Leader Connect S2E15: Lee Peters

This week on Leader Connect, we talk to Lee Peters, Executive Director, Wired Ministries. 

Wired Week: June 21-25

wiredministries.com

Transcript

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Well, hey folks, welcome to season two of Leader Connect. Uh this year we're going to be focusing a little bit different than on just our associational ministers. We're going to be reaching out across the state and Southern Baptist Convention to bring others into this opportunity for you to get to know them a little bit and find out how you might can use them in ministry in your local church. So we hope you enjoy this episode. Well, hey folks, welcome to a special Wired edition of Leader Connect. We have Lee Peters, the executive director of Wired, with us today. Lee is also the student pastor out at Pilgrim Home, out in Wicksburg. And so Lee, welcome to Leader Connect. Thank you. Excited to be here. Well, we're glad to have you, and uh we want to find out a little about Lee and uh your family and to just so tell us about yourself. Yeah. Um, well, as stated, my name's Lee. Uh married with kids. Uh, my wife's name is Ashley. We've been married for this is year 11. Um, have three kids, uh, Lucy, Ezra, and Liam. Um, really enjoyed our time at Pilgrim Home. We've been there for uh a little over six years now as their student pastor and um have enjoyed. We just finished uh this past Wednesday night, our last we do small groups on Wednesday night, so our last small group night with leaders. And yeah, um, so it was it was exciting getting to celebrate them and and see students celebrate them and kind of give them their honor. So and how many seniors did you have graduating this year? We had 21. Uh this is uh largest class I think we've had in a long time. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, this is a this is the time of year for graduation. I've talked to several pastors, of course, they've been involved in um their seniors and recognitions and all that goes with that. And so uh busy time of year. Uh well tell me what you like to do in your your spare time when you find some. Ooh, that's a good phrase, when you find some. Uh I am a huge reader. I I love reading books and not fiction, I read boring books, uh, but I I enjoy that. Um I love playing golf when when I can. So when we've got students on the golf team at Wicksburg, uh, those are the best seasons, and we've got some some young guys coming up, so I think we'll have some fun time out on the course together. Um love playing catch with Liam. Uh just finished up baseball season for him. Um so that that's it, and then a big movie buff. I love watching movies. All right. Great, that's awesome. Well, um, and I I know that this past year, Wired has probably consumed any spare time you might have uh normally had uh since you've taken over the executive director role. Um and so uh share with us a little bit about what Wired 2026 is gonna look like. Yeah, it you are spot on. It's taken um a lot of time uh just getting to see all of the things that uh Chase Falk, who used to be the executive director past few years, all of the things that he took care of and uh let out in so well, um, and it's been eye-opening. But uh we've got an awesome team, uh an amazing board, and so it's been fun getting to serve them well and uh dream a little bit for Wired of Um what can we do better? Uh God's allowed Wired to have a pretty firm footing and foundation for so many years uh of faithfulness and and ministry. And so this year it was, hey, how could we um how could we tweak some things a little bit and and see if we can um dream up what comes next? And so we've had a a few different changes uh that are gonna take place. The biggest uh is probably our schedule uh for the longest time. Wired has been early morning worship time every morning, wake up, worship together, get ready for the day, uh, and then we all go out to ministry track sites, which is where we serve and uh get to do Bible study. And um and how that's looked is we would go out early in the morning, we'd be on site all day, we'd be doing Bible study and lunch during that time and trying to serve as best we can, and then we'd come back at three. And what we had found, uh, which is I think true for all humans, yeah uh, is that once you eat lunch after a long day of serving and working, uh it's difficult to do a Bible study, yeah, to stay awake. Uh and no no fault of our students, man. We had amazing track leaders, amazing students that wanted to be engaged, but just physically it will wear you out. And so we had found that our our Bible study time for students was just uh it wasn't what it could be. Um and so this year we we've decided to kind of switch some things up a little bit, and so we'll have some worship time in the morning together. We're extending that uh out 30 minutes to give some more uh fun and games, bring some competition to it, and uh have our PCY sites