Every year in March, the leaders of various military ministries gather at the FCMM (Fellowship of Military Ministries) conference. Cadence recently brought a team of leaders (photo above) to San Antonio, Texas to connect, collaborate, and coordinate with other ministry leaders.

This event draws staff from CRU Military, Nav Military, OCF (Officers Christian Fellowship), MCYM (Military Community Youth Ministry), and other ministries with a heart for the military and their families. At the end of our gathering, MMN (Military Ministries Network) hosts a Community Dinner which includes all the conference attendees plus local pastors, lay leaders, chaplains, local military people, and anyone else with an interest in ministry to the military.

Joyce and I spoke at this closing event— what a joy to be in a room with people who are full of passion for God, His kingdom work, and the strategic and fruitful ministry to the military and their families.

Philippians 1:3-5 says, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Your partnership in the gospel: this describes well these ministries and the collaboration we seek as we minister to the military. This also describes you, our faithful prayer and financial partners.

This month we celebrate the heart of this gospel—the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Cadence could not take Jesus to the military without you joining us in this great purpose and ministry, and we are so grateful!

You also live and spread this gospel in your families, communities, and churches. I want to encourage you with the wonderful truth of I Corinthians 15:58.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

It’s not in vain, friends. Keep working for our resurrected Savior!

“There is so much uncertainty for military families right now. This is a very turbulent and strange place. The families feel this and are looking for connection and support. The Cadence model provides this really well.”

These are the words of Matt Snell, one of our newest missionaries serving with his wife Meredith and their family at the Ft. Drum Hospitality House in New York. The Snell family is no stranger to conflicts in our world as Matt is a retired Army infantry officer with four deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq (two each). They have lived amid uncertainty and turbulence. Because of the connection and support the Snells experienced from Cadence during Matt’s tours, they now feel privileged to provide this for current military people and their families.

I wish each one of you could see and experience the comfort and love that all our staff bring to people in their military communities in days such as these. It’s a tangible expression of the truth written by the Apostle Paul:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3–5

I know you are praying along with me for the country and people of Ukraine in these turbulent days. Like you, I am grateful for the worldwide outpouring of prayers, support, and love for this besieged country and its brave people. If you would like to participate in the Europe Cadence relief effort, please follow this link.

Would you also join me in praying for our military and their families? There is a strong sense of uncertainty among many as these traumatic events unfold and as they consider what their potential orders may be in the coming days. While we pray for peace, the military must always be prepared for possible conflict and battle.

Please also keep Cadence missionaries in your prayers as they come alongside those they minister to in their military communities. No matter what happens, the mission of Cadence to share the gospel and our lives with the military will remain steadfast. We will continue to provide places of connection, spiritual encouragement, and love for the military and their families.

We are so grateful for your prayers, support, and financial gifts which allow us to provide this ministry to the military community.

Thank you.

David Schroeder

“I’ve become a better leader and teacher because Ben trusted me with opportunities for both.”

A young soldier said this to me recently as we were visiting the Fort Hood Soldiers Hospitality House. Ben and Melody Bloker have directed this ministry for over six years and have seen countless lives, including this soldier, transformed by Christ.

Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas is one of the largest Army installations in the world with over 40,000 soldiers stationed there. The Cadence hospitality house is a beautiful 6,500 square foot home that sits on 16 acres. The grounds have a hiking path, a full size outdoor basketball court with lights, and a RV hookup area. It also has a pavilion for picnics, events and weddings, a play area for children, and even a few frisbee golf holes.

What makes this place a home, though, is the care and hospitality offered by Melody and Ben and their kids. They love the soldiers and their families well, and it shows!

Joyce and I were recently there to speak at a “Raise the Roof” fundraiser in which $36,000 was raised toward a new roof for the hospitality house. One of their soldiers is a gifted concert pianist, and he blessed the 60+ participants with an amazing and stirring concert of Christmas music (pictured above).

Fort Hood has a reputation for being a “dark place,” where soldiers can sometimes live in a challenging and difficult environment. It takes a team of servants to shine the gospel light in such a place, and Cadence has eleven staff on duty there. In addition to the hospitality house staff, our Cadence team members also teach men and women’s Bible studies, host retreats and day trips, serve on a chapel leadership team, take soldiers on work projects and mission trips, and are involved in numerous discipleship relationships.

