Goodbye Pentons' Progress. Hello, SFT Prayer Blog!

Hello Faithful Readers,

The Pentons' Progress is now The Stand For Truth Prayer Blog. Visit the new location of our updates and prayer requests at http://standfortruthministry.org

God Bless!

-Bethany

July 2013

July turned out to be a busy month as Joel traveled to Massachusetts for a student leadership conference, spoke multiple camps and preached at two churches.  At the same time, both Joel and Ryan geared up for a new school year.

Football University

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Each year, Football University, the host of the annual Army All-American Bowl, holds dozens of "invite only" camps around the US for elite middle school and high school football players. The top 10% of players from these regional camps are invited to attend the annual Top Gun camp.  This year Joel was honored to be a keynote speaker at the Top Gun!  He spoke to gymnasium packed with more than 1,000 athletes and their families on the importance of keeping commitments.  Joel's personal story of his journey as a uncoordinated, young athlete from a small town to playing college football for the Buckeyes seemed to be the perfect message for the crowd.  When he was done, he had a line of people, more than one hundred deep, wanting to meet him and buy a copy of his book, "Stand Your Ground." When Joel finally got through the line of people and headed for the door, he noticed a woman reading his book.  Seeing that she was nearly half of the way through the book, Joel asked "Do you like it?" She replied, "This will be the first book I've read in five years.  I love it!"  Joel thanked her and gave her a copy of his newest book, "Seven Lies Almost Every Teen Believes," which is all about the Gospel.  Please join us in praying that this woman will respond with even greater enthusiasm to the message of Christ!

Gearing Up

____________________________________________________________________________

Joel and Ryan seem to be moving 100mph as they prepare for the upcoming school year. It is amazing how many details go into planning a year on the road -  testing a/v equipment, making sure the van and trailer are road-ready, coordinating dates with interested schools, marketing to other schools, stocking books and other giveaway materials, and the list goes on.  During this flurry of activity, we were so excited to update the most important weapon in our arsenal of marketing to schools across the country: the school assembly demo video. Our good friend and incredibly talented music video director, Nathan Lundquist (http://nathanwilliam.net), was kind enough to spend a day on the road with Joel and Ryan last year to put together and amazing video.  So far the response to the video from schools has been incredible and we pray that it will help us reach into more schools with the Gospel.  Below is a 1-minute trailer version of the new video.

Until Next Month,

Bethany Penton

June 2013

Since Joel and Ryan spend much of the summer planning and gearing up for next school year, I thought it might be nice to give you a quick family update this month. Here's how things are going on the home front with three boys...

Joel III

____________________________________________________________________________

Back in April, Joel III split his head open while holding Daddy's hand and walking in a Chick-Fil-A Restaurant.  Yes, you read that correctly.  He was holding Daddy's hand (under adult supervision) and walking (not running).  Since that fun-filled evening at the emergency room, it has been mostly calm in the life of Joel III.  Calm involves an obsession with stories and jokes, lots of coloring, and learning how to read.  Joel is 4.5 years, and has started asking complex questions such as "How can God be all places at once?" and "If we set up a really really tall ladder and walk up it, will we get to see God up in Heaven?" It has been fun to witness his maturing thoughts.

Judah

____________________________________________________________________________

Judah, with his small size, and his curly hair, is just adorable, and I think he knows it!   As the easiest traveler of the bunch, Judah gets taken to the grocery store often, and while he's there, he makes a point to always ask random ladies their names and smile at them.  Nearly three, Judah is following commands well, and learning how to take care of himself by brushing his teeth, and putting his clothes and sandals on.  However, he still needs his big brother, Joel III, to him get buckled in the van. Lately Judah is obsessed with flavored drinks, trucks, cars, worms and shoes.

Luther

____________________________________________________________________________

Luther, who just turned 15 months, is a handful.  He grabs and takes apart everything in sight, especially if it is not a toy.  He falls down the stairs, and puts things into the toilet.  He has really turned into a toddler overnight it seems. Thankfully,  he no longer cries when he falls down, which is a great thing, because he falls and hits his head at least 4 times a day.  Luther used to be deathly scared of any water hitting his body but now screams with glee to get to join his brothers in the baby pool.  In fact, he loves doing anything outdoors. Even though he seems to have quite a bit of baby fat, Luther seems like he could last hours outside in the 90 degree heat.

The Mom and Dad

____________________________________________________________________________

 

I thought it might be fun to give an update on how we are doing as well!  Yes, Joel is busy with planning and meetings but when he has a spare moment or two, he loves to work on home projects, lead our family in a 'Family Worship' time, or, occasionally, workout in the basement with me!  Oh yeah, and he also takes me on a date, now and then;)  Speaking of which, the picture above was taken on a surprise date for my birthday in May!  Joel arranged to take me horseback riding, and it was a blast!  I am loving having Joel home more, organizing and cooking for this very hungry family, and getting the boys together with friends of ours for 'play dates.'  It has been a fun Summer!

