We are rejoicing that our oldest son Josh has chosen to serve the Lord full-time at this time in his life. Read his letter and the letter from the ministry that he serves at. Please consider how you might be able to partner with Josh and Tri-Grace ministry through prayer, encouragement and financial gifts. (Please note, I am NOT tech savvy and so as I was trying to figure out how to load the letter from the ministry, this is what came out, it's small, so I copied the letter and it's below for you to read and after the first letter, Josh's letter is after.)
Dear Friends of Tri-Grace Ministries,
August is our one time of year when we seek to raise the missions support for the TGM Assistant Staff. The GOOD NEWS is we have sooo many FPW’s (Faithful Prayer Warriors) that no one needs to give a lot to make this work, but we do need a lot of you to give a little. Would you consider a one time donation to help us with this yearly financial need?
This year we are raising support for a single Christian guy by the name of Joshua White. Josh first came to TGM as an Intern and in the fall of 2012 began serving as part-time staff. His primary job last fall was to assist Shane and Kim in the Solid Rock College Ministry and with the Solid Rock Internet Café. Josh has shown himself to be faithful and competent in all he has done and is a great blessing to us all.
Just so you understand, Josh has joined us in full-time ministry, and the salary we offer him is a mere $100 per week, so he is not doing this to get rich—if you know what I mean. Josh is a college grad and could no doubt find a job where he would make a lot more than $100/wk, but he wants to serve the Lord and feels this is the place where God would have him serve for now.
Chip & Jamie Thompson and Shane & Kim Jones wholeheartedly endorse Josh for this position. We want you to know we NEED this kind of steady help in our ministry. TGM is a thriving and growing ministry. Our sphere of influence and ministry is ever expanding, so we need faithful, godly assistants like Josh. We praise the Lord for the team He has put together for this year and are excited to see what God will do as we move into 2013.
Your Missionaries to the Mormons of Utah,
Hello, friends!
My name is Joshua White, and I am the new Assistant Staff member with
Tri-Grace Ministries for the 2012-2013 year. This past year I was an
intern, and I am excited for the new responsibilities and
opportunities I will have as full-time staff!
How I was used as an Intern
One of my favorite aspects of this ministry is the café, and I was
able to help Shane in the management of it. I have a strong passion
for coffee, and the Solid Rock Café is a great tool for our ministry
here. Through the café I have been able to meet many different people,
and build relationships with them. We of course have plenty of LDS
students that come through, but we also attract students who aren’t
LDS or Christian. In the past few months I’ve gotten to know a number
of agnostics, and rebelling LDS young people. Three of them are named
Justin, Kelsey, and Katie, and while none of them has understood the truth yet,
I have seen changes in their thought process from when I first met
them. Katie specifically has undergone the most change, as she does
not identify herself as Mormon anymore and drinks coffee like us
heathens. She’s at a point of identity crisis, and she has basically
taken the view of an agnostic. I look forward to continuing talks
about Jesus with them and other new friends in this coming year. I
also began Open Mic Nites at the café on Thursday nights. It grew
exponentially! So much so that the whole café was filled with people
on the final night! Many students had their first experience with us
through Open Mic– it has become an invaluable tool for outreach.
Another role I took as an intern was leading the college Bible study
during the second semester. We studied Ephesians inductively, and
honestly, I’m thankful I was a part of that simply because I learned so much myself!
Why am I here?
Last year, while finishing college, I was trying to figure out what
was next for me. I decided the best use of my time would be to take a
break from school and spend some time with a ministry. Through a short
term mission trip to Philadelphia in July, I got to know Keegan, Shane
and Kim’s son. He told me about what was going on in Ephraim, so I
applied for the fall term internship, and was accepted, and moved to
Ephraim just a few weeks later. I didn’t expect to be in Utah longer
than the four month internship, as I was excited to start post-grad
work. My whole focus was working in the academic field, because I felt
I was meant to work in the “secular” world. Because the work in the
ministry was fulfilling I decided to stay in Ephraim through the Manti
Pageant, but was still planning to return to school after that. As I
was reaching the end of my internship, God began gradually changing my
focus, and caused me to realize that full-time ministry was definitely
an option, and something that could suit me well. I knew I was meant
to stay in Utah, but I was tired of living in Ephraim. I love living
in an urban setting, so I began making plans to move to Salt Lake
City(SLC). My goal was to work my way into the coffee industry. Almost
immediately, I received a job offer at a coffeehouse in the city, so I
took that as affirmation. Before I left, I was offered the open
Assistant Staff position with Tri-Grace, but because I was focused on
my own goals, I didn’t even consider the offer. After a month of
living in SLC, and through the counsel of wiser Christians, I realized
that despite following God and staying in Utah, I made a selfish
decision and did not consider that he might be more specific about
where in Utah he wanted me. Now I am in Ephraim again, with Tri-Grace ministries, where I know God wants me.
Manti Pageant!
Manti Pageant was something else! I’ve never experienced anything like
it. For two weeks a few hundred Christians descended on Manti for
street evangelism. While street-work is definitely not my forte, it
was a great experience and an amazing time of learning. There were two
specific guys I had good talks with, Trevor, an LDS high-school
student from Ephraim, and Travis, an agnostic from Fountain Green, UT.
Both were annoyed by the treatment one street preacher was getting
from other Mormons, and pleasantly candid about their beliefs. Talking
to the younger people of Utah gives me hope for their future. This is
not an impossible mission field, no matter what some people may think.
Many people have laid a great foundation for reaching the people of
Utah, now we just need the Christians to come and build upon that foundation.
What are my responsibilities?
During my time here as an assistant staff member, I will have a wide
range of responsibilities. As often as I can, I hope to help Brody and
Liz Olson, former interns of Tri-Grace, with their outreach to the
polygamist community in Colorado City, whether that is with mission
teams or individually. As a staff member, I will have a bigger role in
training visiting mission groups and possibly other church bodies.
Additionally, I will be overseeing the development of our Bible
museum, as well as assisting Shane in the management of the café.
Much of my time will be spent in discipleship to our male interns and
students, as well as the ever-important campus outreach. I am very
excited for this coming year, as I get to continue working with a
great ministry team, and meet new people for the cause of Jesus! I am
currently looking for a part time job, hopefully as a tutor or a
teacher’s assistant at Snow College, but at the same time I want to
focus as much of my energy as possible towards full-time ministry with
Tri-Grace. I humbly ask that you consider supporting me, whether
through prayer and/or finances.
-Joshua White
What am I asking you to do with this? I am asking that you would pray about how God would have you particpate in encouraging Josh. Will it be with prayer, or letters and notes of encouragement over the next year or will it be through financial giving? All of these things are important. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope that it has encouraged you as much as it has encouraged me to read about what Josh is doing these days.
To give a gift by mail for the Assistant Staff, make checks payable to Solid Rock Foundation. Mail to: 96 E Center St, Ephraim, UT 84627.
To let Josh know you are praying for him or to send him snail mail with words of encouragement, send your letters to Josh White 96 E. Center St. Ephraim UT 84627
