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?Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel?s hand.? 


Zechariah 4:10



Expanding Our Borders &

Celebrating 12 Years of Ministry!


Dear friends & ministry partners,


Twelve years seems like a very long time. But in reflection, as I look back to taking over the reins here at Transforming Congregations in 2016, and the founding of Love & Truth Network in 2013, I am astounded at how quickly time has passed! I am also humbled by and profoundly grateful for God?s provision and protection all along this journey. And you, our prayer and financial partners, have been His provision in so many ways.


Without you and your faithful support neither TC nor LTN would have grown to the national reach and influence we are now ministering from.


Of course, we aren?t just celebrating a milestone with Love & Truth Network, but you?ll recall that last year we had the opportunity and privilege of bringing Transforming Congregations under the leadership of Love & Truth Network. TC has a far longer history (established in 1988) and we are so grateful for those who have been supporting and praying for this ministry. TC has expanded its scope of ministry to not only equip and support churches within the United Methodist Church, but also the Global Methodist Church, and other Wesleyan denominations.


Our title verse above, Zechariah 4:10, teaches a key principle I needed to hold onto when we first launched. Everything began so small and so slowly. Sometimes, I wondered if we would ever get off the ground and if we?d ever make the kind of impact I believed God was calling us to ? within local churches throughout the country. But, of course, if He was putting the idea of LTN in mine and Melissa?s heart, He was going to also make a way and provide. We have a long way to go, but by His grace and favor He has been making a greater and greater impact through TC and LTN.


I wonder if that concept from Zechariah 4:10 might also be a passage that you need to be reminded of for where you?re at? You have a calling on your life, whether that?s an essential role of mother or father, or a faithful friend who speaks truth in love, or perhaps God has put some other big purpose in your heart. Maybe you?ve been at something that you know God has called you to, but it still seems very small and less than where you?d hoped to be. Hold on to the words of Zechariah ? do not despise small beginnings ? if God called you to it, keep looking to Him to provide and grow it.


Many years ago, I came across a series of recordings from an Elizabeth Elliot conference, entitled ?Instruments of Peace?. It was a women?s conference, but I didn?t care. I was traveling a lot for an outside sales position and wanted good content to listen to while on the road, and I have always been intrigued by Elizabeth Elliot's life story. The several-day conference revolved around the nature of being an instrument of peace ? quite literally an instrument in the hand of God that He has refined and prepared, willing and ready to be picked up and used by Him, for His purposes.


That is what we desire; to be used in any way He sees fit to receive glory and provide blessing and help to others. Of course, our flesh still wants its own selfish way, but our new creation-in-Christ knows there is no greater calling, no greater fulfillment in life, than to be His instrument.


How about you? Are there areas of your life where you are resisting God?s call? We all wrestle with wanting our own way, often struggling to surrender our entire selves to our Lord and Savior. Just as God admonishes Cain, we need to master sin and our fleshly desires so you and I can be ready when He calls ? in our daily routines and drudgeries, as well as the fear-producing big challenges of life.


?If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.? Genesis 4:7


As we have reached the mid-year mark of 2025, I have so much to share with you about what has already transpired, as well as what?s yet to come. Let?s jump into it!


Transforming Congregations Podcast


We now have 120+ episodes in our library, I?ve had the blessing of interviewing some incredible people and have received many positive comments about the impact of these discussions. Click this link: transformingcongregations.org/podcast to enjoy all our latest content.


?While I loved doing each of these episodes, some of my favorites since our last update have been:


1)     Episode with Katie Faust Katie (always a favorite!) also appears in episode #45. She founded ?Them Before Us? an organization (and book by the same title) that advocates for the rights and needs of children before adult wants and desires.


2)     Episode with Jeff Younger, a father fighting for his son, who his ex-wife is attempting to turn into a girl (which is impossible) and pushing to trans. The courts have sided with her.


3)     Episode with Andrew Rodriguez, a courageous licensed Christian counselor shares his own personal story of coming to faith and struggles along the way toward breaking the grip of perfection and sexual sin.


4)     Episode with James Lindsay, co-author of the vital book, the Queering of the American Child. 


Q2 & Q3 Highlights


As you know my book, Am I Gay? was published in December of 2023 and available on Amazon at this link: https://a.co/d/bL0vOn2. I have also wanted to record my audiobook and make that available. This work has finally been accomplished. You can find my audiobook at: https://a.co/d/apJtCcL


Solid reviews mean a lot when people are considering a book purchase. So far, everyone has given my book a 5-star rating, with the exception of 1 guy listing the book as 1 star. He wasn?t looking for truth from a biblical worldview.


For those who have read my book, providing a 5-star rating and a positive comment regarding what you liked about the book can really help. Thank you!