All of that in conjunction and coordination with the local churches, parachurches, and chaplains makes for a place where love and the gospel are powerfully on the move in that military community!

Your gifts and prayers make this ministry happen. As we enter another year of life and ministry, I want to thank you on behalf of military people at Fort Hood and around the world for your partnership in the advancement of the gospel.

“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” Luke 2:7 NLT

The very entry of the Son of God into this world was a moment of unwelcomed displacement because there was “no lodging available for them.” In fact, this little family was on the road in flight to Egypt when Jesus was still very young.

Jesus was also born into an environment of hostility, darkness, and danger. As we softly sing, “Silent night, holy night; all is calm, all is bright” in this season, we also remember that in sending His Son into this dark, evil, and broken world, God the Father was declaring an act of war on Satan, his demons, and all the evil in this life. Light broke into darkness!

More so than just an unavailable room for lodging, the very forces of darkness and evil recoiled at His birth. He was far from welcome in this territory of their current dominion.

They had reason to fear, for Jesus’ birth swung open the door for all who would receive this gift to be welcomed into the family of God. This is the astonishing “good news that will bring great joy to all people.” Luke 2:10b

Years ago, one of our Cadence founders, Dotty Hash, wrote the book Fill These Rooms. In it she described her and her husband Tom’s prayers for God to bring military people into their home, one of the first OCSC Hospitality Houses, so they could share this good news. God answered their prayers then, and He has been bringing military people into Cadence homes ever since.

One of those places, the Kaiserslautern Hospitality House in Germany will celebrate 50 years of ministry in 2022. Fifty years of military people and their families filling those rooms and being transformed by Jesus!

Cadence has rented the same German home for all these years (see photo). Now God is opening the door for us to purchase this house and secure these rooms for ministry for many more years to come! After so many years of hospitality, the house now needs significant upgrades, improvements, expansion, and general TLC.

Would you like to be a part of this ministry by contributing an extra gift this year toward the K-Town House Renovation fund? If so, go to Cadence.org/KTown. Thank you for considering partnering with Cadence in this new season of ministry in this home.

Friends, as we celebrate the arrival of our Savior and as we share this good news of great joy, may your rooms, our rooms, Cadence hospitality house rooms, and the rooms of our hearts be filled with people who will be loved, welcomed, and enjoyed.

Not all welcomed Jesus upon His arrival, but by His life, death, and resurrection He’s provided the opportunity for all to encounter Him in life-changing redemption and community.

Thank you for being a significant part of filling Cadence rooms with military people.​

David Schroeder
President

Joyce and I really enjoyed our recent trip to visit our Cadence staff in Europe. We participated in their field-wide retreat as well as visited all our ministries and staff in Germany. What joy we experienced as we engaged in their gatherings, heard their stories and challenges, and had wonderful conversations with military people.

Most of our hospitality houses are full once again; indeed, some of them are overflowing with military people. All of them are teeming with a new appreciation and hunger for rich fellowship and deep community. The rooms of these homes are filled with love, joy, worship, Bible studies, and the lively chatter of renewed face-to-face relationships.

We also talked to chaplains who expressed gratefulness for their partnership with our Cadence staff in loving their military community.

In Wiesbaden, Germany, we heard a powerful testimony at the Cadence Summit Haus from a young woman in the Army whose life has been transformed by Jesus in these months of experiencing Him in the lives of that community of believers. She was baptized just a few weeks ago.

In Vilseck, Germany, we talked to two Soldiers who both have trusted Christ in the last 3–4 months.

In Spangdahlem, Germany, Joyce had a fascinating conversation with a young Air­man at the Cadence ministry, The Hangar. She had recently finished six weeks of service at Ramstein Air Base giving medical care to the displaced Afghanistan refugees who had been evacuated from that country. She spoke of the women and children in particular and how meaningful it was to be the arms and feet of Jesus to them in this time of change and challenge.

And how we enjoyed getting to know some of our new Cadence staff who just a few years ago had been in the military and participating in a hospitality house and now were loving and blessing military people in their own ministries.

Friends, your prayers and support are making a difference in the lives of military people around the world. Joyce and I were privileged once again to witness and experi­ence it first-hand, and we testify to you that lives are being transformed by Jesus!

In this month of Thanksgiving, we express to you our deep gratefulness for partnering with us in this vital and fruitful ministry.

David Schroeder
President