Merry Christmas from the Halseth Family!

We pray your 2013 was blessed! Here are a few Halseth family highlights of 2013:

Rachel Rose is our sweet two year old.  She loves dressing up in frilly pink princess dresses.  She also likes her baby dolls, especially if they are wearing pink.  She is a big girl now and enjoys going to Sunday school.  If she could, she would have a play date everyday!  She is loved much. She misses her siblings a lot when they leave the house.

Joshua turned six in November and likes both the school bus and kindergarten! It is no surprise that he loves gymnastics as he tumbles about everywhere daily :)  He also enjoyed swimming and especially soccer this summer.   He is good at helping Daddy stack wood.  He is also a snugglebug and likes to say, “I love you more than toast.” 

Abby is our sweet 3^rd grader.  She flourishes at school and would like to be a teacher when she grows up.  She enjoys practicing teaching on her white board in her room. Abby is very artistic and stylish.  She is also enjoys gymnastics, soccer and swimming.

Nathan is a 5^th grader and loves sports. He plays traveling football and basketball.  He has an impressive memory, a very good sense of humor, and enjoys reading.  His highlight this year was a week trip with Dad; mountain biking and at Camp Nathanael.

Matt was grateful to have the family join his team of 30 Royal Servants in Scotland and England this summer. He also enjoys his Band of Brothers men’s bible study, and volunteering with a Boys Brigade program in a nearby community church!

Jenni found it rewarding to see how much our kids enjoyed both traveling and learning this summer on Daddy’s Scotland team. She has enjoyed several Christian conferences this year. She loves to bike, read, and lead a Women’s Bible study.



Praying your Christmas shines brightly with many of His blessings!

Love, The Halseth Family

SCOTLAND 2014

Praying for students in Scotland! Next 

summer - 2014, our family will be 

returning to Scotland with another 

Royal Servants mission team!

In this Holiday season, we pray that Christ is ever-nearer to your heart. We are grateful for the blessings He has brought our family and ministry this year. We are also excited for all God has in store in 2014!

As you know, this past summer our entire family packed our bags and traveled to Scotland and England with a team of 30 Royal Servants. The fruit from our ministry was incredible and remains to this day. Scottish and British people along with immigrants from around the world were impacted for Christ. Student’s lives were changed.

“I feel prepared to take what I have learned from this summer of service and begin a lifetime of ministry.” – Matthew A.

“I have never experienced so much spiritual growth at one time as I did this summer... Before now I had not ever fully opened up my heart, soul, and mind to God.” – Ana V.

“I shared God’s love with Mary and she made a commitment to follow Christ. This ignited a desire in my heart to reach out to people like her – those who are lost and forgotten.” – Shinead W. 

“I now have a much greater confidence in talking to strangers about Christ… I am ready to take the next step with God – towards my future and faith in Him alone.” – Devin F.

Wow! We are incredibly privileged to have played a small part in the spiritual development of students like these. So as you can imagine, we are ready to do it again! Yes, that’s right, for the summer of 2014, our family will travel with Matt as he again leads a team to serve in Scotland and England!

We remain grateful for your partnership in bringing the message of hope all over the world! 

REIGN MINISTRIES TAKES ON A NEW IMAGE (A NEW VISUAL BRAND, WEBSITE AND MORE…)

Our new Logos for Reign Ministries 
and our ministry divisions; Royal 
Servants MissionTrips and Kairos
Discipleship School.

 Over the last few months Reign Ministries has undergone a total and complete makeover in the visual brand of the ministry. This has involved new logos (which have not been updated since 1987!), a new revamped website, new social media strategies, new print publications and more.

Our new look was developed to reflect Reign’s commitment to intentional discipleship, quality mission trips, and professional leadership that we have established over the past 30 years. We believe the logos present a seamless look, uniting Kairos Discipleship School and Royal Servants divisions underneath Reign Ministries. 

