Today marks five years since I started Fresh Ministry Consulting (First Post). What was originally an idea to post some helpful videos for Youth Pastors has grown and evolved over the last five years in ways I could never have imagined.
I started Fresh to give back to those who had given so much to me over the years. I was having a coffee with my friend Sherman who was pushing me on what was holding me back from getting it started. My answer at the time was because I “couldn’t write” and that I had/have “horrendous grammar and spelling,” but I could talk, so Sherman suggested I record some video (See an early post here and video here).
It turns out I could talk but couldn’t find a place in my house to record. So after a few years of picking away at a bit of video and writing, I was ready to drop the whole thing. Then I met Ken Castor and Jacob Eckeberger, and everything changed.
Those two amazing humans spoke life and truth into my heart. They helped me see something that I didn’t know I had, and over the last 3-4 years, I have become an author and even a ghostwriter for amazing companies like LeaderTreks, Orange, Youth Specialties and YouthWorks. On top of that published five ebooks with the fantastic team at MinistryBubble/228 Publishers, and you can even find me on Amazon. I struggled in the early days to accept this new reality. As Jon Acuff might say, I had a “broken soundtrack” telling me that I couldn’t write, and if I could, no one was listening anyway.
If I’m 100% honest, I have struggled with the “what’s next” for Fresh Ministry Consulting. In some ways, this all started because I had the excess creative energy to burn back in the day. But in some ways, because of the journey of the last five, I have a fantastic job that I love that fuels my passion, and I basically write and create every day.
However, my good friend Doug Franklin at LeaderTreks and I were talking and dreaming about new projects when Doug said something he had said before, but I have always dismissed it. Doug told me that I was in a 1% of writers that he knows who can do what I do. Jacob once said to me that I was a “unicorn” (his words) because I can make complex things simple for people. I have the ability to bring people along for the ride and have them become better leaders through the process. I used to shy away from this kind of encouragement, but for some reason, when Doug said it the other day, it settled in my heart in a way it hasn’t before.
Maybe I can’t write as often as I want to (sometimes I just need a break), and perhaps I need to push myself a bit more as well, but after five years, I think I have finally found not only my “writers voice,” but a reminder why this all started in the first place.
The goal was never to make big money, be famous, or join the speaking circuit, but to give back and help people learn from my experience. To break it down the way I wish someone had done for me when I started 20 years ago. Ultimately Fresh Ministry Consulting exists to help Pastors, Leaders, and Churches get the tools they need to impact the next generation with the Gospel of Jesus.…. and that’s what I’m going to keep doing. I don’t think God is done with me, Fresh Ministry or my writing, and I can’t want to see what the future holds.
Thank you to everyone who has come along for the ride, and a special thank you to Sherman, Ken, Jacob, Doug and everyone that has been part of the journey so far.
Fresh Ministry Consulting 