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I am so grateful for my amazing team of ministry partners. The continued prayers and generous support provide the opportunities to meet with youth leaders, participate in network gatherings, and provide support through mentor and coaching relationships. In February, we welcomed three new ministry partners. With their help, we are another step closer to being fully funded. Below is a graphic created to help show our current progress. At the end of February, we were at 65% of our total fund raising goal. That leaves us 35% to raise. Jay's Faithful 50...Jay’s Faithful 50 asks 50 donors to faithfully support our ministry in Northeast Ohio with a committed monthly gift of $50. To date, there are 7 committed donors, that leaves 43 opportunities for new ministry partners. What’s more exciting is, with all 50 donors, we will be fully funded and ready to serve youth leaders.  Would you consider becoming one of our Faithful 50? Help us get fully funded so we can serve youth leaders and reach more students with the life-changing message of the Jesus Christ. Click on the link below to complete the giving form. In the comment section, type, “I want to join Jay’s Faithful 50!” Thank you for your support!
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 In just a couple of weeks, I will have the opportunity to join with youth leaders from across the country for the Northeast Youth Ministry Summit. The summit will be held at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center, in Ligonier, PA. Over four days, youth leaders will gather for worship, teaching, networking, encouragement, and training. Topics to include Building a Healthy Youth Ministry, Discipleship for Student Impacted By Disability, Proclaiming Truth In A Culture of Lies, How Students Grow Spiritually, Christ-Centered Teaching, and Developing a Discipleship Plan. (Just to mention a few.)
Over four days, youth leaders will gather for worship, teaching, networking, encouragement, and training. Topics to include Building a Healthy Youth Ministry, Discipleship for Student Impacted By Disability, Proclaiming Truth In A Culture of Lies, How Students Grow Spiritually, Christ-Centered Teaching, and Developing a Discipleship Plan. (Just to mention a few.)The summit is co-sponsored by The Center for Parent and Youth Understanding and Reformed Youth Ministry, who share over 80 years of combined experience offering practical, relevant, and Gospel-centered youth worker training. This event will no doubt, be a pivotal training opportunity for many of the youth leaders who will be in attendance. Would you join me in praying for these youth leaders and the presenters as we prepare for the summit.
I had the opportunity to attend my second youth leader network gathering. More than 20 youth leaders from the greater Cleveland area gathered at Abundant Life Church, in North Royalton, OH for the February Motus Network. Pastor Rocky Taylor welcomed us into his church, while we enjoyed great food, great conversations around the tables, and a great presentation on building and leading ministry teams from John Moores and Erin Scroggs of Ripple FX.  This is why we do what we do; bringing youth leaders together for mutual encouragement, practical training, and spiritual strengthening. This is networking. As I watched the youth leaders talking with each other, I was taken back to my early days in youth ministry. I remembered how I looked forward to meeting with other youth leaders. How I felt encouraged, inspired, and renewed. How this time was beneficial and valuable. These times together made an impact in both my ministry and my life.  The Motus Network gathering is a perfect example of what we are setting out to accomplish here in Northeast Ohio. Youth leaders coming together for encouragement, support, training, and prayer. As a ministry partner, please know that your generous support and continued prayers are making a difference in the lives of youth leaders and their students. For that, I am incredibly grateful.   My new role as the Cleveland Area Coordinator, begins in January 2025. As the Cleveland Area Coordinator, I will be focused on creating collaborative spaces for youth leaders to be personally encouraged, professionally equipped and spiritually strengthened for faithful and effective ministry with the next generation. And, I can’t wait to get started!
