By Richard Greene, Keystone Project President
The vision and mission of the Keystone Project is to establish God's kingdom (or rule) by facilitating the launching of movements of multiplying disciples, especially among the most unreached and unengaged people groups in the world. This vision and mission has taken us to many nations with a strategic focus to identify, train, equip, and coach apostolically gifted leaders to intentionally impart the genetic code of Christianity (1 John 1:1-4) into the lives of a few selected and prepared disciples, knowing that the result will be multiplied movements of disciples and churches. As our movements have grown, so has the need to expand our training ministry to our leaders, many of whom have had little or no formal Bible or ministry training apart from that which they have received from us through the Keystone Project. Our training scenarios in the past two years have typically been limited to 1-5 days of vision casting and basic mission instruction (e.g., how to identify, train, and multiply disciples). These shorter programs are an excellent way of identifying the right kind of leaders among whom to invest our time and training. However, these trainings have not been sufficient to allow us to fully equip these leaders to guide maturing movements of thousands of disciples and churches. I have been in constant prayer about this, asking the Lord to help us develop a more complete training program.
In December 2009 I was notified of an enormously generous donation made to the Keystone Project by the couple who had been the prime benefactors of our training ministry in Keystone, SD. They had not only hosted the training at their luxury hotel in the small town where Mt. Rushmore is located, they also paid for the entire costs of transporting the leaders from their countries to the US. In sacrificial obedience to the Lord, this couple had begun construction of a 26,000 square foot building, which they envisioned as a conference and training center, with a special focus on prayer and strategic equipping of church leaders from around the world. I must confess that our initial reaction to the donation was to turn it down. We were in our infancy as an organization at that time, with 2 full-time staff (myself and Gerald Steele) who were traveling the world to train leaders. We did not have the time, the staff, the money, or the means to possess and properly utilize such a structure, especially as it was not yet completed. I know I will embarrass them by saying this, but the vision and faith of the donors far exceeded mine and the ministry center was deeded over to the Keystone Project along with the hotel, the Rushmore Express. The board of directors of the Keystone Project immediately began seeking the Lord to explore our options. Some board members were rightfully concerned that these properties could divert focus and finances from our mission. We considered a number of options including selling the properties, returning them to the donors, or giving them to another ministry. I even attempted to meet with another ministry several times to discuss transferring the properties to them, but was unable to get a meeting with them scheduled. I will never forget our first board meeting in which the donors pleaded with us to accept these beautiful properties. Imagine a donor having to convince a ministry to receive millions of dollars of property! Wisely, we sought the Lord and trusted He was in control. In fact, while I was praying for a way to expand our training program, I never considered that properties or money would be a factor. I was focused on staff and curriculum and training processes. The Lord's answer was far more complete than I had ever dreamed.Since we received the ministry center and hotel we have seen the Lord's hand of blessing on us in an exciting way. He has provided for every financial need, connected us with many new people and ministries, and confirmed His plans for the properties with visions, dreams, prophetic words from the Scriptures, and an ever increasing faith in Him to do above and beyond anything we can conceive. This winter, three staff members moved to Keystone, SD to begin the process of transitioning management of the Rushmore Express to the Keystone Project. They have also done much work on the first floor of the ministry center - enough, in fact, to allow us to begin weekly worship and prayer meetings there in conjunction with a local ministry. Our goal is to conduct training programs in the center between May and September, including two one-month international programs. The ministry center will play a central role in helping the Keystone Project fulfill its mission to identify, train, and equip leaders to launch disciple-making movements by providing a dedicated site for deeper, more intensive and comprehensive training. It will allow us to move from our current 1-5 day leadership discovery training mode to a more complete training program. The following is a mission statement for use of the ministry center:"The Keystone Project Ministry Center (KPMC) will serve the vision and mission of the Keystone Project as it is used in the following ways: (1) as a primary training, equipping, and coaching center for missionaries and leaders who are called to launch disciple-making movements among unreached people groups in the nations, (2) as an administrative center for the Keystone Project staff to develop resources, training materials and content, and to conduct global communications with our leaders, (3) as a strategic prayer center for continual intercessory spiritual warfare prayer, (4) as a research center for the development of Spirit-led strategies to reach the nations, (5) as a resource center for the development of Keystone Project training in various media, (6) as a missional outreach to local and regional families and communities, (7) as a Christian holistic retreat center for those in need of spiritual, emotional, and physical care and rest, (8) as a retreat center for missionaries, churches, mission agencies, leadership teams, and focus groups, and (9) as a center for Christian conferences and events."Those attending our training programs at the ministry center will stay at the Rushmore Express (www.rushmoreexpress.com), which has 84 rooms, many of them beautifully furnished luxury suites, an indoor pool, exercise room, and conference facilities in the exotically adorned Safari Room. We are in the process of moving the hotel into a non-profit supporting organization - 509 (a) (3) - known as "Keystone Project Services, Inc." This will allow the hotel to function as a for-profit business while donating all profits to the Keystone Project. In the meantime, we have much work to do to complete the construction of the ministry center. We have a construction coordinator onsite and hope to host volunteer teams who would like to donate time and labor for the project. While the project is massive, we are neither daunted nor overwhelmed. Our God is able to do this and more! The magnitude of this project has reinforced our kingdom core values, especially our belief that we must not walk in the wisdom of men but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is that all of this will be done by the Lord in such a way that He will receive the glory and honor that belongs only to Him. We delight in the impossible, knowing it will unleash the supernatural and exalt the Name which is above every name, the Name of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!If you are ever in Keystone, S.D. please feel free to visit these wonderful properties. I know you will sense the favor and presence of the Lord in a special way.Learn more about the Keystone Project Ministry Center
