Humble beginnings

I owe a lot to how God has used Living Hope here. It's funny to look back and see He has orchestrated everything, even things that you thought were of no significance, to bring you closer to Him. I came to Northwest for music, and music led me to drumline, drumline led me to the percussion tech, the percussion tech led me to a Sunday evening celebration at Living Hope, the celebration led me to an encounter with God that I never imagined was even possible. And to be a part of a huge, dynamic adventure of a church plant in a town that I love with people that I love and a campus that I love serving a God that I love... it's too good.

But it's frustrating.

I remember being so frustrated during the summer when we spent days acting out on faith and inviting people to church, and then showing up on Sunday to a room of... the exact same people who went around inviting people to church. I wanted to cry. I remember seeing the glass warehouse, falling in love with it, and then everything sort of falling through the cracks. It was disappointing.

The thing is, as I was reminded over and over again by people on the adventure with me, God put us here for a reason. He's spoken to us, through us. We've prayed boldly in faith. He never said that this would be easy. What would be gained by giving up? It's not like we stand a chance of doing this on our own anyways! We're fully reliant on God. On and on, promises would be given to encourage, and it was true. This was a race worth running. We just had to keep running. One of my friends had a word during one of our prayer meetings that really hit me. "Humble beginnings". Basically, we've started out small because it forces us to lean on God, and years later when Living Hope has blossomed into something amazing, we'll still have that lesson learned from the get-go, we'll still be leaning on God, because that's the only thing we've ever done. God loves humble hearts that want to serve.

And already, things are being done! We're meeting in a hangar turned movie theater turned church. It's great. And we've got a group of people who come that have passion and excitement and a willingness to get in there and serve. There's an amazing group of women that I respect so much. Things are happening!

I'm not a very patient person. God's working on that, but nonetheless, it makes the growing tough. I want Living Hope to grow, I want the campus to be flooded with Love, I want the town to break out of their shell, I want the gospel to hit this place, I want hearts to be healed, I want to help! And then there's the thing that every three-year-old tacks on at the end... "I want it now." Ugh. I know, I know...

But here's something I read in Habakkuk today, chapter two, verse 3.

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed."

I don't know; I just find that extremely encouraging. Like, the pep talk of the era. What God has promised us WILL happen. Oh, and it makes me grin! But it will happen when He decides, when it's best, when the work has been done. Someday, we will have over a hundred people every Sunday. Someday, we will have a children ministry. Someday, we will have a youth group. Someday, we will have our own building. Someday, the campus will see a revival. Someday, we'll be so strongly rooted that we can plant new churches.

What is important is to wait and do the task at hand. If we pour ourselves into this, God will pour Himself into us. It's, like, stay focused on God and, all of the sudden, things will burst. Things beyond our wildest imaginations. So, regardless of any frustration I've felt and any exasperation I may lie ahead in the future, it's all still God's plan. At the end of the day, He's going to do things the way that they should be done, and all He asks of us is that we follow.

And honestly... I wouldn't want to bypass all of the "humble beginnings" for anything.