Answering the questions: Why did you start a blog and what’s your blog about?

Oahu | 2009 | 20d 
As promised, in last Friday’s post, I told you that I’d answer the questions that I posed to you about the WHY of blogging.  So here we go…

What was it that got you to start a blog?  

I’ll answer the reason why I restarted blogging recently.  It was two fold: 

1.  I was INSPIRED by listening to Michael Hyatt’s podcast on blogging. 

2.  I needed to do a better job of communicating what is going on in our lives with family and friends.   Since we’re in a new exciting chapter, I thought this was an appropriate time.  

What is your blog about?  Sum it up in 1-2 sentences.  

1.  Our blog is a personal blog to share what we’re doing and what is going on in our lives.  

2.  Our blog is also a place to share what we’re learning and what we’ve learned as we’ve tried to be obedient in following and serving Jesus.  

I feel like we’re offering our readers a place to stay connected with us.  And I also feel like we are offering and will be offering people insight from our lives as we’ve served Jesus in various contexts and cultures.  We hope that this will serve as a resource and encouragement to anyone that is trying to follow Jesus and walk out their Christian faith.  

Engage:  Do you think this blog is fulfilling its intended purpose?  What else do you think this blog provides?  Let us know in the comments.  
Megan McCormackMarch 21, 2012 - 1:10 am

Although not it’s main goal, your photography still pays a part in your blog as well. And with such beautiful shots of Hawaii how could it not? :)

jimjessbakerMarch 21, 2012 - 4:35 am

Thanks Megan!!

My ridiculous comfort zone: Re-prioritizing and recalibrating

Waikiki | Iphone 3gs/Instagram | Taken Yesterday 

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,  and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.  Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.  If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.  –  Luke 9:1-6 

Take nothing for the journey… 

What journey are the BAKERS on?  Read about it here.  
At least we got to take some stuff for this journey.  We obviously had to pare down what we brought since we flew here.    

Our school leader has apologized multiple times for our living situation.  Currently there are 3 families living under one SMALL roof.  We all share one bathroom.  At the end of the month the other two families with children will move out and another married couple without children will move in.  

It’s not ideal, but we didn’t come back into YWAM for the luxury housing.  We came out of obedience to what we felt God was asking us to do. We have seen and are learning to understand that whatever God calls us to do is always in our best interest.  

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:11-13

I need to be like Paul, and be content whatever the circumstance.  I’ve noticed that being inconvenienced, not having my “normal luxuries,” makes me a little uncomfortable.  We don’t have a car here, and we don’t have Jess’ second income.  I get bit by mosquitos constantly and we share 1 bathroom with 8 OTHER people.  

I know this might sound ridiculous.  I’m sure there are people reading this right now that would gladly trade their car and second income to live in Hawaii.  And if that’s you, I challenge you to step out and be obedient to whatever He is calling you to, because however good Hawaii sounds right now to you, it pales in comparison to the perfect plan God has for YOU.    

I am thankful for being forced out of my comfort zone.  It makes me reexamine what’s a need, and what’s a want?  It makes me realize that the majority of the world does not live with the luxury of things I think are normal everyday necessites.  It makes me realize how ridiculously comfortable my “comfort zone” really is.  

These tiny steps outside of my comfort zone help me to re-prioritize what’s important in life.  Serving Jesus sometimes comes with a cost.  I want to be ready and willing to pay whatever cost, for the sake of Him who paid it all.  

I challenge you to intentionally step outside of your comfort zone for a bit.  I promise it will help recalibrate you in a good way.   

Engage:  When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone?  What did you learn along the way?  Share with us in the comments!  
thecompositionofMarch 19, 2012 - 3:33 pm

8 people and one bathroom doesn’t sound too fun! Have you guys thought about getting a bus pass? It goes everywhere on the island!

jimjessbakerMarch 19, 2012 - 3:37 pm

we’ve been riding “the bus” a pass is $30 a month, which is $60 for two. We’re not sure if its worth it yet or not, still waiting to figure that out.

