…..In short, you need a team!
I’m going to keep this short because there are more stories to tell. But in the middle of all these personal life events, it was a blessing to faciliate a 5 day workshop. I spent about 3 – 3 1/2 hours every night last week on zoom teaching from the word every night, providing some practical tools and perspectives in terms of spiritual formation and leadership development, and then I sent them into times of personal reflection and activities. I worked with a couple of people in country to coordinate small groups and while I was sleeping…they all met for 2 hours with a peer group each day to do some of the group processing activities I designed.
I’ll share 3 short highlights now:
- An intern who was not sure he wanted to go into full-time ministry or missionary work because of how tired he was from working all the time. He shared he realized finally that the joy of the ministry comes from the Father’s love – and that he doesn’t need to perform to gain the Father’s love like he’d been doing. That excited him to the point where he shared he wants to go to full-time ministry because He sees now how God wants to reveal Himself to people.
- A 60-year-old senior staff in the marketplace that was feeling run down and wondering if her best ministry was behind her encountered the Lord deeply in ways that generated powerful new dreams and excitement for how she believes God wants to use her to build spiritual movements in the Manila marketplace. “I may not be able to do as much as I used to, but I can have a deeper impact that multiplied may extend far behind what I’ve done before. I’m dreaming again!”
- A senior staff in his 40’s who messaged me privately the day after the conference. He and his wife had already re-watched the devotionals I gave and they were going through some of the exercises as a family. “This was just what we needed. Thank you for ministering to us in the place where we are in and reminding us of what ministry is all about!”
These are a few fun nuggets. More to come. But it’s always refreshing to help leaders, those who bear so many burdens for others, experience the Lord’s comfort first themselves (2 Cor 1:1-2). That becomes fuel for ministry and multiplication! Pray for them all as they launch the coming season of ministry in the next couple of weeks.
Thank you for praying with us and partnering with us!