01/13/2024
I have never been one to look for changes just because the calendar says it’s a new year. However, BIG CHANGES HAVE COME TO THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JIM WARREN.
Education: I completed my MA in Applied Theology from Aidan University at the end of 2022 and immediately began work on my Ph.D. After finishing my dissertation project, I earned my Ph.D. in Applied Theology/Ministry Development. I will graduate in June of 2024. I never expected nor desired this, but Father opened this wide door for a reason. Read on for the “WHY.”
Wheatfield Academy: I began working in this ministry in 2022 as a youth coach and was used as the campus director of spiritual life. Locally, we decided to downsize for a year to take the ministry from good to excellent. This was approved by the parent company, Lasting Change, out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Toward the end of November, the man who recruited me and I were let go in the downsizing. The reason for his departure: Too good of a visionary leader when all they needed was a managerial leader. The reason for my departure: “We do not need a spiritual life director.” I continue as a volunteer to finish the ministry I started with the boys. It was never about the position, title, or money. It never is with me. But boy, did this play well into Father’s plan. How? Read on for the “HOW.”
Logos Global Network: After 50 years of little to no contact, one of the teachers from Chicago Bible College, Dr. Charles Travis, contacted me. He is President of both Aidan University and Logos Global Network. Long story short, Dr. Travis, or Chuckie Boy, as Tracey calls him, was the open door for my continued education and the transferring of my ordination to Logos Global Network. After a year with this exciting international group, I have been named Regional Director in Indiana, Illinois, and Western Ohio. Boy, that was a shock! This occurred three days before I knew I was being downsized at Wheatfield Academy.
Advanced Kingdom School of Ministry: Over the past two or three years, my good friend, Apostle James Randolph, has been talking to me about partnering in a school of ministry to train fully devoted disciples of Jesus in their inherent call to ministry. Four days before I learned of the Lasting Change’s decision to say “goodbye pal,” Jim Randolph informed me he had rented a building on US 30 where we could start the school. “Remember, you promised to partner with me and be the dean!” Wow. We talked together and prayed together. Father said go, so I said, “Ok . . . Let’s do this!” We incorporated and got our 501c3 standing through Logos Global Network and partnered with Aidan University. We will start classes in April of 2024 for audit, certificate, and degree students offering Associate, Bachelor, Master, and postgraduate degrees in Applied Theology/Christian Ministry. Apostle Randolph and I will be co-presidents, with him serving as Chairman of the Board and I as Dean. We will both be instructors. Students can participate in a live classroom at the school or attend through a live online experience with the live classroom. See www.aksm.education for more information.
Koinonia Community: This is a ministry I started earlier with a few others to develop small home-based communities of communion (ekklēsia) with people interested in allowing the Spirit to cultivate us into a biblical first-century example of life in Christ. Because I stopped ministering at Porter County Juvenile Detention Center shortly after starting at Wheatfield Academy, we have dissolved Dynamic Life Development as of January 15, 2024. Though I left PCJDC, my mentoring ministry with young people who had been through the system continued. This will be picked up through Koinonia Community. I finished my last two mentoring/disciplining connections in late November but have already picked up two more. We started Koinonia Coffeehouse in 2022 as an outreach to funnel those looking for a different expression of church into the communities of communion. We also desired to reach out to those needing to become disciples of Jesus. This was very successful, but we had to put it on hold when our venue was lost. Be sure to catch what is happening in this ministry in 2024 below.
Well . . . Father had a “why” for the education piece, though I had no idea when I started. At the beginning of the week, when I said yes to Regional Director with LGN and partnering with Apostle Randolph in AKSM, I had no idea how I would do all that and still work at Wheatfield Academy. I had no idea . . . But Father did! He had a “how” to my question, “How am I going to do all this.” I think I was the first person to be fired to say, “Praise God!”
Father kept his promise to me when I turned 65. While in a time of prayer, I felt He said He would prepare me over the next five years for the ministry He had for me in my 70s. Boy, is God faithful!!!! You will hear much more from me about these ministries in the coming weeks and months.
So, hang on! Here we go! Here is what I expect to happen in the coming months:
• I will graduate from Aidan University with my Ph.D. in Applied Theology in June and have been invited back to speak at the annual LGN conference again this year.
• We will begin classes at the Advanced Kingdom School of Ministry in April. Please pray for me because there is a ton . . . And I mean a TON . . . of things to get ready administratively, let alone my preparation for teaching two classes and overseeing the practicum each semester. By the way, this will not be a place of just learning. It will be a school that trains students to become!
• I will soon start to reach out to the ministers, churches, and ministries that are a part of LGN in my region. What an excellent opportunity to offer pastoral ministry to these frontline workers. Please pray for wisdom.
• I will continue volunteering at Wheatfield Academy and mentoring/disciplining young people through Koinonia Community. I have to keep my feet firmly planted with the kids. They have been and will continue to be my passion!
• I plan to find a venue for the Koinonia Coffeehouse in North Jasper County. I am still praying about a building in the Wheatfield area. Please pray that Father opens the perfect venue that works for His plans for this ministry. I pray the Spirit will cultivate at least one community of communion this coming year.
Whenever I stand in front of a group of youths, I always ask them, “Why would you come to listen to a “_____”-year-old, bald, white, fat man?” They laugh. Last week, Tracey and I talked to a young lady who said, “I knew him when he was a 57-year-old, bald, white, fat man.” Well, now I’m 72! I’ll start mentoring her teenage son soon in a few weeks.
Bottom line . . . God has a sense of humor using this 72-year-old, bald, white, fat man in all these ways. Please pray for wisdom, stamina, health, and the ability to keep my eyes on the things of the Spirit, not the things of the flesh, so I can continue to live and walk in the Spirit and please Father.
Do not hesitate to contact me by phone (219-406-2023) or private message if you have questions about any of these new ventures in faith. Grace and Peace.
