These past few weeks have been crazy busy. As I live out this life in full time ministry
I am blown away by how quickly time flies by and just how much God is doing in
this place. This past week I spent in
Minnesota with about 30 other church leaders.
It was a conference on church health.
The purpose of the conference was to teach, encourage, and equip
leaders. And I have to say I was
overwhelmed with blessing as I got just a glimpse of the hope and passion God
has put in these leaders’ lives.
What does it mean for a church to be “healthy” and “missional”? I just spent the past week at a conference
with lay leaders and pastors asking that very question. The answer?
According to the Evangelical Covenant Church, (ECC), “healthy” means
pursuing Christ and “missional” means pursuing Christ’s priorities in the
world. The ECC is committed to walking
beside churches as they seek to pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in
the world.
Here is the truth: God is already present and at work. A church does not need to invite ministry
opportunities, but seek Christ and seek His priorities in the world. Seek to serve where God is already
moving. There are times in the journey
of seeking God and being about God’s priorities that we can be discouraged, but
we are not in this alone. That is what
blew me away about this past week. The
ECC is committed to walking the pathway towards health with churches. There is HOPE! But it comes with intentionality and living
into the opportunities that surround us.
As I left Minnesota and came back to Nebraska I was more
than encouraged. I have been empowered
and again, given a sense of hope. I do
not know what my future ministry holds.
I do not know where I will be a year from now as seminary and my
internship come to an end. But I do know
that I will pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in the world and
before me will be a live and ministry that is healthy and missional.
