Welcome
While living in Aspen, Colorado, the majesty of the Rocky Mountains called Tanya into a deeper worship and intimacy with God. While searching for a name for her fledgling ministry, she reflected on this intimacy and chose Bigger Picture Ministries. Bigger Picture Ministries is a federally recognized 501(C) 3 Non-profit, and for the last five years it has been the banner under which Tanya conducted her extensive mentoring, teaching and speaking ministries. The name helps highlight a different perspective: From the base of the mountain we cannot see the whole picture - things are hidden from our view. But when we reach the summit, we can see things the way God can see them: in their entirety. God is always doing more in our lives than we can see, and unless we are aware of the existence of this “bigger picture” for our lives we can miss what God has planned for us. We can also become discouraged and blinded when sudden storms appear. Without this perspective our vision is impaired, limiting our ability to live a life of adventure and a commitment to becoming all that God would have us be.
Bigger Picture Ministries offers practical Bible teaching, spiritual direction, and personal mentoring inside the contexts of family, friends, faith, work, and play. Bigger Picture Ministries is about joining others in their journey and wondering about what God might be up to in them, or those around them, as they walk out their lives. When Tanya Youngling married Kent Whitaker in May of 2009, they also joined their ministries and expanded the Bigger Picture Ministries mission to include forgiveness, healing, restoration, and hope. In July of 2009 Kent was formally installed as a Co-Director with Tanya for Bigger Picture. Future projects include joint workshops on hope, story, reconciliation and healing, as well as collaborating on a new book.
In the romantic comedy Serendipity, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are separated after a chance meeting, with neither one knowing how to locate the other. Years later, they are finally reunited after a series of completely impossible coincidences. Cute movie, but you would say that such contrivance was impossible in real life.
The story of how we met would give Serendipity a run for its money. A match literally made in Heaven, I guess. If you are interested, here are links to two articles that we wrote about the amazing paths that brought us together. The first is from our wedding program and is called “But Not in Church!”, and the second is “The Tambourine of Hope”.