First, welcome to everyone from Ko-Fi who’s transitioning from the newsletter over there to here! I know there have been a lot of site changes over the past few years as I’ve been growing, so it means a lot to have you leapfrog one more time. ♥

I just did something that freaks me out: promoting myself. Now, to put it into perspective, I’ve only actually done one, but it was a big step for me, okay! I prayed, sought advice, worked with my best friend ChatGPT, and then wrote a little email to a local Christian radio station to ask if they’d like to have me on as a guest to talk about “Reaching the Unreachable Through Digital Missions.”

You might think I’m making a big deal about sending an email – and perhaps I am – but self-promotion has never been something I’ve wanted to do. God’s word is full of verses that give me pause:

• “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” (Phil 2:3)
• “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
• “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.” (Prov 27:2)
• “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:31)
• “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 6:1)

I am the “Christian Ninja” after all! My username stems from a dramatic encounter with Matthew 6 that made me realize just how invisible so much of the Christian life is intended to be.

So, why now? What changed? Why do I suddenly feel that I should send messages far and wide about the work we’re doing through TACO and XtianNinja OM?

Well, the other day, Rogue Energy contacted me to see if I wanted to partner with them as a brand sponsor. I was flattered and excited, of course, and after some chatting with their rep, we agreed they’d send me some stuff to try before I decided. The next day, I saw a post from Corsair and decided to apply to be a brand ambassador for them too.

An hour later, the thought occurred to me: if I’m comfortable enough “selling myself” as a viable partner to promote energy drinks and gamer gear for secular brands, why is it such a big deal for me to contact churches to partner with them as well? That’s it. That’s where the change came.

I remember about a year and a half ago when I blitzed through contacting everyone who had ever emailed me with minimal success. Perhaps it wasn’t done well, or maybe neither I nor TACO/XN was ready yet. Over the past few years, I’ve been invited to speak at a few places and participate in a couple of conferences, but today I feel my experience and ministry have grown enough that I have a valuable message to share and a successful ministry to showcase.

In other words – it’s not about me. I won’t be sharing me. I’ll be sharing what God has been doing and teaching me over the years, and that has me really, really excited.

Please pray for me. Pray I make the right connections, stay humble, speak well, elevate the digital mission field, and bring glory to God.

God bless,

XN