Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Ministry Update - October 2011

0 comments

Hey Friends! It's hard to believe that summer is over and fall is already here. This past summer was a great season of ministry for us and it's so cool to see families and lives impacted in tangible ways. Marriages restored, relationships healed, passion for Jesus restored, and entire churches experiences the presence of God like never before. We as a family feel so privileged to be serving and giving our lives to kingdom work. We are also so incredibly grateful to our friends and partners who invest in our lives in so many ways through prayers, financial support, and just being there for us. We pray God's richest blessings on your life!

It's been a few months since we've updated many of you on what's been happening around our home and ministry So here are just some of the recent highlights and some ways you can be praying for us.

Life Action Celebrating 40 Years of Ministry
On August 27–28, Life Action hosted a 40th anniversary celebration for alumni and friends at our National Ministry Center in Michigan. Over 750 guests joined us. Aaron's media team was crazy busy producing various pieces for this events including videos, printed pieces, signs, banners, and other resources. It was an awesome weekend of remembering the work of God and hearing amazing stories about the life-changing impact that has come from God through the values, message, and mission on which Life Action is based. View photos and a video recap at http://www.lifeaction.org/40th

Launching a National Movement Called OneCry
August ended with Life Action introducing a new initiative called OneCry. It is a call for believers to rise up and fervently pray for God to send revival to this country; for apart from Him we can do nothing. This OneCry movement is something you've got to check out. Aaron's team coordinated the production of the promo video. Check it out at http://www.onecry.com. We are excited to see how God will move as we as a nation humble ourselves before Him. This new outreach will launch in February 2012.

60 Churches Set to Seek God for Revival
One of the awesome outreaches Life Action has is it's local church outreach. Each year, three teams travel throughout the country and spend between 4-14 days in churches leading them in seeking the Lord for personal revival in their lives, family, and churches. More than 60 churches are preparing for these teams this year and prayerfully anticipating God to work in their hearts and lives. You can find out if a Life Action team will be near you at http://www.lifeaction.org/conferences.

Check Out A Few Our Media Team's Recently Completed Projects
OneCry Movement Website & Promotional Video [http://www.onecry.com]
Digital Version of Our Revive Magazine [http://www.lifeaction.org/]

Family Update
This summer was a great summer for our family. We were able to spend some quality family time together and even attend Life Action's family camp. (Which if you've never done that, you really ought to, it's a blast!) The kids are growing up like crazy! Jonathan is 6, Annalise turned 4 in June, and Eliya will turn 2 in December. We are homeschooling Jonathan and Annalise this year and as you can imagine, it's both challenging and rewarding. We as a couple will be celebrating nine years of marriage this month. We are so encouraged to look back over these past year and see all God has done in our lives and our marriage. So grateful for a God who is actively working in our lives to make us more like Himself. Check out so many of our family photos on http://www.facebook.com/aaron.paulus

How You Can Pray
Appreciate so much all you who consistently pray for us as a family. Here are a few ways you can specifically pray for us:
  • Homeschooling takes quite the energy and effort but we feel at this point this is how God is leading us to school our children. We will take all the prayers we can get as we undergo this endeavor.
  • We are really praying for our kids right now that they would begin to understand the Gospel and embrace Jesus and His saving work.

Thanks for your partnership and friendship!

The Paulus Family

Monday, July 11, 2011

Ministry Update - July 2011

0 comments
Hey friends! Wanted to send y'all and update on what's happening with our family and ministry here at Life Action. Thanks so much to each of you who are praying for us and partnering with us in ministry through your financial support of our family. Such a blessing. We wish we could make one BIG road trip and visit each of you just to say thanks. Below are a few things that have happened over this past month. We appreciate your continued prayers for our family as we serve here at Life Action!

Aaron & Victoria
(Jonathan, Annalise, and Eliya)


Family Update
Jonathan:
This summer Jonathan is playing the action-packed sport of t–ball. He absolutely loves it. His personality is to definitely swing for the fences every time he gets up to bat which either means he slams it to the outfield or slams the tee with his bat resulting in a bunt. He is all into his toy guns, pretend (stick) swords, and watching the old TV show Flipper. It's fun to watch him develop and become the person God created him to be.

Annalise: Turned four in June and wanted to do a little Princess party on the beach with her friends. She was super excited that she got a little "kitchen" for her birthday so she can now make daddy cookies. She is blessed to have lots of friends her age that are being raised in the way of Jesus. We are praying as she grows her eyes will be opened to the story of the Gospel and she will see her need for Jesus.

