Dear ministry leader/facilitatorHikers should not hike alone.

Snake Handlers get bitten.

Race Car drivers have accidents.

Baseball Pitchers get arm injuries.

OKkiers fall down. Sometimes spectacularly.

And Missionaries get burned out. Or not.

Give Yourself Some Concentrated OXIgen.

Serving God is not a “safe” business but we do not want to…

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What helps you to seek God through prayer?

During these days of uncertainty and apparent division, my heart feels a need for God and a need to come together. Noticing these feelings within me helps me to begin prayerfully seeking God.

It also helps me when others call me to pray with them. Thank you to Bereket Otoro who is calling us together…

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I just watched the movie Project Hail Mary. It cost 250M to create. It has made 300M as of this last Friday. Money is still rolling in. So far, it’s the highest grossing movie of 2026.

And I hope you will go see it. Not so it can make more money. Ha Ha.

I would propose to you that Project Hail Mary uses a number of Bridging skills…

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I thought I could offer my own answers to the questions

1 How do you know when your soul is particularly thirsty?

I know my soul is thirsty when I

*start eating more

*feel “off” inside from a centered, grounded self

*feel resistance within to being quiet or reflective

2 What do you do when you are thristy?

*call a friend

*sit quietly and invite God…

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Click the the link below. Come get a drink.

Tuesdays, 7:30am PT, 10:30am EST.

Facilitated by Bridge Leader Bekele Otoro and others

https://zoom.us/my/bridges.zoom.room?pwd=Q0pmSUt4NUo0ZUpJc0xRS3M1TitHZz09

How do you know when you soul is thirsty? What are the signs?

Our BridgesUS Tuesday morning prayer time at 7:30am is set aside for our…

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The next 6 weeks are full of holiday activities–and OPPORTUNITIES to live out a bridging life style and practice our bridging skills to build deeper relationships and bring people together.

I watched some episodes of series “The Chosen” today, and it was especially evident that Jesus enjoyed bringing very different people together to eat around…

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Welcome to BridgesUS Academy!

Please reach out and welcome some of the 45 people who have joined our online community in the past week.

You can find links to message these 45 people here: https://membership.bridgesus.org/groups/bridges-member/members/all-members/

Anytime you have a question or a message for all the members of BridgesUS…

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Please pray for people who are in the process of discerning the launch of their micro-nonprofit.

These are leaders who sense that God has called them to a specific ministry and are moving towards our BridgesUS community for support and services.

Please pray for new Bridge Leaders:

Bob Bugeja

Sue Brooke

Cherri Pedrioli

Anna Gonzalez

Leticia Bravo

You…

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I learned yesterday that my three children lost their home, though a rental, and all their belongings. They are going to need help in numerous ways to navigate this loss and trauma. My friend Matt stayed the night in my apartment. In the morning, we learned that his home had burned to the ground with a thousand others. Everyone in our area…

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My friend Victoria went on vacation with her sons for the Christmas holidays. Her mom necessarily stayed at home due to age and health. Her mom has short-term memory problems. While Victoria has someone else checking on her mom daily, Victoria asked me to take her mom a food that she especially likes– Crab Rangoon, a delicious Chinese dish. …

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Bridges Board of Directors welcomes new board member Damtew Teklehaimanot. Damtew is originally from Ethiopia and now lives in Florida with his wife and children. He serves under Cru You can read an article about him here: From Bible Thief to Evangelist | Cru

Damtew supports and trains the leaders of Cru across Africa. He is involved in…

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I had a great Bridges Mentoring Group experience this morning with Bridge Leaders Julie Scott and Felipe Martinez as we discussed their next steps in the Fund Development Cycle. They have both completed their personal presentations and are scheduling practice sessions with friends.

We began discussing the barriers in our hearts and minds…

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WHAT KEEPS US FROM ASKING GOD FOR THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS AND THE NEEDS OF OTHERS?

So often we wait until we have exhausted all our own efforts before we ask God for help. We get exhausted. Why do we wait?

Jesus taught:

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he…

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Lets welcome Julie Scott to the BridgesUS Acadeny

She is preparing to do a year of reseach in Thailand related to the methodology of Evangelism related to categories from cognitive behavioral psychology.

She is using some of BridgesUS services to help her raise the funds needed to do the research

Please connect with Julie and welcome her to…

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Tara, I appreciate how natural the prayers are that you demonstrate for us. These are prayers of a Mother and prayers that arise naturally in conversation with God about your everyday life. I imagine that God enjoys listening.

Larry, I noticed how you spread hope through actions. You don’t just share words. You do things that help people, things that they are thinking about and want to have done, and not something you thought up that they might want.

I appreciate how you describe that one activity leads to one conversation and then another. When we join people in their world and help them in their life situation, we have opportunities for conversations that would not happen in programatized group activities.

Larry, Thank you for praying! I am so thankful for your prayers because I know that you know me. You know the good and the not so good. And so does God. So thank you for praying.

Thank you for praying Tara! Thank you for each and every prayer!

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS COULD EXPECT FROM BRIDGE LEADERS?

