I want to announce our 2nd annual Prayer Summit February 9-11. This 3 day Prayer Summit will be held every year beginning on February 9th followed by 16 additional days of prayer emphasis. I believe one of the strongest parts of the Teen Challenge DNA is prayer.

God spoke to David Wilkerson on Feb 9, 1958 to stop watching so much TV and focus on prayer. And 19 days later he was standing in the courtroom where 7 teens were on trial for murder.

God birthed this ministry in prayer. I believe we as leaders of this ministry must put an emphasis on prayer and make time for prayer in our routine schedule. 

I am so happy to announce that Don Wilkerson and Rodney Hart will speak at the 2013 Prayer Summit. We would love for you to join us in Columbus, GA for this event. You can come in person or join us via the web. We will be making the event available by video and pray you will join us (See information in this newsletter for links).

Prayer is such a critical part of the life of a leader. We cannot

Rodney Hart

Prayer is your lifeline to God the Father and in prayer we find the fellowship and revelation of the Spirit. You cannot delegate this to others and you cannot continue to operate in the power of the Spirit of God without time in His presence. Philippians 4:6 tells us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God." We are to pray without ceasing and continue to bring our needs to Him.

I want to challenge you to establish a focused time of prayer in 2013. EM Bounds said, "Prayer means power, more prayer means more power." I don't know about you, but I recognize my need for the power and the presence of the Lord in my life. I recognize the need for time in His presence to know His forgiveness, His comfort and His peace. I must spend time with God. It is not an option.

Many have learned how to do the work of Teen Challenge. We can counsel, we can preach, teach the group studies, we can use all the right language. Many of us are really good at doing this work and may not depend on prayer as much as we need.

Life Magazine article

What I am suggesting is this, invest the time in prayer, study Christ, get to know Christ like never before. Allow His Spirit to lead you and guide you and see if the joy of the journey is not better. God's kingdom is one of power and of peace. I want to live within the promise of His word and dependence on His Spirit.

I believe God is speaking to me to follow the example of David Wilkerson and to fast and pray. He stopped watching TV and he spent more time in prayer. I feel God is speaking to me to fast TV for a month or two and truly focus on prayer. I want the presence of God, I want the power of God and I want the revelation of His Spirit. This will only come by taking everything to Him in prayer. Consider your prayer life and see what God may ask of you in this area.

At age 11 I found acceptance from the group smokers of my school. When I was 13 I smoked pot for the first time, again finding approval. This was the start of a life filled with addiction, led by trying to fit in.

God revealed himself to me in a tangible way in my late teen years. I had three prophecies spoken into my life where God told me He wanted to use my life in ministry work. Little did I know what was in store! However, because of my foolishness I went against Gods will for my life.

Between the age of 20 & 32 I was involved in criminal activity. Ranging from armed robbery to selling and using crack cocaine, my life was going downward fast. But because of prayer and God's grace I was given another chance at life.

Seeds were planted, Teen Challenge was given to me as an option and the Holy Spirit kept tugging at my heart to follow through with God's will for my life. On the 8th of February 2008 I entered the discipleship program Teen Challenge. One year later I graduated, completing something for the first time in my life.

Since graduating, I have been working at Teen Challenge as the Program Manager in Thunder Bay, Ontario and helping at my home church as an usher and youth assistant for a couple years. Very soon after, I met Julie (now my wife), she accepted Christ over the phone one night after we met at our church. Three days later, when Julie introduced me to her children, Ashley her daughter accepted Christ at her house and then her son Cole accepted Christ the day after. What a blessing from God to be a part of such a beautiful moment in life.

On July 7 of this year, I married Julie, and now have a beautiful daughter Ashley and a super cool son Cole. God has answered all my prayers to have a family of my own. I'm really blessed to have such a wonderful responsibility to be the spiritual leader of my home and of the ministry Teen Challenge. God has given me all the desires of my heart.