How to START your blog! part 2

National Cathedral | 2007 
So you’ve chosen a blogging platform, and chosen the layout of your blog.  You wrote your first blog post and published it and you told people about it!  Great job!  But now what?… 

to read part 1 click here.  
Clearly Identify why you started blogging. What was it that got you to go through all of the work to start a blog?

Take a couple of minutes and write down the reasons you started your blog.  Save these reasons somewhere so you can easily go back and look at them.  Better yet share them in the comments!

THEME – What is your blog about? 

You probably inadvertently answered this question when you finished the exercise above.  But if you didn’t, ask yourself to sum up in a sentence or two exactly what the purpose of your blog is.

Maybe as you’re starting out you don’t need a clear vision of what you’re trying to do long term, but you should be thinking about that as you continue to blog.

I haven’t quite figured this one out for myself.  I just wanted to get back into the habit of writing and posting blogs.  I plan to really think about what this blog is becoming soon.  I promise next week, I will post a blog that sums up what this blog is all about.  

As your thinking about what your theme is consider the following: 

One of my photographer teachers and friend, Stanley Leary, says that you have to offer people something for them to keep coming back… what do you have to offer your readers?  

Or as my friend Dave Heiliger is asking recently “What is it that only YOU can do?” 

Further Customize – Add your personal touch

Make this blog your own, make sure it visually represents what you are trying to say.  

Make your blog as easily navigable as possible.  To do that you might want to follow some of these changes that I recently implemented.  

Schedule/Consistency – Find your sweet spot, how often are you going to commit to writing?  

Jon Barnes of The Munich Group recently e-mailed me and congratulated me on my recent consistent blogging and told me that there is a huge relationship between site traffic and blogging frequency.  

Too many people have started out blogs and had a great start only to let them die out after a few posts.  I’ve been there, but lets really go for consistent blogging!  

I really enjoyed only posting 3 times last week, rather than 5.  Why?  I tried to write every day even during a busy move, and only posting 3 of them allowed me to get ahead.  

Engage:  Why did you start blogging?  Or what are some reasons you’d like to start blogging?  Tell us in the comments.  

Listening to and praying for BS

This lady’s name is BS and she bought Jess a cup of coffee for her birthday.
On Sunday when we arrived in Honolulu, we stopped into Starbucks to get some anti-jet-lag-juice aka coffee.  We were accompanied by Eric, our school leader, and Krista Beihl, our good friend.   What happened next is pretty random… 

You can check out Krista’s blog HERE.  
Jess was wearing a birthday tierra, given to her by Krista.  As we were waiting in line, the lady behind us started up conversation.  She asked Jess if it was her birthday and then insisted that she buy Jess her drink.  She said something to the extent of “when you get this close to the grave, you’ve got do random acts of kindness before time runs out, please let me buy you your drink.”  
We struck up conversation and learned that this lady’s name was BS.  She told us proudly that she is the only one with that name in the United States and had it legally changed.  She then went on to tell us about how she had walked in all 50 states.  

We got our coffee and walked outside, after thanking her, I asked BS if I could pray for her.  She looked at me and asked me, “Is that what you do?”  Not really knowing how to respond to that question, Eric jumped in and said, “Thats not all we do.”  

What do you do?!  Well this should answer SOME of your questions.  
I asked if I could put my hand on her shoulder, and I prayed a simple prayer out loud.  I  thanked God that He has a plan for BS’s life and proclaimed the love of Jesus over her.  I gave her a hug and we listened a bit more to what she had to say before we were on our way.   

