Category: Expos

Well, our 14th annual North Texas Expo on Lake Grapevine was a record setter. That’s right, it was 102° that day but God still did miracles and touched many lives in ways that only he can do. So, as usual it was another God bless success! 

We gave out Bibles with goodie bags, caught lots of fish, took hundreds of people on boat rides, had some of the best smoked turkey and hamburgers in Texas, saw hundreds of people enjoying arts, crafts and games as well as the joy of the Lord on so many faces. 

There were challenges as always but God worked through the hearts and minds of his people to come together as the body of Christ and do great things to see his kingdom expand right before our eyes. 

I hope you are as amazed as we are seeing God’s hands at work in the photo collage at the top of the page. It was a great day and I know God blessed everyone who served and participated as we were all there blessed to be a blessing to each other. :-)

Well, Expo number 66 is in the books. God did a great work in East Tennessee pulling everything together, doing miracles and making ways so that our 16th annual outreach in the area could bless many individuals and families living with disabilities with the love and gospel of Jesus. 

With the water levels so low at the local lakes we had to move inland which was a first and East Tennessee. However, we have had to do that in Texas twice because of park flooding and both events were success so we knew God would bless people in Jesus’ name and East Tennessee, too. 

We had a great mix of new and usual activities so there were smiles to be seen all around. As always it was good to see some new faces as well as meet some new friends. :-) 

Our core team is getting a bit older but still has a great Philippians 4:13 attitude and got the job done with excellence. This is always a core part of our ministry culture as well as keeping everything free for both participants and volunteers. 

I hope you enjoy the collage above and if you’d like to see more pictures you can go to our website at www.access-life.org/etnexpo to see the joy of the Lord on many faces. :-)

Also, if you check out our previous post about the East Tennessee Expo in 2 minutes you can see a great video that our East Tennessee Ministry lead, Hannah Spradling put together!

Well, God did it again! Our 13th annual Access Life Expo in North Texas was another God blessed success with individuals and families coming to do things they may have never done, find a new friend or just enjoy some rest in God’s great outdoors. :-) 

Leanne and I we’re always amazed at how God worked through the hearts and minds of His people to do great things and this year was no exception. Our team in North Texas came together and people stepped up in so many areas to make sure everything happened. We’ve had to make adjustments over the years for a variety of reasons, but God has things running smoother than ever as this year was the fastest setup and the quickest tear down ever. The event is turning into a well-owned machine so that we can bless individuals and families living with disabilities to the best of our abilities in Jesus’ name!

The fun activities and delicious food are always great but it’s the people that make the difference. As always, God was there permeating the atmosphere with His presence and touching hearts of both participants and volunteers in special ways that only he knows are needed.  the Gospel was shared, words of thanks were spoken by many and the smiles brought about by His joy, we could see Him at work all around. From boat rides and bingo to archery and airsoft 732 participants and volunteers were interacting blessing and being blessed by each other.

We always try to do our part and weave Jesus into all we do not just through our volunteers but with Bibles and faith-based items in the goodie bags, our prayer and care station that not only paint nails but takes prayer requests and praises from participants and our gospel bracelet station where everyone who builds a bracelet hears the Good News. Sometimes we are blessed to know of decisions made for Christ but no matter what we know seeds are planted for Him to water and grow into fruition later in life. 

Finally, a special thanks and call out goes to all of those who prayed for the outreach as this is the foundation of good things happening, served as this is where Jesus’ is light shines, gave as these are the resources God pours out from heaven, and networked as sharing the good news is what matters the most in the end.

Hey there boys and girls of all ages and abilities. We’ve been hard at work here going through waivers and photos and wanted to share some of the good news and highlights from our 15th annual Expo in East Tennessee! 

So, here’s what we know. This year’s outreach at Briarwood Ranch was at a different location with a different logistical structure but God was still there permeating the event with his presence, touching lives and meeting needs as only he can do. We’ve seeing God do some amazing things at our Expos and this year was no exception. From our wonderful volunteers at Shady Grove Church and New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church who helped the tent crew get things set up the night before and everything else set up in less than 2 hours on event day, you could see God working through the hearts and minds of his people to bless others in Jesus’ name. :)

Of course, as we’ve discovered in our 15 years of ministry God always blesses those serving more than they expect and His economy of blessed to be a blessing and blessing one another from volunteers to participants and participants to volunteers was seen throughout the day. It was especially encouraging seeing the way the Briarwood staff were so excited and accommodating throughout the whole process as God connected us with some wonderful Believers wanting to see God’s work done there that day.

For the numbers people, I can tell you that we raised the less money than last year, but we also spent less money than last year. We served over 200 more participants than last year with 130 less volunteers than last year. We also had around 300 vehicles dive thru the park, gave out around500 of this year’s Expo anniversary t-shirts along with tons of animal food, hand wipes, 15th year celebration goody backpacks and sack of lunches. 

I’ve uploaded about 50 pictures to the website that you can view on the East Tennessee Expo page located here: Expo in East Tennessee – Access-Life

Everything has also been posted on social media so you can check things out @accesslifeinc, too. 

Hope you enjoy this year’s photo collage and website pictures and THANK YOU to everyone who prayed, gave, networked and served, So, excited about our 15 year anniversary celebration event and know that Leanne would have been pleased. :-)

Hey there boys and girls of all ages and abilities! I just wanted to share that Big Dave our Royal Ambassador and I made it back to Florida after an adventure filled trip in Tennessee and a God blessed Expo there. :-)

It is always amazing to see God work through the hearts and minds of his people to do such great things. We are blessed to be a blessing and in God’s economy we are always blessed in return which pretty much sums up this year’s Access-Life East Tennessee Expo.

We had great teams of volunteers from New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church and Shady Grove Church on top of our SUPER Ministry Intern, Hannah Grace Spradling [as well as Jerry Carter who transported our equipment trailer with a last minute notice] that were right there with us every step of the way before, during and after the big outreach. We even connected with a few new churches like Mt Vale Church and First Baptist Church of Bean Station and loved seeing Jesus shared through the Gospel bracelets activity, Prayer and Care booth and even the Bibles that were in each goodie bag.

The exotic petting zoo with a baby kangaroo, monkey and mini camel was a big hit along with the horses from Ridin High. :-) We also gave 50 boat rides on pontoons to over 400 attendees and there was even a 12 lb carp caught at the fishing activity! All of the activities flowed with blessings from the Lord to so many individuals and families living with disabilities that we are so grateful for God’s presence permeating the Expo as always and filling so many people with His Joy.

We’re still working on wrapping everything up but wanted to say thank you to everyone who prayed, served and gave to this outreach. May God bless you richly for your time, resources and generosity!

Hope and pray you enjoy the photos and collage! You can visit the East Tennessee page on our website at Expo in East Tennessee – Access-Life for mor pictures, too. :)