Would you prayerfully consider making a year end gift, or becoming a monthly ministry partner? I am currently at 64% of my total support raising goal! To be fully funded and ready to serve youth leaders in this new chapter, I need just $1,300 more in monthly commitments. MAKE A YEAR END GIFT Year End Gift: Make an impact in 2025 with a special Year End Gift. Year End Gifts must be postmarked by December 31st, 2024. BECOME A MINISTRY PARTNER 50/50 Partnership: Become one of my Faithful 50; 50 partners contributing $50 a month. I need 42 more Faithful 50 Partners. 10 X 100 Team Impact: Help me crush my goal as 1 of 10 partners contributing $100 a month. I need 6 more 10x100 Partners. Together, we can make an eternal difference. Thank you for being part of this journey! Complete your giving online with my giving portal. Click on the link below! “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” - Luke 2:4-7 ESV I can’t count the times I have heard a pastor share this text from Luke 2, then talk about how “messy” and “untimely” the events surrounding the Christmas story must have been for Mary and Joseph. Engaged. Mary pregnant. Joseph making the choice to still marry Mary. Census in Bethlehem. Road trip at nine months. Crowded city. No vacancies. Giving birth in a stable. Yes, it seems and sounds like an absolute disaster waiting to happen. No doubt Mary and Joseph had their fears, anxiety, and apprehension. And yet, in what looks like an imperfect mess, we see God’s perfect plan and timing. But isn’t this how life is? In what we think is “disaster waiting to happen”, God is moving to bring about his perfect plan at his perfect time. It’s not always easy to see in the moment, but when we back up and look at the bigger picture, we can begin to see what God is doing. Messy? Untimely? Not to God. It was just as he wanted, when he wanted.  This is true for us today. At first, our recent news felt messy and untimely. Starting a new ministry role with Bay Presbyterian Church, shifting roles with NNYM, house hunting during the holidays, relocating in the new year, and Breya starting a new school in January all felt overwhelming. But none of this is new to God. In fact, this is all how he planned it. The last couple of months have been filled with questions. How will it all work? Will it all fall into place? Are we really going to be able to move and starter in the new year? Amy and I have always looked at new opportunities with a philosophy that says, “If God opens the door, we will walk through it.” And that’s what we did. As each door opened, we stepped through it. Again and again, God provided. With each door and with each step we saw God answer a prayer. With each answered prayer, came the confidence to trust God more and more.  Starting January 2025, I will begin my new role with Bay. It’s an opportunity to introduce students to the grace and love that God through the gospel, and partner with parents as they seek to raise and disciple their children. I will also begin serving youth leaders throughout the Cleveland ares as I create collaborative spaces for youth leaders to be personally encouraged, professionally equipped and spiritually strengthened for faithful and effective ministry with the next generation. We have a place to live. Breya is excited to begin her new school. Amy has been given an opportunity to work with students and adults with disabilities. And, we are preparing to move in just a couple of weeks. With each of our concerns, prayer requests, and hurdles; God has been two steps ahead of us.  Christmas might seem a bit messy. Life might seem a bit messy. But God’s timing is always perfect. As we look back and these last couple of months, we can see God’s provision over and over again. He is a good, good Father. Now as we step into this new and exciting partnership, Bay Pres. and NNYM, we are can’t wait to see how God might use us as we serve students and families, AND the youth leaders through the Cleveland area.
We want to invite you to continue in the mission with us. Your partnership through prayers and financial support will allow us to reach out and connect with youth leaders. Would you consider a year end gift? We are 64% funded, and would love to be able to start 2025 fully-funded and ready to serve Cleveland. In His Grace, Jay and Amy It was just about 9 months ago that I began my ministry to youth leaders with National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM). My mission has been to reach out to youth leaders throughout western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, inviting them to connect with other youth leaders in their area through networks. These networks help to develop relationships that encourage youth leaders and other caring adults locally to reach and equip young people for Jesus Christ. During these past months, I had the opportunity to meet with youth workers from Cambria, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania, and Ohio County in West Virginia. I also had the privilege of working with students, partnering with Pine Springs Camp, and continuing to serve alongside Amy as she ministered with Ohio Valley Young Life Capernaum. To make this ministry possible, I set out to invite a team of ministry partners to join me. The role of a ministry partner is to pray for me, my family, and the mission to reach students and youth leaders throughout the Appalachia Area. With prayer comes the opportunity to financially participate in the mission, providing support towards my work with NNYM. It was exciting to see God at work in so many ways. And I thoroughly enjoyed every opportunity to meet, speak, pray with, encourage, train, and promote what God was doing in and throughout the area.  But what happens now? Are you leaving NNYM? What about your ministry partners? Are you still going to work with youth leaders? Those are great questions. And honestly, these were the same questions that I needed to address and answer. So Amy and I sat down and began to pray and talk about what to do next. I reached out to the leadership at NNYM and the leadership at Bay Presbyterian Church. Here is what we are hoping to see happen in the new year. First, we are going to continue to serve with NNYM as the Cleveland Area Coordinator. This will be a quarter-time position, allowing me to connect and serve youth leaders in the Cleveland area, while still focusing attention on the ministry at Bay Presbyterian Church (BPC).  Second, we will still need our ministry partners. The work I do with NNYM will be separate from my work at BPC. The coaching, mentoring, training, networking, and outreach with youth leaders is vital. Remember, studies have proven that youth workers who are connected with a local youth ministry network double their staying time and effectiveness. We need to continue to welcome these youth leaders. So I invite you to continue partnering with me as together we reach out to youth leaders.