If you know me, I have a very low tolerance for small talk.  I’m not good at it, and I really don’t like it.  But on the plane ride here, and at the beginning of this new journey, I’m realizing that people talk because they want to be validated.  They need to be listened to, and need to be valued.  They are talking, because they want to be heard.  My question to myself, and to us, is are we listening?  
We always say we want access to peoples hearts.  Luke 6:45b tells us that “out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks”  We gain access to people’s hearts by listening.  
It seemed like a message directly from heaven to me.  Jim you need to listen to BS, both literally and figuratively.   You need to value her as a person created in my image, with a plan and a purpose.  You need to love her, be patient with her, and remind her that I created her, and that I love her.  You need to listen to what people are saying no matter how absurd.  You need to hear what their heart is saying, and then love them with My love.  
Engage:  Are you listening?  Take the time to see who God is putting in your life to listen to and listen well.  Share your story with us in the comments.
B. Aphraim & NilaMarch 14, 2012 - 1:23 pm

Stopped in Monday HerbsR4U2 and learned that Barbie and Marty were in Hawaii. Young woman waited on me & recognized me from PF.  Before I left she asked me to pray for her . With tears in her eyes she thanked me(Probably the real reason the Lord had me stop in). I left and went to Tim Horton’s since I had a little time to spend before a Chiropractic appointment..  Young girl I did not know recognized me from PF  and jail ministry.  She is on parole and I felt led to pray for her also.  I realized that the cup of coffee was a secondary issue.  Really the Lord Jesus had me go to those two places because persons needed prayer.   Praise be to Jesus.  To God be the glory!     I was blessed in the process.     Brother Bill   Aloha! & Shalom

jimjessbakerMarch 14, 2012 - 1:30 pm

So good Pastor Bill I want to be like you when I grow up!!

Hannah YoonMarch 15, 2012 - 11:07 am

this is pretty awesome! I HATE small talk, but I think if I just talked less and listened more it makes a big difference. Then I realize… hey, it’s not about me! when I’m in a relationship or starting a relationship I can’t make it about me :) 

jimjessbakerMarch 15, 2012 - 11:10 am

sounds like james 1:19 to me? :)

2012 March General Update | Aloha! Greetings from Hawaii!

Honolulu Airport | March 11, 2012 | Iphone3gs and Instagram 
Aloha and greetings from Hawaii!  Here is a quick update… 

Didn’t know we were in Hawaii?  Read Hawaii 2012: The details YOU want to know


We are HERE!  After about 24 hours of travel and 4 flights later, we are in Hawaii!  

We started out Saturday March 10th 2012 in Maryland celebrating Jess’ birthday with a pancake-palooza!  We had some friends meet up and bring various pancake toppings and we made some crazy good pancakes:) 


We then headed to BWI for our first of four flights.  The curb side check in guy saved us a ton of money by telling us transfer the stuff from our two overweight checked bags into a carry on and make it a checked bag.  Two overweight suitcases would have cost $200 EXTRA.  Checking an extra bag was only $60!  

We flew from Baltimore to Chicago, then to Seattle where we had a long layover but enjoyed a breakfast burrito from Qdoba, which was the only place open in the airport after midnight.  From Seattle we flew to San Fransisco and then to Honolulu, Hawaii.  

Our leaders picked us up and managed to fit ALL of our luggage and the 4 of us, into a two door coupe.  

We were shown our home for the next a 4 months which is a small 1 level, 4 bedroom, 1 bath, house that we are sharing with two other families that both have children.  :) I’ve heard that there might be some adjustments to our living situation so we will see what happens. 
Jess’ sushi (top) Jim’s mix plate (bottom)
We went to walmart to pick up some essentials like pillows and a blanket.  Then we ate some local food

We grabbed some starbucks to get some assistance against the jet lag which brought about a CRAZY story that I will write about in another post soon.  

We returned to the base, went over some paperwork, had our first staff meeting and then went out to dinner as a staff.  

Tomorrow we have the day off to get settled in.  

Thank you to everyone that has prayed for us, encouraged us and given financially so that we can be here!  

