A New Leaf

 

The sun is slowly beginning its comeback!  It now is coming up just after 7am and we have it until 5:30 in the afternoon!  Sunlight is a wonderful thing.

 

Texas Trip Recap

God's hand is in everything around us, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we like it or not.  This theme of the Bible has been shown to me again this week, and I see once again among life around us that God is at work.  The picture He is painting isn't quite clear yet, but His work is quite evident.  Let me show you how.

Last week Amanda and I were able to fly to Texas alone (immediately it hit the criteria as a date!) and visited churches all over the state to see who might be interested in partnering with us in this new work God is doing in Everett, Washington.  We spent most of our time with our beloved sending church and biggest supporter, Humble Area's First Baptist Church, speaking to various groups on Sunday morning.  We briefly spoke during both services in an invitational manner to see who might be willing to at least entertain the idea of doing one or all of the following:  joining our prayer team, coming on a mission trip, giving financially, becoming an intern with us for 6-12 months, or moving their family to Washington to join us.

It was a great morning and was a complete whirlwind as we saw old friends and made new ones, but the thing that really got my attention was what happened after church.  We were going to host a 30 minute session after the second service for anyone interested in Everett in any way.  Now typically people leave church as quick as they can after the service because they have hungry children and they themselves are hungry, and because it's usually 12:15 by that time.  We weren't offering any food or any other thing other than to provide information about Everett.  I was a bit concerned but just figured, "hey, God will do what He wants to do with this."

When that time came I was very surprised at the turnout.  We had somewhere between 30 and 40 people who came to hear us talk about how they could help.  We were given 30 minutes but as we gauged audience interest and answered questions, it stretched to nearly double that.  And nobody was looking at their watch, and nobody got up to leave.

Afterward we had a number of people commit to come to one of 3 mission trips to Everett, others committed to pray, still others wrote checks to cover the cost of some immediate needs we have, and several others came up to tell us they were considering moving to Everett.  Yes, people wanted to move to Everett to work with us.

Over the next few days we heard from people who had heard from the Lord who was telling them things like "step out of the boat and walk on water" or "take the risk."  So this very day we have people who continue to pray for us and who are continuing to consider what God might have them do about Everett. 

This really made me realize upon looking up that we had a great big pillar of cloud ahead of us, moving ahead.  You may recall in reading Exodus that the Lord took the form of a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night as He led the Israelites away from slavery and into His arms.  I sense Him doing something similar with us.  Yes we prayed prior to the trip and had others praying, yes we have been praying for people to partner with us in this new work God is doing, yes we believed He'd do these things one way or another at the time of His choosing.  But I am still in awe in times like this seeing that He has gone ahead of us.  We showed up for the trip and landed in Texas, but God really did it all.  I don't have the ability to stir hearts like He has. 

We were overjoyed the following Monday to begin talking with our friends at Humble Area's First about an idea of having a training program for anyone who was wanting to be sent into a mission field.  These individuals would, for a time, learn some ins and outs of ministry prior to being sent so that when they do go, they aren't starting from a blank slate.  Apparently God is doing something there as well because the idea had been on my mind for a few weeks and the pastors at the church also were thinking about it prior to us talking.  Once again, I don't have the ability to stir hearts like that.  The pillar of cloud was still ahead of us leading us on.

Later that week we were privileged to travel to Corpus Christi and Austin to speak to some other churches about partnering with us for the long term.  They are currently praying over that and considering what God would have them do.  We ended the trip by speaking to a youth group in Austin about what God wants from you when He calls you to a new work.

We headed home last Thursday both tired and excited.  We love Texas and loved getting to see so many of our friends, but we found we had missed home in Washington.  We missed the quirky people, the city, the weather (well...maybe not that), the everyday life that we have come to know there.  God has shown us that home is where He plants us, and He is there.  For us, that isn't Texas anymore.

What Happens Now

This week I will begin a rapid transition into some more formal training.  I will begin an apprenticeship at Lifepoint Church in Lynwood.  We are not going there to serve, rather we are there to observe, ask questions, and learn from church planters who have gone down the road we are on and seen some success.  I'm excited about it because it represents an opportunity to learn some more.  In being involved with ministry at EFC, I've learned a whole lot.  This will just be a continuation of the learning with a new church and a new perspective, always a valuable thing.

We still anticipate doing many outreach events in the coming months in preparation for a formal launch within 9-12 months.  Unresolved in my mind was where we would get the people to do the legwork for many of these events.  Now I know.  God is sending many from Texas to help, and we still have offers from EFC to help us out.  God has stirred hearts once more, and I am really feeling as though I need to think bigger than I have.

Isaiah 55:8-9

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

What we must be diligent to do here is to pray, asking the Lord to provide the resources we need when we need them.  We also must pray for those who are feeling God's call to the Northwest just as we did, that they would be courageous and faithful to follow.  We also must pray for the churches who are considering partnering with us, that the Lord Himself would choose who we will work with.  And at that, we leave things where they should be, in God's hands.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the ways in which you can participate in God's work in the Northwest, go to our website at www.everettpurpose.org/partner.