Local team to build on recent ministry tour
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Local organizers working with Pulse ministry are planning their followup to The Reason Family Christmas tour, recently held across the state.
A meeting of pastors and other individuals interested in getting involved is being planned for March to determine what the process will look like going forward, said Minot coordinator Tim Knutson. It is expected there will be evangelism and other training opportunities within the community, he said.
The goal is to assist Christians who are ready to take the next steps or encourage those who are tentative, he explained
"Just sort of moving forward with getting people to feel that their faith is actually active and we're doing more than just attending church," Knutson said.
He added it will be a seven-county effort, with teams in a number of area communities. Pulse has set out to reach the entire state, but regional teams are bringing that effort down to the grassroots level, he said.
"So right now, it's really just bringing together like-minded people to start really brainstorming about how we can proceed with all this," Knutson said.
The Reason started years ago as a project of Pulse, which launched in 2006 when president Nick Hall was a student at North Dakota State University. Hall's roots are in Milton, a tiny town in northeastern North Dakota where his grandfather once ran a general store.
Initially, Pulse went to North Dakota campuses and small towns, where other evangelistic ministries weren't going.
"But in those early days, so many of the students we were reaching during the school year said, 'What about my hometown? What about my parents? What about my friend who I went to high school with that’s hurting?' And they said over Christmas is such a good time to bring family and friends together and talk about what matters, because everybody likes Christmas," Hall said.
Now a worldwide ministry based in Minneapolis, Pulse conducted Christmas tours until the pandemic in 2020. Over the past 20 years, Hall said, he's always had a desire to blanket North Dakota with the gospel.
Now fulfilling that desire, The Reason is on a two-year mission to build up local Christian leaders who can reach their state.
"Our dream is to unleash the gospel to every corner of the state in every place that wants it," Hall said. "Anywhere people are gathered, I think Jesus - He is there. But I think people should be there, lifting up hope."
In 2000, as a junior in high school, Hall recalled, evangelist Luis Paulau came to North Dakota and impacted his youth pastor in ways that also changed the life of Hall and his church..
"It was the first time in my life I had seen people in my church excited about Jesus and sharing Jesus. Up until that point, the only time I saw them excited was about sports or politics, and mostly politics," he said.
He wants to see that happen again.
"Right now we have eight regional leadership teams that have developed," he said. "Basically, we’re building out a campaign. You could think of it as if Election Day is happening sometime in mid- or late 2025. What does it look like to mobilize an army in the biggest effort, I would argue, that’s probably ever happened in the state as it relates to faith. And so, if people can do it for politics, why not for Jesus?"
The Reason came to Minot Dec. 2, bringing Hall and Christian recording artist Micah Tyler, who has had seven songs reach #1 on the Contemporary Christian Music chart since 2015, including two this year. Tyler recently was recognized as second most played artist on Christian radio in the past year, according to Billboard Magazine.
Tyler participated in a Pulse Christmas tour about five years ago and signed up for this year's tour because of what he sees happening with the ministry.
"Knowing the impact that Nick and his ministry has made for years now, that’s what lights me up more than a Christmas bulb and more than those kind of things that we can get excited about in the Christmas season - talking about the goodness of God with people who I know are continually doing that, and knowing that his heart is for his home state," Tyler said.
On The Reason tour, Tyler varied his music depending on the sense he received regarding what each audience needed to hear.
"We’re here for one night. There’s 364 more days for you. What can we do to make the next 364 mean something to you. So, it’s been neat, kind of getting the chance to figure out these communities and treat these nights as special as what people are, sitting out there being a part of it," Tyler said.
Pulse's goal at the end of two years is that thousands of people of all ages will have had an encounter that radically changed their lives, Hall said. These individuals will reflect Jesus in their schools and workplaces.
"Because if the worst thing that happens is people start to actually act a little bit more like Jesus. I think that’s a good thing for all of us," Hall said.