Jim and Jess Baker 
KarenMarch 12, 2012 - 11:47 am

Okay, so a little worried about all the crazy weather we have been hearing about. Glad you are there and safe!

BethanyMarch 13, 2012 - 5:47 am

Excited for you!

jimjessbakerMarch 13, 2012 - 6:41 am

thanks Karen!  I assume this is Karen Federline? 

jimjessbakerMarch 13, 2012 - 6:41 am

thanks Bethany!  

Gail GrundstromMarch 13, 2012 - 7:45 am

Sounds very exciting – interesting living arrangement.  looking forward to your updates.

jimjessbakerMarch 13, 2012 - 7:46 am

thanks gail, we’ll keep you updated!

jimjessbakerMarch 15, 2012 - 8:57 pm

thanks karen! 

How to START your blog! Part 1

Chicago | 2008 | 20d
So I’ve given you reasons WHY to start a blog… well here’s HOW to get started! 

Choose a blogging platform.  
A lot of professional bloggers buy a wordpress theme and host it on their own.  If you’re just getting started use a free service for now and get in the groove of blogging.  

Hey Jim, what do you use and why?  
I am using blogger.  Why?  It’s what I started using when I started my first photography blog back in 2007.  I’ve stuck with it because I know how to use it comfortably and its free.  
A lot of popular blogs use blogger.  Strobist and HowChow to name a couple.  I’m proud to say that they are both successful Howard County, Maryland bloggers!    

Other options: Here are some of the other most popular platforms and a quick thought about them.  Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on each blogging service in the comments.  

WordPress:  This seems to be the “industry standard.”  I have no experience with their free option, but I know they do have one.  
My friends Mark and Jeanette started a blog on wordpress but let it die, I’m hoping it gets revived soon.  

Tumblr: Also a free option. I feel like tumblr is a larger twitter.  You can REBLOG other peoples posts on your blog.  The tumblr culture seems to be really SHORT posts with lots of photos/graphics and a lot of reposting.  This I’ve been informed is called microblogging.  Jess’ best friend uses Tumblr.

Posterous: Another free service.  You can write an e-mail to your posterous account and it will automatically post.  Other platforms you might be able to do this with as well.  Posterous also allows you to reblog other peoples posts on your blog.  
The Pastor I used to work for switched his blog over to posterous from blogger because of the ease of posting.  

I’m sure there are others as well but these are the ones that come to mind.  

Customize! – Chose a layout and theme that you like!  

Your blog will come with some basic layout templates that you can choose.  Chose one that you like and use it.  You will most likely have some options to do some easy customization as well.  You can get into some of the more “complicated” customization and fine tuning later.  

START WRITING!  
BOOM!  You’re writing your first blog post.  What do you want to talk about?  Here was our first blog post.


BONUS – If you were inspired by this blog to start your own, you could give us a little shout out in your first post, we wouldn’t mind at all.  Make sure to link us as well –> http://www.jimjessbaker.com 

TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT! 
Use your social media outlets (facebook and twitter) to tell people about your blog.  Don’t overwhelm them.  Twice a day is probably enough, once in the morning and once in the evening.  Or since you’re just starting out, you can send out an e-mail to people that you know and encourage them to check it out!  


Engage: Did you start a blog?  Leave us a link in the comments and we’ll check it out and comment!  

3 writing tips guaranteed to help people read what you’re writing.

Bad menu spelling | Taken May 2008 | sd870 
I’ve been sending out a monthly e-mail update since 2003.  Here are 3 things I’ve learned along the way… 

1.  KEEP IT SHORT – Shorter is better.  
When I first started, I used to send out lengthy, multiple paragraph e-mails.  Now I send out an e-mail with a few large photos and a couple of sentences of text.  

If my blog post is getting to long, I break it up into multiple posts.

2.  DIRECT THE VIEWERS EYE – This is actually something that I learned in photography, but it completely applies here too.
It’s your responsibility to show the reader what is IMPORTANT.  Accent the main ideas.

