CQ Missional Year End Letter 2009

Well, friends, its been quite a year of change around here- and I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement.  We started this wild idea of helping people grow into missional lives through mentoring and experiences in September.  That means we’re wrapping up the 4^th month of existence and I would like to report some of the beautiful things we seen happen in what amounts to the “starting line” of something much bigger than me or my friends who are excited about this.

• 13 young leaders are involved in a mentoring relationship with me each month.  They are learning to own the life that God has given them- and are making decisions with courage in their respective worlds.  We are making a difference here- more on a specific story later.
• The Certificate of Missional Leadership program is a huge success for our participants and also the site we’re partnering with, Garnett Church of Christ and the Green Country Events Center.  We’re in month 3 of 10, and the life altering learning, and impact on a community is thick already.  We have “a-ha” moments with each gathering, and the church is thrilled with the process.
• We are starting to engage an organic gathering of 20s each week- looking for a community of people who love God and want to make a difference in the world.  The group is called 20/30 and meets in the “redemption house” where Ben and Beth West (participants in our CML process) live. (Ben and Beth, btw, are awesome and their experience has been a huge deal.)
• Work with Challenge Quest being a lead facilitator for groups of all sizes and shapes is enjoyable, helping pay the bills, and dovetailing in a sweet way with the CQM work.  While we haven’t met our financial support goal for coaching CQM clients, work with Challenge Quest has filled a gap there.  God has provided for our needs- and new opportunities arise out of this diversity of work.

One of the young leaders who I have the privilege to mentor every other week, is a great example of how the work of CQ Missional is all about investment- and a picture of how unlocking a leader’s God given identity creates life giving change all around.  I’ll call him Jim and he approached me one morning this fall wanting to talk about his job and life.  He is a young ministry leader, and as he described his life, his emotions broke loose with tears as he shared that he is dying inside, and didn’t believe he was capable of fulfilling the expectations of leading in his job, or for that matter, his family.  Over several weeks, some assignments, and some challenges to lean courageously into difficult conversations while saying no to things he didn’t need to own, he started to recognize God’s blessings in his life and all around him.  He is starting to apply a vision of empowerment that he’s seen,  and he’s releasing it in his own leadership style, he’s doing what he’s good at, and loving his wife and children with a new confidence.  He is understanding that God is at the center of the story and he has a beautiful part to play.  We’re discovering what that part is through our process- and the beautiful thing is that his ministry and more importantly, his family benefit from this investment.  The programs he creates and runs and the people he leads receive a new investment from Jim.  Because he is now living on mission. He just needed someone to listen, to ask good questions, and to encourage him to move forward with courage.

Because of God’s goodness, and your support, I get to do this kind of work.    I get to help people step back from their current and sometimes suffocating  context, and see the big picture with honest assessment.  We get to ask- Who are you in response to your Creator?  This is fun stuff, because it works, and eyes get opened, and as mentioned earlier- the investment goes on and on- and people live “in the light” as 1 John talks about.  It’s a beautiful thing.

As our year comes to a close- I am asking you to consider making an investment in the work of CQ Missional with a tax deductable gift.  Gifts on a one time or monthly basis create the opportunity for guys like Jim to access our work, and pass the investment on to everyone he leads.  Please prayerfully consider joining our team in this way. Our financial support level is at 60%.  Help us fill that gap and grow the work this year to impact more folks through coaching and experiences that help grow emerging leaders.  We need your investment to grow and create more investment in young leaders.

We are drawing up new experiences for the coming year even as I write.  Look for a new daily content driven website at www.cqmissional.com where at least 10 folks will partner with us to create conversations every day about issues surrounding missional living.  Our contributing partners in this work are pastors, business leaders, young leaders who understand culture and community, and we’ll also have guests who you may (or may not have!) heard of.  I’m excited to take the next step of bringing people together with this communication resource that will also steer folks toward our experiences and processes at CQM.

Lastly- let’s remember Mary’s response to the visiting angel in this Christmas season:  “Let what You have said be done to me.”  May all of us have ears open to hear God’s voice this new year, and respond with a mission to join His work.

If you would like to contribute- go to www.cqmissional.com for online and autodraw options, or you can mail your gift to:

• CQ Missional, Attn. Chris

1212 W Albuquerque Pl

Broken Arrow OK 74011

If you would like to make a pledge for contributions starting in the new year- please just let me know so I can budget and plan.  Thank you in advance.

God bless each of you, and do not hesitate to contact me regarding your story and what you are experiencing in life- perhaps we can work together.  Each of you are a blessing.

Chris