March
18-20, 2010, a weekend we will never forget. Polly and I were taking a student from our youth ministry to check out Valley Forge Christian
College. But God not only spoke into that student's life that weekend. He also began tugging on our
hearts about transitioning in ministry. It's all we could talk about on the drive home.
My heart was heavy. I could not shake the tugging on my heart that transition was on its way. I didn’t know when it would be and what it would entail, only that it was coming. When we arrived home, we called our best friends and my parents and told them how we were feeling. The following day, I got a text message from a friend I had only recently met. The message asked how things were and said that God had laid us on his heart and that he and his wife were praying for us. This was confirmation to me that I wasn’t going crazy. In short time, I told my pastor and some other close friends and mentors in my life about what was happening in my heart. I was looking for prayer support and any godly wisdom I could get.
I looked into a full-time youth ministry position that came my way during the summer of 2010. At one point I thought for sure that would be the transition we were expecting, but I just didn't feel peace about it. It wasn't meant to be.
Polly and I spent the remainder of 2010 preparing for our first child. I also began the process of seeking my ordination. I had met the prerequisites for ordination a few years prior, but I finally felt like God was prodding me to do it. This was encouraging to me because it was the first thing I had felt the Lord specifically prod me to do since He began tugging on our hearts. Genevieve was born in January 2011. We then spent the beginning part of 2011 adjusting to life as parents. Another full-time youth pastor opportunity came and went.
At this time, over a year had passed since
that weekend when the Lord started stirring our hearts. And we felt no
closer to knowing the “what,” “when” or “where” of God’s plan for
transition in our lives. To this point all we were sure of was two
situations God was not calling us to. I received my ordination on May
22, 2011. I was encouraged that with this step in the process complete,
we may soon find out what would come next.
As encouraged as I was that we may soon discover more of God’s plan for us after my ordination service, four more months passed with no new answers. We had thought we would be done at Calvary Assembly of God once our original 7th graders graduated high school. Yet the New England leaves changed, they were both starting college and Polly and I were still on staff at the church. We trusted that the Lord would tell us when He was ready. We tried not to grow impatient. We tried to remain faithful in all that we did.
I took our youth to convention that year. I was as excited as ever. We had a good group of youth going. I went to the convention with great anticipation. But for as much anticipation as I had, I never expected what was about to happen during that brisk October weekend.
Scotty Gibbons was the guest speaker for the convention. His Friday night sermon was right on the money. Our youth were moved. After that Friday night service, I had the opportunity to speak with Scotty for a couple of minutes. I briefly told him where I was at and told him that I was looking for some godly wisdom and counsel. Scotty spoke some great words into my life and left me feeling encouraged.
The following day, I saw missionary John Musacchio in the hallway. Having had a great experience speaking with
Scotty the night before I wanted to build on the momentum in my heart. I
had met John years earlier when he spoke at a youth leader’s retreat I
had attended and our church has supported him for many years, so I had
some familiarity with him. Additionally, Polly had stayed with his
family for four days when she went to Guatemala on a missions trip in
college. I reintroduced myself looking to simply get a little more
wisdom and counsel. God had different plans, however.
John and I spoke for quite some time. I actually missed the morning session that Scotty was preaching. I was pouring out my heart and vision to John. I shared with him about how God had given me an increasing passion for Speed the Light and how that birthed an even greater passion for missions, completely revolutionizing my prayer life for missions. I told him how God used the book Radical by David Platt to spark an insatiable desire to go on a missions trip to a foreign country. I told him about the time during worship when we were singing the song To the Ends of the Earth by Hillsong United and when it came to the lyrics, "Jesus, I believe in you and I would go to the ends of the earth" I felt God sparking a fire in my heart to be willing to go anywhere for Him. I simply shared my heart. He listened intently. He then started sowing a seed in my mind and heart. I remember stopping after going on and on for a while and saying, “I don’t know if any of this makes sense to you.” John’s reply to me was simple, “It makes all the sense in the world for someone who has a clear call of God to missions.”
John asked me if we had ever
considered missions as an option. I told him that even since our dating
years in college, Polly and I always talked about how we would serve as
missionaries some day. I think I really stressed the “some day.” Polly
and I always did. I continued to tell John that we never really looked
into it because our school debt was too high. For the first time,
someone explained to me that there are ways around that, especially when
God’s in it. That made sense when I heard it aloud. John briefly
mentioned that he was transitioning to Costa Rica and that he was
looking for a couple Missionary Associate couples to work alongside him
and Dina.
I left that youth convention unable to shake the fact that God was tugging on my heart. Later that week, I called John on the phone. I told him how uneasy my spirit had been since our conversation. We spoke for over an hour and a half. I spoke with Polly about the idea of serving as Missionary Associates. I think she was overwhelmed. But after praying, we decided that the right decision would be to at least begin the process of filling out an application. I filled out my portion of the application immediately. I was so excited. Polly’s portion sat for a couple of months. Polly kept telling me that she would need to be absolutely certain that this was God. I thought that was fair. We decided that filling out the application was far from committing and potentially a necessary step of obedience before God might tell us yes or no. During those months of waiting to complete the application, John and I had a number of discussions. He had extended the invitation for us to serve under his ministry in Costa Rica. I started feeling more and more certain that this was God’s will. I was simply waiting for God to let Polly in on it as well.
