Followers

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Ministry Follow-Up

Has it already been more than 8 months since my last blog? How can that be? Where has the year gone?

Just over 8 months ago I wrote my last entry. A young couple was being forced out into the cold with their barely school-age son. Where are they now and what came of that midnight call?

Without giving too many details here, they are living in the home provided, have updated it extensively and remodelled inside, they are regular and active members of the congregation, they are now an integral part of our web-presence as a congregation, and they are serving as an example to other young couples of what happens when you put your life into God's hands without holding back. And if that isn't enough, there was a new spiritual awakening to ministry within the hearts of this young couple on the fringes of our influence as a church.

And I didn't even mention yet that this young husband and father is an avid chef and gaming enthusiast. Why is that significant? He is using his cooking skills to help engineer a young families outreach and his computer savvy to build and set up a new computer system to run the church assemblies video and sound controls. In our small congregation, those skills are unique to this young man and desperately needed as we seek to minister in the 21st century to a community of people otherwise largely unaffected and unreached by our membership.

There are opportunities galore beginning to arise from seeds sown more than a year ago, as well as opportunities arising to minister more and more to the younger people we will need to pass on the torch, so to speak, because many of our members are aging and slowing down a bit, several of whom have been members since the congregation began back in the late 1940's.

The work is slow going, mostly because we are all part-timers in a sense. We are living and learning ministry again in a time when we do not have a paid staff of full-time workers. What we are learning so far is this: God will use us if we will trust Him and do whatever we can each day. Even a weak effort can have terrific results because of God's answers to our prayers.

2008 rapidly approaches and is just a few days away. What will be our story or stories this new year? Only God knows for certain. But we already know that as we give our lives in ministry, the results are always greater than expected when we put our trust in God.

Rely on the hope you have in Jesus.
Put the full weight of your trust in Him.
Love deeply and genuinely and do not stop loving no matter what.

2008 ... another adventure approaches. To God be the glory!

3 comments:

JD said...

Glenn, we never know what good we do when we take the risk of helping others. This time you are able to witness the joy of it all ... sometimes we are not. Our decision is not about what we can see, but what God can do...whether we see it or not. Keep up the great work!

Candle (C & L) said...

Glenn - Nice update - particularly liked the follow-up and the account of how God has worked in this familiy's life.

God Bless
Charlie

Glenn Ziegler said...

Thanks JD and Charlie. It is stories like this one that make ministry exciting and fulfilling. Sometimes it takes a while to see the fruit, but it is great to know it grows even when we aren't able to see it.