching them lead and invest in others is one of the greatest joys of my ministry.
Please pray as I work with our Declaration Church Missions Team, preparing for the 2026 mission engagement. We’ve been invited back to Portland, and we are exploring three Houston-area sites for potential mission partnerships.
We continue our ministry in the Five Oaks community in Spring. Our student leaders helped lead the Thanksgiving service in the park, sharing their testimonies and presenting a human video with scripture. At the block party, we distributed 85 bags of food provided by Declaration and other churches. I shared the gospel (which was translated into Spanish also) with the families, and one of the women prayed to receive Christ.
Prayer requests:
Plans for Accelerate Texas West, North, and South gatherings, and NxtMove global for 2026.
Preparation for NNYM National Staff Gathering in April in Waxahachie.
More schools allowing campus clubs such as First Priority.
Plans for mission involvement in 2026
THANK YOU,
Because of your partnership, young leaders are rising, networks are forming, and the gospel is advancing into communities hungry for hope. You are making an eternal difference.
If the Lord brings me to mind, please pray for wisdom, protection, and open doors as we head toward 2026.
Gratefully,
Rick
Thank you all again for your love and support.
