Greetings from the Kinkades,
I pray that this letter will find you having a summer filled with God's graciousness and peace. I know that many get caught up in doing so much that they fail to take time to smell the roses, get a glimpse of God and actually enjoy summer. Take a deep breath and take some time to rest in the beauty of our short summer season.
2007 began in an unusually frustrating fashion for us. Our 166,000-mile Saturn broke down on the way home from a camp committee meeting, stranding me at 11:30 at night. Long story short, it took almost six weeks to sort through the electrical problems. This took hours away from ministry and hampered my travels. Trough the process it became apparent that I needed to get another vehicle for my ministry travels. However, I struggled with how to accomplish this without taking away from our needed house budget.
In stepped God to handle the dilemma. Without being aware of our special need, a church board designated a very gracious personal gift to us. At the same time, my dad informed me that his cousin was putting his '96 Thunderbird, with only 49,000-miles, on the market. After going to the Lord in prayer, we purchased the Thunderbird, and the special gift covered much of the cost. Praise the Lord with us as we see Him meet our every need.
At the end of February CSB Ministries had a national staff retreat. It was great to come together in fellowship with Don Patterson and my fellow Regional Directors. Days were filled with long meetings concerning ministry direction. We are excited about the headway we've been able to make in getting new materials out and in balancing our budget. The new Stockade Leader's Guides are a great addition for ministering to boys, and this is evidenced by the testimony of those who have used them in their programs. However, we realize that there is a lot more to do, and we have had to make too many cuts to balance our budget. Despite the struggles of accomplishing our mission on a very limited budget, optimism is high and the leadership team is willing to work hard to accomplish the job God has called us to do. God is blessing our labors. Pray that God will continue to give CSB Ministries the finances, personnel, and vision to complete His work.
During the national staff retreat we were officially introduced to our new partners in ministry. We are very excited about our new relationship with GEMS Girl'' Clubs. GEMS is a well established girl's organization with the same mission and philosophy as CSB Ministries. GEMS programs will replace our Girl's Alive programs, giving us an outstanding package to help churches establish gender-based mentoring ministries. Take a look at GEMS at www.gemsgc.org
In addition to the standard meetings, training and the national staff retreat, this spring was a season of reaching out into new venues. I developed and taught a workshop at this year's OCEA Conference titled "Teaching Like a Man". The workshop inspires men to use their "manly" gifts to disciple other men around them and to disciple our next generation of boys and young men. The workshop was received very well, and I believe that many men were inspired to go out and effect their world in a new way for Christ. I was also able to take a shortened version of this workshop on the road to several men's breakfasts. These shortened versions also resulted in very positive feedback from the participants. Pray that these men will not lose the vision created by this presentation. Pray that I will continue to find venues to inspire men toward affective discipleship. If you are the leader of or connected to a men's group, I would encourage you to get me an invitation to speak at one of their functions.
Camp continues to be an outstanding tool to reach boys, young men and adult men for Christ. This year Paul French continued his growth as Camp Director further allowing my focus to shift during camp. This year I was able to co-lead the Junior Counselor training program with Cory Baugher. What a wonderful experience to work with a group of teens offering themselves to God's service and fulfilling Christ's great commission through Brigade camp at Stony Glen. In addition to leading the JC's I was able to continue mentoring our central staff and network with the leaders and fathers/mentors who came to camp each week. This was a blessed experience. Pray that the relationships formed at camp will lead to more men stepping up to the challenge of deliberately discipling this next generation. (See the enclosed Camp Director's report for more summer camp details)
Jennifer and the girls are doing well. Abigail is growing out of her "baby pudge" and will be 1 year old on August 3rd. It looks like she will walk on her own any day now. Madelyn is enjoying summer and just learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels. We were able to spend some family time together during camp this year and even visited with friends and hiked in the gorge together. It was great to be able to have some quality time together during the busy camp season. Pray that our family will continue to have quality time together despite the needs of ministry and the demands of everyday life.
Did you know that our salary and expenses for ministry in Ohio are tied directly to the support given toward our ministry? The funds available toward our ministry in Ohio come from churches and individuals who send their gifts to CSB Ministries, designating them to "The Kinkades Ministry Support Team". Did you know that although our support has tripled since our first year, we are still living below the poverty level and we have to limit the amount of travel and office expenses accrued?
Our main objective in ministry is to inspire, teach and provide for men and women to disciple our next generation toward Godly leadership in their families, churches, and communities. We have been making advances. To do our job sufficiently, we need to be fully supported. Will you consider how you can help us better advance our ministry through your prayers, financial support and/or participation in our purpose?
In His Service,
Dale L. Kinkade
