What Are You Doing?

Being here in Thailand now for nearly 11 months, this place has felt more and more like home with each passing day.  Honestly, it didn’t take long for that to happen - but I guess that’s the beautiful thing about it all.  You see, I get to do life with some of the most incredible people - people who share dreams similar to mine, whose hearts are for bringing Kingdom wherever they go, and who simply are who they are.  It’s not hard to love a place that also contains such amazing people!

Often times I get the question, “so what does Outpour Movement do?”, to which I sometimes struggle to find a simple answer for beyond just the words, a lot!  But the reality is, Outpour Movement is so much more than just one thing.  It’s a ministry, a family, focused on addressing the unacceptable realities faced by those who transcend the Thai/Myanmar border, and Outpour is seeking to come alongside people to bring hope, peace, opportunity, transformation, and ultimately Jesus & Kingdom!  Within Outpour is a team of incredible people with God-given dreams and passions, all working together pursuing after Kingdom but going about it in their own unique ways.  So, what does Outpour do?

We operate two training centers, Famous Ray’s Restaurant and Braverly Bicycle Shop Cafe, each focusing on the training and equipping of young men and women in skills of cooking, baking, culinary arts, food and product development, sewing, business management, accounting, customer service, and more.  Many of our trainees have dreams of one day opening up their own businesses, restaurants, clothing stores, etc.  We seek to empower those dreams by teaching them the skills needed to see them become a reality.

Outpour also has a men’s discipleship home, Soul Space, focusing on the care and investment into the lives of young men - teaching them what it means to be a man, how to save & invest their money wisely, what it means to walk in integrity, and building community.  Many of the young men who have come through Soul Space have been a part of our Famous Ray’s training center at one time.

Seeds is yet another ministry of Outpour, developed around an idea from the Mexican Proverb, “They tried to bury us.  They didn’t know we were seeds.”  The heart of Seeds is to see youth invested in and raised up with confidence and skills to know they can change a nation, their nation.  Focusing within a classroom setting, Seeds will seek to teach graphic arts, computer programming/coding, photography, art, dance, and more through the creative process.

Hosting teams, interns, and other visitors is another heartbeat of Outpour.  Whether it’s World Race or Passport Teams through Adventures in Missions, hosting church teams, or inviting individuals out to join us for our internship program, Outpour is constantly opening up their doors and inviting others to “come and see” what the Lord is doing here!  We seek to build a community not only here in Thailand but around the world of individuals who will help carry the vision forward.  We recognize that alone we may go fast but together we can go far!

Two other developing facets of ministry Outpour has their hands in is Border/Burma ministry and a future Emergency Transitional Shelter(s).  There is incredible need within both branches of ministry.  Border/Burma ministry is focussing on coming alongside a young local pastor in the community who has a dream of planting over a hundred churches in Burma.  Alongside him, we are developing relationships with those across the border in nearby villages, seeking to establish friendship, learn stories, see needs and work to meet them.  We seek to take the gospel to the places the Lord leads us and to see churches planted and villages transformed by the grace of Jesus.  The future Emergency Transitional Shelter(s) will serve as a refuge for babies who have been abandoned as well as housing at risk children and battered women in another location.  The desire is to give them a place to be cared for, to learn who and whose they are, and embrace love within a family structure until they can be placed into their local forever family.

So as you can now see, it’s a pretty fitting answer to the question when I simply say the words “a lot” as to what Outpour Movement does.  But the overarching goal of it all is simply JESUS.  We seek to live and breathe Jesus in this place.  We seek to be Spirit-led in the places we go and in the things we do.  We seek to see Kingdom and bring Kingdom with us wherever we go.  There’s a prayer, or better yet a battle cry, that was written by several who were a part of the Outpour Team nearly 4 years ago when they were first starting out - a prayer that has now become the mantra we carry and weekly cry out together as a team.  It sums up better than I ever could why we are here and what we hope to accomplish…

Our Father, our King we thank and praise You,

Your holiness is evident and moves us to worship You.

Prepare us this day, battle ready.

Prepare the earth

For our willing hands and footsteps,

Bless the feet of the bearers of the Word.

Bless this land with the fullness of Your salvation,

From the lowest to the highest,

From those lost in darkness to those walking in the full light of day.

May we look more like You.

In unison we break down strongholds

May we bear Your reflection

We embrace the power of Jesus and His blood

Which frees us from all sin.

We move outward from this foundation.

Send us into the darkness that we may bring the light of Jesus.

Drinking from the same cup, 

We are commissioned to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons,

Give sight to the blind and legs to the lame, and to set the captive free.

May we move with audacious love into the frontier places.

Use us to bring redemption as the ruins are being restored.

We believe, have faith, and have seen Your power and glory.

We love because You love.

We give because You give. 

We move because You move.

We go because You go.

We will go out with joy and be led forth in peace.

We go with hope, passion, and desire as You ignite the nations.

Our heartbeat and prayer is for those words to reach beyond Thailand, beyond our Outpour team.  We desire to see every person walking in faith and in favor, reaching every corner of every nation with the love of Jesus and boldly living out the passions and dreams He has given.  May you who read this today love because He has loved you, give because He has given to you, move because He has moved in you, and go because He has gone before you.