Big News! The Pucketts are Moving to SoCal!

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The Pucketts are Moving to Southern California!

We are continuing our full-time missionary role and moving to Southern California in October 2018. Below is a list of common questions and answers.

What is our vision? To establish teams of local leaders who take ownership of the core missionary task — to make disciples, start churches & mobilize missionary teams to areas of greatest need until every tribe & tongue hears the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How will we accomplish this vision?
-LOVING the local community by praying, sharing the gospel and investing our lives into people
-TRAINING believers to make disciples, start churches and mobilize missionary teams to areas of greatest gospel need
-MENTORING leaders so their teams thrive as they multiply

Note: We use The 4Fields strategy. Click Here to learn more about our training and tools.

Where are we moving to?: Long Beach, CA — a community just south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. From this central location we can drive to much of greater Los Angeles and San Diego within 2 hours (depending on traffic). We also have access to several major airports. Additionally, there is a solid team at Bridges Church who are committed to the #NoPlaceLeft vision. We see Long Beach as a strategic location for our family & team to be strengthened and encouraged in the work God has called us to.

When are we moving?: October 2018, once we have raised our needed support and taken care of some critical logistical needs. We will settle in slowly and transition our family into life out there. We will dive back into training and coaching once we are are all settled into the community.

Why are we going?
–Calling: God’s clear call from extensive times of fasting and prayer.
–Counsel from mentors, peers and leaders we respect
–Need: 19 million lost people in Southern California. The biggest gaps in #NoPlaceLeft North American cities are out West from Colorado to California.
–Opportunity: The nations are in Southern California. We are praying for God to ignite gospel movements there from which we can mobilize church planting and missionary teams to the gaps across North America and the 3,179 unengaged people groups around the world.

What we’ll be doing: We believe the labor force for reaching Southern California, the Western United States and the nations is already there. Thus, we posture ourselves to learn from and serve the existing teams and churches who are faithfully laboring on God’s mission. We will spend the majority of our time laboring with the Coopers and the Preatos to start new teams and strengthen existing ones (we have 6 now and are praying for 500). We also have a vision to establish a strategic global hub of training residencies across Southern California for church planters and missionary teams. With 21 million people within a 2-hour driving radius, this means Puck will not be spending as much time traveling on an airplane away from home. Puck really believes God’s calling on his life is to serve and support the emerging generation of leaders whom God is raising up to complete the Great Commission task.

Who are we serving with?
–Core Teammates: Troy & Rachel Cooper (and family) and Rick & Jenny Preato
–Team Leader: Troy Cooper (North American Region Director, e3 Partners)
–Global Leader: Jeff Sundell (Chief Strategy Officer, e3 Partners)
–Missionary Organization: e3 Partners
–Sending Churches: #NoPlaceLeft Boone Team, Perkinsville Baptist Church
–Local Partnering Church: Bridges Church / Pastor Jeff.Timblin@e3partners.org
–The #NoPlaceLeft network of leaders, churches and organizations in California & Western part of North America.

Note: We are postured to serve multiple churches and networks across Southern California but will be based out of Bridges Church in Long Beach, CA

What about Boone? After 5 years of leading BCM we believe our task is complete as 3 teams of local leaders and a Church Planting Residency have been established in our area who have the character, calling and competency to accomplish the vision. They are a solid team of local servant leaders who are taking personal ownership of the core missionary task to make disciples, start churches, mobilize teams and train others to do the same. After much prayer and fasting, we believe it is the right time for our family to be sent out by the Boone team and Perkinsville Baptist Church. We will continue in a coaching role with the Boone team leadership.

How do Kelly & the kids feel about this? They are so so excited! While it will be very difficult for us to leave our family, teammates, friends, students, and our local church, God has made us for this work. We are a family of missionaries who pray, labor and serve together. We are also excited that the Lord has provided new friendships and support with the emerging teams. We love to practice the “one anothers” together.

Any changes in financial support for the Pucketts?
–Financial Need: We need an additional $6,000 in monthly support to cover the current monthly support gap, increased cost of living (+56%) and increased administrative costs (+11%).
–How to give: Because Puck will be moving to a new role in a new organization, you will need to shift your giving from BCM of the High Country to e3 Partners. If you would like to join our support team or increase your current amount, you can find simple giving instructions at PuckettsOnAMission.com/give.