You can do this by USING CAPS, bolding, italicizing, underlining and using a larger font size.  
3.  USE PHOTOS – They say a photo is worth a thousand words.  
I don’t know if thats true or not, but having a photo or two will hopefully help capture your readers attention enough that they will stick around and read what you have to say. 


Your reader will probably: 
– Look at the photo first.  
– Read whatever you have directed them to (step #2!) 
– Then if they are still interested read the surrounding words.  

Engage: Do you have any other tips on making your writing more readable?  Tell us in the comments!

5 important blogging strategies I implemented last week

Photo from the Brigade N-Counter weekend April 2011
Last week I got really gung ho about blogging.  Here are some of the strategies I’ve implemented this past week, and my thoughts on them…

Have you started blogging yet?  3 reasons you should start blogging 

Frequencey – Last week I posted 5 blogs in 5 days. 


History and Data: 
In 2011 I only posted 2 blogs the whole year.  
I had a 1200 pageviews in 2011.  
In 2010 I posted 77 times 
I had 13,585 pageviews in 2010.  
In 2009, I posted 52 times in 3 months
I had 7,568 pageviews in that 3 months of 2009.
   
I think there is a definite correlation between the amount you blog and the amount of page views you get, but finding that sweet spot is pretty important.  I felt productive and enjoyed blogging every day last week, but I’m not sure its sustainable.  I’m also afraid that 5 posts a week will overwhelm and fatigue my “audience.”  


This week I will trying posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  


Bit.ly – I’ve been using bit.ly to share the links to my blog.  


Using this service allows me to see, how many people are clicking on each link.  If I just used a normal link I wouldn’t be able to see that information.  Using bit.ly links inside the post also allows me to see if people are interacting with the page and clicking on links that I’ve placed throughout the post. 


Data: 
33 people clicked on my link to Monday’s post.  
387 people clicked on the link to Tuesday’s post.   
43 people clicked on my link to Wednesday’s post.  
113 people clicked on my link to Thursday’s post.  
16 people clicked on my link to Friday’s post.   


Push MarketingUsing the word marketing sound so crass.   


I have been sending links to my blog posts twice a day on twitter, which then pushes to my facebook.  I have been using hoot suite to schedule these tweets.  

We also send out monthly e-mail updates.  Usually I send these out as a pdf, this time I simply wrote our update and put it on our blog.  I then sent our update e-mail with a link to the blog.  


E-mails were sent to people for Tuesday and Thursday’s posts and had a much higher view count.  The links to Monday, Wednesday and Fridays posts were only posted to twitter and facebook.  They  had a much lower view count.  


Jump – A lot of successful blogs use a jump.  
A jump only shows the top of your blog post on the index page and to read the whole thing you have to click to continue reading it all.  For thursday and fridays post I posted with a jump and plan to continue to do this from now on.  


Using a jump cleans up your index page.  


It also REALLY makes me focus on my lead paragraph, making sure that I’m writing something that is hopefully enticing enough to get someone to keep reading.  


Writing and formatting – What you write and how its presented 

I am trying to make sure:
–  The title says what the post is about in an enticing way 
–  The title is SEO friendly  
–  The opening paragraph is strong 
–  The conclusion gives a strong call to action 
–  The conclusion gets people thinking and hopefully interacting  
–  There is no real unnecessary information in the post  
–  That the post is formatted so its easily scannable


Engage:  What strategies have you seen blogs use that keep you coming back and interacting?  Tell us in the comments.  
Megan McCormackMarch 5, 2012 - 8:27 am

Good encouragement! I tend to get pretty behind with posting about my trip so it’s helpful – Thanks!

jimjessbakerMarch 5, 2012 - 10:33 am

great! glad it helped, keep blogging!

