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Reach Out's 40th birthday has created an overwhelming response in me--all praise to Jesus who has given us vision, energy, courage and strength to persevere! He is the One who launched Reach Out, sustained us through the years,
and will take us into an even greater future.
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Look Back...Live Forward
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From the beginning of my walk with Jesus, my #1 human model and
hero
has been Billy Graham. On two occasions I had the honor of talking to him personally. Once I said to him, "Dr. Graham, you have been my hero." With his arm around my shoulder he responded, "Barry, I am no hero. Whatever I have accomplished I rarely look back on it, and when I do I give God all of the glory for it. Mostly I live forward, asking God to keep humbling me and using me." Though Reach Out, nor I, are anywhere close to Billy Graham's stature, his response expresses how I desire to celebrate Reach Out's 40 years--"Look Back...Live Forward" and give God the glory.
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Billy Graham--Look Back...Live Forward
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Looking Back--Before Reach Out
Looking back on the path of my past, the signposts all along the way read "Unexpected Miracle". That path has taken me not so much on a journey of success, but on a journey of brokenness. From my head-to-heart encounter with Jesus at 19, I expected "abundant life" success, but what God gave me was "less of Barry and more of Jesus" brokenness--an "unexpected miracle". And our ministry has followed the same path.
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| Looking Back--Early Beginnings |
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Who would have ever known or guessed that what began as a vision you drew out on a napkin for me at a banquet would grow to have a worldwide and eternal impact. God has indeed blessed Reach Out. I learned so much from those days at Super Summer '72 and '73, YELCs, and those overseas trips to Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. The truths learned at the beginning still impact my life today.--Tom Lowry
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Reach Out's First Leaders' Retreat
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Before Reach Out officially began, God put our future ministry in place. From 1970-1976 God led us to begin...
Super Summer '72 and Christmas Challenge
In 1972, we poured into 600 teenagers at Furman University. Forty-five years later over 600,000 teenagers in 8 states have experienced how to live as a disciple of Jesus through Super Summer.
An
outgrowth of Super Summer, Reach Out hosted 300-600 students a year at Christmas Challenge. Thousands of students attended this conference over the span of almost 30 years.
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The Reach Out Strategy
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Early '70s Youth Leaders' Conference |
The Reach Out Strategy was created to equip youth leaders, our earliest version of
Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry.
At our Youth Evangelism Leadership Conferences they discovered how to use the Reach Out Strategy--deepening their own relationship with Jesus, training their adult leaders to do same with the students they disciple. The big conference bonus--listening to life-impacting speakers like Jack Taylor, Peter Lord, Stuart Briscoe and Dave Busby.
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Time Alone with God Booklet
'Time Alone with God' was the first feeble attempt to write something worth having a cover! From that humbling writing experiment, writing and producing resources became one of our major channels of ministry. Through many twists and turns the Lord provided publishers, graphic designers, translators and printers around the world. Now our ministry has written 27 books in English, 22 of them in 13 other languages.
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Living Forward
The "unexpected miracle"? That these embryonic endeavors would lead to large numbers of leaders trained and students following Jesus. They became the core of all that Reach Out does today. And they laid the foundation to fulfill God's Psalm 2:8 promise that He deeply imprinted in me years ago. Reach Out has stood and will continue to stand on this promise:
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Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth your possession.
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Whatever the number and scope of God's "unexpected miracles" in the past, we believe this is only an introduction to what God will do in our future.
Thank you for looking back with us as we celebrate our 40th birthday,
and we hope we can celebrate many more with you!
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