From the moment we completed the application, through other steps in the process and in conversations Polly and I have had with John and Dina, we have grown more and more certain about what God is calling us to. God has consistently blessed us with confirmation and scriptures. It seems like every devotional Polly and I read or every scripture we read, God clearly and specifically confirms His calling in our lives. It is said that hindsight is 20/20. When we look back at everything leading to this moment, it occurs to us that God has been planting this in our hearts for quite some time. In fact, in hindsight, I don’t know how we didn’t sense this coming sooner. I have already shared some examples of this truth above and there are many others. Regardless, we believe that God is calling us for such a time as this.
Joe is a friend who leads a campus ministry at a local college. I met him a couple of years ago when I started helping him during his ministry’s weekly Bible study. Joe was one of the people with whom I had spoken about God moving in our hearts. He has spent a good bit of time in conversation trying to convince me to join the ministry he works for. He has said on numerous occasions that he feels like our purpose is to work with college students. It is not unexpected to have someone try to get you to join their cause, but I know that Joe has been very sincere. I had also commented to Polly about how much I love working with college students. She does too. So it should come as no surprise that one door God has opened for us with the Musacchio’s in Costa Rica is working with college students through the program Engage. Polly and I will be service as Resident Directors for the college students taking part in this unique program offering them hands on training while they continue working toward their degree. We will have the opportunity to pour into the lives of college students who are aiming to obey the call God has placed on their lives. In many ways, I feel like this journey God has taken us on over the last couple years better equips us for the task at hand. Having served in youth ministry for over 10 years, it's also no surprise that another door God has opened for us with the Musacchio's in Costa Rica is youth evangelism and youth leadership training. Polly and I both have a passion for children, especially those who are less fortunate. Although we are not certain about the specifics of how we will be able to serve in this area, John & Dina have a heart for the same and we are believing together that God will open a door for this as well.
We are excited about what God will do in and through us in Costa Rica. But let me make one thing quite clear. Polly and I don’t view this opportunity as the end of the journey. We feel like we’re still early on in the process. Our desire remains the same as it has to this point: we want to obediently serve God in whatever ministry He calls us to, wherever and whenever He calls us.
I left that youth convention unable to shake the fact that God was tugging on my heart. Later that week, I called John on the phone. I told him how uneasy my spirit had been since our conversation. We spoke for over an hour and a half. I spoke with Polly about the idea of serving as Missionary Associates. I think she was overwhelmed. But after praying, we decided that the right decision would be to at least begin the process of filling out an application. I filled out my portion of the application immediately. I was so excited. Polly’s portion sat for a couple of months. Polly kept telling me that she would need to be absolutely certain that this was God. I thought that was fair. We decided that filling out the application was far from committing and potentially a necessary step of obedience before God might tell us yes or no. During those months of waiting to complete the application, John and I had a number of discussions. He had extended the invitation for us to serve under his ministry in Costa Rica. I started feeling more and more certain that this was God’s will. I was simply waiting for God to let Polly in on it as well.
From the moment we completed the application, through other steps in the process and in conversations Polly and I have had with John and Dina, we have grown more and more certain about what God is calling us to. God has consistently blessed us with confirmation and scriptures. It seems like every devotional Polly and I read or every scripture we read, God clearly and specifically confirms His calling in our lives. It is said that hindsight is 20/20. When we look back at everything leading to this moment, it occurs to us that God has been planting this in our hearts for quite some time. In fact, in hindsight, I don’t know how we didn’t sense this coming sooner. I have already shared some examples of this truth above and there are many others. Regardless, we believe that God is calling us for such a time as this.
Joe is a friend who leads a campus ministry at a local college. I met him a couple of years ago when I started helping him during his ministry’s weekly Bible study. Joe was one of the people with whom I had spoken about God moving in our hearts. He has spent a good bit of time in conversation trying to convince me to join the ministry he works for. He has said on numerous occasions that he feels like our purpose is to work with college students. It is not unexpected to have someone try to get you to join their cause, but I know that Joe has been very sincere. I had also commented to Polly about how much I love working with college students. She does too. So it should come as no surprise that one door God has opened for us with the Musacchio’s in Costa Rica is working with college students through the program Engage. Polly and I will be service as Resident Directors for the college students taking part in this unique program offering them hands on training while they continue working toward their degree. We will have the opportunity to pour into the lives of college students who are aiming to obey the call God has placed on their lives. In many ways, I feel like this journey God has taken us on over the last couple years better equips us for the task at hand. Having served in youth ministry for over 10 years, it's also no surprise that another door God has opened for us with the Musacchio's in Costa Rica is youth evangelism and youth leadership training. Polly and I both have a passion for children, especially those who are less fortunate. Although we are not certain about the specifics of how we will be able to serve in this area, John & Dina have a heart for the same and we are believing together that God will open a door for this as well.
We are excited about what God will do in and through us in Costa Rica. But let me make one thing quite clear. Polly and I don’t view this opportunity as the end of the journey. We feel like we’re still early on in the process. Our desire remains the same as it has to this point: we want to obediently serve God in whatever ministry He calls us to, wherever and whenever He calls us.
There has been and will continue to be a lot of waiting involved this process of transition. Tomorrow, I will be sharing some things that Polly and I have learned through this season of waiting.
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