Nina Michelle CraigMarch 5, 2012 - 2:53 pm

hmm. I haven’t tried a jump before.  That might be nice to tidy up my home page, since some of my posts are pretty lengthy.  Thanks for the tip!!

jimjessbakerMarch 5, 2012 - 3:03 pm

Try the jump let me know what you think!

2 lessons I learned while driving around in the rain | Part 2

Howard County Police taken in 2007 

Wednesday on my way from hanging out with Mike to my next appointment I was driving and ended up in a right hand turning lane.  There was a car in front of me, and then a bus in front of that car…  


This is Part 2 of this post: Read part 1 here.

The bus was trying to get from the right hand turning lane into the straight lane.  I was far enough back that I could see that this was going to slow things down, so I cut into the shopping plaza on my right and cut through there to make my right turn.  Once I’m there I see two cop cars with their lights on about 10 car lengths ahead of me in the right lane.  I made sure to get over to the left lane while I could.

This reaffirmed to me that: 

Being aware of what is ahead, allows you time to more easily avoid a road block.  The longer you wait, the harder it gets to make necessary changes.  

Consequences:  If I would not have seen the bus and been aware of what it was trying to do, I would have been stuck behind it, and had to wait until all of the traffic going straight passed so that the bus could get into the center lane.  Then I would be free to make my right turn.  

If I would have not seen the police officers stopped in the right lane I would have ended up right behind them and had to wait for all of the cars that were in the left lane to pass before I could get in that lane.  

The longer time you spend getting closer to a road block the harder it is to make a change.  

On a Personal Note: 
If I don’t do something about my weight now, its going to be a lot harder to do something about it later.  Keep praying.  

Our Pastor, Jay, recently encouraged us to “fast forward the consequences.”  That simple visualization has really impacted me.

Engage:  What potential road block do you see that you need to avoid now rather than later?  Is it a relationship?  Is it a daily habit?  Let us know in the comments. 

jim baker
Joanbn125January 15, 2013 - 4:07 am

Is it legal to pass through a shopping plaza or gas station to make a right turn??? hmmmm???

jimjessbakerJanuary 16, 2013 - 3:01 am

i don’t think so…

Hawaii 2012: the details YOU want to know.

Oahu – 2008 – taken with a canon sd870

So if you missed our announcement we’re moving to Hawaii in 10 days to staff YWAM’s School of Biblical Studies.  
Got questions?  Here’s some answers for you… click continue to read more –>

sorry if my draft of this post showed up in your RSS

How did this come about?  
Jim has been in and out of YWAM since 2003 and Jess since 2008.  We both were students in YWAM Kona’s SBS I (school of biblical studies) in the fall of 2008.  

This past December we were approached by the new school leader, who was a student with us in 2008.  She asked us to prayerfully consider coming on staff for the April 2012 School of Biblical studies. 

What is YWAM?  
YWAM is an acronym for Youth With A Mission.

YWAM is an international, interdenominational Christian missions organization.  It was founded in the 1960’s by Loren Cunningham who had a vision to see young people released into the mission field.  (This was something that was not happening during that time.)

It currently has over 1000 operating locations in 180 countries.

Their mission statement is: “To know God and make Him known.”

You can read more about the organization from their website.

How long will you be there?  
Staff training starts March 12th 2012, with the school starting on April 2nd.  We leave Maryland March 10th which happens to be Jess’ birthday.  The school ends December 19th 2012.  We are not exactly sure when we will return to the mainland but we will definitely be back in early 2013.


Where exactly will you be?  
We fly into Honolulu (Oahu) on March 11th.  We will spend the first 4 months in Honolulu and will move to Kona which is on the Big Island sometime in July.  We will be living on the YWAM bases in those locations.

Didn’t you start a ministry in Maryland in July of 2011?  What is happening with that?  
We did!  The Bakers Ministry // REMAIN was started as a 501c3 in July of 2011.


We formed a board of Trustees and have been meeting on a regular basis.  