About half of our Bridge Leaders are committed to ministering not only to people outside the church but also to those who give financially for the work to be done. (What about the other half? They fund their own ministry out of their own pocket.)

If you are giving…

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Scripture assures us that our prayers make a difference:

This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven. 16 So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.

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Jesus told us to “Love One Another”

The Greatest Commandment is to “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”

And yet what does it mean to love?

PLEASE SHARE A STORY THAT YOU THINK SHOWS US WHAT LOVE IS

A woman told me that she could not stomach the word “love.” A man that repeatedly told…

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Today is the day. Election day.

There may be more uncertainty than people would like as we pass through this week.

And when one party and their supporters win, no matter which party it is, the other half of our nation may feel more fear and dismay for our future.

Perhaps our need is for comfort and hope.

FOR DISCUSSION: HOW ARE YOU…

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When we are with people who are just beginning to connect with God, they may not think it possible, advisable, nor useful to talk to God.

Our role is to create safe space where conversation can begin. We cannot force the conversation.

I want to ask what actually motivates people to start chatting with God.

One general answer: It is sometimes…

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Love your idea here

Tara, Great question! The BridgesUS answer is YES. Discipleship is not complete until the disciple learns how to make a disciple. Imagine if the answer was “no.” What would actually happen? Could it be that the result would be what we are seeing today in America?

BridgesUS is going to need to go through at least an update or a “refresh” for our brand guide. We branded 11 years ago as “Bridges.” Now we are “BridgesUS.” So, our logo does not currently match our official name. Of course, there is a lot more in the Bridges Branding Guide than a logo. We have our Brand graphic filter, brand…

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Some have used the metaphor of moving against the flow of a river as the effort it takes to live a life of listening to God in our society today in America. The book called Subversive Spirituality comes to mind

Someone asked. Here is more.

The advantages or disadvantages that i am referring to are those related to defining discipleship so narrowly.

BridgesUS does not include teaching in abstract, written theology in our definition. The definition includes actions, practices, conversation with God.

Jesus did say “teaching them everything that I…

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ALL MEMBERS

In BridgesUS, Discipleship is not everything.

Discipleship is helping someone connect with God spiritually through

1. Talking to God

2. Listening to God

-through our inner ears

-through scripture

-through other people

In the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

So these are basic spiritual practices. Daily things. Habits.

We are not teaching…

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PRACTICING LEADERS

Tues 10:15 AM Oct 22

PDM

Want to begin thinking about raising funds for a cause you care about?

This Group is learning the Partnership Development Process

Join In

Zoom Room 1 818 299 7622

Tuesday

10:15am PDT

OCT 22

First overcome your own hesitancies and self-made obstacles.

We live in a time of great spiritual hunger. Sometimes we just need to adjust our ears to hear the language people are using to express their hearts cry.

In “White Bird,” a grandmother tells her personal experience of traumatizing exclusion. And yet the movie allows us to ask just two simple questions to know we have done something in our life…

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I had a great conversation today with Kevin in Houston TX. Kevin reports that he knows some presbyterians who have been innovating in Houston and beyond. He is the founder and leader at Yellowbox. I was sensing that we share a lot of vision, values and experience

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There is always a lot going on in our Bridges Communities.

God, we pray for and ask your blessing on

1 Pauline T. as she gets married!

2. Lawrence D. as he overcomes hip surgery and colds and lack of peaceful sleep

3. Donna L. in the loss of her Dad who is now with our Lord

4. Alex L as he launches a new BridgesUS project for amputees

5. Others…

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Larry, the security most missionaries and Bridge Leaders require is usually less related to the people they serve and more related to people in positions of power in the locations they serve: governors, regional administrators, politicians, police, secret service, immigration officers, tax officials. People in power often try to use that power… Read more

One Bridge Leader spoke to me recently about the need for discretion, security and anonymity in her ministry.

I assured her that this is normal for many missionaries around the world. And perhaps now needs to be normative for those of us living in the USA. Bridges follows certain practices and has certain policies that emerge from…

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Bridges Supporter Victoria Patel has introduced me to The Center for Innovation at UC Berkeley. Rev. Dr. Solomon is the leader. Solomon has tried to entice Bridges to join the Center for Innovation because he wants us to share our innovation experience with others. He finds that companies and organizations innovate more when they…

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I love your thought process

When Jesus said to his disciples, “Go and make Disciples,” the predominate reality was not churches but synagogues. And based on the life style of Jesus, Jesus did not expect his disciples to set up “discipleship programs” in synagogues. Rather, Jesus had demonstrated how to make disciples in the way that Jesus had discipled them. It was…

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BridgesUS has launched “On the Bridge” Podcast Program. Now you can view these podcasts here in the BridgesUS Academy.

For example, here is the podcast with Bridge Leader Tim Glover: https://wordpress-1482111-5794605.cloudwaysapps.com/featured-bridge-leaders/timothy-glover-godwin-entertainment-ministries/

What pod cast have you seen?

What in…

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I walked into a Cafe and George Vamos was reading a book on the history of China. He started talking to me about how a missionary to China helped spark a war in which so many people died that it is one of the worst catastrophes of Christian mission until this day. After we chatted for over an hour, George asked me if I was willing to meet… Read more