He expects us to understand that lives are at stake – eternal lives. He expects us not to look around for someone else to do it or to stand about complaining about our assignment. Instead, He has equipped us to utilize every person He welcomes into the family and the supplies He’s provided to deliver a “square” gospel into the “round hole” of the times in which we minister.
Do you ever get the irresistible urge to laugh during a serious moment? Chalk it up to immaturity, but I find myself in these moments frequently. I was in church recently during the pinnacle of a lesson and discovered a large spider slowly crawling up the speaker’s shirt.
We are delighted to introduce you to our newest staff member, Heather North! It became apparent over the last year that we needed more staff to support all our ministry endeavors, so a new position was created for an administrative assistant. We launched a search and prayed that God would bring just the right person to by design. And He has.
The word refresh means “to give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.” With technology we refresh our devices – we restore their settings and clean out clutter so they function better. We need to refresh and restore our souls so we function better. Everyone around me is looking forward to having vacations or family reunions, but now that we are freer to enjoy life “as we think it should be,” how will you refresh your soul?
My grandmother’s regular prayers for her family made a lasting impression, and not only on me. When my grandmother died some years later, my mom and my aunt stood in the kitchen of our home and wailed: “Who’s going to pray for us now?”
Serving is a little sweeter with by design ministries. Support is a little closer, community a little tighter, and growing a little easier.
And that’s why we exist. For you. For the sake of the Kingdom.
Knowing the by design ministries’ mission “to develop women who are servant leaders for the equipping of God’s church and the enlarging of His Kingdom” was freeing, as I wasn’t being recruited for something new but being fed, encouraged, and equipped to go back to my home church and serve where God had called me.
In a quick Google search, you can easily find multiple studies that speak of the loneliness and isolation that can come along with being in ministry leadership. Leaders are often overextended, lacking in support staff, and so focused on serving others that they can forget to actually jump into the communities they are bringing together. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I know that, for myself, the first things to go when I am stressed or busy are spending time with God and quality fellowship with others.
On April 6th close to 200 women from over 40 churches spanning 4 states gathered at Trinity Baptist Church in Nashua for some sweet treats and fellowship and listened to speaker, Jan Carlberg, as she shared her talk on “Love Lifts for Sagging Spirits”.
In my skewed thinking, however, I put most of my energy first into ministry and expected my closest loved ones to understand and be satisfied with my “leftovers.” As tension mounted, I absurdly prayed that the Holy Spirit would reduce the amount of “need” my loved ones had for me in order to match the amount of “free time” I had available for them. Never underestimate the evil of over commitment!