L.I.T. Played a Significant Role in My Spiritual Life by Joel Hayworth

Two things specifically that are a part of L.I.T. that have played significant roles in my spiritual formation are forming spiritual disciplines and using spiritual gifts in the local church. As a young believer, I was given a weekly Scripture verse to memorize and a daily passage to read. These things might seem minor or even insignificant to some people, but to a young Christian, this was precisely what I needed to grow in my faith and knowledge of God's Word! My L.I.T. teacher and classmates helped hold me accountable to do my daily quiet time and memorize Scripture, and for this, I am extremely grateful. As I have grown up and gone through high school and college, I look back to my years in L.I.T. with thankfulness because I was encouraged to "own" my faith rather than believe something just because someone else said it.

A second thing that L.I.T. encouraged and has shaped me is using my spiritual gifts in the local church. While I had been a Christian for a couple of years when I entered the L.I.T. program in 5^th grade, I had no idea what my spiritual gift was! Because of L.I.T., though, I learned that God had given me a gift, and I have a responsibility to use that gift to further the kingdom of God. Whenever I found out that I had the gift of teaching, I learned that I need to use that gift and teach others. As I grew older, I began to have the opportunity to teach small groups, L.I.T. groups, and Sunday school classes. Now I find myself as a pastor, and I teach and preach on a weekly basis. First Corinthians 12:8-11 shares that even though there are many different gifts, it is the same Holy Spirit who gives these gifts to us as followers of Jesus Christ. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord, I have also been burdened with the importance of encouraging people to use their spiritual gifts in the local church regardless of age because it is what we are called to do as Christians.

I have been the pastor of Morgan Baptist Church in Conway, Missouri, since January of 2019. My wife and I are anticipating the birth of our first child (a baby boy) in August of 2020, and God has been so good to us every step of the way. My journey to Morgan Baptist Church began about 13 years ago as a student at First Baptist Church, Ozark. As a student in 5^th and 6^th grades, I had the opportunity to take part in a program called Leaders In Training. I had already been a Christian for several years at this point, but L.I.T. encouraged me to apply Scripture in my daily life and "own" my faith.

Personal Update

 Vicki and I are doing well. We moved to Willow Park, Texas, three and a half years ago and love living here. It has been difficult during these times to isolate ourselves from family, our church family, and friends, especially when you have six children and fourteen grandchildren. As the restriction was lifted in Texas, it was a great joy to have everyone getting together again. We know that the Lord is in control, so we move with care during this time. I am working from home the majority of the time now by doctor's orders. I struggle with asthma, so he advised me to use caution. It has been great being with Vicki and spending more time together. Our children all live nearby (within 20 minutes) except for my older daughter Aubrey. Vicki and I are approaching our 43^rd wedding anniversary in August. Life together gets better each new day.

The new normal for me has been meeting online, training online, and contacting and assisting churches. I have noticed that due to the virus, more leaders have the extra time to train. It has really been a lot of fun casting a new vision and opening their eyes to God's bigger plan for children.

I am sad to say that we had to cancel our mission trip this summer. I am looking forward to next summer, Lord willing, when I can take part in my 30^th preteen mission trip. They have and always will be the highlight of my summer.

We are forever grateful for your financial support and prayers. We could not do what we do without those who are on our team.

God bless you and your family,

Dr. Clint May

President, L.I.T. Ministries

Prayer

Praises:

• Even when we doubt, God provides. He always comes through for us.
• For the record number of leaders we have trained
• For Joel Hayworth and his ministry in Missouri

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for the many churches that are looking at the vision of L.I.T. Pray that they will adequately cast the vision to their leadership.
• Pray for a clear vision for the future and how we embrace God's new direction for the future.
• Pray for the many churches we are working with, that they will stay the course in discipling children.
• Pray for the mission trips next summer as we begin the process of securing dates.
• Pray for Clint to complete the book he is working on.