Next Stop…

Nailah and I drive from Nashville to New Jersey to visit family and friends every year. It is a long 14-hour drive. We have our routine…pack our bags the night before, pick up snacks (road trip=Cosmic Brownies) and stay up way too late for our early morning departure. We get on the road between 3am-5am and have the next 14-hours of fun time in the car. It’s amazing that we never fight on a road trip! We could easily hop on an airplane and make it there in 3 hours but for us, it is more about our experience and the time we have together on the drive than it is about getting to the destination.

I often use the term journey when describing life events. It sounds cliché but it is an accurate description. According to Merriam Webster, a journey is “an act of traveling from one place to another”. In life, we are here on earth, traveling to our eternal home. As with every journey, there are stops along the way. Sometimes you stop for a brief moment, other times you linger a little longer or stay a few days. Maybe there is construction and you have to take a different route or you catch a flat tire and have to stop for repair. It’s all part of what makes the journey.

Ten months ago, my new journey began. I sensed God calling me from my position at my church into ‘the next thing’. At the time, I didn’t know what He was calling me to, but I knew this was the next step. After I took this huge leap of faith, the Lord opened the door for me to apply and be accepted into a one-year ministry residency program at another local church. The ministry residency is similar to a medical residency in that it is a real-life, hands-on training ground for people going into full-time ministry.
As a support-based ministry position, I am responsible to raise 100% of the funds needed for the work I will be doing, which includes my salary for 1 year.

What does it mean to raise support? Support raising means partnering with others to move together toward a common vision. It is a way to bring together needs and resources. In my case, the vision of the local church I will be a part of, Brentwood Baptist Church, is to change our communities through multiplying the impact of churches in our area by raising up future leaders, starting regional campuses and partnering with existing churches and people groups for the sake of the Gospel. The journey toward reaching others for Christ may look different in every ministry situation, but the destination is the same.

For the past 4 months, I have been meeting with people, sharing the vision for this ministry and inviting people to invest themselves through prayer and financial support. Some folks have invested by giving a certain amount each month while others have given a one-time donation or a special gift.

I started at 0.5% of my goal, then sat at 4% for several weeks. I was discouraged for a while but never questioned that this is what God was calling me to. However, I was letting my discouragement and fear keep me from doing what I was supposed to do, then the Lord said, “Are you going to do this thing or nah?” I know He would keep up His end of the bargain, so I had to step up my game. I asked a group of ladies to gather around me for prayer and to continually pray through this process. Shortly after that, as I did my part, I watched the Lord touch people’s hearts, align them with this ministry vision and encourage others to make a financial investment. The support began coming in so quickly, I couldn’t send out thank you notes fast enough. Five weeks later, I am at 51% of my support goal!!!!

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

This has definitely been a stretching and testing season. I have literally lived month-to-month not knowing how each month’s expenses were going to be paid. But! Anyone who knows God knows He has provided every time! This entire experience has, and is, growing my faith tremendously.

Today, I begin packing in preparation for our move into the ministry-providing housing next Saturday. Please pray for continued support over the next several weeks as my target date for reaching 100% is August 31, 2015.

Here we go! I’m going to grab some Cosmic Brownies and get ready for the ride!

Pray for Nailah as she begins her senior year of high school and prepares to make college choices.

Pray for the communities we are going to be serving.

Pray for more partners in ministry. In order to reach my support goal, I need to raise $1773 more in monthly giving.

Please let me know if you would like to learn more about this ministry or are interested in joining my Love in Action team. I would love to talk by phone or meet for coffee!