I am looking forward to my visit to Chicago from the 28th of November to the 8th of December. Last May I was able to go along with Jeff Anderson and Darren Kilford to present our building project. Now I am coming to keep everyone updated on our progress and news about our ministries in Spain.

I am very happy with what God has been doing in Spain over these past months, and I’m encouraged by the way that He has used La Industria and ContraCorriente. We’ve entered into a new stage of ministry that has many new and exciting challenges for us. It seems like at every turn in the road God has new blessings for us.

This year ContraCorriente will be venturing out by organizing 3 different events in 3 different cities with the hope of making the events more accessible. Besides being more accessible we feel that we will reach more young people.

This summer La Industria’s 10 Day camp (10 Días) had a record number of campers and we were moved to see kids making serious decisions for Jesus. Plus in our 9 Month discipleship program we have 4 new students along with 3 continuing students.

I would love to get together with any of you that want an update on the ministry that we carry out with youth here in Spain. I will be visiting the Melrose and Monte Clare locations on the 30th of November and the Lincoln Park and Midway locations on the 7th of December.

Thanks so much to all of you who pray for us and financially support our ministry to youth.

 

It is so hard to believe that the winter holidays are here.  Sometimes this season is real hard on people.  Others  really come to life as it is their favorite time of the year.  I can fully understand the challenge especially for those who have lost loved ones during this time of the year.

I am writing from the passenger seat as my 18 year old son drives us through the state of Illinois toward my real roots of rural Oklahoma. The first Christmas I remember was there.  I was seven years old and in the first grade.  My mom and stepdad went to Florida to get a place and get settled and my younger brother and I were living with grandma until the end of the school year.  My mom sent us a whole huge box of toys that were dollar store level.  I remember opening this big huge box of toys with my brother a couple of weeks early because we missed my mom so much.   But then Christmas came.  I remember waking up and there were no more toys.  My uncles and grandma told me that Santa must have delivered them to Florida by mistake and they would be there in a couple of days.  I was shocked.  I still remember being bummed out Christmas morning.  And then I remember a couple of days later getting my gifts and being so happy.  I was only seven but had a feeling they were not from Santa but from my mom.  One of my top ways of feeling loved is through gifts and it always means so much to me when I receive a gift.

As I head to Oklahoma for only the third time since I was at my grandma's funeral when I was in about the fifth grade....

As I head back to my humble roots here is what is on my heart:

1.  I am proud of and grateful for my family!  Now that I am an adult and pay the bills I really see the sacrifice of my grandma and uncles giving their time and money to take care of my brother and I two separate years. (1st grade and 3rd grade!). Now that I have kids of my own I know they are a ton of work and money.

2.  My grandma would send me to church every week and those were  the first seeds sown into my spiritual life!  I remember my aunt getting baptized.  I remember someone bringing my grandma an audio bible and we would listening to it often.   Even though I became a little delinquent in Miami, FL, those seeds did not come back void and those prayers did not go unanswered!

3.  I am glad I was born in Oklahoma!  Whenever I am asked where I am from, I usually answer Miami, FL.  I was proud of growing up in a cool, tough urban neighborhood.  But my family in Oklahoma gave me so much when by some American standards they might not have been up there on ladder of sucess.  But they have so much more in love for family, hospitality, and a slower paced life (for the most part :).

It is cool to go to a part of America where being a pastor is highly respected and up there with being a doctor or a lawyer.  I was shocked when one of my cousins thought it was cool that someone in our family had made it.  I didn't tell him that a "garbage truck driver" makes at least twice as much as a youth pastor in urban Chicago.  I love serving God though and look forward to seeing family. Spending quality time with them is why I love the holidays!

Changing the way we think
Pastor Decrease Dwayne

Last night I attended the Kennedy High School open house for prospective students. Our oldest child is in 7^th grade so we’re starting to prepare for the next step. Kennedy has some positives (free and close to home!) but I don’t trust my own intuition and desperately need God’s direction. He often speaks to me through a ‘sense’ of yes or no as I go somewhere and start to experience the atmosphere.  

 

This open house was just a first step and we will look at a couple more schools. After a brief introduction from some of the staff they had us walk around with the some of the honor students who volunteered to spend some time giving a tour.  

(By the way, of the 25 honor students that escorted us there were only 3 guys. Not sure why. Are 90% of the honors students girls? Do the guys just not like to give tours? Where are the young men?) 

 

3 positive things stood out to me:

1. We’ve come a long way as a church. New Life used to meet in Kennedy High School from 2002 until 2004 when we purchased the building at 51^st & Keeler. The group that fit in one service of about 400 people at Kennedy now is known as ‘New Life Midway’ and includes over 1100 people at our Keeler building and has birthed out a group of 200 more folks at Tri-Taylor.
2. I’ve come a long way as a Christian. I never liked High School, mainly because I was aimless and didn’t know what I wanted to do. I still feel a little uncomfortable in a school, hearing the bells and seeing the classrooms. Just a few months out of High School in 1983 I heard the gospel and came to Christ. Now, 25 years later, I have experienced peace, purpose, passion and any other good thing you can name by the grace of God. Every day is a blessing and I’m serving the King of Kings and helping other people to follow Him. I never would have dreamed in High School that I could have such a life.
3. God will direct us in choosing the right High School. The Lord has guided me so clearly for 25 years in every major decision and He knows where our kids should go to High School. Since I’ve been married (16 yrs) my wife and I have prayed separately and together on major decisions and always wind up with the same strong conviction. God gives wisdom when we ask (James 1:5-6) and can enable us to choose the best over the good (Philippians 1:9-11)

On Sunday I went to Children’s Memorial Hospital to visit 6-year-old Brianna. She had been battling lung and brain cancer for quite some time. After complaining of headaches her mother Veronica took her to the hospital to get tested. Brianna was very excited to lose her first tooth that day. That evening the tumor in her brain caused a rupture that sent little Brianna into a coma. The doctors did what they could but it was too late. On Monday at 7:58 PM Brianna’s spirit left her body. My heart was heavy the whole day as I thought of the sadness weighing on Brianna’s family.

Life is short, but God is still good. In the midst of tragedy I saw glimpses of God’s goodness. The final words that Brianna spoke to her Mother were words of love and affirmation. What a great parting gift. I saw some New Life friends Ivette and Juan spend the entire night with the family at the hospital encouraging and comforting. Pastor Danny Lopez was at the hospital at 2:00 AM in the morning praying with them and speaking into the parent’s life. It was encouraging to see the body of Christ in action in the midst of this family tragedy.

Tonight at 7:30 PM I will be speaking at the wake of little Brianna. The wake will be held at the funeral home on the corner 22nd and Damen. Life is short and painful at times but God is still good in the midst of our suffering.

Please keep Chris, Veronica and Brianna’s sisters in prayer during these days to come.

I just came back from a day and a half retreat with the pastoral team. We prayed, laughed, worshipped, planned, ate, strategized and took communion together. On Wednesday evening we ate downtown Elgin at a little Mexican restaurant called El Faro. After the meal we took a walk through the historic district of Elgin. As we walked by an older church building I noticed a sign in the door advertising EHOP Elgin House of Prayer. We decided to go to the third floor and visit the prayer meeting. There were 4 people worshipping and praying in the room when we arrived. The fifteen pastors slipped in the back door and joined right in the worship. Later one of the ladies said she was so encouraged by the sound of men’s voices praising and worshipping that she initially thought we were angels. We prayed with that small group and encouraged them to not give up in their labor of intercession. It builds my faith to know that there are pockets of people all around that Chicago Land that are cooperating to build the Kingdom of Jesus.