Please visit our new revamped website 
at  www.reignministries.org

Matt has been involved with a team of people to make this happen. We are all very excited and believe the new visual identity and updated website will aid in Reign Ministries’ mission to advance the Kingdom of God by developing youth and youth leaders who have great commandment hearts and live great commission lifestyles. 

You will see the updated look on our website and social media outlet pages, as well as on our print materials over the coming months. Please take the time to visit our new website and check out the new updated look!

PROMOTING & RECRUITING (FOR ROYAL SERVANTS MISSION TRIPS)

Besides working on the rebrand Matt has also been involved in promoting our Royal Servants Mission Trips and talking to interested students. This involves answering email inquiries, networking with youth pastors and setting up speaking engagements at local churches.

While the thrust of recruiting happens mainly after the first of the year we are seeing a greater number of students finding us online and pursing our mission trip opportunities earlier than ever before. With the new website now in place we are also benefiting from a new online application process which makes our recruiting efforts much more effective.  All the hard work has paid off and ultimately leads to more lives being changed for the Kingdom!

OCTOBER 2013 PRAYER

· Prayer for Local Ministry—
Matt helps lead a men’s morning bible study group which encourages men in the quest for authentic Christian manhood. He also volunteers with a “Boys Brigade” program,  with a goal to raise up godly young men to lead and serve in family, church and the community.   Jenni leads a small group for “Women of Worth”, a women’s community bible study and ministry.

· Prayer for Our Family—
Eph. 6:4 encourages parents to “Take your children by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master” (MSG). Please pray that this would be how we lead our children. Pray that we are filled with the love of Christ. For he is our life and we need him desperately in our family and in our ministry, every moment of every day.

AN UNEXPECTED INVITATION (A Royal Servants report on our ministry team in Scotland and England)

Matt (upper right) baptizing Devin
Fitzgerald, one of his staff disciplers
 from the Royal Servants Scotland
Team at Loch Lomond, Scotland.

It was the unexpected invitation that got Devin's attention, "Could this be God's will for me this summer?" he thought.

A few minutes later I received a text from Devin, “I’m not promising anything yet, BUT…”

It was the “But” that gave me a bit of confidence that just maybe Devin was the man for the job.

In just 36 hours students would arrive to Training Camp and I still needed a male staff discipler for the summer. For more than 3 weeks I actively pursued a dozen former students to take on the role. But one by one, students prayerfully considered the opportunity and declined for good reasons. Now with only hours away from training, I questioned God’s timing, “God, why do you always have to wait until the last minute? But, I trust you.”

Long story short, Devin said, “YES!” In just 24 hours, he boarded a plane to begin his adventure of a life-time! I was relieved to know God had provided the right man for the job and excited to see the summer unfold!

When we got to Scotland we were warmly welcomed by our hosts, Victoria Evangelical Church. On our first day together, we received an unexpected invitation to join the church on a paid tour of the city Glasgow, complete to the tune of Scottish bagpipes! Then there were the amazing relationships we formed through our VBS, youth club and street ministry. We had numerous opportunities to share testimonies and the gospel, inviting others into God’s story. To cap it off, we experienced incredible team unity, with love expressed towards each other and those we came to serve. 

Throughout the summer, God continued to shower our team with his unexpected blessings as he invited us on an amazing journey with him. My thought continually was, “Wow God, I didn’t expect that – Thank you!"

Thinking back over the summer, I am reminded again of God’s heart recorded in scripture. The grace that God offers each one of us is an unexpected invitation to life!

Jesus said, “Come to me to have life.” John 5:40

God’s unexpected invitations occurred over the summer (and throughout my life for that matter) so many times I dare to even count. And oh, how many times I have missed his invitations to life! But nonetheless, his pursuit is relentless and he continues to invite us to an ongoing relationship with him... 

“Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” 
Revelation 22:17

For Devin, the summer turned out to be exactly what God had in mind for him! Even though at the beginning of the summer Devin had different plans, he allowed God to “interrupt” those plans and take him on a needed journey in his walk. He placed several stakes in the ground along the way and even got baptized in Loch Lomond - how cool is that!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support for what we do in the lives of students! May you be blessed and may you, too, constantly experience God’s unexpected invitations to LIFE!

SEPTEMBER 2013 PRAYER & PRAISES

· STUDENTS
Praise God for the incredible summer we had in Scotland and England. Continue to pray for the impact that has been made on students lives as they live for Christ in school this year.

· NEW BELIEVERS
We shared Christ with many Middle Eastern and Eastern European Immigrants. Please pray for the Churches we served with, as they pursue effective follow-up and for strengthening of new believers.

· NEW “REBRAND”
Reign Ministries is undergoing a new “Rebrand” for our logos and getting a brand new website. Matt is part of the team to make these changes happen this fall. Please pray for wisdom and direction!

· FAMILY
Please pray for our children as school and activities have began for a new year. Pray that we maintain a healthy & Godly balance of parenting and ministry commitments. 

PRAISE THE LORD! HE IS GOOD, HIS LOVE NEVER FAILS!!

Imagine safely leading 31 team
members through the streets of
Glasgow and London for a month?
Thanks for praying for our safety
and our leadership this summer!
God is good!

“Your LOVE never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me.”  (from the song “One Thing Remains” based on Psalm 136)

Hey Friends… After a long and rewarding summer Matt and family are finally home from leading a Royal Servants team of 31 members to Scotland and England! Next month we’ll share a more detailed report on the summer but for now we wanted to send out a quick report to rejoice over God’s faithfulness in what he has done through our team:

· 36 gospel performances or creative outreach teams

· 55+ children involved in the Holiday Bible Club (VBS)

· 40+ teens involved in a week-long youth club outreach

· 37 Bible study and team teaching /discussion sessions

· 42 Bible verses memorized by each individual

· Hundreds of individuals hearing the gospel message

Wow! We praise God for his enduring love and faithfulness in all that our team accomplished this summer. Thanks for being a part through your prayers and gifts to our ministry!

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

Hey Friends… By the time you receive this post-card we will be on
our way to Scotland! Please pray for our July weeks of ministry! 

· Week 6—Ministry in Glasgow, Scotland

· Week 7—Ministry in Glasgow, Scotland

· Week 8—Ministry in Glasgow, Scotland & London, England

· Week 9—Ministry & Debriefing in London, England

· Week 10—Final Debriefing & Departure Home & REST!

A NOTE FROM JENNI

 The kids and I are so excited to travel with Daddy’s Scotland team! After five years of not traveling we might be a little out of practice, but we can’t wait!  This summer is an awesome opportunity for our kids to be exposed to ministry, and for their hearts to grow in Christ.  We will be learning a lot about new cultures as we serve in a very multi-cultural inner-city Glasgow church. We’re also thankful to have our family together after being separated the month of June.

Praise God we have a volunteer student nanny!  Her name is Elizabeth and she has already served two summers as a student w/Royal Servants We are so thankful for her!  We are asking the Lord to richly bless her this summer.  Pray for Jenni and the kids to connect well with her. And pray for Elizabeth to have wisdom as she serves our family.

PLEASE PRAY 

· Royal Servants Scotland—Pray for team unity, spiritual growth, physical strength, safety in travel, wisdom and guidance, faith and courage in sharing the good news of Jesus, and changed lives in our outreach & service!

· Family Travel & Ministry—Pray for wise packing, organized living (out of 6 duffle bags) in a church classroom, sleeping and jet lag with a toddler, peace when laundry and showers are not easily accessible, wisdom parenting in a team setting, and a consistent joyful attitude for us all :)

IT ALL STARTS AT TRAINING CAMP!

Training Camp is a fast-paced,  

environment with intentional 

training & in-depth discipleship, 

designed to give students the tools

 they need for success on the team

 and the mission field. 

