Foundation building is the focus of our first year at Lumenations. It is not a glorious thing nor is it celebrated like the placing of the capstone is. It is the nitty-gritty and often unseen work and yet, it is so very crucial to anything we hope to accomplish in this "building".

I sketched out a picture that has been in my mind for a while as I have prayed about what God's wants Lumenations to be "built upon". I will share in more depth each aspect of this drawing throughout the year but here are the elements of it:

First and Foremost: JESUS CHRIST IS THE CORNERSTONE (duh!)

Level 1 - Along with Jesus and through the power of His Spirit, what I hope everything else in Lumenations is built upon.

The VISION God has given us for Lumenations: to use His Story (which includes our stories in Him) to train disciples to make disciples among all nations. See the video presentation on our home page: www.lumenations.org
PRAYER, which allows us to stay connected to that vision. See the "prayer movement" section of this update for more about this.

Level 2 - Jesus chose to use a "TEAM" to accomplish His mission and we will do the same.

SUPPORT Team (specifically, the financial support team - that's you! - you can be part of other teams as well. In fact, I hope you will be)
RESOURCE Team (similar to the support team - those who offer other aspects of their treasure: time, expertise, experience, etc.)
TRAINING Team (those who have "been there, done that" in terms of making disciples who make disciples)
MOBILIZER Team (these are the networkers, those who mobilize others to join in the mission of Lumenations)

FIRST THINGS FIRST - the CORNERSTONE:
This is, of course, a no-brainer - but what does having Jesus as the cornerstone of a globally focused organization look like? Practically speaking, we simply look to Jesus and how he modeled His mission. He always had the "Kingdom of God" on his lips. He stressed simple obedience to the Father's will. He looked at the heart, not superficial externals. He prayed for His people to be one. He trusted in the power of the Spirit of God. He built teams, equipped them and sent them out.

In all of these things and more, we will strive to do follow Jesus' example.

You, dear friends and fellow Jesus-followers, are a part of this strong foundation and, for that, I am thankful!