We have some pretty big updates to share with you.
Over the last seven years when since started down this path, people have often asked us, “How long are you going to be doing this?” We never knew quite how to answer that, because it just seemed like this was what we were doing until God called us to something else.
Something Old, Something New
Last summer, God started moving our hearts towards that something else. We began to sense that our time traveling with Life Action was coming to an end. After months of praying and discerning, along with conversations with wise friends and leaders, we made the decision to officially come off the road. With so many good and familiar things we’ve enjoyed about traveling with Life Action, stepping into something new has been a bittersweet prospect.
The something new is OneTree Ministries. OneTree really began on the mission field as some leaders were working on ways to help cross-cultural workers thrive in high-stress environments, like Muslim-majority nations. OneTree eventually began to take shape as a ministry within Life Action about four years ago. Last year, OneTree branched out as its own non-profit, and Amanda and I have been asked to join their team based here in Michigan.
The Messenger is the Message
OneTree is committed to helping believers live and lead from wholeness. We do this through experiential training, integrated care, and targeted accompaniment. In other words:
- We facilitate training that is formational as well as informational, designed to help leaders develop systems to thrive in high stress environments in ministry, mission, and marketplace.
- We come alongside leaders in various ways to ensure they have the individual support they need to follow through in those thriving systems – guided sabbaticals, counseling, coaching, spiritual direction, to name a few.
Amanda will be leveraging her gifts of hospitality and creativity to help shape the atmosphere of various events. She’ll also be helping guide the culture of our team towards growing healthy connections through community and play. Garrett will be starting out primarily coordinating training events, but he’ll eventually be working towards facilitating training, supporting the care team, and developing content.
We’ll both be utilizing the skills and competencies we’ve been developing over the past 20 years to help couples and families flourish in their relationships together.
How You Can Participate
Each person reading this has been part of our journey, whether from back when we first joined Life Action or as someone we’ve met along our travels. Here are some ways that you can help us during this transition.
Please pray for us! We’re looking forward to a new season at home (mostly) full-time. The kids are going to be learning some new rhythms and navigating a different environment with different people. We’re working hard to finish well at the ministry we love so much while ramping up to jump in at OneTree. In fact, Garrett will be with a OneTree team in Puerto Rico in just a few weeks to help support a training event with Youth For Christ.
Like our assignment at Life Action, this new opportunity is 100% support-based. We’re in the process of connecting with all of our current financial partners to discuss continuing their giving under OneTree, so you can pray for that transition process to go smoothly.
We are also working on connecting with some new partners to help us—living full-time at home (not to mention with 3 teenage drivers) will be more expensive than living in an RV most of the year. If you have any sense that this might be you, why don’t you take a look at OneTree’s website to learn more about their vision, and then drop us a line. We’d love to talk more! You’re also welcome to give via the OneTree page.
We’ll be officially finishing our time with Life Action and joining the OneTree staff mid-October. In all of this, we continue to be overwhelmed by the care and support from so many people that has brought us to this new venture. God bless you, and we look forward to sharing more soon.
Love and Peace to you,
Garrett & Amanda
The Lee Family 