June 2022 Newsletter
Good morning friends!
The first online update for Off the Wall Discipleship (OTW) North Carolina is finally here! So many of you have been here from the inception, and I am excited that many more have joined me in the journey. I am tremendously grateful for your love, support, and encouragement over this past year. It has been a challenging process to really get rolling, but I'm excited that we have finally turned a corner to begin this ministry in Lexington, NC. I plan to write a monthly update; you can also stay up-to-date with OTW through my social media accounts. You can find me @trent_santos on Instagram and TrentandSyd Santos on Facebook (make sure you also follow the new OTW NC instagram page @otwdiscipleshipnc). Read on to hear the latest about the ministry and life (it will take about five minutes), or if you just want the bullet points scroll to the bottom.
June 2022 was an exciting month for OTW NC! During June 19-25, we hosted a two-night event called IMPACT Lexington.
On Tuesday - Don, Executive Director of OTW, and Terri, Director of Discipleship, drove to NC. We had an informative meeting and dinner at our house with several couples from our church community group where Don, Terri, and I shared about the ministry. It was so cool to have 10 people in our house all with at least one thing in common: a goal and vision to see God's Kingdom expanded through the discipleship of young adults. We enjoyed several hours together. Afterwards, I sent a text to the men thanking them for their time and encouragement, and one of them responded: “Man, I truly believe it was more of an encouragement to us than it was to you. Thanks for allowing us to be a part of it. Love you all and so glad God allowed our paths to cross. Good things are coming!” I was humbled by all of their love and support, and am grateful to the Lord for spreading my vision.
On Wednesday - We had an informative lunch meeting with several Lexington area leaders to introduce OTW NC to the Lexington community. The Lord brought two great connections through this meeting! I met a local youth pastor and a city councilman. Both have a heart and passion for young adults. I was super thankful to have met these men and look forward to seeing what happens with these connections in the future!
On Thursday - IMPACT Lexington officially began with an informal gathering at a local coffee shop. This part of the event targeted 18-25 year olds, and approximately 20 people attended. We were able to do a “living room” style gathering, which allowed us to spend quality time together. Jeff Kaufman led our worship session, and Travis Troyer shared a message from the Word. These two men are also OTW Ohio staff members. I was also able to share a message. Overall, it was a sweet time together. I was excited about two particular connections the Lord orchestrated. One connection was a new believer from my church community group. Over the past month, he and I have had some pretty deep conversations as he continues to grow in his knowledge of God and His Word. He is hungry to keep growing in his faith and has expressed a desire for a discipleship relationship. I’m looking forward to the Lord developing that relationship. Another connection was a young man I had met last fall at the gym. Over time, we've become fairly close and I have walked with him through some pretty big “life stuff.” It was super exciting to see him join us for some fellowship and connect with a few other young adults who are walking with the Lord.
On Friday - This part of IMPACT Lexington targeted the community and was designed to introduce OTW NC to the Lexington community members. It was an outdoor worship concert at our local amphitheater led by Branch Music (part of OTW Music in Ohio). We had a bounce house, Sunset Slush, and the Pour Folk Pizza food truck at the event. There was a small turnout, but the Lord encouraged me with the particular people he brought to the event. Two of the young men that attended Thursday night’s event also came to this event. The Lord also brought a sweet local businesswoman and her three grandchildren to the event. She literally heard the worship music from her office, and grabbed her three grandchildren and headed over. She was super encouraged by the night and is spreading the word about OTW in the community. I loved getting to meet this sweet lady and look forward to reconnecting with her. My OTW teammates, my community group friends, and other area friends/business owners also attended this event, and we had an amazing time worshipping the Lord together. This event showed me that I have an awesome support team in my corner rooting for me and helping me. So many of them stepped up and put this event together. I'm so thankful for this opportunity and the community God has developed for me and this ministry.
Now, it's July (which is so hard to believe). My main goals over this summer month are:
1) To increase our monthly support. We have a handful of donors already, but we need more. I am hoping and praying the Lord will bring us to 100% support by the end of the year. My specific goal for July is to raise $1,000 in monthly commitments.
2) To continue building relationships with young adults and ministers in the area. I plan to start a weekly gathering for young adults by September. Building more connections will be vital to this part of my ministry.
In family news, Sydney has a break from law school through the end of August. Even though she is working during this time for an internship for school, it still has been SO nice to have her home with no homework in the evenings. It also seems like she'll have an opportunity to work from home quite a bit. The boys of this house are thrilled to have mommy around a little more than usual during this time. As far as school goes, Sydney has officially completed her first year of law school and she, of course, is doing amazing. I'm so proud of her and all she continues to accomplish through this process.
Ezra graduated Kindergarten in May and did great. Asher finished his first year of preschool. These sweet boys keep us on our toes all the time, but they are getting to such a sweet of age of playing together all the time and enjoying each others' company (most of the time). The most exciting thing was praying with Ezra on June 6th for Jesus to be His Lord and Savior! Wow…it was amazing to sit and listen as he asked questions, and we walked through Romans together. So thankful for the Lord giving Ezra a soft heart to respond to His call. The discipleship in our home continues!
I am doing well. Working on getting this ministry rolling keeps me quite busy. June was so fun as I worked on IMPACT Lexington. It felt like I had to shake off the rust a little bit since it had been quite a while since my last event. It was super fun though and felt good to be preaching some as well. Looking forward to continuing to build the ministry so that those opportunities become more regular. I also have continued to run my side business called Santos Athletics. I have met some awesome people through that and have seen the business grow some this year. I trust the Lord to continue to bless it as He sees fit.
JUNE 2022 BULLET POINTS
IMPACT Lexington was great. The connections were meaningful and intentional. It was a great launching point for OTW NC. Pray that the Lord will continue to get our name out in the Lexington community.
I will be digging deeper into intentional discipleship relationships with a couple of young men. Pray for us as we grow in these relationships together. I am looking forward to God growing their faith, knowledge, and service of Jesus Christ.
We will continue working towards being fully funded for this ministry by December 2022. Pray for me as I amp up raising support during July and August. We are specifically aiming to raise $1,000 in monthly commitments this month!
The Santos family is doing well! Everyone is on a summer break from school which has been really nice. We are enjoying our time together.
Thank you so much for taking some time to read our first update. One thing I know for sure is that I cannot and will not be successful in ministry without the continued prayer support from you. So as you think through everything you've read here today, would you be willing to choose one or two things to be praying for us about? You don't know how much that means to us. Until the next one!
Trent Santos
Director of NC, Off the Wall Discipleship
(336) 596-1695
@trent_santos
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*Off The Wall Discipleship is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit and relies on the support of individuals and churches for funding. Our biggest need is monthly supporters to sustain the ministry and help us budget accordingly, but we are grateful for any donation God leads you toward.