Tom Lin

Happy New Year! First, I want to express my gratitude to many friends and ministry partners who gave generously in December toward our ministry. Nancy and I were overwhelmed at God’s provision and answer to our prayers…

Secondly, we also praise God for answering our prayer for transition into St. Louis, as we continue to feel more and more settled in and rooted in this community. Nancy commented during our recent trip to Chicago, “I can’t wait to get home (St. Louis)… maybe we should stay in St. Louis for our next Christmas!”

The new year will start off with a bang, as my schedule is quite full, so I certainly would appreciate your prayers for the following:

1. New Staff Recruitment. My regional leadership team usually kicks off the new year with a focus on new staff hiring. Many conversations, applications, and interviews will happen within the next 2 months, with final decisions regarding staff hires and placement in March. Please pray for our goal of hiring 6 Interns and 6 full-time campus staff, which would represent a 25% increase in number.

2. Iowa Campus Visits (Jan. 15-17). Pray for me as I visit 2 campuses for the first time, William Penn and Central College. I will be speaking at their large group worship meetings and meeting the IV staff at those campuses. Pray esp. that I would encourage students at Central College, as one student at the small college committed suicide last week.

3. Regional Leadership Meetings (Jan. 22-24). Pray for my leadership of the visioning process for our region, as I meet with my staff directors in Pella, IA. I am hoping that an outcome of the meeting will be significant clarity for our long-term vision as a region.

4. Ministry Intern Training (Jan. 25-26). Pray for our 7 Ministry Interns across the region, as they gather in St. Louis for a training time on “Influence”. I will be co-leading the training and hope to equip our interns well.

5. International Students Ministry Regional Mtgs (Jan. 29-31). Pray for me as I serve as the interim director of our ISM in the absence of Lindsay, my staff director who is on sabbatical until July. Pray for our ISM in the region, as there is tremendous opportunity for growth in this area.

6. IV National Leadership Meetings (Feb. 4-7). Annually, the President and VP of Collegiate Ministries meet with Regional Directors across the U.S. to tackle national issues in InterVarsity. Pray for great fruit from those meetings, including my ability to contribute and learn from my colleagues. Pray also for Nancy and the kids, who will be without me for one week, as I will go directly to Wycliffe Board meetings (Orlando) immediately afterwards.