A summary of what the Circuit Riders are up to this fall & my new role…

The busy fall season is in full swing! We have 180 people who have committed six months to being trained in Circuit Rider’s Discipleship Training School here in Huntington Beach, CA. They are coming from all over the world,  dedicating these months to growing in leadership and other skillsets to equip them to reach their generation. 

CIRCUIT RIDERS GLOBAL: CARRY THE LOVE UNIVERSITY TOURS

We are starting to plan our national tours to university campuses across America, Europe, and South Africa. Right now all the teams are on the road and have 460 meetings planned with students and pastors who are passionate about see Jesus touch their generation on their university campus or in their city. These teams are hosting worship nights and evangelism trainings to equip students to unify with other campus ministries and have the skillset to train peers in how to share the gospel on a regular basis. 

We launched an evangelistic campaign called “First Fridays.” Every first Friday of the month groups of students are setting aside time to go out on their campus to share the gospel with their peers. You would be amazed by the testimonies of these students who are stepping out in boldness to share who Jesus is. 

CIRCUIT RIDERS CALIFORNIA: UNIVERSITIES 

We just hosted a gathering specifically for students who attend university in Southern California! We gathered them to gain vision for their campus, set goals, and make actionable plans to accomplish that. There were about 20 campuses represented and 50+ people who spent a one full day with us.

One girl shared that she had kept a list of all the things she wanted to see God do on her campus through working with the Circuit Riders. She is graduating this year, and said that God has answered everything she put on that list, including seeing athletes from every sport be a part of her campus ministry! 

During this gathering our training included how to share the gospel, evangelism outreach, small groups to brainstorm creative ways to reach their campuses, and how to host an effective prayer/worship night! Fun testimony from their outreach that day, they saw 7 people give their life to Jesus! 

CIRCUIT RIDERS CALIFORNIA: CHURCHES

We just hosted a 3-day event called The Activated Church. We believe that the Church is the vehicle for long-term change. A changed church is the greatest vehicle to change a nation. The goal of The Activated Church event was to take a deeper look at what is happening in the western church, identify what is causing numbness and passivity in its members, discuss how to cultivate a mission lifestyle in its members and their local church body.  

We have noticed in the last few years of hosting stadium gatherings around the great commission, that one of the greatest factors in a young person taking action, is the support of their local church.

An activated church is the answer to America’s crisis.

We were stunned by how God breathed on this gathering. We had 400+ people from 75 different churches represented for this event. We are humbled by the opportunity to strengthen local churches in CA under the great commission!

MY NEW ROLE

This fall I stepped into a new role, I am coordinator for our Spring 2025 Europe outreach! 

After being in Europe in May, I remember feeling very excited by what God is doing in the Europe. The hunger for the gospel was exciting, and the unity of the churches to reach the lost and train up young leaders was apparent. 

I wondered if this trip was simply to see & experience what God was doing in Europe, or if it would be the first of many. To my surprise, God did have an assignment for me in Europe!

I really believe that great number of people turning to Jesus in Europe is a picture of what is to come in America. Many countries are post-Christian, and there are multiple generations now that have not been raised with any faith and the evidence of people’s curiosity is clear.

According to a 2023 Barna study on Gen Z, 77% of young people both Christian and non-Christian said they were motivated to learn more about Jesus in their lifetime. This is wildly encouraging!

77% of the generation.

Yet, even with this statistic, we see a gradual decline in young people who identify as Christian from one generation to the next. In other words – Gen Z is hungry to know Jesus, but a greater number of people are leaving the faith than those coming to Christ. 

While many in Gen Z are lost, engaged Christians in Gen Z are highly missional. They are all in for their faith! When a Gen Z’er gives their life to Jesus, they are zealously devoted to evangelism, discipleship, and to live like Christ. We believe that this moment is an opportunity for the greatest wave of evangelism in history. So we are committed to save the lost, revive the saved, and train them all. The future depends on it.

CIRCUIT RIDERS EUROPE: MISSION EXPERIENCES

Circuit Rider Mission Experiences – In the countries listed below:

  • Sweden
  • Denmark
  • Germany

What is a Circuit Rider Mission Experience?

The Circuit Rider Mission Experience is a multi-day evangelism training and outreach experience leading to a final evangelistic event. The goal is simple – to unite with the Church across the city/region and empower hundreds of young people to reach thousands with the message of Jesus!

When a young person learns to boldly share the Gospel and live missionally, it quickly becomes a lifestyle. Our goal is that this experience will lead to an on-going evangelistic movement and church growth across the city/region.

I am spending the next three weeks in these countries to build relationship with our network of pastors, non-profits, and leaders, learn about what God is doing and they dream  for Him to do. Before moving forward with planning, I felt it was important to meet and listen to the people in these countries. I believe that by listening to their stories and  dreams, the plan will become clear about how we serve them in the spring.  

Prayer Points:

  • Please pray for wisdom in these meetings: What questions to ask and ways to honor each person we meet. We need wisdom, and we know God gives it generously. 
  • Divine new connections! We believe that there are many more people that God wants us to meet and we want to meet them! Pray for eyes to see who is around us and creative ways to reach more people. 
  • For protection and health. Our days will be full of travel, back-to-back meetings, and many different sleeping arrangements. Please pray that the team is protected as we travel, and that our bodies remain healthy despite varying amounts of sleep!
  • Pray for God to burden the hearts of the believers in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany for the lost around them, that their hearts would be filled with compassion like we see Jesus exemplify in Matthew 9. That we would see Gen Z step into this missional lifestyle that would stoke the hearts of other believers to live the same way.