We also started a weekly bible study and a weekly worship and prayer gathering.  We have spent intentional time with two members of this group and seen evident leadership qualities in both of them.   We have been overseeing these leaders for the past two months while they lead and we feel confident that they are ready to lead on their own!

How did you make your decision to do this?  
On December 11th 2011 we were approached and asked to pray about the possibility of coming on staff.  On January 5th 2012 we met with the board of trustees for our ministry and discussed this opportunity.  The board members raised a lot of good questions for us to answer.  Jess and I then went on a weekend retreat focused mainly on making this decision.

The question that we wrestled most with is how does this make sense to leave what we have started here in Maryland?  

The conclusion that we felt at peace about is that we are leaving for a short amount of time, in the grand scheme of the long term ministry that we want to have in Maryland.  We also want to partner with YWAM by bringing some sort of YWAM presence to the Columbia MD area.  Partnering with a larger organization will be of much greater benefit to us than simply trying to do this on our own.  By going back into YWAM we will be gaining further biblical and leadership training and making necessary connections with other leaders in the organization.  

Our decision to even apply was not finalized until January 19th 2012 at the conclusion of our ministries board meeting with a unanimous vote to apply.  

We were officially accepted on February 9th 2012.   

What are you going to be doing out there?  
Jim will be overseeing and leading worship, prayer and intercession and local outreach for the School of Biblical studies for the full 9 months of the school.  

Jess will be academic staff for the New Testament portion of the school and then a student for the Old Testament.  The duties of academic staff will be to meet with students, grade their work and also prepare and teach some of the classes.

I’m sure we might go to the beach a few times too.  :)

How do you get paid?  
YWAM is a volunteer organization.  Everyone in the organization from the founder on down raises their own funding.  

We currently have a team of people that recognize our calling, believe strongly in what we are doing and what we want to continue to do and are generously donating to our ministry on a monthly basis.  We currently have monthly donors giving from anywhere from $10 a month to $400 a month.  

We will also continue to look for photography work while we are in Hawaii which we use to supplement our income.  

If you are interested in partnering with us financially please let us know.  If you want to give a one time gift you can use the paypal donate button below.  All donations are tax deductible.  You will be giving to the BAKERS ministry 501c3 to help us with our living expenses while we are serving with YWAM.  




If you are interested in partnering with us on a monthly basis please contact us at jimjessbaker (at) gmail (dot) com.  We will get you an ACH form so that your donation will be deducted automatically from your bank account once a month.  

Missions in Hawaii?  Aren’t you suppose to go to Africa?  
We’ve been to Africa.  Besides sending out missionaries, YWAM also runs training schools that aim to equip people to be more effective in their ministry wherever they are.  It just so happens that YWAM’s main base is in Hawaii.  We are working with the training aspect of the organization.  

You move around a lot, do you have ants in your pants?  Really what’s that about?  
It’s true, we do move around a lot, this will be our third move in less than 3 years of marriage.  And even when we are “home” we still do a lot of travelling.  In 2011 we put over 22,000 miles on our car.  This was the biggest reasons we switched over to synthetic oil.  This allows us to change our oil every two months instead of one.  😉  

We believe that life is about two things.  Loving God, and loving people.  We believe that God has called us to live a unique lifestyle that allows us to be available to go where He calls us to go, when He calls us to go.  So we are being obedient to what we believe the Lord is calling us to.  In hindsight, we can see clearly that everywhere we have gone, God has sent us there to invest in relationships with people.  

Am I expected to live like you two?!  
Nope.  Jesus model for life and ministry was to only do what He saw the Father do.  (John 5:19-20)  Our hope is that you would find peace in being obedient to whatever the Lord is calling YOU to do.  He created us each, with a unique calling and then gave us an unique personality, talents and giftings to fulfill that call.  Ask Him if you’re walking in the fullness of what He has for you.  If He tells you you are right on track, then find such peace in being obedient and don’t live by comparison to anyone.  If He tells you to pack up, sell your house, and move to a third world country, then we encourage you to be obedient because God’s plan is the best plan for your life.  

