Dear friends -
I was at a gathering recently of people of faith, and someone asked me what my favorite thing in ministry is. My favorite thing in ministry is those times when I have the deep joy of either experiencing with or hearing about people's engagement with God. Whether that was a time of deep grace because of community hospitality or a mountain top experience or during service or in some simple moment of gratitude or celebrating God's guidance in a life decision or however people encounter God, I love hearing about it.
It's even better when we experience it together. Some places I've had that happen are in worship or later when someone talks about how God spoke to them through the sermon or music or someone's testimony, on a fellowship hike with a church after worship, in the jungles of Peru and worksites after a landslide, a few weeks ago at Feed the Need when we enjoyed time together and two of our youngest kiddos got a chance to pack meals with us, on zoom for Group Spiritual Listening, along with other countless memories in ministry that make me want to stay a pastor despite my experience of it being harder than ever.
Mission trips are special times for people to experience God. I think it's because we block off the week and leave space for Jesus in ways we don't very regularly in our daily schedules. We often spend way more time out in nature and often travel to places with a more unique beauty and landscape than our day-to-day De Jour Stripmall. June 24-30 in Sisseton, SD, gives you just such an opportunity. We're hosting VBS with some of the churches in the Native American community and have a chance to learn and grow in faith - won't you join in? Let me or Tom Ekin know if we can add you to the list or if you have questions.
See you Sunday,
Jess