OPEN USA Team Update | September 2025
Greetings from Oman! EXPO time is almost upon us and I very much look forward to seeing all of you there. The theme of our EXPO rides on the coattails of last year’s theme: “Going Into Babylon.” This year, we are thinking through “Rebuilding the City” and all that entails. When we think about what the OT Jews went through in rebuilding, they utilized a plethora of skills. Business owners recognized their responsibility to restore the broken wall, and thus the broken economy, of Jerusalem. Makers and sellers of perfume (Nehemiah 3:8 – manufacturers and marketers), goldsmiths (3:8 – craftsmen and artisans), merchants (3:32 – shippers, freight forwarders, customs clearers, produce sellers and importers, etc), doormen/gatekeepers (3:29 – watchmen, guards, etc.), high priests / priests (3:1 – religious leaders), politicians (3:7,9,12,14,15,16,17,18) and their daughters or brothers – families (3:3,12,18) all worked together to rebuild.
So we will focus a lot of energy this EXPO pointing towards all the gifts and skills needed to rebuild! Let’s go into the EXPO remembering that all of life is spiritual, and our role as disciple makers is to present everyone mature in Christ, having learned to submit all of life under His lordship!
Lastly, it’s always good to look at our values, which we have recently reaffirmed at the OPEN USA LT Retreat. I will restate them here with the same language I used in the annual plan:
- Relationships – everything, and I mean everything, is done relationally within OPEN and paperwork will never replace that
- Accountability – we have and will continue to be accountable to others, allowing reproof and correction into our lives
- Transparency – we are moving away from the darkness toward operating fully inthe light
- Excellence – every event, every goal, every opportunity we have to serve, are all done with a spirit of excellence
- Church-centric – we continue to see the Body of Christ, His church, as the center of His plan to bless all the peoples of the earth and bring shalom to its darkest places
In all of this, we as OPEN USA exist to see B4Ters thrive in their difficult assignments. You are each, and together as one body, working both powerfully and effectively and the Network members benefit greatly from it. THANK YOU! Keep up the good work and may Jesus return, finding us looking toward Him!
I was in Houston last week, meeting with local salespeople, regional managers, all the way up to the president of our 40,0000+ employee company. I left once again convinced of how much I LOVE working with the OPEN USA team! Of course there are many good people among those I work with; and the challenge of Avodah in my “day job” is always present. But you represent the gold standard of commitment, consistency, passion and service. I’m grateful for each one of you!
Of course, right now it’s all about the EXPO. You’ll be receiving details soon on logistics, the roles we’ll be asking you to fill, prayer opportunities and more. The schedule looks great, and registrations are still coming in. Pray with me for those who are on the fence about coming, that God will remove the obstacles and that they will lean into what God has for them.
Your receiving this update is Manika’s doing – thank you, Manika! We have many other Communication initiatives that await the arrival of the one God is raising up for the Communication Team Director role. Let’s not grow weary in praying for this!
Under the communication banner I’m excited about these EXPO-related items:
- Doug just finished another in the family of pre-watch videos going out to all registrants. You’re going to like it!
- This year we collaborated with a B4T company – Gigatt in North Macedonia – to promote the EXPO via social media, and several email campaigns. This has been a great experience (and help) for me; their creativity is evident.
Coaching
OPEN’s coaching team currently consists of 55 active and trained coaches covering many disciplines and with that resource, there are 74 active coaching relationships with B4Ter’s. We believe and are blessed by this engagement being the most active this team has ever been. The team is working to meet with all coaches regularly but in particular to re-engage coaches that haven’t been as active.
The coaching staff is also working to create a “Coaches Directory” where B4Ter’s can actively pursue expertise available and seek out particular coaches whose backgrounds meet their needs.
Mentoring
OPEN currently has 15 trained and active mentoring units (which is usually a couple) and they are engaged in 26 mentoring relationships.
Jay and Heather have been able to attend a couple Huddles this year and that gives them an opportunity to discuss the benefits of mentoring and to meet with mentees in the area of the Huddle.
Jay is working on another book! It’s going to be called “Mentored” and it’s going to be a wonderful resource for anyone that might be interested in the mentoring process.
B4T Champions
Devin and Brianna facilitated a Champions course with members of their church. It’s great having the coursebook author as a co-facilitator! Let’s pray for more similar opportunities among other church groups…
Church Relations
Very exciting to have Lauren stepping into her role; she’s spent invaluable time on-site with B4Ters in numerous locations over the past several months. This is going to provide a backdrop of insight into what some of the B4T challenges are. I’m convinced there are many good things coming in this part of our values focus.
Future B4Ters
The EXPO provides a unique window of opportunity to connect with current students and recent graduates. We’ll also be connecting with many of the Frontier Operators cohort members. (FrontierOperators.com). Let’s pray for many connections in Fort Collins!
I was praying this morning for my prayer partner and was thanking God that I am able to lift him up in prayer. Having the prayer partners with the OPEN staff has been a blessing. I have been able to get to know many of you in a way I would not have been able to. We are all busy, we have many people already praying for us, but connecting in this way is beyond what I can explain. I am hoping you will want to find out and join us. It is simple no buy in, no sign up, and no leaving your home, just let me know you would like to join in and I will do the rest. I am looking forward to getting to know many more of you deeper and richer as we pray together.
Victoria Humbles
Relationship Advocate
victoriah@openservices.net
Additions
We are celebrating two recent additions to the OPEN USA team!
- Manika Baniya has joined to provide Admin Support and has already been jumping in to help move along certain aspects of Neon CRM. She and her husband are living in Minnesota after several years operating a B4T business.
- Lauren Mandaville has joined as the Church Relations Lead. She brings many ideas for the B4T movement having recently traveled and met with many B4Ters as well as background of experience in a US-based church given that her dad is a pastor.
We look forward to how God will work through both Manika and Lauren and are excited and thank God for the filling of these two positions!
Openings
Even while we rejoice at the above, we still have many positions needing to be filled. We invite you to take a minute to pray about these openings and also to consider whether you know anyone that may be able to fill one of the following roles?
- Communications Team Director – Lead the communications team in managing OPEN’s websites and overseeing content production and delivery, such as through social media, video, and/or written communications.
Commitment: Volunteer role with expected average of 5 – 10 hours per week. - Board Secretary – Someone with administrative experience that can join the Board of Directors meetings, write and distribute the meeting minutes, and help coordinate the meetings.
Commitment: Volunteer role with perhaps 5 hours average per month, mostly focused around board meetings. - Events Coordinator – Takes the lead on organizing the annual Expo, coordinating items such as host location, registrations, event promotion, and catering. Works with others including OPEN leadership, host church, and communications team.
Commitment: Volunteer or contractor role with expected average of 10 hours per week with short periods of full-time focus.
Please let one of the LT members know if you have an idea for someone. Also, feel free to review the full list of open roles here.
QUICK LINKS
B4T Stories
Find Yourself In B4T
Internship Opportunities
Join the Network
Businesses thriving and making Jesus known among all the least reached.