Spotlight & Prayer Focus:

The Next Generation of Christians Here, Near and Everywhere

Christian youth worldwide are faced with the reality that they are growing up in a very corrupt world. Never in the history of man have the atrocities of the world been seconds away from our awareness and in such a visual and “real time” way due to social media. The youth of today’s world, both Christian and non-Christian, see, hear and/or experience, and must process atrocities such as these: war, consequences of natural disasters, drugs, cartels, violence, murder, rape, suicide, starvation, and the list goes on.

We, as the church, must be intentionally praying for the youth of God’s global church. They cannot afford to change for the world. They need to remain steadfast and speak the good news to the unsaved of the world around them as well as sharing the danger of continual sin: “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” -Romans 1:28-32

Our Christian youth must have resolve in this corrupt world. As Daniel 1:8 states: ”But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore, he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Resolve is deciding ahead of time your firm plan of action for potential situations. The next generation’s spiritual parents are getting older, and now is the time for them to step forward telling the world the truth, not keeping quiet, not giving up.

Let us pray for this resolve on behalf of our younger brothers and sisters in Christ, Here Near and Everywhere.

LORD we come before with these specific prayers:

That youth will put off the old self that belonged to their former way of life, corrupted by deceitful desires, and be renewed by the Spirit changing their minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
That they will not be deceived, but believe and realize bad company ruins good morals. 1 Corinthians 15:33
That no corrupt speech comes from their mouths but only what is good for building up others and bringing the light of Christ to the darkness around them, and showing grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
That they will not seek the approval of man, nor walk in the ways of the world, but continually seek to honor GOD in word thought and deed. Galatians 1:10; Colossians 3:17; Ephesians 4:17

Missionary Spotlight:

The Pucketts

Dale and Christa Puckett are Ohio natives and UBC-supported missionaries working in global youth ministry through YouthHOPE, a ministry of New International. Dale serves as YouthHOPE’s Director of Partnerships. YouthHOPE prioritizes working in places throughout the world that are unreached and under-resourced. They partner with local churches and leaders and provide training that equips individuals with the tools and resources to feel confident about reaching youth. They have developed three programs to carry out their mission: Youth Leadership Academy (geared for youth ages 15-24), Youth Ministry Leadership Training (for frontline youth workers), and the School of Youth Ministry Trainers (a year-long trainer of trainers program for high level youth pastors and leaders).

Christa serves as the Director of Human Resources for New International. Her role involves many agency-wide activities including onboarding new missionaries and providing orientation, engaging with Board members and working with missionaries on furlough. The Pucketts have two children, Tyler (23) and Taylor (20).

In 2022, their ministry included work in Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the UK where they met with youth workers from Scotland, Belgium and Northern Ireland. They also led seminars at an international mission conference in Columbus and made a stop in the Dayton area to visit family and UBC where Christa attended as a teenager!

While their plans for 2023 are not completely set, Dale shared the following opportunities they are considering and ways that UBC can be praying for them:

February 6-10 - YouthHOPE 2023 Strategic Planning Week - Please pray as we seek the Lord to plan what it is He is leading us to do in the new year.
February 19-24 - New International New Affiliate Orientation - Christa will be leading new affiliate missionaries through their orientation helping them process their beginning stages as a new mission with our organization. Pray for her to prepare well and for those new affiliates in our pipeline who are preparing to serve the Lord globally.
Projects we are praying about:
- March/April - Thailand - Investing in a large youth ministry team by leading them through a spiritual retreat, and developing leaders who are working with youth and youth homes.
- Spring/Summer - Nicaragua and Costa Rica - We are currently in discussions about leading multiple Youth Ministry Leadership Training projects in these countries.
- Spring - Germany - We are continuing to learn about youth and youth culture in Europe. Our goal is to spend time developing relationships with leaders in Germany so that we might continue to grow in our knowledge of youth ministry in this region.
- Fall 2023 - Launch of our School of Youth Ministry Trainers in Latin America. This is a massive undertaking that requires time and resources. We are praying for the right timing and for the Lord to provide.
- Fall 2023 - Our daughter Taylor will be starting an 18-month internship in North Africa in September. This is part of her degree requirements for her to graduate from Bethany Global University in Minneapolis. She will need to raise the necessary funds to cover this cost.

Recent Highlight:

UBC Growth Group Serves Bridges of Hope

In December, the Perry Growth Group provided and served dinner to the guests of Bridges of Hope (BOH). This is the second time they have served BOH over the last few months.

Lincoln (11) and Jackson (8) now have hearts for the homeless and often ask when they will be able to go back, what supplies they are in need of, and pray for the organization and guests.

BOH has a Prayer Board where their guests can post prayer requests. Those from the Perry Growth Group were able to pray over these requests after serving dinner.

BOH is the only homeless shelter in Greene County, and is located in Xenia. They typically serve anywhere from 20-35 guests per day. BOH relies on individuals, small groups, churches, and other organizations to provide meals every night for the guests. BOH not only provides a meal and a bed, they also provide other services such as Bible studies, recovery meetings, assistance with how to secure housing and/or a job, and they have a program "Shelter Bucks" where guests sign up to do chores around BOH to earn bus tokens, clothing, etc.

When you provide and serve a meal, you quickly realize it's not just meeting the need for someone who is physically hungry. You are helping to reinforce that they matter, and that God loves and cares for them, and so do you. You personally grow spiritually and in your awareness of homelessness - it isn't something that you can just ignore because it's in another city, state, or country - it's right here in your own backyard. Please be in prayer for how God is leading you to serve the homeless.

To learn more about Bridges of Hope visit their website: http://skbridgesofhope.org/

Opportunity:

Donate Bibles & Christian Literature to Love Packages

Do you have old Bibles, devotionals, biblical reference books, Christian books (fiction and nonfiction), faith based DVD’s, preaching CDs, tracts, and/or children’s biblical materials? During the month of January we will be collecting the above materials at the Mission Table. We will then send these materials off to an organization called Love Packages who then in turn sends these materials all over the world where they are used by local churches, pastors, and ministries. This is a great way to bless our brothers and sisters around the world with our resources.

To learn more visit www.lovepackages.org

To read past Mission Updates or to get more information about UBC on Mission, visit www.ubcbeavercreek.com/mission.

UBC Mission Update - 2023, Issue 1