competing against our social sites and kids against evangelism, those type things. And although we probably we probably shouldn't say kids against evangelism, it's not a good tagline, uh, but just ways to have some fun, and then after that, instead of going straight to their ministry sites, uh they'll get a chance to go back uh and Dothan High, which is where we meet at their convocation center. Man, the administration and staff there have been fantastic. They have been super accommodating. Uh, this year, especially, uh, Miss Stacy, who works in the office of Miss Stacy Moore, has been working on allowing wired students to have space on campus, that as soon as we're done with morning worship, they'll get to go to these rooms and spaces on campus and have their Bible study right then, fresh in the morning, uh, fresh mental energy. And uh and so save that best time for the Lord there, and then after Bible study, they'll get to head out on the ministry track sites for uh the last three and a half, four hours, and uh, and hopefully spend some concerted effort there, knowing that man, that there's nothing else they have to do. They're there to serve and to work hard and and to finish the task that God's put in front of them. So we're excited by that big change, uh, and that really kind of sets the stage for for how we feel like this this year can go. Okay. Well, you mentioned morning worship, of course, they have evening worship uh that that's every night. Who's gonna be the speaker in the worship band this year? Yeah, so um this year's camp camp pastor's name is Austin Wadlow. Uh he's actually coming back for the second time. He he was with us in I believe 2018. Okay. And uh he became when whenever we do um end of the end of the week evaluations for our student pastors and students, his name has always been one that comes up as someone that that student pastors and leaders really would like to have back. Um he just did an amazing job. Lord used them that first year, and so we're excited to have him uh lead us again this year and uh leading worship for us is a band called Chapels Worship. Uh they're out of um uh oh Woodstock. Woodstock. Uh FBC Woodstock in Georgia and do uh amazing work with extreme uh comfort Bible conferences during the winter. So they're kind of the house worship band uh for those. And so uh we're fortunate to to get them to uh serve with us and to lead us in worship this week. All right. Well, how uh how can folks be praying for the week of Wired to help uh God be able to do what he wants to do? Uh man, first and foremost, well, one is just that, just the intentionality to pray. Um so often when we think of mission trips and conferences and things like Wired, it's very easy to just begin with what's a task that I can accomplish, or what's a gift I can give, or money I can donate, or but really the greatest need we have is that the Holy Spirit would be working and that uh God would accomplish what he wants to accomplish. And so, one, just intentionally on purpose, pray that God would do what he wants to do through Wired this year. Uh, pray for students' hearts. Uh, we fully believe that God is already preparing hearts and our students and in our leaders for what our Bible study will be this year, for what Austin's gonna share in our nightly worship. And so pray that the Holy Spirit is uh laying that foundation for students, um, and then pray that um that our students, when they come in, that distractions are minimized or are kind of dissipated. Uh, a lot of that is really choices that our students make. But I'd also say a lot of that is choices our parents make as well. Uh and so praying that our our parents and students come expecting God to move uh and being willing to put those distractions aside for that week. That's good, that's good. Well, um, as well as uh the week of going into it, we're uh just over a month out from why it's happening. Yeah. And uh you still have a need for a couple of track leaders, I believe. Yes. So if somebody would be interested in finding out more about that, how would they get that information or get up with you to find out? Uh probably the most direct way would be to contact me. Uh you can send me an email uh phbclee at gmail.com. And uh you just let me know you're interested, and we'll get up with you. I'll give you a call, or or one of our board members will give you a call. And um, man, it's one of it's one of the best uh experiences that that I think young people can have that are stepping out of of high school, stepping into college and into young adulthood. I got to do it four years uh back in the day, and some of the best memories and and some of the best growth moments in my spiritual life were getting to serve at Wired. And so uh yes, we we have that need, and we have that need every year. So if it's not this year and next year, we're gonna need track leadership. Not too early. Get your name in my head. Get it in now. That's right, that's right. Well, about