Eliya: Eliya is a year and a half old and the "perfect" baby we thought we once had is becoming not so "perfect". Guess that's just the infecting nature of sin. Eliya is very funny and loves making faces, painting her hair with her food, playing in the sand at the beach, and dancing to whatever music is playing.

Crazy Love - 30,000 Rednecks - And Our Sleepy Little Town
If you were watching NBC about a week ago you may have caught the live broadcast of the Red Bud Motocross in Buchanan, MI. Each year we have 30,000 crazy redneck fans converge on our town of 6,000 for the annual motocross event that gets nationwide attention. It's amazing how passionate people can be about a little dirt and gasoline. They all camped for 3 days in 90+ degree weather to yell "RED BUUUUD".  I just finished the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan with our small group at church and I couldn't help thinking how Christianity would change if we all loved Jesus like these 30,000 fans love their racing. As a family we desire to live our lives in a way where our love for Jesus guides every decision we make in life, even if it might seem a bit crazy in the eyes of the world.

Family Camp Fun!
This past month we were able to attend one of Life Action's family camps with some friends. What a blast we had. It was a great time of being together as a family, enjoying family-centric activities, and listening to encouraging, biblical teaching. Best of all, two individuals attending camp that week came to know Jesus. How awesome is that. If you're located not too far from Southwest Michigan, I would highly recommend considering a week of family camp. You can learn more at www.LifeActionCamp.com and watch the promo video we produced for them here.

How you Can Be Praying For Us
As a family we are believing God for a few more financial partners to help us continue to serve here are Life Action. Our family is responsible for raising the majority of our funding and we are in need of some additional funding as our kids grow and our expenses continue to increase. If God is leading you to partner with us in this way, just shoot me an email back and I can send you some information on it.
Aaron has the opportunity to go to Houston the end of this month to attend The Response (http://theresponseusa.com). This is a great opportunity to connect with others who have a desire to see God revive our nation.

Your Prayers and Support This Month Have Enabled Us To:
Thanks for partnering with us through your prayers and financial support. As I serve in the media and communications area, here are a few of the projects and resources your funding is practically helping us produce:




Monday, June 20, 2011

Revive Magazine: Living Generously

0 comments
Just released the latest issue of Revive magazine this past week. Great topic on Living Generously, had to get this one out the door quick since it was so convicting. The cover turned out awesome. Love the concept of the water mysteriously flowing out of the hands. Think it truly captures the concept that you can't out give God. My Senior Designer Tom Jones totally rocked out on the design of this piece. Love every article he put together in this piece.

Would love any feedback on the design or content that anyone has. You can read the online version here: http://tinyurl.com/3cwp688

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Ministry Update - May 2011

0 comments
Hey Friends! Just wanted to send y'all an update on what's happening with our family and ministry. We so appreciate each one of you praying and partnering with us as we serve here at Life Action Ministries. We are thrilled to continue to see how God is using this ministry to impact churches, families, and individual hearts for His glory. The last few months have been crazy busy both at work and within our family. God has been so good though and he continues to bless us abundantly. Here are some of the highlights and updates from the past month.

The Paulus Family


No More Painting!
We are so thrilled at God's provision in providing for us to get siding on our house. Our old wood siding was in need of painting (again) and we were not looking forward to spending significant amounts of time this summer painting. The provision of the siding was a direct answer to prayer and we are rejoicing over this!
Family Update
The kids are thrilled that the snow has finally all melted and they are able to play outside! They love the outdoors and spend hours everyday out playing with their neighborhood friends.

Jonathan: In the next week or so Jonathan will finish kindergarten. He is doing great at learning to read, add, multiply, and he just recently said all the books of the New Testament! He also just this week started his second year of t-ball. He loves playing baseball (and any other sport) and says he is looking forward to hitting "home runs".

Annalise: Turns 4 the end of June but already thinks she's Jonathan's age. She loves riding her little pink bike, playing with her dolls, and building ice cream stands with her legos.

Eliya: Is almost a year and a half and she is now up on her feet and walking about with full speed. She has quite the personality and keeps us laughing often. She seems to have such a loving personality and is quick to give hugs.