Does this change your role and organization?
–Role & Responsibilities: Puck will continue in his role of starting and strengthening catalytic disciple-making and church planting teams. He will shift his pioneering efforts to the Western part of North America (from the Rockies to the Pacific). He will continue to serve and coach teams across North America, Middle East, and Asia. We will work hard to mobilize missionary teams from North America to the 3,179 remaining unengaged people groups of the world.
–Organization: Puck will begin serving with e3 Partners with the role of the Director of Coaching for North America. We are active participants in the #NoPlaceLeft and 24:14 Coalitions of movements.

Are we selling our home? Yes. Due to housing costs in CA, we’ll be renting but believe it’s the right time in Boone to sell so if you know anyone interested in a newly updated 3BR, 2BA home with great schools and only miles from downtown Boone, Appalachian State University, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, let us know. Our plan is to list it in August.

Prayer Needs:
–That we will grow in love for Jesus and and our desire to serve and obey Him at all costs each day. We want to know Him more. We want to love Him more. We want to serve Him more. We want more of Him and less of us.
–Lostness: 19 million lost in Southern California; 3,179 remaining Unengaged People Groups
–The amazing Boone team as they take local ownership of the core missionary task. We believe God will use them to accomplish greater things than we could dream of.
–Transition for Kelly and Emily to new friends, church, etc
–Teammates Rick & Jenny Preato: strong start to their marriage (12.9.17), support raising, solid finish to the work in Gainesville, FL
–Financial Provision: $6,000 additional monthly support, PuckettsOnAMission.com/give
–Selling our home and finding a home in CA to rent
–That God would prepare laborers in Southern California and Western USA for us to serve & learn from.

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Telling the Story

A few weeks ago it just so happened that our people were telling the story of what God has been doing in Boone and at ASU in 5 different churches on the same morning. Anna and a student spoke at the church above and they responded by praying for us and our work. The other 4 churches has our students speaking.

Something is happening here.

Outside Affirmation

I got this text from a student I engaged last semester. He is a leader in another campus ministry and was really appreciative to meet us that first time (and then second and third). We prayed for him and showed him how we shared the gospel and ultimately followed up by training him in 411.

Our students are leading the work and they lead by example. I have gotten messages or calls like this from a number of leaders in a few campus ministries over the last year. Once, we almost never shared the gospel and we weren’t making disciples (or an impact for the kingdom) but now our reputation is preceding us. God has been so gracious to us.

Local Ownership

The working definition for #NoPlaceLeft is:

Local ownership of the core missionary task for all peoples and places.

For this place and these peoples, it sure seems like this is the beginning of the end. I can’t tell you how encouraged I am to see students taking ownership of planning our fall launch. We (staff) would normally start on this ourselves a little later in the spring.

Multiply it, Lord!

Reproducing Training

Jeff is a brother who serves as campus missionary at Eastern Kentucky University BCM. He and I serve on adjacent teams within the national committee called Baptist Collegiate Network, or BCNet.

Jeff reached out to me to ask some questions about 3 Circles because he had seen some of my updates here and on Twitter related to that tool and our process for disciple making. We talked for a while on that first video call and we set up a second video call to run through our 411 Training.

That following week, he trained his BCM leadership team and then they trained most of the rest of the ministry. He shared with me how he had led some other trainings as well – and was even asked by a state leader to train other BCM campus missionaries in 411.

We recently had a call to discuss how to train large groups. The pictures above are from that training.

Think about the implications of this. I trained Jeff and his intern in about an hour over a video call. Now he has trained hundreds of other believers to make disciples. This is a game changer.

If you’d like to be trained in 411, contact me.

Kingdom Partnership

Pictured above are 3 of our Appalachian State students surrounded by the #NoPlaceLeft team based in South Florida. One of our students has family in that area and the 3 of them were visiting them over Spring Break. During their in South Florida, they visited the SFL NPL team church. This team has blessed me in many ways, and this took it to another level. They welcomed our students in to their church, gave them responsibilities during the meeting, and laid hands on them and prayed over them.

One of the challenges and opportunities in doing #NoPlaceLeft movements work on a college campus is that we have a limited time with every student who comes our way. We have to have a vision for them that exists before they arrive and doesn’t end when we launch them off from graduation. One critical component in this vision is how we launch them when they leave. There are many #NoPlaceLeft teams across the U.S. and we want to mobilize kingdom laborers to embed in local strategies in cities all across the country.

We represent separate #NoPlaceLeft teams, but we are running after the same vision in different places. We are family and I’m so grateful for this family.