September 2026
Thank You for Being Part of the Story
Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,
Sometimes in ministry, you get a moment that makes you stop and thank God for the privilege of being part of someone's life.
September was full of those moments.
We began the month with our local church youth group at DECLARE, where we challenged students to think about what it means to be a Campus Missionary. We recruited several students to be part of our Campus Missionary small group this semester, and we have been meeting every other Sunday since then.
I love starting with students right where I am.
We are helping them learn how to build relationships, develop a consistent quiet time, study the Bible, and then teach others what they are learning. I hope that they will begin to see their school differently—not simply as a place they attend, but as a mission field God has placed them in.
Our Campus Summit also doubled from last year, which was exciting to see. More students are catching the vision that God has placed them where they are for a purpose.
Then came one of those moments that makes all this personal, when I had the privilege of baptizing my friend and Campus Missionary, Lily Richards.
Lily and I have walked through some anxiety and struggles together, especially during our time at 220 Camp. I’ve had the privilege of watching God work in her life, help her grow in her faith, and give her a greater confidence in who she is in Christ.
So standing there and baptizing her was pretty special.
And now Lily is preparing to go on a mission trip to Mexico!
Those are the moments that keep me going.
After 55 years of ministry, I still love watching God take a student who is struggling, unsure, or just beginning their walk with Jesus—and then seeing that same student begin to realize, “God can use me.”
Lily’s story is one of many from this month. And I want you to know that you are part of these stories. Because of your prayers, encouragement, and financial partnership, I get to keep investing in students and leaders across Texas and around the world.
GOD MOVED AT FIELDS OF FAITH
We held Fields of Faith events across Texas this month. Six took place in our area, and God really moved at the one we were part of, with help from Overcoming Obstacles, our American Ninja Warrior partners.
We saw 100+ decisions, including 36 students making first-time commitments to Christ and 20 students responding to a call to ministry. Twenty students saying, “Yes, God, I will go.”
That's exciting!
Those aren't just numbers on a report. They are students whose lives are being changed. They are families being impacted. And some of these students may become the leaders God uses to reach hundreds or thousands of others.
Thank you for helping make that possible.
23 STUDENTS SAY YES TO JESUS
Our First Priority groups have also gotten off to a great start.
Across our five campuses, 23 students have come to Christ!
Our Spring and Montgomery County networks are working really well. We have some great volunteers serving alongside Ashley Jones, our local First Priority leader, and I am encouraged by what God is doing through these partnerships.
One thing I have learned over the years is that we reach more students when we work together.
A church doesn't have to do everything.
A youth leader doesn't have to do everything.
When churches and leaders come together around students, God can multiply what we can do.
BUILDING THE NETWORK ACROSS TEXAS
This month I also had the opportunity to visit our Dallas, Midlothian, and Arlington networks.
I love these visits.
I enjoy sitting down with youth leaders, hearing what is happening in their communities, praying with them, and looking for ways we can work together to reach more students.
And I am especially encouraged by the growing number of hub leaders and ministry partners God is raising up across Texas.
We now have tremendous hub leaders and partners serving in:
Lubbock • San Antonio • Houston • Beaumont • DFW • Wichita Falls • Austin • Waco • Abilene • Tri-Rivers (Stephenville) • Allen • Tyler • El Paso • College Station • Permian Basin
These leaders are helping connect churches, youth ministries, volunteers, and students around the same mission.
This is what I have dreamed about for Texas—a network of leaders who aren't competing with one another, but working together to reach the next generation.
I also participated in the NxtMove Board meeting and had the privilege of facilitating and co-writing the Discipleship Learning Lab in Arlington.
The Learning Lab brought leaders together around an important question:
How do we help this generation truly follow Jesus and make disciples?
I’m excited that this same training will be presented in five more locations across the country. I’m grateful to be part of the conversation and to help equip leaders who are working on the front lines with students.
50 YEARS OF REACH OUT YOUTH SOLUTIONS
Another special part of September was speaking at the 50th anniversary celebration of Reach Out Youth Solutions, along with global partners from Africa, Cuba, India, and Ukraine.
One of the highlights for me was reconnecting with Doug Landro, my roommate when we trained 120 leaders in Kemerovo, Siberia. Doug is still doing mission work in a war-torn country—training leaders, multiplying disciples, and providing relief to people in needy regions.
Seeing Doug again reminded me of something I have seen over and over in ministry.
We never really know how God is going to use the relationships we build along the way.
A conversation with a student, time spent with a leader, or simply walking alongside someone can become part of something God uses years later—and sometimes around the world.
That is one of the things I love about ministry.
We invest in people and trust God with the results.
SEE YOU AT THE POLE — NOW IN 92 COUNTRIES!
And then there was See You at the Pole.
It was exciting to see nations and ministries around the world promote and participate in SYATP.
This year I got to help lead SYATP at The Bible Seminary, invited by my friend, Dr. Scott Stripling, who serves as Provost.
From there, I traveled to Cuero, where my friend and youth pastor Tyler Dingel serves. I spoke at their after-pole rally, where three students came to Christ and one girl responded to a call to ministry.
And a special thank you to Craig and Kathy Hughes in Moulton, who gave me a place to land and provided lunch between stops!
Those personal connections are one of the things I love about ministry.
We are now seeing See You at the Pole being used in 92 countries!
But what excites me most isn't simply the number of countries.
It is what happens after students pray around the pole.
SYATP is helping build campus ministry, empowering students to lead, and creating opportunities to share Christ through pre-pole and post-pole rallies. What started with my youth group in Burleson, Texas, in 1990, when we gathered around a flagpole to pray, has now become a movement being used around the world to help students pray, lead, share Christ, and become campus missionaries.
I’m humbled and grateful to have been a co-founder of See You at the Pole, but even more grateful to see what God has done with something that began so simply with a group of students who just wanted to pray for their school.
After all these years, I still get excited when I see students taking ownership of their faith.
Oh, and my granddaughter and grandson, Bella and Jude Smith led SYATP and told the story at their school, continuing the legacy.
THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS
When I look back at September, I see a lot of activity—but more importantly, I see lives being changed.
Lily is preparing to take the Gospel to Mexico.
Students are saying yes to Jesus at Fields of Faith.
Twenty students are responding to a call to ministry.
Twenty-three students have come to Christ through First Priority.
Campus Missionaries are learning God's Word and how to share it with others.
Students across Texas and around the world are praying for their schools.
Leaders are working together to reach the next generation.
And God continues to open doors that I could never open on my own.
That is why I do what I do. And that is why I am so thankful for you.
Some of you pray for me regularly. Some of you give financially. Some of you encourage me when I need it. Many of you do all three. Please know that I don't take any of it for granted.
You are part of every student who hears the Gospel, every leader who gets equipped, every campus that gets prayed over, and every disciple who begins to make disciples.
I am grateful to be on this journey with you. Please keep praying that God will raise a mighty army of students and leaders who will pray with passion, grow deeper in Christ, build relationships, make disciples, and take the Gospel wherever God sends them.
There is still so much to do, but I believe the best is yet to come!
Blessings,
Rick Eubanks
Texas State Coordinator, National Network of Youth Ministries
reubanks@nnym.org
(and the NNYM Team)
