For Him and Them by Dean Cowles, YPN President

A monthly message from YouthPartnersNET President Dean Cowles.

For Him and Them by Dean Cowles

November 2007

Pass the Prime Rib

Thanks for coming to the banquet, although you didn’t receive an invitation. Let me explain.

Over the past several months and weeks, YouthPartnersNET has been actively involved in helping some of our partners plan, promote, fund and fill tables at their annual fundraising banquets. Your gift this month allowed us to be a sponsor for these banquets.

The exciting part is that YPN was able to introduce these ministries to one of our national partners, Mission Increase Foundation, who matched each banquet gift 100% up to $20,000 per ministry. How's that for multiplication!

Jesus talked about this "banquet blessing" in Matthew 22, you probably remember his parable. "The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son." We're told that those invited didn't come because they all had their excuses. So the King tells some other servants, "Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find." And they did. The Bible tells us they found "the bad as well as the good".

Thanks for coming to the banquet, although you didn’t receive an invitation.

The same held true for our ministries who filled their tables with guests and those they serve. It was truly a Kingdom celebration. Finally Jesus sums the whole story with this one magnificent line: "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

Can I just say thanks to you, for you are one of the chosen. You chose to give to these ministries without being invited to the banquet. You choose to care and share and give out of the overflow of God's blessings he's bestowed on you. That is truly Kingdom "banquet blessing" business.

And I know that our King, God himself, is proud to have you at his head table, feasting on the riches of his glory! By the way, can you pass the prime rib please?

For Him and Them,

Dean Cowles

PS I attended the banquet at Crossroads of the Rockies where they raised $46,915 which included the $20,000 matching grant from MIF. It was in Denver at the exact time of game 3 of our first World Series and yet these Rockies fans came anyway. Maybe they were reading Matt 22 for devotions that morning.

MIF not only provided Neighborhood Ministries with a $20,000 matching grant when they exceeded their goal and raised $24,280 but they also trained their at-risk youth to plan and host the banquet that raised funds for their youth leadership program.

I hope you will find great joy in knowing you and your gift were part of making these banquets possible!

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