“trained in righteousness and equipped for every good work”
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Hey Friends… This week Matt heads to our Missions Training Camp for the month of June. For most students Training camp is a momentous step in a spiritual transformation process that continues throughout their mission trip with Royal Servants and beyond. Please pray for this crucial work!

· Week 1—Packing & Final Prep for Training Camp

· Week 2—Reign Staff setting up Training Camp

· Week 3—Assistant Team Leaders Training

· Week 4—Staff Disciplers Training (College Students)

· Week 5—Student Training (about 300 HS students)

Wow, we are so excited! Pray for wisdom and team unity as Matt trains our Royal Servants Scotland Team for ministry abroad. Please also pray for physical, spiritual and emotional strength for our family as we all prepare to serve in Scotland and England July 1—30. Lastly, pray for extra funds in order to make our ministry possible. 

Thanks for your partnership through prayer and giving to our ministry—we appreciate you!

TELLING THE NEXT GENERATION!

“…we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders… so each generation should set 
it’s hope anew on God…”  Psalm 78:4,7 (NLT)

In Psalms 78:1-7 we are reminded of passing on God’s truth to the next generation so they in turn will tell each generation to “set it’s hope anew on God.” THIS is our goal as we lead a Royal Servants mission trip to Scotland this summer! A recent email from former student Lizzie Wirgau, captures how we are doing just that! Here is Lizzie’s story:

“There are few things I really feel strongly about and believe in as much as I do Royal Servants. As intense as my 6 week mission trip was, I honestly think that my Royal Servants summer in 2006 was the most formative point of my high school years.

Royal Servants taught me to surrender my comforts and future plans to Christ. In that sweet surrender, I was able to be obedient to the call God had on my life and anxious to be His hands and feet to the world. The month I graduated from college, God lead me to start a non-profit organization that helps African widows, refugee women, handicapped, and orphans, to market hand-crafted products to the world through an online store!

I know that learning to surrender and be obedient and willing at 16 years old truly shaped me into the woman I am today, 7 years later. It gave me an “extreme” mindset… I saw what “selling out” for Christ looked and felt like. I would never trade that summer with Royal Servants for anything!”

Hearing Lizzie’s story is living proof of God’s work through Royal Servants in reaching a new generation for Christ. This will be our 8^th summer serving with Royal Servants – wow God has been so good – and we are excited by what He continues to do each year to reach a new generation. We are happy to be a part of it!

I will be serving at our missions training camp for the month of June and Jenni and the family will be traveling with me and the students on our mission team for the month of July in Scotland & England. Our family feels strongly about the importance of this work and we ask you to stand with us in your prayers and giving. We look forward to how God will once again provide.

Thank you for helping us reach the next generation of students, like Lizzie, and those we serve around the world!  

GRAB A SHOVEL! (ROYAL SERVANTS SUMMER MINISTRY)

Our “work” this summer is
taking the good news of Jesus
to those who have not heard.

I love getting my hands dirty…shovel in hand, dirt under fingernails, the smell of sweat (ok, I’m a guy), the sense of accomplishment, and the feeling of exhaustion when your head hits the pillow at night. Our staff members love it too. Seriously, they are some of the hardest workers I know!

I sometimes get asked by students, “So, what kind of ‘work’ do you do on your mission trips”, which implies that we will be doing some kind of hard manual labor on the mission trip. There are plenty of mission trips that focus on hard physical work – you know, construction, painting, digging ditches, etc. And while some of our teams do a bit of physical labor, it is not the primary focus of our mission trips.

There is another “work” on our mission trips that we shed sweat, blood and tears over…. it is the “work” of believing in Jesus.

In John 6:28-29, a crowd approached Jesus and asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Students who join Royal Servants this summer  probably won’t dig any ditches, but they will dig deeper into God’s Word and “work” on their belief in Jesus Christ, growing deeper in their faith. This will happen as they engage in and answer challenging biblical questions, memorize Scripture, and connect with others in lively small group discussions. Then they take what they have learned and put it into action by reaching out and sharing what they believe with others. God uses them and stretches their faith muscles beyond anything they ever thought possible!