What is Aaron's Role at Life Action?
Great question! Currently Aaron is serving as the Managing Director of Communications for Life Action Ministries. Practically speaking, Aaron gives direction to the marketing, media, video production, internet initiatives, social media, and also overseas the in-house art studio. The purpose for this team is to use the various forms of media to (a) Strengthen the relationship with donors and constituents and (b) to deliver content and resources through proven forms of media. Aaron enjoys working in media and communications especially as he sees many lives impacted for eternity.
Some Time Away As a Couple
This month we were able to get away as a couple (yep, without kids) and spend some time in Florida together. It was a great time of relaxing, refreshing, and just being together! This is something we have tried to do periodically just to be able to focus on our marriage, evaluate where God has us in life, and be sure we are living intentionally (okay, we make sure we have some fun as well). We definitely enjoyed the beautiful Florida sunshine after such a harsh winter this past year. View some photos of our trip here on Facebook!


Your Prayers and Support Have Allowed Us To Tackle The Below Projects
Your prayers and financial support are enabling us to serve here at Life Action. As I serve in the media and communications area, here are some of the current projects and resources your funding is practically helping us produce:









Thursday, April 07, 2011

Ministry Update - April 2011

0 comments


Hope everyone is having a great week! Wanted to drop you a quick update and let you know about some cool things that are happening through your partnership with us in ministry. March was super busy, but filled with some great opportunities to impact and change lives for the good. We so appreciate each of you who are faithfully supporting us financially and through your prayers. We would not be able to serve here without partners like you! Thanks for taking a minute to see how God is using you to draw people closer to Christ through reviving the spiritual lives of believers!

The Paulus Family


Casting a Vision of the Impact of Revival
Victoria and I spent three days in Asheville, NC meeting with friends and supporters of the ministry with the goal of casting a vision of the impact that revival can have on our culture and nation as well as updating our partners on the impact the ministry had during this past year of ministry. As the communications director, I gave an update on how we are impacting lives through media and resources. Some of the highlights from this past year through media were . . . 1) We had nearly 2.5 million visitors to our resource websites 2) 30,000 subscribers to our quarterly Revive magazine 3) we had 56,000 video downloads 4) more than 35,000 people are connected with us via Facebook.  These are just a few of the way we are reaching and distributing content via media this past year. How exciting!

Leaders Gather to Seek God for Spiritual Renewal
Around 300 pastors and Christian leaders gathered this week for the Heart-Cry for Revival Conference in Asheville, NC. The conference began with a three-hour prayer meeting the first night and was followed by an additional three hours of prayer the next morning. Be praying for these pastors and leaders as they continue to seek God for revival in their own hearts, churches, campuses, and in our nation. The goal of this conference is to help ignite, equip, and commission ministry leaders in their passionate desire for God to bring spiritual renewal to the hearts of His people.


A Family I Met in Memphis. You've Got to Watch Their Story!
This past February I took a trip to Memphis, TN to talk with some individuals about the impact that Life Action Ministries had on their lives. I was really blown away at some of the stories I heard. Individuals who met Christ for the first time, marriages that were in distress that are now vibrant, and individuals that were just flat out dead spiritually that now have revived relationships with Christ. I wanted to share with you the story of this one family I was able to meet and interview on video. So cool. This is one story of the fruit of your partnership with us!

Family Trip to TN
We are currently wrapping up a ministry/vacation trip to Tennessee. The kids are enjoying the warm weather and being able to hang out with the grandparents as mom and dad head to Asheville to spend time with donors and friends of the ministry. It's always great to see friends and family in the area and to get a little time off to rest and relax.

How You Can Pray
Thanks so much for praying for our family as we serve here at Life Action. We are so blessed to have people like you praying and supporting us financially. As you are praying, here are a few ways you can specifically pray. 1) Through a set of circumstances God has provided funds for us to get siding on our home. We are so excited about this and the time it will save us painting almost every year! Praise the Lord for His provision.  2) We are going to be needing to replace our mini-van soon. We are beginning to look around for one and praying for the funds to help purchase it. 3) We are continually praying our children will understand the gospel and love God and others wholeheartedly. Thanks for your prayers!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Ministry Update - March 2011

0 comments
Friends and Ministry Partners,

Wanted to take a moment on this Wednesday morning to thank each of you for your partnership with us through your prayers and financial support. Our family frequently thanks the Lord for you and your faithfulness in helping to make our service here at Life Action Ministries possible. These past few months have been really packed with some awesome ministry opportunities and we have heard many reports of lives that have been transformed and re-aligned with the Jesus way of living. It's cool to think we all have played a small part in helping people experience a renewed relationship with Him.

