NYE in Orlando

We flew to Nationals on New Years Eve this year, which made the entire schedule a little different than the years past. Lori surprised the girls by taking them to Hollywood Studios for NYE after they got to Orlando. They had a direct flight on Southwest, so they got there earlier than GMa and I did. Because it was later in the afternoon by the time we got to the hotel, we decided not to join them at HS. There was part of me that was sad to miss it, but I was also so happy to DoorDash CPK and relax at the hotel for NYE. It looks like the girls had a blast at HS though, and I'm so glad they got to start Nationals at a Disney park! They were a little tired the next morning, but they're young and they pushed through it! 

Junior year Nationals, let's go!!!

Here is the QUIK video of the entire trip! So much fun!! Can't believe we only have one of these left.

Spray tans for the win, lol! =0)))

View from our hotel room this year! So pretty!

Meanwhile, back at the hotel...happiness!!

Madi was so happy that she got to ride Rock'nRollercoaster one last time before they remove Aerosmith and change it to the Muppets. 

We watched fireworks out the window and it was impressive how many there were!

GNJ December Update

🎄 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from GoodNews Journey!

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus our King, we want to pause and say THANK YOU. This season is about JOY, and we are overflowing with gratitude for how God has worked through us together in December and throughout all of 2025. Your prayers, generosity, and encouragement continue to advance the Gospel in powerful ways.

⏰ A Quick Year-End Note

As 2025 comes to a close, year-end giving will end in just a few days. If GoodNews Journey has encouraged you this year, we invite you to prayerfully consider a year-end gift as you read this update. Everything below is possible because of faithful partners like you, and your generosity now helps us start 2026 strong.

🔥 December Ministry Highlights

Together, we saw God move in incredible ways this month. At Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, over 100 inmates attended our evangelism service, and more than a dozen prayed to receive Christ. 🙌 God also moved powerfully through our Juvenile Center ministry, where around 10 students prayed to receive Christ this month alone. 💥

We equipped believers at FBC Anadarko through a two-session Evangelism Training focused on Gospel Urgency and Gospel Fluency, helping followers of Jesus share their faith with confidence. At FBC Davenport, we preached to a Sunday morning crowd of about 300, calling the church to share the Gospel, followed by a GOODNEWS evangelism training after lunch to equip them to live it out.

At Community Baptist Church in Coweta, we preached in both the 9am and 11am services (300+ in each), teaching from Isaiah 12 on finding the true source of JOY during Christmas, followed by a networking lunch with potential ministry partners.

🤝 Leadership, Coaching & Network Impact

December was also filled with Gospel-advancing conversations. We connected with leaders through the Eastern OKC Area Youth Ministers Network, celebrated with the UNITE OKC Christmas party, and hosted multiple coaching calls with pastors and ministry leaders focused on Bold Vision, discipleship multiplication, and missions strategy. We are grateful for meaningful meetings and conversations with current and potential partners as we look toward the year ahead.

🎙️ Media & Digital Reach

Throughout December, we were on The House FM radio three times a day, every weekday, equipping listeners to share Christ during the Christmas season. It has been encouraging to hear how many of you noticed and shared those spots. We also posted video clips from the radio segments on the GNJ Facebook page, extending the reach even further.

🌍🏕️ Missions and Camp Momentum

We continued promoting and planning upcoming GoodNews Journey mission trips, including ongoing calls with Alaska church leaders, missionaries, and catalysts to expand summer opportunities. We also connected with campus ministry leaders and mission partners via Zoom and confirmed speaking roles at Grand Lake Assemblies Camp (Grove) and Summit Camp at KBA (Talihina) this summer.

We also sent our VERY FIRST GoodNews Journey Christmas cards to supporters and donors this month. 💌 What a meaningful milestone for our ministry family.

📊 Year-One Praise Report (ALL GLORY TO GOD!)

In just the FIRST YEAR of GoodNews Journey, together we’ve seen:

65 events | 100+ messages preached | ~15,000 people reached | 80 leaders coached | 8 mission trips in development

God is SO GOOD. Truly, none of this would be possible without YOU. 🙏

🏡 A New Door God Has Opened

As GoodNews Journey grows, God has opened a door for Brian to serve as High School and Missions Pastor at Choctaw Road Baptist Church, beginning in January. This role strengthens our foundation so we can GO FURTHER, TRAIN DEEPER, and SEND BOLDER. Candace will also join part-time as Ministry Support Coordinator, handling key administrative needs so we can stay focused on equipping leaders and sharing the Gospel. This next step allows us to serve locally and globally with greater stability and reach. Your partnership ensures that every prayer, volunteer hour, and dollar advances the mission even more effectively.

