Dear family and friends of KAI,It is such a joy to be a part of your lives. For many, last year was a difficult year with recessions and unemployment, etc. Through it all God has been truly faithful to each and every one of us. It was so much fun to be with many of you in Houston for the Christmas party last Sunday. You guys helped us celebrate the ending of a season and the beginning of another in grand fashion. What a blessing and joy to have that time together with each of you. Family and friends make life worth living.
Moving to the new place
As I am writing this letter Laurie and I have just received an email saying we are approved to lease the house which we will be moving into very soon. As you guys know Laurie and I are transitioning to a new home and it’s a bitter sweet thing. Right now we are in the bitter part of reflecting and packing but very soon we will be moving and starting the new. It is an exciting time and I want to thank so many of you for offering to help us in the move. Laurie and I have both been the recipients of your generosity and love this year as you guys have been behind us in so many ways. I do not think we would have made it through without the way you have shown us your love. It has been 15 months of eeking by and I am very ready for the new to begin. The house which Laurie and I are moving to is at the address 14215 Parable. We will begin moving there the day after Christmas and interestingly in Luke 14:12-15 we find a parable about throwing a banquet which I believe is very applicable for the season we are coming into. It is time to make way for the Kingdom and tell of His wondrous power to all those who are truly hungry.
Luke 14:12-15
Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
The new business
As many of you know Laurie and I have joined our son Chris to help him start a business much like the one we had for 22 years. We are all excited about it and we have been working hard to make it happen together with juggling all we do in ministry. I have chosen at this time to not receive an income for working at the nursery and instead to assist when and how I can as my body is completely restored from the herniated disk issue. Chris is working at the nursery full time now and things are progressing very well. Laurie is working there at the nursery as well during sales season and she will be receiving an income starting in February, thank you Lord. It has been a very sobering and adjusting time surviving on unemployment this year as the smoke has cleared from our business going under after Hurricane Ike. It is a real privilege to be able to minister and to stir Kingdom reality in the earth but it’s also a real challenge to finance it. Thank you so much for your faithfulness in giving. We have been building some funds in 2009 to be able to begin drawing a small amount from the ministry to go toward a housing allowance in 2010. If it were not for the backing of friends and family our stake in the nations would be sorely compromised. Depending on our giving trends I might need to get a part time job to supplement our income so please pray for the right fit for me as I heal. I need to bring in about $1,200 a month. If any of you know of a part time position available which will still give me freedom to minister please let me know.
A short report on the regions and nations where the leaders of KAI are working
USA
Houston
It seems we are in a brand new season with our ministry thrust in Houston. God is shaking things up to position us to see the bigger picture in our city. There is a true convergence taking place and many leaders are seeking how to work together in new and unique ways. May this continue, Lord, as we find ourselves and our hearts more and more in tune with the new of what you are doing. For the last year KAI has linked arms with Deborah DeGar and other ministry leaders in the Houston area to move around the city and host once a month gatherings with the set purpose of building altars of worship to the Lord. These gatherings were designed to facilitate a release of prophetic insight concerning the month and season and to be an extension of the first fruits gatherings which are happening at Glory of Zion International in Denton, Texas. These gatherings have been key times for bringing the city together under a common banner. The services have been powerful and very anointed and we have been so blessed to be a part of them. The assignment was for a year and was completed in December 2009 so we are praying about what the Lord will want to do next. Many relationships were forged that I know the Lord will have us nurture. Within KAI we have been working hard to develop Houston in a regional way. A few new home fellowships have been birthed in the latter part of the year and one more is on the horizon. Also a new ministry by the name of LINK is in the developing processes of being birthed. LINK is being established to help coordinate and develop ministry thrusts and training for the Houston region. It’s a real joy to see leaders released into their portion. More, more Lord.
Colorado
Colorado is a real joy and many things are coming together quickly. We have seen many churches and ministries come together under the newly founded ministry led by Tim & Paula Tyler called the Colorado Coalition. This ministry serves as a hub for many of the churches and ministries along the Western Slope of Colorado to find a corporate identity. The Tylers have sown much time and energy into the western slope gaining great favor because of their selfless approach to advancing the Kingdom. The Coopers from Global Consulting along with Laurie and I have been taking teams in for the last two years doing training schools for the leaders and pastors and there is now a strong group of leaders who have a heart to move forward in a regional way. It is such a joy to be in alignment with these precious folks for such a time as now. These are things that we have dreamed of and God is so faithful to His plan.
Mexico
Mexico is moving very well as the network (Alliance del Reino) which we birthed in 2003 together with Juan Jose Herrera and Raquel Vega Enriquez has grown to a few dozen churches. Recently much favor came upon our leaders there as we put together an event in Xilitla, SLP whereby we built an altar of worship bringing the entire religious community together as we moved in ways that they had not experienced before. It’s a long story but many principality structures were shaken as the heavens opened and a new life was released. We had been preparing for 10 years to move into this region as it is the high place of occult worship and witchcraft. God released great power and favor during the event. The pastors of the churches were so blessed that they asked our leaders after the event to come to the region every week and do training with the leaders and pastors of the area. Many leaders shut down their midweek services in order to be in the trainings. As a result of this favor we have decided to start a training school in the region for emerging leaders who desire to be trained for ministry. A number of the churches which had no alignment have connected with our network and are aligning on a significant level. Only God can pull these things off. Juan Jose who is our principal leader there in Mexico has recently let go of overseeing the large church in the city of San Luis Potosi in order to give more attention to the missions in the mountains which are scattered throughout the state of SLP. His son in law Victor Vega will be taking his place as senior leader of the SLP church. It’s a big job and Victor is ready to hit the ground running. We have worked with him for over 10 years now and are very excited about this new opportunity. 2010 will be a year of many trips of every nature into Mexico so plan to go with us some time as these trips are the most reasonable to do because of proximity. Some trips cost as little as $250
Peru
We began this year working together with the leaders of Global Consulting in Peru in the highlands near Cusco and also in the Amazon up the Madre de Dios River starting in Puerto Maldonado. In the 90’s the Coopers with GC were a part of a strong movement of church planting as revival broke out in wonderful ways in Peru. They were instrumental in planting many churches in unreached territories along the rivers in the Amazon as well as in the mountain regions. Today many of those churches are alive but in need of ongoing training and encouragement as many of them are very remote in nature. We plan to take trips into these areas to strengthen the brethren and to help them develop a Kingdom perspective. Compassion ministry is a key tool and so we need people who have a heart to minister to those in extreme need who don’t have to do it from a four star hotel. Join us in 2010 and help us make a difference in Peru.
