DukeDeJong

I travel a lot.  I have the absolute honor and privilege of working with churches all over the country, helping them to do technical ministry better than they are now.  I love my job but I’m on the road frequently.  What does any of this have to do with a little green alien?

My wife, who is very smart and creative knows that my kids want to remain connected to their Daddy while away and that I want to stay connected with them.  It can be hard, but about 5 weeks ago my wife came across a wonderful story of a road warrior Dad and how he stays connected with his kids while traveling internationally (click here for the story).  My wife, being a fantastic Mom always looking for ways to keep our family learning, growing and close to each other, forwarded the story to me knowing our kids would love to do our own version of something like this.

July 16^th, 2011 marked the beginning of Alien Adventures, a running photo diary of Alien’s travels with Sammy and Izzy’s Daddy.  Some have seen these pictures on Facebook or Twitter already, and now you know why they are there.  The kids love it, and every time I get home they tell me about looking at the pictures of Alien’s Adventures.  Alien is not only watching over Daddy as I travel, but is helping my kids remain interested and connected to where I am and what I’m doing.  As you see these pictures, know that my kids are home thinking about where their Daddy is, and consider praying for our family.  As with any job, there are positives and negatives to any job or ministry and traveling can certainly be a negative with smaller kids.  We do what we can to stay close, connected and supporting each other, and this is simply a small but fun way to do so.

For all the pictures to date, check them out on Facebook here.

For what is approaching a decade of my life I have made a living working in churches in tech ministry.  Over the course of this year I have been feeling a pull to step out of the church, not in order to leave the ministry but in order to support, encourage and equip church artists and arts leaders at many churches.  I love to mix, direct video, create stage designs and design lighting but more than all of those things I love seeing artists equipped and released to reach the potential God placed within them.  It’s been a year of discovery for me as I learn more about what God has created me for and discover the root of the passion that He has placed within me.  I love ministry and I love the church.  I love that churches are increasing the role of the arts in the church and the impact that it helps churches have.  Mostly, I love the artists that serve the church and have a strong desire to help them reach all the dreams that God has placed within them.

Over the course of this year I have had more and more opportunities to share, help and minister to those who are serving their churches in both the technical and worship arts, and that has gotten me more fired up for ministry than anything I have done on my own.  The idea of stepping out of the church to be more effective in the ministry that God has called me to has been one that has been hard for me to grasp.  Leaving the church in order to serve it more seems counter-intuitive and backwards, but over the course of the year God has shown me what it can look like and the impact that I can have.  I’ve gained a glimpse of what I think God has in store for my ministry in the next season of my life, and while there are still a few details to wrap up, my family and I are excited to take the first step towards this new vision.

Unfortunately, with the excitement of this new direction brings the sadness of what I must give up.  For the past year I have served, taught and pushed to release the technical artists at Victory Worship Center in Tucson.  I am so proud of the change and growth I’ve seen in this team and know that the best is yet to come for them.  I’ve also been blessed to work with some amazing musicians, singers and dancers.  Victory is blessed with a great number of artists with amazing hearts to serve and I love them all dearly.  While it’s hard to leave my new friends, I know I must for God to bring the change and growth He wants to see in me and the ministry He’s giving me.

There are many details still to be determined as my family begins this new direction.  We ask for your prayers and thank you greatly for your encouragement and support.  So many over the past few months have been so encouraging and faithful to pray as I’ve shared my heart and where we felt God was leading us and to you my trusted friends, I thank you and love you so much.  To the artists out there that I’ve been blessed to serve as well as those who I’ve yet to meet, thank you for giving your art to the church and for helping impact the world.  I look forward to serving you, encouraging you, dreaming with you and helping you impact the world.  If I can serve you in your vision and calling, and help you reach the goals God has given you, please contact me anytime.