On The Mission

Written by: Herbert Bailey
 
 There are three things that I find God calling me to
 

1. Doing the work of the ministry locally
2. Training leaders, ministering to them
3. Developing new outreach opportunities and new leaders

 
        The first is handling the basic care of our community, from listening to transporting them to hospitals to introducing our community to a living hope in Christ.
 
       The second is to train and support our current leaders as they work diligently in the field, following up on multiple ministry opportunities as well as supporting their self-care.
 
      The third reason is to explore other areas where God is moving, as well as training new leaders and other ministry partners.
 
        I have found that doing work locally is a never-ending look at the Lord’s grace for my life. The lessons that I am learning about humility, and the lessons that I am learning about trusting God are priceless. What we have seen at the café is God working with not only the least of these, but with the practitioners of faith, the ones who have worked fearlessly in the field for years, coming in for a rest. They are encouraged that there is a safe place to exhale, where the pressure to perform is lifted and the reality of our human experience can be recognized.
 
      Some of the work of training other leaders is simply allowing them, or encouraging them to BE. BE-ing is difficult because we seemed to be hardwired to DO, and our value is measured by our output, our outcome. We push back against that notion with the reality that we are first, which solidifies our value, and from that place of being valued by God, through Jesus, we can then serve. This is not even taught as much as it is caught, simply being present in a place of low judgment, but a pace of high accountability.
 
      The side effect of that is people that visit, see the culture of God’s Kingdom, want to have that experience in their own local communities. We have and will continue to share what the Lord has given us, in way of materials, hands on training, internships, workshops, and most importantly, prayer. God’s Kingdom expands as we offer Him the honor and praise that He is due, get out of His way, and live out of the identity of temporary residents, agents of reconciliation. Team work makes the Kingdom work.