Dear Friends and Ministry Supporters, |
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I want to start the year with a big thank you for each of you who gave towards our End of Year projects, especially as you heard the real stories of Ali, Lena, and Jaladi. They represent many thousands of leaders around the world that we are working with. They are being given the “freedom to lead” in new ways and it’s a tremendous joy for our team to be part of that. Thank you for making that happen.
My hopeful plan is to reach out to each of you individually to express my personal thanks for being part of this team this year. It gives me great encouragement as we start a new year together. |
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In the coming months, we will be highlighting another giving opportunity for South Asia specifically. A generous donor has agreed to match dollar for dollar any new donor that gives a donation (either one time or recurring) between August 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 - up to $75K. So, if you’ve been thinking about giving to Freedom to Lead for some time (or even if you haven’t), this is a good time to do so. Also, for those of you who have already been giving, do you have any friends you can reach out to with this opportunity? You don’t have to do the work – just make the introduction and I can do the rest. Please do let me know. This is a fabulous opportunity that we don’t want to ignore.
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INTRODUCING BRAD AND KORY |
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With the new year upon us, I’d like to introduce you to two new people that have become part of the Freedom to Lead team in the past few months.
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Brad is a seasoned business leader with more than 25 years in the construction industry, where he retired as CEO and principal owner of a national mechanical contracting company. Under his leadership, the firm earned multiple "Best Places to Work" honors, Arkansas Business of the Year, national recognition for safety excellence, and Brad himself was named Business Executive of the Year. An entrepreneur at heart, Brad has owned several small businesses and now operates a commercial cabinet company with his son and a close friend. He's also been an active real estate investor for over 20 years, managing a portfolio of residential and commercial properties. Brad holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas and has completed executive studies at Wharton, the Walton School of Business, Cornell, and the University of Birmingham (U.K.). When he's not working, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and life on his farm with his wife of more than 30 years and their four adult children.
We welcome Brad to the Freedom to Lead Board of Directors! |
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Kory joined the Freedom to Lead team this year, currently serving as Executive Assistant. Born in Germany, Kory has spent extensive time in other countries and has lived all across the United States. Her professional background is heavy in education and administration, one of the highlights of which was teaching in South Korea. For most of Kory's life, the Lord has used her to care for the broken-hearted, or those struggling with physical and mental health issues. She loves that one of the Lord’s names is El Roi, meaning, “the God who sees”. She delights in that He, sovereign and kind, sees every person, circumstance, and the details surrounding them all.
Trusting in His plans and purposes, she joins her husband in parenting their four children - two of whom have already “flown the coop" and two still remaining at their home in North Carolina. Her greatest passions in life - in addition to the Lord, His gospel, and His kingdom - are people, working with youth, music, painting, languages, traveling, hiking, and anything outdoors. One word she would never use to describe her life is “boring”.
Kory invites you to reach out to her if you have questions or would like to connect more. We look forward to seeing her use her gifts for Freedom to Lead. *no relation to Brad |
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Next week, the FTL Team will be in Medellín, Colombia (South America) with our partners at Mesa Global. |
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The first half of our time there will be some Facilitator Training for a select group of national leaders who are starting cohorts in Colombia, Chile, Cuba, and Panama. They also have big plans for other parts of the continent in the next few years. We are excited to be working more closely with each of them as they dare to imagine what God can do for leaders on the Latin America continent. |
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The second half of our time there will be with the main group. We have been partnering with Mesa Global for two years and this will be our fifth module together on Peacemaking. This has historically been one of our most powerful modules in The Garden Project sequence. It also comes at an opportune time with a lot of world attention on Latin America due to recent events in neighboring areas.
Please pray that these next several weeks will be good ones for everyone involved. We anticipate a good time of fellowship, learning together, and examining what it means to be peacemaking leaders for our times. |
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PRAY FOR SPRING OPPORTUNITIES |
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Please be praying over Freedom to Lead’s ministry this spring. We anticipate some good things during this season.
Next month I hope to introduce you all to a new project that’s been in the works for about a year. I alluded it to it briefly during our End of Year focus on Jaladi’s story in particular. I think it’s now ready for a bit of unveiling, at least for our smaller Snapshot list (if you’re reading this, you are on the list). I look forward to sharing that with you.
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May this January provide you with new opportunities to rest in the goodness of the Lord and make his ways known. |
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Michelle Sessoms CEO, Freedom to Lead International |
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" – 2 Corinthians 13:14 |
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Copyright © 2025 - Freedom to Lead International |
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