The following are a few of the things that have excited me recently in what God is up to through this ministry.

Aaron & Victoria (and kids)


Revive Magazine is Having an Impact
As a Communications team one of the resources we produce each quarter is a magazine called Revive. The latest issue of Revive, released in March, addressed the biblical pathway for change. The demand for this subject has been strong with extra copies selling out in a matter of days to individuals, pastors and counselors stocking up on extra copies to use with others. Praise the Lord that revival truths providing real biblical answers for how to overcome habitual sin and to experience lasting transformation are spreading through Revive magazine. You can read this issue of Revive right here online.

Christian Leaders Seek God for Spiritual Renewal
April 4-7 Life Action will be co-hosting a conference for pastors and leaders on the topic of revival called the Heart-Cry for Revival conference. This yearly event brings over 200 pastors and leaders together to seek God for a revival among His people and His church. We are excited about the impact of this conference and how God uses this each year to spread the vision of what God can do through revival. If you would like to learn more about this conference you can at Heart-CryforRevival.com.

Telling the Stories of Changed Lives
The end of February Aaron headed down to Memphis to meet up with one of Life Action's local church teams to capture on video some of the things God was doing both in the church and in the lives of people attending the event. It was absolutely amazing to see how each evening more than 1,200 individuals came to the evening sessions with over 2,000 coming on Sunday morning. The stories I heard of God transforming power was amazing. Many received Christ for the first time, others reconciled with their spouse, many confessed bitterness and were able for the first time to forgive individuals who had hurt them,  and on the stories go. While we were at this event, we captured just a fraction of the stories of changed lives. I wanted to share one of them with you in particular. You can watch it here.

Media Project: Understanding Revival
Over the course of the past months our team has been producing a series of videos to help individuals understand what revival is and why it is relevant to their life. We have produced a number of videos and distributed them through social media and other digital avenues resulting in the videos being watched over 1,000 times. You can check out some of the most frequently watched videos here:

Monday, February 07, 2011

Ministry Update - February 2011

0 comments
Hey Friends! Greetings from snow buried Michigan! What a January it has been both with crazy snowfall and neat opportunities to see lives impact for His glory. As far as the snow goes, this winter time we have had 91.5 inches of snow! The kids are absolutely loving it. One morning in January we woke up to a fresh 20+ inches of unexpected snow. I've attached a photo of what we had to dig our vehicles out of so those of you that live in the South could feel fortunate.

Here is a brief update on a few things happening:

Jonathan's Birthday
The end of January, Jonathan turned 6! Him and dad took a fun little trip to the ski slopes to spend some good father/son time. It was Jonathan's first time out on the BIG slopes and he did great. Jonathan's been practicing his snowboarding in our back yard on a rigged up "slope" and jump off our deck. Jonathan loves the outdoors and spends hours a day outside playing in the snow with his neighborhood friends.

Victoria's Birthday
This past Sunday, Victoria celebrated her 30th birthday! Woohoo! For her 30th, we were able to take a day trip to Chicago to do some shopping and eat at a fun Chinese restaurant! Jonathan, Annalise, Eliya, and I are so grateful for such a wonderful mother/wife!

Revive Magazine: Is Change Really Possible?
Aaron's team just completed the latest issue of revive magazine which is distributed to over 20k individuals. This issue is on the Topic of Change and takes a look at how to overcome the power of addiction. The topics in this issue have the potential to free so many people. Pray with us that God uses this resource in a great way!

Headed to Memphis
This Wednesday, Aaron is leaving for Memphis, TN to meet up with one of our revival summit teams which is at a church of 2,000. Aaron will be taking some video gear down to conduct some interviews of how God is working in the hearts and lives of individuals at this church. We'll share that with you once we get it produced. Thanks for praying for Aaron and the family as he is on this trip.

Reaching India Through Media
Our team here at Life Action Ministries is partnering with another organization to produce a weekly TV show in the country of India with the potential to reach over 10 million people. Aaron's team is developing the video graphics package for the program. We are excited to be able to help in the production of this and are excited about the potential it has to reach the country of India with the much needed message of spiritual renewal!

As always, thanks so much to each of you that are praying and/or supporting us financially each month. Your partnership with us in ministry is so encouraging and God is using your partnership to impact many for eternity.


We Appreciate Each of You,

Aaron & Victoria
Jonathan, Annalise, & Eliya
older post