Welcome Chris Ebersole to our staff team!

Chris Ebersole has joined DiscipleMakers! He will soon graduate from East Stroudsburg University, where he connected with DM right away during his freshman year. He served as a summer intern in 2017.

“I was very attracted to the community right away," said Chris. “Over the past four years, I have met people from all walks of life who were all united around a common vision and love for Jesus Christ." This motivated Chris to consider joining DM after college. “Knowing all these people were going to graduate and go to every corner of the world helped me see how strategic the mission field of campus ministry is," Chris continued. “I wanted that to be my career."

Praise God for raising up Chris to serve on our staff team, and pray for him as he begins the journey of raising support full–time this summer for his ministry with DM.

DiscipleMakers establishes new student fellowship at Susquehanna University

Students and staff of the new DiscipleMakers student fellowship at Susquehanna University

The DiscipleMakers fellowship at Susquehanna University (SU) recently received official recognition from the university as a student organization. Becoming a recognized student group is a significant milestone in the growth of the group, which began in the fall of 2015 when DiscipleMakers first started sending staff to minister at Susquehanna.

As the Fall 2017 semester began, DM missionary Bria Griffin was leading a Bible study attended by a handful of students. She hoped to see a larger fellowship come together, but so far hadn’t connected with any students who seemed to share her vision for reaching the campus with the gospel. Bria and her teammates even considered pulling back from Susquehanna altogether to focus on students at other schools.

Then Bria and her teammate Zack Gugenheim met a student named Dani. Uncertain about the future of their ministry at SU, Bria and Zack asked Dani what she would want to see happen in terms of ministry at Susquehanna.

Her answer floored them. “I’ve been praying that God would connect me with people here who could help me learn to read the Bible and to lead others in Bible study,” she said. At the very moment the team was considering pulling back, God provided one student who had precisely the vision for ministry they’d been trying to inspire for two years!

Dani became a catalyst for growth in a re-energized SU fellowship. The group doubled in size, and during the spring semester Dani started leading her own Bible study. The DM staff team also gained another missionary, Steph Hartman, who helped reach out to more students. Right before spring break, Dani and the other students presented to SU’s student government and received official recognition for the fellowship.

Praise God with us for the opportunity to connect with students at Susquehanna! Pray that the students in the new fellowship would continue to grow in faith and that the fellowship itself would mature into a vibrant gospel community for students at Susquehanna.

James Osinski has reached his support goal!

James Osinski

We are happy to announce that James Osinski has reached his funding goal for his ministry with DiscipleMakers!

James' fundraising journey challenged him to step into the unknown. “My whole life – even through college – had been built around taking the safe route," James said. “So putting myself through the mission of support raising seemed to me to be a great risk."

God used a conversation with a prospective donor as a pivotal moment of encouragement along the way. “[The donor] cried when I told him what I was doing," James said. “Reaching out to the next generation with the gospel was something dear to his heart as well. We both realized, despite our different career paths, that we were on the same mission."

That mindset – knowing the mission was worth the risk – helped James persevere. Even more, he saw the Lord as the one constant in the midst of all the unknowns around him. “Knowing that the Lord was with me the whole time taught me a lesson I'll never forget."

James now looks to his next assignment, serving with DiscipleMakers' Lehigh Valley West Team. In a few weeks, he'll be moving into an apartment in Allentown to prepare for his ministry either at Kutztown University or Muhlenberg College. Pray for James as he continues to lean on the Lord, and praise God for leading him to this milestone!

Kate Wetzel has reached her support goal!

Kate Wetzel

We are happy to report that Kate Wetzel has finished her full-time fundraising! Over the past ten months, Kate has been working hard, meeting with hundreds of people and casting vision for a ministry that she is excited to be a part of.

The process proved to be a real learning experience. “I realized how much the Lord brings the results," said Kate. “When the first few months of support raising were slow, I was easily frustrated. But the second half flew by, and I started to branch out into so many new networks, the Lord showed me how much He was going ahead of me and helping me meet the right people.”

Now, Kate is packing and preparing to move to State College, where she will serve as part of the Headquarters team.  “I’m excited for my assignment in the HQ," Kate said. “I can use a lot of my experience to serve in a variety of departments. I get to care for the staff and donors that support all of our campus outreach efforts.” 

Praise God for His faithfulness in helping Kate persevere and reach her support goal! Please pray for her over the next two weeks as she moves and begins her work in the Headquarters.

Taylor Kauffman will serve on the Penn State Team!

Taylor Kauffman

We're happy to report that Taylor Kauffman will serve on the Penn State campus team when she reaches her ministry funding goal!

“This is perfect!" said Taylor. “I served on this team during my internship, so I'm totally ready to continue the work of building relationships with the DM staff and students in State College."

Taylor is progressing well in her fundraising so far, now just over halfway to her ministry funding goal! Please pray for her as she works hard to raise the remaining funds she needs for her ministry with DiscipleMakers.

Kevin and Maria Noyes to serve on DM’s “Mason-Dixon” campus team

Kevin & Maria Noyes

We are pleased to announce that Kevin and Maria Noyes will join DiscipleMakers’ campus team ministering at Gettysburg College, Dickinson College, and Shippensburg University.

This transition is the fulfillment of a hope Kevin and Maria have had for some time. For as long as they’ve been married, they’ve had different roles in DiscipleMakers: Kevin has served primarily in DiscipleMakers’ headquarters in State College while Maria has served primarily on campus at Penn State. In addition to their  desire to serve together, Kevin wanted to be more personally involved in making disciples on campus. But in the same way that Maria has been a key member of our ministry team at Penn State, Kevin has been a core member of the headquarters team. In fact, given his extensive skill set, for some time there was simply no one to replace him.

