APWAP

During the summer of 2005, Kristin and I felt God leading us towards leading a college age group at the Boone Open Bible Church. This is something that had been tried at many Boone churches, including the Open Bible, but for some reason, no group had ever stuck. We began to prepare for a Fall of 2005 launch to coincide with the beginning of the college year. We named it New Day and began to spread the word. We put together a little worship band, my mom made her world famous scotcheroos, and I put together an introductory message. It was going to be awesome!

The opening Thursday night arrived. We had a worship practice, the treats were out, and we were ready to go! The only problem was that nobody joined us. Not one person even peaked their head in to see what we were up to. We were okay with that. It was a time to regroup and reassess our marketing strategy.

We came back next week. Nobody. We came back the next week. Nothing. We did this for six weeks. God had to be thinking, “I appreciate your persistency, but get a clue. It’s not time!” We decided to take a break and come back in the spring. Little did we know that God had something else in mind.

During the week following my brother’s death, God spoke clearly to my father, “A Party With A Purpose.” At the same time, God was speaking to Kristin and renewing her passion to reach the college age and young adults. She was feeling that this was the time to start up the ministry again. We didn’t know what this was supposed to look like, we just knew that we had to be available to the young people in the community, especially those struggling with the tragic situation. So, my dad made an announcement at the funeral that we were going to be available the following Saturday night. I’m not sure the exact number, but about 30 young people showed up on that Saturday. In short, we talked about God and had some fun. More importantly, we were there for each other to discuss what questions we had after this tragedy.

APWAP lasted three years, and then transitioned to being its own church, House of Freedom. In those three years, we were able to plant many seeds in the college age and help foster a culture of Christ. It makes my day to see somebody sporting an APWAP t-shirt! It was also where we spent every Saturday night during the most painful parts of our adoption process. But I am thankful we were able to keep working for the kingdom in the midst of trials.