Students who are willing to do this kind of work—the work of believing— quickly find that this kind of labor is not hard physically, but it stretches them spiritually in a good way!

2013 SPRING WORK DAYS (AT TRAINING CAMP)

Speaking of “work...” well the physical kind that is; Matt is organizing volunteer groups and individuals to come help  complete some crucial work projects at the Reign Ministries Training Camp from April 25th—28th.  Training Camp is significant in the lives of students as they prepare for missions and life beyond. Please pray for a good turn out and for good weather to complete our projects so we are ready for student arrival in June!

APRIL 2013 PRAYER & PRAISES

· SCOTLAND MISSION TRIP - 
Matt is working on final details and prep with partnering churches in Scotland and England. Please pray for a good working relationship with these hosting churches for this summer’s ministry.

· SPRING WORK DAYS—
As mentioned please pray for the crucial work projects at training camp to be completed and for safety with the volunteers.

· SUMMER PREP—
We are entering the busiest and most stressful time of our year. Please pray for us as we are in our final prep for the summer ministry.

· LOCAL MINISTRY—
Matt recently helped plan a retreat for the men in our church and is excited to see what God is doing in their hearts. Pray that these men would be Godly leaders in their homes and beyond.

REACHING THE UNREACHED IN HONDURAS (KAIROS DISCIPLESHIP SCHOOL)

Reign Ministries operates a 10-month Bible/Discipleship training school for college-age students called - Kairos Discipleship School. Kairos students grow deeper with Christ through, Bible study, discipleship, local outreach and two mission trips. In mid February, the Kairos students will pack their bags and head to the country of Honduras.

For seven years, Kairos has partnered with Mercy International in Honduras. Their outreach is primarily focused on working with the Lenca Indians, an unreached people group in the Opalaca Mountains of Honduras. The villages they work in are extremely remote, accessible only by hiking on foot and packing in mules. Once there, Kairos and Mercy Int’l will put on Bible programs for children and discipleship classes for adults. They also offer lice clinics, and help in the construction of homes and new churches.

Through the years Kairos, along with the missionaries on-going work, has helped establish pockets of new believers and new churches in these remote villages.

Last year the Kairos team witnessed the birth of a new church - the first Christian church in the village of Auga Sucia! It is amazing to be part of a ministry that is reaching those who have never heard the gospel! Please pray!

ROYAL SERVANTS SCOTLAND MISSION TEAM (SUMMER OF 2013)

This summer our family will be leading a Royal Servants team to the United Kingdom. We will be serving in the extremely diverse and densely populated cities of Glasgow, Scotland and London, England.

REACHING THE NATIONS
Immigrants from many countries now call the United Kingdom home, which makes it a place where several religions are practiced and tolerated. Missionaries from outside the UK are partnering more with existing churches to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to their cities.

Please pray for us as we make plans for our outreach with Victoria Church in Glasgow, Scotland and Clapham Church in London, England. We count it an honor to be asked to come over and help these churches! Yet we know that it is the Holy Spirit that will unify us in one common purpose – advancing God’s Kingdom in these great cities!

FEBRUARY 2013 PRAYER & PRAISES

· 2013 ROYAL SERVANTS MISSION TRIP BROCHURE 

Matt has completed the new 2013 Royal Servants brochure and it is being distributed to hundreds of students across the US and Canada. Please pray that this brochure would be used by God for calling many students to join us this summer!

· RECRUITING STUDENTS—
We are seeking students to join our 2013 mission teams by sharing in churches and through our website. Currently, we are participating in a ministry-wide fasting and prayer for the first day of each month between now and June. Will you fast and pray with us for more students?

· THANK YOU—
We were blessed by those who contributed towards our 2012 year-end need of a more reliable family van. So far we have nearly half our budgeted need. Thank you for your generosity!