Italy
Over the last few years Dawn Gilmer one of our leaders and board members of KAI has been taking teams into Italy to stir the prophetic. In her going she has met many of the key prophetic and apostolic leaders in the nation. This February Laurie and I are planning on accompanying her on a trip to meet with many of these leaders to entertain how our ministry can strengthen what the Lord is doing in the nation. God is moving in Italy in brand new ways and we are very excited about it. Our plan is to use our personal miles for the flights but we still need about $1,200 to make this trip happen. If the Lord lays it on your heart please send us as we believe it is the right time to go. We have been waiting years for the right connections and timing in Italy so please pray with us as we move forward.
Philippines
As many of you know in the past we have taken teams and have ministered in the Philippines at national pastors’ conferences but we have never really had the right kind of open doors to do the things we are most passionate about there in the nation. This last year we found out that the Tylers from Colorado had been developing relationships for years in Mendonau. This past year Tim took a trip there and shared some of the power points that we have been teaching his leaders in the training times in Colorado. The leaders in Mendonau were very excited about the teaching and very hungry for more. Tim has asked me to join him and go in again this year to share more on the Kingdom and regional approaches to ministry. We are praying about this trip and would like for it to take place in the Fall. Tim feels the pastors there are very ready to do something much like what we are developing other places along the lines of regional ministry. We are extremely hopeful and praying for God to prepare hearts so that when we go we will have grace to move quickly and accomplish much on their behalf. This trip will likely cost about $3,000. Your financial support goes to make trips like this one happen.
Costa Rica
I have been asked by brothers George Gamboa and Terry Thompson to join them for a trip this May into Costa Rica to do training and strategizing about the development of regional thrusts of ministry on the Island of Shira right off the coast of Costa Rica and in Limon on the mainland. This work is an interesting one and has a great testimony in the nation. Brother Gamboa is from Costa Rica and has an interesting legacy to redeem. His great great great Grandfather came from Africa to Costa Rica and had plans to serve the Lord and had dreams of even pastoring a church someday once he arrived. Instead of this he met a woman on the ship and fell in love. The woman did not love the Lord and once they arrived she convinced him to start a saloon and whorehouse. Three generations have produced many whorehouses and darkness in the region but George a fourth generation grandson has picked up the original call of his relative and is now planting churches in the houses of ill repute and turning the darkness back. He has a vision for the whole nation and is very much about the things that we are passionate about. We want to help him. Please pray for us as we go and see what the Lord has for us. If you would like to contribute finances toward this trip the cost will be about $1,500
Belize
Presently Reuben and Beth Autery and their family are preparing to go to Belize and begin working and developing a ministry there in the nation. They have taken one trip and believe the Lord is favoring them to move some time in the near future. Please be praying with them about the timing and the location of where to base the ministry. I am planning to go with them for a searching out trip as soon as we can get our calendars together so please stand with them and undergird them with prayer. This trip should be fairly reasonable but it will still cost about $750 per person due to us having to fly. Please let us know if you would like to help in any way.
A regional approach can be difficult
In Houston as in other regions, the way in which we gather and our meeting times vary and are considerably different from a traditional church approach. We typically do things from a regional perspective having many meeting times and venues for various reasons. For instance in Houston we only gather corporately once a month but we gather in other ways though out the week and on weekends. Our unorthodox way of doing things does not always lend itself toward helping people remember to give tithes and offerings as it is not our style to take up an offering at every gathering that we have. For example this month our corporate time in Houston was a Christmas party so we chose not to take up an offering at all. Historically this has caused the ministry to suffer when we do this because of the “out of sight, out of mind” reality. For this reason and due to the hectic life we live we are encouraging people to consider the monthly draw option on our web page so that when we have a function or a party instead of a service we can still cover ministry expenses and salaries and move forward with strength. Many of our home fellowships gather weekly and we will try to be more disciplined in receiving offerings then as well to help alleviate this challenge. Please take some time right now or before the year ends and ask the Lord how He would have you partner together with us in your giving to advance the purposes of the King in this next year. I know that the Lord will reward you for your faithfulness and love and will make all grace abound toward you in all things for His name sake. This has been a year to stretch what we have had and the Lord has been very faithful. We did have to make some serious cuts in our financial outlay this past year to adjust for so many of our people being out of work. We are looking forward to 2010 being a year of momentum and growth as we reach out to new harvest fields to advance the kingdom of God.
Other Needs
Some of the giving toward Mexico fell back this past year and consequently our ability to pay full salaries as well to our staff there in Mexico. Raquel and Yahiro have been faithful ministers and have always approached the ministry bi-vocationally. If you would like to help them to receive their full pay you can give monthly toward their needs simply by designating your desire to do so when you make your payment or send your check.
If you desire to give a tithe or offering before the end of the year you can do so by clicking the link below:
http://kingdomadvancers.com/donate.aspx
Blessings on each of you this New Year and may you continually
see increase and have an abundance in all things.
Dave Hoskins