You probably know if there are areas that you need to obey Him in.  We’ve learned along the way that its a lot easier to obey Him if you TRUST Him.  Trusting Him and His plan is always best, because He always has our best interest in mind.  Trust is something that is built.  It would be much harder for us to trust God on the level that we trust Him today, five years ago, or even one year ago.  We’ve walked through a lot individually and as a couple, we’ve stepped out in faith many times and every time we’ve seen God’s constant miraculous provision for our lives.  Each time we experience His provision for us, it gets easier to trust Him with bigger things.  

Jesus tells us to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and then promises us that He’ll take care of the rest.  (Matt 6:25-34)  We feel like God has told us to do our part (seeking first the kingdom) and He promises that He will do His part.  He has and continues to do so.  


What do you plan to do when you’re done in  Hawaii?
The school ends on December 19th 2012 and I’m sure we will have to stay on a couple days after students leave for staff debrief.  We are not sure if we will stay in Hawaii for Christmas and New years yet, it depends a lot on the price of air fare.  

Our plan as of now, since we will have not seen family for almost a year, we would like to take some time to travel and see family upon arrival to the mainland.  Our family is spread out all over the east coast so we will be doing some travelling.  We would like to take our time doing this, making sure we are spending quality time with family, and visit some friends along the way.   

We will then make our way back to Columbia Maryland, look for work, look for a place to live and continue and expand the ministry we have started.  


How can we be praying for you? 
Pray for the typical things, safe travel and good health.  

Jess and I really want to make some serious lifestyle changes when it comes to our health.  Being outside in Hawaii without a car will naturally make us more active.  Pray that we could get in a good exercise routine and eat healthily consistently as a lifestyle change.

Pray that we would get the FULLNESS of what God has for us during this time.  Pray that same thing for the students we will be serving!  

Pray that supernatural unity would happen in our school amongst staff and students.

Pray for our bible study and worship night in Maryland that will be continuing.  

Pray for a releasing of continued provision.  

Pray for doors to open in the area of photography so that we could make some money that way.  

Pray for a smooth transition to Hawaii, we’ve got ten days to pack up and move.  

Pray for a smooth transition back to the mainland in 2013.  We will need to find a place to live and jobs.  


What are some of your NEEDS?
We have a list of needs and even a list of wants if you would like that list to be able to pray or give specifically please let us know.  


Can I come visit?!
Absolutely!  Let us get settled in a bit first.  I think visiting us on the Big Island will be your best bet, but let us look into some options once we get there.  


Engage:  Have a question we didn’t answer?  Unclear about something?  Ask it in the comments section and we will respond!  


jim baker 

Bill & NilaMarch 1, 2012 - 12:06 pm

Happy  birthday Jess & congratulations and blessings in your new call.  Whenever I (We)  moved  years ago in my calling as a pastor I never thought of it as “leaving someplace”  but always  “a call to a new vision.”  Because of Jesus,   Bill & Nila

jimjessbakerMarch 1, 2012 - 12:09 pm

thanks Pastor Bill!  I’m glad God moved us up to NY/PA in 2009 so we could meet you and Nila!  – jim baker 

Nina Michelle CraigMarch 3, 2012 - 6:52 am

Yay! We are so excited for you guys!  I just wanted to say if you have any insurance needs, you should REALLY check out 
http://www.samaritanministries.org/ .  It’s an awesome group of believers helping to bear the burden of one another.

Here’s a post where I talk about it & our unexpected medical expenses & OVERPRICED health insurance.  :) 
http://ninathemom.blogspot.com/2011/12/longest-story-of-your-life.html

jimjessbakerMarch 3, 2012 - 7:08 am

thanks! i’ll for sure check that info out!