Until Next Month,
Bethany Penton

May 2013

It is the end of another great school year! While Joel and Ryan love what they do, they are happy for a little relief from the travel.  The Summer will give us a chance to catch up on much needed family time and administrative work time.  Speaking of which, check out the newest photo of us in the upper right corner of the blog!! (I also put the pic down below so you can check out the super large version!)

A Week of Middle Schools

____________________________________________________________________________

In mid May Joel had one particularly busy week.  He spoke at 9 Middle Schools in 4 days!   It was such a huge number of schools in such a small time that Joel came up with the excellent idea to have an Instagram competition between the schools!!  Whichever school was able to the most 'likes' of their photo was the winner!  After some serious competition, it was revealed by Joel that Columbus area school, Westerville, was the winner!  Joel was pretty confident they would win just looking around at the students because it seemed like 90% of them had smart phones! Below is the winning school's photo.

But, It wasn't all just fun and games.  Joel worked hard to speak into the lives of students and make a positive impact.  Here's an email Joel received from a thankful parent after one of the assemblies.

Dear Joel,

I am so grateful today, and it's because of you.  I did not hear your presentation.  I'm just a 34 year old Mother who desperately wants her 12 year old son to be able to talk to me about anything in life. 

Today when my kids got home from school, I asked them how their day went.  As usual, my son started rattling off all of the grades he received in his classes.  I said "That's  great sweetie, but how was your day?"  He then told me about you.  My son really listened to you.  I mean, he REALLY gave you his full attention.  I know this because after I listened to him talk for 20 minutes, I googled your name.  Everything he told me about you, right down to the words you used, were on this website.  It was such a genuine, real conversation that my son shared with me that I will never forget. 

From a completely different angle, this is a Mother's review that connected with her son on a mature subject that is so important in life.  For this, I thank you.

Sincerely,
Erin

Last Concerts of the Year

____________________________________________________________________________

This month Joel and Ryan took a trip to NE Ohio area for the last few concerts of the year. They had assemblies and concerts at three schools in the In the Ashtabula area: Conneaut, Grand Valley and Edgewood. We were able to partner with the local FCA to get into the schools for the 2nd year in a row, which was a blessing. We usually see lower numbers near the end of the year but all three concerts had great turnouts - higher than our average attendance for the rest of the year! All in all, it was an excellent end to the school year!

Until Next Month,Bethany Penton

April 2013

In April, Joel and Ryan had 39 speaking engagements!  Of those 39, 25 were school assemblies and 10 were concerts!

A Key Partnership

____________________________________________________________________________

Dan Allison

For two years Stand For Truth been developing a wonderful partnership with the new FCA staff member in the Lima, OH area. Dan Allison joined staff with FCA last year and has been doing an incredible job. The Lima area was without a local FCA staff person for years, but now under Dan's leadership, ministry within the schools is growing rapidly. One method Dan is employing to launch and strengthen FCA groups in his area is our ministry.  Dan has brought us into more than a dozen of his schools over the past two years and we already have two on the calendar for next this Fall!  We were so blessed to see some of the fruit of Dan's hard work and our partnership at his annual banquet.  Joel spoke and Ryan provided music at the banquet but the highlight for us was hearing all the wonderful student testimonials about how their lives and schools have been changed by Christ. Please join us in praying for Dan and the FCA ministry in the Lima area. 

A First For Everything

____________________________________________________________________________

One of the things that Joel says he loves most about being a full-time traveling speaker is that every engagement is a new experience.  The April assembly at El Paso Gridley High School in El Paso, IL was no exception. Joel was told before the students entered that he needed to make sure his speech did not run too long because of a special presentation at the end of the assembly. After Joel's remarks, it was announced that the El Paso Gridley fishing team was named the number one fishing team in the state!  What's that? You didn't know there was any such thing and a high school fishing team?  Neither did we.  Luckily, Ryan was quick to snap the above photo of Joel with the award-winning team for proof.

March 2012

Cedarville University

____________________________________________________________________________

This month, Joel was given the opportunity to speak at Cedarville University's chapel service.  Cedarville is a sponsor of ours, and there are many dear friends and supporters involved with Cedarville.  The response was great and Joel said it was refreshing to speak to so many attentive, college-age students!  Here's where you can see Joel's talk in its entirety - http://tinyurl.com/penton-message

Keeping It Simple

____________________________________________________________________________

Recently we've added a new tool to reach students.  It is an over-sized bookmark that simply explains the Gospel.  Here are a few things we like about it:

1. Every student gets one.  We include it with every book that we give away at the concert.
2. It's clear, concise and complete. During the concert, We present the Gospel in a way that is clear, concise and complete.  We intentionally designed the bookmark to follow the same structure and use the same forcefulness.  The goal is for students to consider again what they were just challenged with at the concert.
3. It's from Ryan.  The book was written by Joel, and the bookmark is from Ryan.  The purpose of this is twofold: 1. Some students connect well with Ryan and it gives these students the Gospel in written form, from him.  2. It increases the likelihood that the students will read thebook.