how many participants are we gonna have this year for where? Yeah. So we'll have about 675-ish when it comes to our students and adults. Okay, and then you add on, we'll have 45 track leaders that'll be uh serving in those roles, uh, and then our volunteers and leaders in total uh we'll have at least 800 uh 800 participants every day. Um and and with that, there's opportunities to come and and worship with us at night. In fact, we've got two churches that'll be doing that. That man, they can't be a part of the daytime serving moments, but they would love to worship with us at night, and so they've bought armbands for their kids. Uh, we have plenty of those available. If you're interested in those, you can buy those on our website at uh Wired Ministries.com. Uh they're $75 for the entire week. Uh, and you can come any any day of the week, any night, uh, and come worship with us and it even even though it's not the entire experience of Wired Week, uh man, God still moves in such great and mighty ways on those nights. Absolutely. It's a great time. Well, there anything else you'd like for the folks to know about Wired 2026? Oh, that's a tough question. There's uh honestly, there's probably so much. Uh we're excited for our theme for this year. So our theme is called Delight. Uh, taken straight out of Psalm 119. Uh, so Bible study is all geared around passages from Psalm 119, and it's all focused on the Word of God. How do we delight in the Word of God, uh, how the Word of God transforms us and changes us, why it is for believers. It's foundational for our faith, for our salvation, uh, because we we don't know the gospel apart from the word of God. Yeah, for sure. And so one of, and this is another prayer uh prayer prompt as we go into that week is is that God would develop uh a passion and a fire for his word and our in our students. That's good. And I I believe if if we've got young people that love the word of God and are actively engaging with the word of God, uh, that's how he changes our our culture and community. And um, and so we pray that that happens, that um the lights of fire in the hearts of students for his word. That's great, that's great. Well, Lee, I want to thank you for your passion for student ministry uh for working with those students at Pilgrim Home, but also all the work that goes in year-round because it's a 12-month process for Wired 2026. Uh, thank you for all your hard work there, and we know that God's going to use those efforts uh to reach and uh encourage uh believers all over our communities because Wired's far reaching. That's right. Uh it's not just Houston County folks that'll that'll gonna be responding to the gospel and and hearing about it. So we're grateful for that. Uh but thank you so much for being a part and for coming and sharing with the folks that'll be watching the podcast, uh listening to it. Um and remember the request that he made for Wired 2026. Uh, if you you can do the prayer part, even if you can't be a participant, uh you can put that down on your daily prayer log and just remember to pray for Wired. Uh if you've got questions, Wired Ministries.com is the website. You can contact us here at the office if you have any issues, and we'll get you in touch with the right folks. But thanks for joining us. I'd I'd touch on too one thing as you said that Wired is far-reaching uh as we think of our track leaders. Uh, but I I'm thinking of of several that are coming from various states. Okay. Um, some from South Carolina, several from Georgia, from North Alabama. Uh, we've got one very close to Save's Heart and JP that's coming from Boston, Massachusetts. And uh it is amazing just to see how God has used Wired, not just to produce um students that are passionate for his word and kingdom-minded, but man, it it has really been a catalyst for leaders, for young leaders, and giving them opportunity to serve and and grow in their leadership development uh as faith leaders. And so that's another beautiful part of Wired is getting to see that, the the way that God has produced leaders that now don't just stay in the wiregrass, but like you said, they go and they go off and they use that um that faith and that leadership that God's developed. That's right. Well, so many of the track leaders even came through Wired as students and participants, uh, and then got to serve as track leaders and are still serving as track leaders, many of them. So it obviously makes an impact on their lives, or or they would move on to the next thing, whatever that is. Yeah. Uh so wired is a is a key part in helping them grow spiritually and and find a place and how to serve and what what areas are out there to be able to serve in, as well as the fun times they get to have together and the memories they build and uh talk about Wired for years to come. So be a blessing. Well, thank you again for being with us. Thank you. And we appreciate you uh tuning in to this episode of Leader Connect.