Day 8 in England: Saying Goodbye
(Natalha and Paula, daughter and mother I met at Hope Church)
Today was the last day of our mission trip in England. Kathy and Isa, two members from our group, shared their testimonies. Then, my husband preached a sermon on living water. He talked about how we try to fill voids and quench our thirst for different needs (love, worth, purpose, etc.) with things of the world, but God is the only One who can truly sustain us and fill that need.
Throughout the trip (including the day before), a few people came up to me and told me their story was similar to mine. They shared their story with me and how it affected them. It was beautiful to see how God had used my testimony to work in each of those people. More beautiful, though, was seeing how they were all holding onto Jesus for hope and not me.
I used to struggle with wanting to be needed. It came from my past of thinking that I didn't matter. I wanted people to feel like they might fall apart without me. Now I fear that. I don't need people to need me to feel like I matter. In fact, I know how dangerous it is. I won't be around forever. If something happens to me or God calls me and my husband elsewhere, I don't want others to fall apart. I want people to be sustained by God, not me. He's the only One they can always rely on and who will stick around. He is the only One who will never fail them.
No one was broken over seeing me go. Of course there were some who were sad, but I left knowing that their faith wasn't reliant on me. They had connected with leaders at Hope Church and had an encounter with Jesus. That is how ministry should be. We aren't gaining followers for ourselves or our church, we are gaining followers for the Lord. It is just as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 (NIV), "What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
We need to be careful with being committed to leaders rather than committing ourselves God. This mission trip was successful not because students came to our youth outreach, but because we told them about who God is, how He has impacted our lives, and connected them to local leaders and Hope Church so that they can continue helping these students navigate their new lives with God.
Thank you to everyone who donated so that I could take part in this mission trip. I am truly grateful to you.
Pray that God would continue to work in these students and people's lives so that they become sustained by Him rather than needing others to carry their relationship with God. Also, pray that our ministry (and your own) would be focused on getting people to have an encounter with God rather than ourselves, a ministry, or church (that's important, but it can't be what they rely on).
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