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Ministry is an interesting idea. Its birthed out of an obedience to follow where God leads and live as Christ lives. It is giving attention to that which is external to yourself. It is multifaceted and multidimensional, and it changes you as you produce change; growth with growth. However, it is also something that must itself be grown; it cannot be forced or faked, it takes time to develop.
We have always said that it was our desire to serve as missionaries. My creed since college has been, “Wherever, Whenever, Whatever,” meaning that I desire to serve God wherever He leads, whenever His calls, doing whatever He asks. Since our move to Windermere, we have been seeking to grow our ministry opportunities, and we now find ourselves with answered prayers. In every arena of life where we feel called to extend the blessings we’ve been given, we now have those “ministry occasions.”
Emily is meeting with not only the dorm girls, but she is both continuing her discipleship with Sandy and beginning a Bible study with women in our neighborhood. Our friends from JC expressed eagerness for us to continue our weekly Bible study with them, and we are equally blessed to study God’s Word with them as a couple.
There is a ministry within the home that must remain priority for the Christian minister with a family. Micah is reaching the age where he is understanding more about the truths of God and working through his own grasp of obedience, not simply because its what Mommy and Daddy says so, but because its what God desires. Just a moment ago, he came up to me and asked if I would read more Bible stories with him. We take great joy in serving our family, as it is perhaps the greatest ministry the Lord has given us.
Here at the school, I will have the privilege of discipling the 7th and 8th graders in spiritual development. We will be looking at what it means to be controlled by the Spirit and how we live the Christ-life in our world today. I also have the joy of continuing in my chaplain responsibilities, multiplied with teaching the High School’s Religious Knowledge courses.
And finally, just this past week, the elders of our local church came over to our house to sit down with me and inquire if I would consider joining the leadership of the church. So now, in addition to my occasional opportunities to preach in various churches, I will be on the rotation for regular preaching on Sunday mornings and teaching on Wednesday evenings.
As the Lord has filled our plates with opportunities for ministry we recognize that these joys have taken time to develop, and it is our prayer that we will follow the example of our Lord’s faithfulness, that we too might be seen as faithful in all we do. We also recognize that these opportunities are given and not created. They have come from God’s gracious work to use us for His purposes and through the sending and supporting of our church families. For this we praise Him and pray to Him for wisdom and endurance to be His light, wherever, whenever, with whatever!