Our men?s testimonial book ? New IDentity, is now available on Amazon at: https://a.co/d/6I7QIA4 We are thrilled to finally have this resource available; 11 testimonies of men from various walks of life, and various struggles with sexual sin and addiction. God met them where they were at and offered new life in Jesus.


Our women?s testimonial book is in the editing process, and we have a couple more testimonies to gather, but we are hoping to have this book available through Amazon in August or September.


A $10k matching gift challenge has just been committed to Transforming Congregations and Love & Truth Network. We are launching our campaign with the release of this newsletter and will run the matching gift challenge through August 31.


This is an incredible opportunity, especially for this time of year. You probably already know that most ministries and non-profits experience their largest financial support in the final quarter of each year. Conversely, summer can be a challenging season for financial support. So, this is an ideal time and opportunity for you to partner with Transforming Congregations.


Through past challenges, we have been able to raise $20k, $30k, and the last time we offered this challenge your incredible generosity raised $46,796 for the work and ministry of TC and LTN! Click here to get all the details, as well as giving information. Thank you!


Over the next few months, my fulltime assistant, who has been with LTN for 6-years (how time flies!), will be finishing up his cyber security degree and looking for fulltime work in an incredibly important and consequential industry. This is exciting news for Jeremiah but challenging for LTN.


?It?s never easy to replace a committed and hard-worker, but Jeremiah has also considerably expanded his role ? taking on many areas of need that I never even envisioned under his original job description. We are seeking God?s direction for wisdom and clarity on not just filling this big gap, but desiring to actually increase our capacity to support local churches all across the country, and beyond. 


Would you pray for me and our board of directors, as I seek to discern God?s will for our next employee/s and possible contract hires? Our ministry lies on the cusp of another expansion (which I?ll explain more about in a moment), and we need more hands-on-deck for the opportunities God is opening up before us.


If you have an interest in talking with me about available needs to support and expand the ministry of LTN please reach out ? cell: (607) 341-1289 or email: gingraham@transformingcongregations.org.


Perhaps you (or someone you know,) may be interested in: volunteer work, employment, or contract work. We likely need all 3.


Below is a list of roles I believe we need to wisely and prayerfully consider. If any of these describe your experience and skillset, and you have a passion for our ministry, let?s have a conversation.


Note: you may not have the availability or skillset we need, but you can still make a huge impact by helping to fund these roles - either by giving a onetime gift toward our matching gift challenge, or through regular monthly support.


Part Time Roles We Are Prayerfully Considering here at TC and LTN


1.     Executive Assistant / Ministry Integrator (manage administrative tasks and integrate Exec Director?s vision - possible virtual role).


2.     Digital Content & Curriculum Integrator (Own the creation and integration of biblical training assets, transforming raw teachings into interactive, evergreen resources).


3.     Live Virtual Training Producer (Produce glitch-free, virtual events that equip church leaders and individuals).


4.     Social Media Engagement Moderator (Cultivate and optimize engagement across all socials and funnel users into LTN's ecosystem).


5.     Pastoral Resilience Coach (confidential coaching for pastors/others on burnout, porn, and marital issues).

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6.     Fundraising & Donor Development Specialist (possible virtual role).


Two Very Significant Integrations


1)     Pray.com - LTN now has a weekly, live, 30-minute-digital radio spot on the expansive Pray.com app. As part of a promotion, Pray.com has also given us a second radio spot for six months, as well as a TV spot for three months. With 19-million users and growing by 20k/day, we are thrilled to see how God will use this new partnership to expand the reach of our messaging about biblical sexuality, relationships, and identity, on this enormous platform of great Christian content. What an honor to be a part!


Please pray that God leads many more people to become grounded in His truth on wholesome sexuality, authentic relationships, and biblical identity through this new resource. 


2)     Telos ? Telos technologies has been developed by a Christian brother who has a passion to help pastors, ministry leaders, and churches streamline communication, remove unnecessary redundancy, and automate time-killing tasks.


Built on the robust foundation of Lead Connector, Telos integrates seamlessly. After years of utilizing many individual platforms for various tasks and needs, and working without a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, TC and LTN are now migrating to Telos. After many, many hours of thoroughly testing the Telos platform, we couldn?t be more thrilled for this opportunity to unify our content around this centralized hub for ministry. 


Looking Ahead


·     Weekend ministry event and preaching at a church outside Newark, NJ

·      Training at a Christian school in upstate, NY

·      Attending and networking at the New Room Conference in Montgomery, AL

·      Preaching at a church near Montgomery, AL

·      Exhibiting LTN & Melissa will be teaching a workshop at the huge American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) conference in Nashville, TN

·      Weekend ministry event and preaching at a church in Valdosta, GA

·      Preaching at churches in Phoenix, AZ

·      Counselor Training in Pittsburgh, PA

Exhibiting and teaching at the International Conference on Missions (ICOM)


Your Role in This Mission