Kevin and Maria responded in faith to this predicament. Far from insisting upon Kevin’s being transferred to campus, they spearheaded a campaign to recruit new missionaries to serve in the headquarters. This included Kevin’s personally visiting campus fellowships all over Pennsylvania in the fall of 2016 to recruit headquarters interns. Maria’s ministry on campus served this end as well, with one highlight being her ministry to Kaitlyn Moore (who recently joined the headquarters team) when she was a student at Penn State. Overall, their efforts contributed to an encouraging result: five new staff have joined the headquarters in the past year, with two more on their way.

As much as they’ve looked forward to this transition, Kevin and Maria feel it as bittersweet as they consider their cherished friends among the students and staff in State College. Please pray that God would help them to finish strong in their ministries at Penn State and in the headquarters. Please pray too that God would lead them to a favorable housing situation in Gettysburg (they hope to move later this spring), and that He would aid them in connecting with students at Gettysburg, Dickinson, and Shippensburg.

TJ Renninger has reached his ministry funding goal!

TJ Renninger

We are happy to report that TJ Renninger has just reached his ministry funding goal! Over months of full-time fundraising, the Lord has connected TJ with a team of supporters eager to be a part of God's work on Pennsylvania campuses. Their faithful giving fully supports TJ's ministry with DiscipleMakers.

TJ's 15 month support-raising journey began in November 2016. After successfully building up a small team, TJ reached the halfway point, but his progress was soon stunted. “I started to run out of people I knew, and I hadn't networked very well. I realized the need to put myself in more uncomfortable situations to meet new people. I didn't want to do that because I didn't realize just how much I needed help." 

This connected in clear ways to TJ's relationship with the Lord. “I wasn't much for praying before this milestone in support raising. Through my mentor, prayer, and the Bible, the Lord began to show me that I was bringing a lot of pride in my work. Learning to cry out to God showed me how good it is to trust Him."

In his great mercy, the Lord slowly and surely grew TJ. It was a humbling experience that has taught him much. “A lot of my pride has been torn down" concluded TJ. “This is essential if I'm going to work well in a team environment."

As TJ prepares for his new ministry assignment, he is planning to move to State College on Sunday and start in the DM headquarters shortly after. TJ will bring with him a wealth of knowledge in the field of information technology, but even more so, he will bring a newfound humility that will further his knowledge and love for the Lord.

God has given DiscipleMakers a valuable laborer in TJ, and we are grateful for His provision as we continue to make disciples of all nations.

Kaitlyn Moore has reached her ministry funding goal!

Kaitlyn Moore

We're praising God today that Kaitlyn Moore has reached her ministry funding goal! Over the past eight months, God has brought together a team of partners whose giving fully supports Kaitlyn's ministry with DiscipleMakers.

Like most missionaries who raise support for their ministries, Kaitlyn encountered some challenges along the way. She got off to a fast start, but then her progress slowed. “It's amazing to see how much God has stretched me,” Kaitlyn said. “Something I think about is how much control I don't have—and how much control He has."

As of the beginning of December, Kaitlyn had just reached the 70% mark toward her goal. She was working diligently, but she knew that at her present rate it would be many months before she reached her goal. However, in faith that God is in control, Kaitlyn prayed that God would provide for her to reach her goal in far less time than that: by the beginning of February.

“It really stretched me in trusting that He is sovereign over my life,” Kaitlyn said, “and if He wants me to be in a certain place He will make that happen."

God did make it happen. Starting the second week in January, he provided a full third of Kaitlyn's overall funding goal in just five weeks! This timing will allow Kaitlyn to begin her work in the Event Planning Department of DiscipleMakers' headquarters in time to make a meaningful contribution to the busy spring event season.

Please praise God with us for His power and faithfulness in providing for another laborer for His harvest!

Mike Kreider has reached his ministry funding goal!

Mike Kreider

We are grateful to God to announce that Mike Kreider has reached his ministry fundraising goal!

While every one of our new missionaries is urgently needed in the field, in Mike's case the need was particularly striking. The team to which he had been assigned, our “Mason-Dixon” team, had seen several missionaries depart over the past year. There was a clear need for more help, and a corresponding hope that Mike would arrive quickly.

But the work of recruiting a network of financial partners always has its challenges.  “There were times when God's direction in my support raising didn't make sense to me,” Mike said. “There was one particular moment in early– to mid–December. Progress had been slow for a few weeks, and I knew the new semester would start in a month. It just felt like it would never come together.”

While wrestling with this discouragement, Mike read in 1 Chronicles 29 about how God's people gave joyfully for the work of the Temple. He realized his focus had slipped from what God was doing to his own desires. “The Lord brought me around a corner," Mike said. “It jump-started my vision for support raising."

Attaining this milestone clears the way for Mike to join the Mason-Dixon team (which ministers at Gettysburg College, Shippensburg University, and Dickinson College). Praise God for His provision for Mike, and please pray for Mike as he transitions into his new role.

Kate Wetzel to Serve in DiscipleMakers' Headquarters

Kate Wetzel

We're pleased to announce that Kate Wetzel will serve in DiscipleMakers' headquarters when she reaches her ministry funding goal.

“I’m really excited that I can take my skills and passions—especially in administrative work—and use them for the Lord in serving this ministry,” Kate said. “Being able to do that as part of a ministry with an eternal purpose is very exciting."

We're very thankful for Kate and for God's provision for her ministry so far. She is halfway to her ministry funding goal! Please pray for her as she seeks to raise the remaining funds she needs for her ministry with DiscipleMakers.