Next to being born again, the most important thing for a person is to discover God’s will for their life and then act upon it. Matthew 18:14 clearly reveals God’s will, stating, “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” This is why I am dedicated to traveling coast to coast, ministering to young FFA students at state conventions and farm shows.
Because we are making a significant impact on the kingdom of darkness by reaching young people for Christ, we have faced opposition. At one state convention, for example, we were told we could not share the Gospel or pray for the kids. This is disheartening, especially when we hear about tragedies like the high school track athlete in Texas who stabbed and killed another athlete or the thousands of young people who are overdosing on drugs or committing suicide. Yet, the opposition says there is no need for the Gospel. Jesus firmly declared in Matthew 19:14 (AMP), “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
When we minister to the thousands of young people who visit our booth, we believe we are helping to save them from destructive paths like crime, immorality, and suicide. Many kids express to us that our booth is the most impactful at these events, noting that they rarely hear the Gospel preached elsewhere. Beyond sharing the Gospel, we are showing these students the love of Christ, which they may not experience anywhere else. God has entrusted us with the great responsibility of representing His love and compassion to these young people, a responsibility that could determine whether they lead lives of goodness or fall into evil.
Consider figures like Adolf Hitler, the infamous dictator of WWII responsible for millions of deaths. Few people know that as a boy, Hitler served as an altar boy, but his father made fun of him, leading him astray. Similarly, Jesse James, the notorious outlaw, reportedly felt a call from God as a young person. However, mistreatment by soldiers during the Civil War pushed him toward a life of crime. These examples underscore the critical importance of reaching young people with love and encouragement during their formative years.
This is why we take our mission so seriously. Jesus emphasized the gravity of this work in Luke 17:2, stating, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
Jeff and Art at the New Mexico state FFA
Recently at the New Mexico FFA State convention, a young man came to our booth with a big smile on his face telling me that he had prayed the sinner’s prayer with me at last year’s convention. He told me that he got water baptized two months later and he is still following Jesus. We have had others who we have prayed with at conventions and farm shows in the past, who are now thriving in their faith, attending youth groups, reading their Bibles, and boldly living for Jesus. Another highlight at the New Mexico FFA State convention was having Navajo students from Shiprock New Mexico pray with us to receive Christ. I was able to invite them to the church we work with in Shiprock at our Navajo Nation Fair outreach every year, and I even invited them to be a part of that outreach in the fall.
Jeff ministering to FFA Students from New Mexico
So far this year, we have ministered at eleven FFA state conventions and five farm shows. On June 17 I will be flying to Orlando Florida to minister at the Florida FFA state convention and then at the end of June I will be traveling to Fort Worth Texas for the Big Texas FFA State convention. Please be in prayer about these outreaches and thanks again for your prayers and support. Your prayers and support are making an eternal difference in the lives of thousands of young people.
So far this year I have done FFA State conventions in Oregon, Tennessee, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In all the many years I have been ministering to FFA students, I have never seen them as interested and hungry for the Gospel as now. So far, we have seen hundreds and hundreds of students pray with us to receive Christ. In Nebraska recently, a security officer said he had been watching the kids come to our booth and he said our booth was not only the best attended booth, but he was very amazed at how attentive these kids were to the Gospel message. There is hunger and a void in young people today and if we don’t reach them, then the devil will. Some of the kids will tell us how glad they are that we are there sharing the message and one girl said we made her day being at the convention sharing the Gospel. Another encouragement is that we have had a good number of kids come to our booth and tell us that they prayed with us to receive Christ into their lives in the years past and everyone of them is still following Christ, reading their Bibles, going to church and youth groups. Part of this I believe is because of the great resources, discipleship programs, New Testaments and teaching we give them when they come to our booth. 
One FFA girl from Minnesota came to our booth at the Sioux Falls farm show and said she wanted to make it a point to talk to us. We shared the Gospel with her at last year’s farm show in January and the following summer she prayed to receive Christ at a camp and is now on fire for Christ. So, we planted and watered the gospel seed, and then the harvest happened in the summer at a Christian camp.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support so we can thrust in the sickle and reap this last day’s great harvest.
It never gets old telling the world of the redemption we have in Christ. I love seeing the looks on people’s faces when I share the Good News of what Christ did for us on the cross and how much He loves them personally. Most recently I saw this when I ministered to groups of FFA kids from rural Oklahoma at the Tulsa farm show. I was amazed that they were so hungry for God that most of them stood and listened to us for long periods of time and many prayed to receive Christ. At the Peoria Illinois farm show, I prayed with a couple of older men who did not have the assurance of their salvation, but now they do.
