Message from Andrew

Dear Partners and Friends,

I have a HUGE announcement to make, and because you’re one of our partners who has made this worldwide ministry possible, I wanted you to be among the first to hear.

I just turned seventy-five in April, and we had an awesome celebration here at AWM and Charis. If you haven’t seen the performance my staff put together yet, you can visit awmi.net/birthday to watch it. I guarantee it will make you smile. We had a great time.

Now, on to the big news. The HUGE announcement concerns a legacy move regarding Charis and how we plan to carry this life-transforming ministry into the next generation.

I know many of you only connect with this ministry through our television broadcasts or products, but Charis is a big part of what the Lord has called me to do. I won’t be on TV forever, but Charis is positioned to be around for generations, not only here in the U.S. but around the world.

Just as Moses asked the Lord who was going to follow him in Numbers 27:15–17, Jamie and I asked the Lord to show us who to pass this baton of Charis Bible College to. This is a very important decision that we have put a lot of prayer into and sought counsel for.

We actually started this process seven years ago when I called some of my leadership team together and sought their counsel in deciding what to do as I get older. I plan on living a long, healthy life, but I am aware that each one of us has an expiration date, and I don’t want my promotion to glory to cause any problems because of a lack of preparation.

After four years of asking the Lord to guide our steps in this, Jamie and I decided that Mike and Carrie Pickett are the ones the Lord has anointed for this role. We shared this with our board of directors, and they all unanimously agreed that the Picketts are the ones the Lord has appointed to take Charis into the future. We shared this with Mike and Carrie three years ago, and we have been coaching and preparing them for that transition ever since.

I decided that the celebration of Charis’ 30th anniversary is the ideal time to make this public.

Just to clarify, I’m not retiring. I’m going to continue doing everything I’m doing now and more. I plan to live a long, healthy, and productive life. So, while I’m not stepping down, the Picketts will gradually assume more and more of the daily decision-making and leadership responsibilities of Charis.

In fact, this transition has already been underway over the last three years. Charis is a huge ministry with fifty-three locations in twenty-two nations. I haven’t been managing this by myself. Mike and Carrie have been integral to Charis leadership for nine years. Things will continue transitioning as they have been, but at an accelerated pace and now with more people recognizing their pivotal role in shaping the future.

Many of you are already familiar with Mike and Carrie. We’ve been giving them more and more visibility in our ministry over the last few years. But regardless of whether you know much about them or not, Jamie and I both assure you that they have our DNA and are the perfect couple for this next step.

I’ve known Carrie since she was ten years old. After graduating from Charis, Carrie spent sixteen years as a missionary in Russia. It was there that she met Mike. Together, they led our ministry in Russia, making significant strides such as securing spots on Russian TV, translating our literature, opening and operating our Russian office, and directing our Russian Charis Bible College. Their impact was profound, touching thousands of lives, and the ripple effects of their discipleship are still felt by thousands more today.

They had very little help from us in those early days and learned invaluable lessons about trusting the Lord to be their provider in every area. For the past nine years, they have been back in the States helping us, and everything they have touched in the ministry has prospered.

I remember when we invited them over to our home to share with them that we believed the Lord had anointed them to take Charis into the future. They knew that was where the Lord was leading them, but they made it clear that if we ever changed our minds, they would be glad to step back and let someone else lead. They just want to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He wants them to.

That attitude is pure gold. That’s the heart and attitude Jamie and I have, and we believe that the Lord will give them grace because of that humble attitude (1 Pet. 5:5).

So, please rejoice with us over this milestone in our ministry, and pray for Mike and Carrie and their two children, Elliana and Michael, as they move into a ministry position that is literally impacting the world. They recognize the magnitude of this responsibility, but they also know that they can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13) and have consistently proven their trust in the Lord to do just that.

I’m excited about this. Charis would never have gotten to the place it is today without the contribution of Mike and Carrie, and I’m confident they will take it to new heights of influence in the body of Christ.

I’ve often said that if your vision isn’t bigger than you, you haven’t truly got God’s vision for your life yet. AWM and Charis are way beyond Jamie and me. With just under 1,200 employees worldwide across twenty-two foreign AWM offices, our vision outgrew our abilities decades ago. One of the greatest blessings to us has been all the anointed, gifted, and totally awesome people the Lord has brought alongside us to help accomplish God’s vision. And Mike and Carrie are two of God’s best, and it is marvelous in our eyes that the Lord has put this together (Ps. 118:23).

I know you will be blessed.

Thank God for Jesus!

Andrew and Jamie