Turner Family's End-of-Summer Recap
What a Summer!
Hey folks,
Whether you pray for us, support our ministry financially, or both, we are so thankful for your partnership with our family. It makes a MASSIVE difference. Generous people donating to SUMMIT is what makes it possible for us focus full-time on this ministry which God using to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). If you’re feeling led to join in that, please give me a call or donate here.
Drop me a line anytime! It’s great to hear from you: (432) 553-8289 or bryan@summitlead.org
Now that we’re back in the Bastrop office, kids are back in school, and it’s good to stop & remember the whirlwind of Summer 2023. Here’s what happened…
Yours in Christ,
Bryan Turner, Executive Director
PS: This is a long one, but there’s so much to share! Praises & Prayer Requests at the bottom. Read on!👇
May in Texas:
While Claire led professional development workshops for a few Christian schools & pre-schools in the Bastop & Austin area, we closed out the Spring season with Pocket Wilderness programs & family ministry campouts. Both of these program types help people develop healthy habits of encountering God in Creation.
Note: Fall Family Camp is coming up October 13-15.
It’s going to be a great weekend, staying in the screen shelters at beautiful Meridian State Park, designed to set your family up with the tools, margin, & environment to maximize quality time together.
We’d love for you to join us! >
A Closer Look: Women’s-Only Pocket Wilderness Intensive:
We provided a Pocket Wilderness Intensive for Journey Fellowship Church out of San Antonio (pictured middle above). This longer format of a Pocket Wilderness concept is a really special program, balancing the spiritual disciplines of silence & solitude with deep community. Every single time, it’s amazing to see God show up & work through people.
“The space of the outdoors combined with the focus topics really allowed my mind to relax and take in all that God has been trying to tell me. The world is so loud, I could not hear God and I felt I was directionless.
“Then I came to this retreat and my mind was quieted and a peace came over me all because I had the time to focus on hearing God, and not multi-tasking.
“I am so thankful to have had the space to hear and rest. Thank you!”
June Program Highlights:
Local Church Training:
Recently, a local church experienced the chaos of a medical emergency in the middle of a worship service. Thank the Lord that there were a couple quick to act first responders, and the woman survived! Interestingly enough, the AED which saved her life had just been purchased, after we met with the church & made a recommendation. God must have known! We were able to debrief the emergency & present an Emergency Response Training workshop on a Sunday morning.
Camp Staff Training:
Next, we trained the Summer Camp staff of Wilderness Ridge. This was a real honor because, as most of you know, we were on staff with WR for years & love their ministry to young men. Some of the professional development training modules we teach today started with Claire helping me train staff & volunteers of WR & other camps during that season of life. It was fun to go full-circle.
Family Roadtrip:
At the end of June, we set off for a big roadtrip & met a bunch of family in Yellowstone. We drove from TX through NM —> CO —> AZ —> UT —> ID —> MT —> WY, then back down to CO. Lots of adventure & quality time with the girls, plus their grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins.
Claire & the girls bore with me as we travelled light & fast, honing our skills with SUMMIT’s ultralight backpacking tents & cooking gear along the way. It was refreshing to my soul to finally bring Claire to the Grand Tetons after 12 years of trying to get her to my favorite place in the world. And oh boy, did we get to see some wonderful sights & wildlife! We celebrated incredible God’s creation everywhere we went.
July in Colorado:
Team Training, Planning, & Prep for Summer 2024:
The SUMMIT team gathered in the Conejos Valley of southern Colorado, base-camping in tents & RVs for 3 weeks. During that time, we spent time with Board members & supporters, scouted trailheads & campgrounds, & developed relationships with potential contractors & local proprietors that will pay off in our endeavors next Summer.
The team spent a lot of time with laptops out (thanks, Starlink!) around a portable whiteboard tied to an awning or with maps draped over tables (pictured above-right), planning the next 12 months programs.
We’re finalizing our schedule for Summer 2024. Stay tuned for details!
August back in TX:
I have to say, it was pretty hard coming home from mountain weather to the blistering Texas heat, but it’s also been very good to be back in community at our local church & small group.
5x Medical Trainings in August
Basic first aid, CPR, AED, & Stop the Bleed training — Across 5 medical training events, we provided training to 2 churches, 1 school, & 1 private business, totaling 83 people trained in the month of August! All of these courses were custom-built to meet the needs of the organizations. In addition to highly practical training that could save a life, we also get to talk about Jesus & the mission of SUMMIT, plus these events help fund our spiritual development courses.
If you know of individuals needing Red Cross CPR/AED/First Aid certification, we have a couple spots left in our open registration certification course on September 16.
If you know of an organization, church, or business who needs training, send them our way at summitlead.org/cpr or by emailing cpr@summitlead.org.
Launching discipleship cohorts
Earlier this month, we resumed a men's discipleship cohort known as "Yokefellows." The name comes from a Greek word found in Philippians 4:3 -- σύζυγος, which is translated "true companion" in most Bible translations, but also "yokefellow" in some. There's so much rich imagery in scripture around the idea of a yoke (such as Matthew 11:28-30). Back in January, these gents latched onto the idea of being dedicated to one another in shared purpose -- becoming more like Jesus.
It was beautiful to listen as the 8 men who have been meeting with us since January told the 2 new guys about how much their lives, families, & personal ministry were impacted by sharing one another’s burdens, praying for one another, studying the Word, and reading & practicing the spiritual disciplines.
I ask you to pray for these 10 men as they dig in to what it means to be a disciple and make disciples this Fall. Last week, we resume our reading of Donald Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life with the chapter on fasting. It will be a fun one to practice together!
Claire is launching an online cohort for women looking to grow their faith. If that’s you, we’d love for you to consider the opportunity & apply to join here >
Prayers & Praises
New Volunteers!
Just when I thought I couldn’t handle all the administrative work, I was very encouraged by 3 new volunteers jumping in to help with the behind the scenes work at the office on Tuesdays.
Scholarships Received!
When we had multiple women ask about scholarships for attending the Mother/Daughter Retreat & Fall WILD Retreat, I asked the team to pray for $1,000 to come in for scholarship fund. One of our team-members said, “Today?” I said “Sure!” not expecting it would happen… Within 24 hours, $1,400 came in for scholarships. God is good!!
Permits for Wilderness Areas:
Pray for favor with public land managers with Texas Parks & Wildlife & the National Forest Service as we apply for permits in the areas we’d like to bring people over the next year.
Accessibility/Disability Ministry:
We’re supporting another organization called Wilderness Adventures Ministry. They focus on getting people with visual impairment, deafness, & other accessibility needs out into God’s Creation. We’ve been walking them through our process of creating programs, finding participants & volunteers. Basically, sharing what we’ve learned in the last year and a half! We will go to Oklahoma in late September to help them put on their first overnight program. Please pray for volunteers with accessibility experience, and safety during the event.
Financial Provision:
It’s been 8 months since Bryan’s full-time employment with MOH ended. In that time, God has sustained our family through thin times through ministry partners, miscellaneous contracting jobs, & random (miraculous) provision from the Lord. To be perfectly transparent, it’s been hard!
We have a target of being fully-funded by the end of the year, so Bryan doesn’t have to find as many contracting jobs. As we dig into raising support, please be praying that God helps us connect with people who He’s calling to give & guides the conversations. (If you’d be interested in partnering with SUMMIT, drop me a line!)