Third, our work in the Cleveland area begins in January 2025. With my transition to a quarter-time role with NNYM, our overall budget has been significantly reduced, making every gift even more impactful. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we are already over 64% of our total goal! To be fully funded and ready to serve youth leaders in this new chapter, we need just $1,300 more in monthly commitments. Would you prayerfully consider a year-end gift or beginning monthly partnership to help us reach this goal? Together, we can make an eternal difference. Thank you for being part of this journey! - jay I believe the saying goes something like this, “God, (or) the Lord, works/moves in mysterious ways.” It’s often quoted when things work out in odd or unexpected ways. Many think it’s a verse from the Bible. It ranks up there with, ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’, and ‘the Lord helps those who help themselves.’ But these statements aren’t in the Bible. In fact, when you think about them, they’re kind of cringy. Does God work or move in mysterious ways? I don’t think so. While I might not always understand what God is doing in the moment, I’m not sure I would say that He was acting mysteriously. I believe that God makes His intentions and His plans very clear in His word. Mysterious? No. Purposeful and intentional? I think so. One of my favorite verses about who God is comes from Psalm 139:16. It reads, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (ESV  This verse reminds me of two thoughts. The first, God is Omniscient. He knows everything. He is Omnipresent. He is outside of our understanding of time and was able to see that which was not yet formed. And, He is Omnipotent. That’s all powerful. Not only does He know all and is ever present, but seeing what was not yet formed, He had the power to make the nothing into something. Me. Second, nothing escapes the knowledge of God. My days. Every single one of them. From birth to death; each one written in His book. Thus each day, and everything I do in that day, then the next and the next, are purposeful and intentional. This means no surprises. No skeletons in the closet. No mistakes. Sure, I might have to walk through some difficulties or challenges, but does anything take him by surprise? No  When I look back over my career as a youth pastor/leader, I can see how each new role, and each relocation, worked to prepare me for the next call that God would put before me. Each move was purposeful and intentional.
And now here we are, about to step into a new ministry opportunity. The Higham’s are moving to Ohio! I have accepted the position of Director of Parenting and Middle School Ministry, with Bay Presbyterian Church (EPC), just west of Cleveland in Bay Village, Ohio. This new role will allow me to partner with parents as they navigate through the milestone moments of life, while also serving as youth pastor to the middle school students. My time with Bay Presbyterian Church will begin in January 2025. In the meantime, Amy and I, are preparing to make the move to Ohio. We would appreciate your prayers as we wrap up life and ministry in Wheeling, WV, and begin this new and exciting journey in the Cleveland area. - jay 
Goodbye summer.
Believe it or not, the change of season is upon us. The weather is getting cooler. The leaves on the trees are beginning to change colors and fall. And school is in full swing. Summer is quickly becoming a memory as we step into September and begin to look forward to the next couple of months. But before we talk about the Fall, let's look at August. 
On Thursday, August 22, I had the privilege of attending and sharing at Accelerate Pennsylvania. Organized by my friend and NNYM team member, Travis Deans, Accelerate PA, was a one day gathering of youth leaders to celebrate what God is doing throughout Pennsylvania. Special guest, Steve Robertson, author of the book, Gen-Z: Aliens Among Us, talked about Gen-Z, and how we might best reach this generation of students.
We also took time to hear about some of the amazing ministries that are working in and around PA. I was asked to share a little bit about networks and why they are so important for youth leaders. Over 50 youth workers and ministry partners attended.
Preaching at St. Paul's
On Sunday, September 1st, I was able to preach at St. Paul's EPC in Somerset, PA. It was a wonderful opportunity to visit with friends, worship, and share God's word. Because St. Paul's streams their Sunday service, I am able to share the message with you.
Support Raising Update
August has been a busy month of meeting with potential ministry partners. Amy and I were very excited to welcome three, new ministry partners. We are grateful to have these amazing people as part of our Appalachia Connect Team!
We are excited to be heading to Philadelphia for our first Mission Appalachia visit. Amy and I will be gathering with friends and family and to share about our new ministry with NNYM. There will be some light refreshments, and time of fellowship, and then the opportunity to talk about the our call to serve in West Virginia, Western PA, and the greater areas of Appalachia. I will share more about the event in an upcoming post soon. 
