God continues to write his story through us, but are we willing to allow him to?
You have to know that I wasn't always an adventurous, up-in-front person. I was that shy kid who barely spoke when spoken to. I rarely traveled beyond a ten-block radius around my home. Most friends from that era who discover that I became a pastor are surprised. Or they're incredulous that I've been working in South America for twenty years. It doesn't fit who I was back in the day. But God is a God of the amazing and the impossible. Thank you to those who continue to support, not just my ministry, but the way God has manifested his grace and presence through me.
Thank you to those whose confidence in the Lord extends to invitations to speak. I was privileged to minister to the South Bay Presbyterian Church as their retreat challenge speaker, addressing the subject of the church's connection to its community.
As the New Year rolls around, I've been given the opportunity to share the missions vision in several JEMS-related churches. Please pray for my 2020 spring schedule:
January 19 - Orange County Christian Church
Jan 26 - Victory Fellowship, Torrance
Feb 9 - San Diego Japanese Christian Church
Feb 16 - West LA Holiness Church
Feb 23 - Crossroads Community Church, Mission Viejo
One of the blessings of guest speaking at churches is that I have the opportunity to see folks that I've not seen in probably decades. There were three with whom I was able to reconnect after first meeting them in my early years with JEMS. Jihi (below left), via the Scrum Dendo program and Curt and Claire, whom I pastored in San Diego and also partnered with via the JEMS Brazil Discovery program. Praise God for precious reunions!
Now about God writing his story through us . . .
In Philippians 3:10-11, the Apostle Paul writes, "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
What's he saying? That while salvation is the foundation for the rest of our lives, experiencing the transforming, resurrection power of God to do the unexpected is the means that God uses to write his story in us. It's that power that transforms a timid, stay-at-home kid, into someone who travels twelve hours by plane or sixteen hours across the South American continent by bus to share the good news of Jesus. God's gifting is marvelously able to fit us into places of service.
How is God writing his story through you? If the Great Commission is an indicator of the Father's heart to the world, how is it being expressed through us? As you look ahead to 2020, consider how you can be involved in the ministry of JEMS and of Pastor John:
(Click for your opportunity to partner financially with Pastor John)
(Click to begin your application for summer missions with JEMS South America, 2020)
Listen for God's voice
William Carey, called the father of modern missions said, "To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map." Won't you listen to God's heart?