Home Is Where The Ministry Is...

____________________________________________________________________________

We recently returned to our old stomping grounds in NW Ohio for a couple days of events at schools near our hometown of Van Wert.  We were at Parkway HS and Wayne Trace HS, both just minutes from Van Wert. The events went extremely well.  One teacher at Parkway sent us this email after the event:

"I was very blessed by your ministry.  Several kids I teach here at Parkway that I have been praying for and witnessing to heard a much-needed Gospel message.  All morning long my students have been having conversations about faith.  Many kids are carying around the book you gave out.  One girl even brought her Bible to class and was reading it!"

It's also worth noting that we were able to reach Parkway and Wayne Trace at no cost to the schools.  This was ONLY possible because of you, our supporters - thank you so very much!!  

February 2013

Eat at Wendy's!

____________________________________________________________________________

Over the past two years, we've been so blessed to develop a partnership Wenco, a series of Wendy's restaurants in communities along SR 30 in northern Ohio. The owner of Wenco is a fellow Christian brother who understands the vision of our ministry and wants to use his position for the advance of the gospel. In fact, the Wenco Core Values Statement begins with, "We will be guided by Christian Values and Principles with the purpose to honor God in all we do." Wenco has already sponsored several assemblies and concerts and we are working on more for the future. In February they sponsored  events at Smithville HS and Shelby HS. Please pray for Wenco, that God would continue to use them in the business world for His glory.

Iowa is the Greatest!

____________________________________________________________________________

In February Joel and Ryan made their second journey this school year to Iowa. During their first trip, they got some great press that included spots on the Sioux City ABC and NBC evening news.  An administrator at West Sioux High School saw Joel and Ryan on the news and was determined to get them to come back. He didn't need to twist their arms. The guys love going to Iowa. They say the people there are so nice and events are always a hit. This second trip was no exception.

January 2013

Joel's Preaching

____________________________________________________________________________

Joel preached three out of four Sundays in January.  It was a challenging, but spiritually uplifting time for him.  I enjoyed hearing and giving feedback on all of his brainstorming as he developed some new material.  The second Sunday in January Joel had the honor of preaching at his hometown church, First United Methodist Church in Van Wert, OH.  He was asked to preach on Isaiah 43:1-7, a very weighty and theologically rich passage.  Joel actually felt slightly overwhelmed by the depth of the text, especially, when thinking about how to cram it all into one, 40-minute sermon.  However, I had no problem suggesting which of his ideas he should cut! ;)  Here's a video of Joel preaching at FUM in Van Wert.  Scroll to 17:02 to see Joel!
 

Joel has been seeking out more and more opportunities to preach in churches lately.  If your church would be interested in having Joel, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Until Next Month,

Bethany

Message From Joel

__________________________________________________________________

Friends,

The Fall of 2012 was perhaps our busiest season yet in the ministry. It was a fruitful but it was also very exhausting.  Thankfully out of state travel in December and January was lighter just as it has been in years past, and we were able to "recharge" a bit. That recharge is going to be important because the rest of the school year is shaping up to be equally crazy as the Fall.  Please pray for our safety on the road.  Pray for our endurance as we take the gospel to students in public school.  Pray also for our families at home.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support!

God Bless,
Joel

December 2013

A Sea of Students

____________________________________________________________________________

Joel and Ryan kicked off December with three days in a row in Michigan.  All three high schools they presented to were HUGE! In total, Joel and Ryan were in front of more than 5,000.  Below is a video from Flushing High School, the smallest of the three school assemblies.

While Flushing HS was the smallest assembly of the week (a mere 1,300 students), our concert at Flushing turned out to be our largest concert of the year. More than 300 students came out at night to hear the gospel! Check out the message from Joel (below) for a video from the Flushing concert.

Riverside High School

____________________________________________________________________________

In mid December, Joel and Ryan visited Riverside High School in Degraff, OH. Riverside was one of the first schools Joel and Ryan did more than five years ago when the ministry began. The guys were able to go a little deeper with the students when they spoke to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group during lunch time. That night, the concert was a big success.

Until Next Month,

Bethany

Message From Joel

__________________________________________________________________

Friends,

We are so excited that this school year we have begun partnering with Cedarville University, one of the nations premier Christian Universities located right here in Ohio. We have worked with Cedarville some in the past for individual outreach events. I have also spoken on the Cedarville campus a few times over the past several years. Now they have become an official sponsor of all of our concerts! We are so grateful to be working with an organization that is aligned with our passion - taking the gospel to students. Below is a video we made at a recent concert to thank Cedarville University.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support!

God Bless,
Joel