However, shortly after they blessed me to go, the leaders realized that with me away more of the time, church attendance and giving would drop dramatically, and they were not prepared to carry on under those conditions. I understood their point and supported it. Foothills Church, therefore, closed after Our last Sunday meeting on May 26,2001, and I became officially unemployed.

The closing of the church that we had planted 12 years earlier was, of course, sad, but the future that opened up to all of us is exciting. I am now free to go anywhere and to impart the three elements of the Gospel that I have mentioned above. When I talk of taking Good News to the poor, I refer not only to the Mother Teresa type of poor, but to the theologically and biblically poor as well. I am ready to go anywhere I can to be helpful in advancing the Kingdom of God. I am trusting Him and my friends to provide the means to do so.

Our adventure has begun. Patti and the kids are delighted and joyfully anticipate the future. We desire your prayers. We want to hear what you think and to receive your counsel. My family will need money to live on and I will need money to travel. Foothills Church will continue to be a tax-deductible charity and will issue tax receipts for those who want to financially support this mission.

Make checks out to:
Foothills Church
P.O. Box 270606
San Diego, CA 92198-2606

You will be taking the Good News to the poor through me, as you support this work. There may come a time when you would also like to travel with me, just let me know. I will keep you informed of work that is accomplished, future trips, plans, and general Blue news via newsletters.

Peace and all good,
Ken

In May of 2001, I made a decision that put the Blues in transition and I want you to know about it. I invite you to pray for us and participate with us in the outworking of this adventure.

Through the years, I've traveled extensively preaching what I believe to be necessary to the health of the church and essential to the ministry of Christ in the world: the gospel of grace, the charismatic dimension of ministry, and the healing of spiritual abuse. In the past, when I have been invited to teach in poor countries, I have usually not gone because neither they nor I could afford my travel expenses. Allowing finances to play such a determining role in these decisions had always made me uncomfortable, especially when I considered God's heart for the poor. But what was I to do?

In 2001,God began to reveal the solution to my discomfort by diverting my attention from the means to the mission. Jesus' answer to John the Baptist in Matthew 11 and Luke 7, is what finally pushed me all the way into this mission. John asks Jesus if He is the true Messiah. Jesus responds, "The blind see . . . and the the good news is preached to the poor". He's reminding John that this, according to Isaiah (29, 35, 61), is what the true Messiah will do. The final proof of the real ministry of the Messiah, is that Good News is preached to the poor -- not just those who can afford to pay travel expenses. I've spent my adult life in the service of the Messiah and now, more than ever before, I want to align my life with this real ministry of His.

Praying and talking this over with my church resulted in them freely and happily releasing me to this ministry. We all believe that God is leading in this.