💌 YEAR-END GIVING OPPORTUNITY (TIME SENSITIVE)

As 2025 COMES TO A CLOSE, we invite you to prayerfully consider a year-end gift to GoodNews Journey. With only DAYS left in the year, your generosity right now helps us step into January ready to train more believers, mobilize more people on mission, and reach more souls with the Good News.

👉 Give here: https://goodnewsjourney.org/give

Gifts must be received by December 31 to count for 2025.

Case for Support Packet

Through our partnership with WatersEdge, donors can now give in creative ways, including stock, charitable rollovers, endowments, and donor-advised funds. Most supporters give one-time or monthly online, and every gift, no matter the form, fuels Gospel impact.

🚀 Looking Ahead

We are praying for you as you finish the year strong. Thank you for being part of this story. We truly could not do this without you. As we look toward 2026, we remain committed to our 2030 Vision:

50,000 trained | 7,000 sent | 100,000 reached for Christ

Let’s step into the new year FULL OF FAITH, READY TO OBEY, and EAGER TO ADVANCE THE GOSPEL TOGETHER.

For our King and His Cause,

Brian & Candace Baldwin

Young Love

Mackenzie got to spend almost a week in Texas with Kade over New Years. When she goes down there, she stays at his house with his parents, and Kade stays at his Grandparents house. They went to Six Flags one day and it sounds like they had a blast! Love how happy they are together! She is always so heartbroken when it's time to leave him...hopefully one of these days they won't be long distance anymore! It's a wonderful thing to see your kids so happy! 

=0))))) This was worthy of a screenshot for sure! 

Their smiles say it all!

Ending 2025 With a Full Heart

I am ending 2025 with a full heart...God carried us through this year in the most amazing way with the beginning of GoodNews Journey. He provided for our every need and has blessed us in huge ways. That doesn't mean it has all been easy--quite the opposite much of the time--but God is so faithful! We also survived Mackenzie's graduation and moving her to college for the first time, which is something I have been dreading for...well, forever. More and more, I realize that life is constantly changing, and seasons don't last forever. We have trusted God in the valleys and praised Him on the mountaintops this year. As we move into 2026 and begin a new chapter at Choctaw 'Road and continuing running hard with GoodNews Journey, we know that God is going before us. He has us! No matter what we walk through in life, He is always there.

Great days are ahead! 

This collage is the front of my planner for 2026 and it just makes me happy to look at it every day. I can't look at it without thinking "Thank you, Jesus, for these beautiful people you have blessed me with."

They're Ready!

The girls had their Nationals showing at Destiny the night before we left for Orlando. The gym floors at CHA were being waxed or something, so Destiny kindly let us use their gym. I was so glad that Daddy and the boys, and Poppa & Louise could all see what Madi would be doing at Nationals! 

We love Buze!!

These two are the best of friends! 

Mrs. Newton ~ Madi's first CHA teacher, in the 4th grade!

Game Day Routine

All Music Routine

Stunt Group routine

Madi & Evie's duo!

A Great Sunday at The Road

Brian preached all 3 services at Choctaw Road on Dec 28th, as our introduction to the church. We were honored and thankful that Rick gave him this opportunity! His first official Sunday was the following week, just after the first of the year. As always, Brian did an excellent job! I had to watch most of it from the lobby because right as he was about to start preaching, Jonah looked at me and said he was going to throw up. So I had to rush him out of there...thankfully he settled down and didn't get sick. After church we went to lunch with Rick and Stephanie and really enjoyed getting to know them better! We are very excited and hopeful for this new season of ministry at The Road...God is so faithful! I think what I am most excited about is the opportunity to have a more relational ministry again. It's been a lonely season for us, and God has really positioned us to have a wonderful family of believers here at The Road. All glory to God, great things He has done! 

 

 

Christmas at the Lake

God gave us the most beautiful Christmas sunset I've ever seen at Lake Eufaula this year! It didn't even feel like Christmas, it was so warm out. I'm definitely not complaining about that! We had a very nice Christmas with Grandma Baldwin...great food, time with family we don't get to see that often, fun presents, throwing rocks in the lake...I mean, does it even get any better than that?! 

That's a wrap on all of our festivities for this year...Merry Christmas, friends!! 

The bros...