Dear Family, Friends, and Other Supporters,
A lot has happened in the past year as I graduated high school and went off to college. I look back in awe at how God called me to Grand Canyon University and how the decision to follow that calling was easily the best decision of my life. GCU changed me, prepared me, and grew me so much in just one short year. I could go on and on about how much I love GCU and all it did for me, but specifically today I want to share how GCU brought me to the next big chapter of my life.
One of my favorite GCU campus activities was The Gathering where hundreds of students join together in the gym every Tuesday night for worship and a short message. It was at one of these gatherings that Pastor Louie Giglio, from Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, came to tell us about, and personally invite us to, the upcoming Passion 2022 Conference. I had heard great things about the conference from my parents who had attended 20+ years ago and hearing more directly from Louie excited and prompted me to attend. For the first time in my life, I flew to another city, stayed in a hotel, and attended a conference completely by myself without my family or friends.
It was a growing experience to say the least, but it was also one of the coolest experiences of my life. I felt and saw God moving in so many amazing ways including creating in me a sense of urgency for sharing the Gospel. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, it never fully resonated with me that there are people who have never heard the Good News. These people are not saved and are destined for Hell unless someone shares Jesus with them. I felt a pull on my heart toward the mission field, but wasn’t certain in what capacity or how that would work with my current college plans. All I knew is that I felt called and that the word “Himalayas” kept strangely popping into my mind.
I returned to my second semester at GCU feeling changed but not knowing how to move forward. As I shared this with others and prayed for clarity, God opened the door for a conversation with a friend who shared about his experience with Youth With a Mission (YWAM, a youth missions organization dedicated to taking the Gospel to the unreached ends of the Earth) and friends he knew who had gone to the Himalayas with the same organization. That conversation was the catalyst for much research and prayer…and exactly one month after I felt called to the Himalayas, God provided the opportunity for me to go through YWAM.
I’m excited to announce that I’m doing a Summer 2022 Discipleship Training School through YWAM. This is a 6-month commitment with dates of June 8th-December 8th, which means I’ll be taking a gap semester from GCU before returning next year. I will be spending the first 3 months in Yosemite National Park in California learning about God and training for what’s ahead. I’ll spend the second 3 months backpacking trying to get as deep into the Himalayas as we can to share the Gospel with the unreached tribes.
As you can imagine, this is quite the undertaking. There is a lot that needs to happen in order to prepare for this. I’ve spent the last few months working through the process and still have a lot more to go. I’m writing this letter to ask for your help. I’m asking you to partner with both prayer and finances. I’m asking that you pray for the health and safety of me and the people I come in contact with. Please pray that the people I share the Gospel with will be receptive to my message and to what God wants for their lives. Most of all, pray that God will use this to glorify and magnify His Kingdom!
In addition to prayer, I’m also asking for help with fundraising. Every student and member of YWAM is solely funded on a personal support base. In order to attend a DTS, I am not released to pursue an outside job during the school. This is because we want to devote full-time to the ministry of Jesus Christ in the nations as our work and this volunteer vocation requires 100% of our time and attention. As workers in the ministry, we are supported by those who believe in that call and would like to play a part in enabling us to focus all our energy on spreading the Gospel world-wide. As a child of God, I know that I am in His hands and I am confident that He will provide for what He has called me to do. I believe that God will provide through the support of my family and friends.
I’m raising $10,000 to fund this experience. $9,000 of that goes directly to YWAM to cover the school tuition, accommodation, and flights to the outreach location. The additional $1,000 will be used to cover my flights to Yosemite and the backpacking equipment I need to purchase on my own.
I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining my support team in the amount of however much God leads you to. I have no idea what you might be able to do, but it would be such an honor to have you invest in this. Whatever the outcome, please know I care about you and appreciate you.
You can send checks to the following address or contact me for the address to give to YWAM directly:
*Please contact me for address.
*Please note that any donations are NOT considered tax-deductible by the IRS due to the fact that YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) is considered a school.
If you would like to learn more about this adventure, see the ways to give online, or get in contact with me, please visit: jacobfrenzenywam.com.
Thank you for your support on this journey,
Jacob Frenzen
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).
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