Hey you! I hope that when ever you are reading this, you are having a blessed day/night. It has been about a week or so since I last posted, and I thought I would share something that has happened since.
Since I arrived at ACU, I have been completely confident God is leading me towards ministry. However, I have never really had a passion for a specific form of ministry such as youth ministry, or full-time international missions, etc. I have been patiently waiting for God to make it clear where he wants me to be and what he wants me to do. I believe what ever he gives me a continuous passion for, in terms of ministry, that is what I am supposed to do.
On Saturday night, I went to a coffee shop in downtown Abilene to read some of The Ragamuffin Gospel (which was awesome). After having a good amount of reading time, I drove around town and had some personal time with God in prayer and worship. As I was singing in the car, a thought popped in my head.
That thought was about church planting.
I don't know if it was God speaking to me or my mind just thinking about something I never really thought of before, but I was suddenly filled with a passion I haven't felt before.
Being in Abilene, I have realized I am more of a city-person than I thought haha. Right now, nothing would be better than going into a city, with an amazing team God has assembled for me, and plant a church in the heart of a city.
It would be extremely tough, but right now, I really feel led to that when I get out of college. I want to be part of the Jesus movement in a city that desperately needs him. When I think of cities like that, I automatically think of Chicago and Milwaukee. Maybe that is where I will end up eventually.
I cannot help but think about the enormous Jesus-movement that is taking place in Seattle right now. Years ago, Seattle used to be the least-churched city in all of America. It was in desperate need of churches. However, God has used Mark Driscoll and his community called Mars Hill Church, as well as many other devoted pastors and servants, to slowly grow Seattle into a Jesus-loving city. They are no longer the least-churched city in America, and is increasingly growing the body of Christ there.
I want to be apart of God's great plan in another city.
I want to be part of a movement so enormous, that it will infect the whole city with Jesus' love and compassion, and then the whole country.
So that is where I am at right now. I feel as if God has finally given me a direction in what I am supposed to do in my life. It could change any second, but that is where I am at. What ever God choses to do with my life, I will accept it. But again, that is where I feel led at this moment.
I will continue to pray about this and my direction going forward. I would appreciate if you would do the same, while also asking God to lead in your life as well. I can't wait to look back on this 10 years from now and see where we are all at.
Here is something that has encouraged me to step out my comfort zone, and hopefully will do the same for you. It is based off of Isaiah 61:
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon you. Because the LORD has annointed you to preach the Good News to the poor.
He has sent you to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim freedom for the captives. And release darkness from the prisoners. To proclaim the year of the LORD's favor. And the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all who mourn. And to provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes; The oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of dispare. This nameless, faceless generation, this army of the LORD, will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.
They will rebuild the anciet ruins and restore the places long devastated. They will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. This is the hour of an awakening, of a genreation, of an army of the LORD!" - Daniel Bashta
May you be infected with the incurable disease that is the Heart of Christ!
A ragamuffin and nothing more,
David Neill
awesome bro! man i think it would be AMAZING if you did something like that in chicago! especially south side! i've thought so so much about wanting to be involved with kids in chicago cause i know how they are pressured to be in gangs, derrick rose has proven they don't need to be. but he can't do it alone. chicago is more broken than a lot of people realize. so i think it'd be awesome if you church planted there and reached out! milwaukee would be great too! they have the highest bars per capita in the country haha.
ReplyDeletethats freaking good!!! Praise the LORD for church planting. I've always wanted to do mission work in L.A. and New York so i get your vision. Keep listening to the Lord he is going to rock your world for REAL
ReplyDeletei think that's a great vision! i love Chicago so much, but it does need help. it'd be awesome if God used you to start a revolution there or in some other needy city. i will keep these thoughts in my prayers :) thanks for the post. it's nice to hear how God is touching you.
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you for trusting God to lead your life rather than your own instincts. That's definitely something I need to work on. This blog post is a big vision, but I know you are up to it. Continue to think great thoughts such as these because without great thoughts, there cannot be great action. Imagine what we can do when "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."-2 Corinthians 10:5. Love you brother! Keep these posts up. They are a spiritual encouragement to me every time I read them.
ReplyDeleteDavid I love this. this is so inspiring. You're doing a great job at using this as a ministry, its great. keep it up man, I want to talk to you more about this church planting stuff! Love you brother, keep shining that light!
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