We also launched a support campaign called, Jay's Faithful 50! As we work to become fully-funded, we've created an opportunity for financial support. Jay's Faithful 50, invites family and friends to come along side us and partner in ministry with a monthly gift of $50! With 50 committed supporters, supporting us with a monthly gift of $50, we will quickly close in on our support raising goals!
If you would like to know more, click on the button below! Looking Forward to Fall!
If the summer was any indication of God's call in my life to serve with NNYM, than the Fall is going to absolutely crazy! I already have a number of network gatherings, events, and ministry opportunities on the calendar for September and October! I will also be working to complete my youth ministry coaching certification with PACT ministry.
I want to thank all of my current monthly ministry partners. Your support and prayers are making it possible to reach out to youth leaders, build relationships, and impact thousand of students across Appalachia. If you would like to become a monthly ministry partner, click on the link below. It will take you directly to my official giving portal with NNYM. It's a safe and secure way to begin your support today! Coming Up...
September 2024
October 2024
In His Grace,
- jay Since my last update, it's been an exciting couple of weeks. I've been busy with support raising appointments, network visits, youth ministry coach trainings, 1-on-1's, a week of Capernaum Camp, and family schedules. And though it has felt a little overwhelming, I can honestly say, I can't wait to be fully-funded and working full-time with youth leaders and students.
We're just about to turn the corner to a new and familiar season of life, back to school. Our youngest is getting ready for her Sophomore year of high school. No 4, is getting ready to start his first year of college. And Amy and I are looking forward to getting back to our school year routines. But as we look towards the quickly approaching school season, I am also getting excited to get back to support raising and connecting with youth leaders in the Ohio Valley and Western PA. Our goal and prayer, is to be funded so we can begin full-time ministry with NNYM. this fall. I am looking forward to the upcoming appointments where I will have the opportunity to share my ministry and invite folks into partnership with me. I will also have the opportunity to share in a couple exciting events. On Thursday, August 22nd, I will travel to Harrisburg, PA to meet up with with a couple of my NNYM teammates, and a bunch of youth leaders for Accelerate PA. Accelerate PA is a one-day event where we will celebrate what God is doing among students, while cultivating strategic relationships that will help youth leader reach the next generation. I ask that you would join with me in prayer for this event. and the youth leaders who will participate. You can learn a little more by clicking here, Accelerate PA. Second, I have been asked to preach at St. Paul's EP Church, in Somerset, PA. St. Paul's was our church home when we lived in Somerset. We started attending in attending there around when Asher was born. Then in 2007, I joined the staff as the youth pastor. I'm looking forward to preaching on Sunday, September 1st, at both the 8:30 and 10:00 AM services. Then on Tuesday, September 17th, I will be partnering with Pine Springs Camp as we host the Highlands Youth Leaders Network. It will be a great time as youth leaders from Somerset and Cambria counties meet at Pine Springs for lunch, a tour of the camp, some ministry discussion, a book swap, and a few more fun surprises in the works. On August 1st, my monthly eNewsletter, Appalachia Update, found it's way into the inboxes of my current ministry partners and supports. I was able to share about the first of my four focus points for the 2024-2025 year. If you missed the eNewsletter, please reach out and I can help you sign up to receive my monthly updates. Lastly, as we draw closer to the fall and the start of many youth ministry calendars, I'd like to ask you to join me in prayer. This week, NNYM is sponsoring a prayer event called, Footprints on Campus. The event encourages youth leaders, church leaders, parents, teachers, neighbors, community leaders, and anyone else, to meet up on the campuses of their local schools to pray for the upcoming school year. I can think of no better way to begin the school year but with it bathed in prayer. If you would like to know more, click here Footprints on Campus, I want to thank you for your continued prayers as I embark on this new and exciting ministry path. If you would like to become on of my monthly support partners, click here, JOIN JAY"S TEAM! Your monthly commitment allows me the opportunity to create collaborative spaces for youth leaders in the Appalachia Area to be personally encouraged, professionally equipped, and spiritually strengthened for faithful and effective ministry with the next generation. - better together  You’ve already heard me mention our partnership with the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) to host an initiative tailored for the youth ministry space. The GLS NextGen experience offers unique training opportunities and specialized speakers to empower youth leaders to mentor and disciple the next generation. Attendees can join via livestream or at local satellite sites. Through our strategic partnership, we are offering an exclusive network price of $99 to youth workers and student leaders through our referral code and link!
We are asking you to join us in this partnership in three ways: pray, encourage, give.
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