Missional Community in Motion

Blog post by Ashley

What is a missionary? If you had asked me that question 2 years ago I would have said, “someone sent by God on a mission of HIS choice.” I also would have told you that I am a missionary. Two years before moving to Atlantic County I was happily and proudly working for an international mission, Pura Vida Missions, out of San Ramón, Costa Rica.

What started as a week long mission trip to Costa Rica with my church turned into summer intern opportunities for a few years and then to a full time position heading up a sponsorship program there. I was living on the mission property, running the program, discipling families and being the liaison between sponsors and sponsees. I loved my job.

I loved my time there. I grew tremendously as a believer, follower and servant of our Lord so much that when asked to pray about church planting with my brother, Buff and sister, Cissy I kind of shrugged it off with a, “sure…I’ll PRAY about it”. Little did I know that the Lord had different plans for me that didn’t include the plush rain forests of Costa Rica, no, snow was in my future. I believed that I was a missionary, an international missionary and not a church planter. Boy, was I blind or let’s just say my perspective needed to be widened.

A year after praying about joining a church plant the Lord, much to my surprise, moved this international missionary to Atlantic County to become part of the church planting team. And yet again I have found myself continually being transformed here.

One of the major things that the Lord has shown me is that as a believer and follower in the Lord, Jesus Christ, we are ALL missionaries sent by God to serve the community in which we live in. That means it is in the everyday life. I am to be an image bearer and witness of His good news when I go to the store, when I serve tables, when I go to the gym, when I drop off my nephews at school…all day every day. He doesn’t call us to only be it thousands of miles away, we are to do now and right where we are.

This was a mind blowing and humbling revelation. I’m not elevated because of this great calling that God has on my life. This same calling is on all believers and follower’s lives. We are only elevated because He has been lifted up. That’s it.

So what does that mean for Joseph and I as we embark on this new adventure together to Florida? God has sent us and we are to be His missionary servants that bear His image and be good news for people in Florida, God will give us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people in our community.

Joseph and I are being sent and planted into a community and we will live out life with this community. We will grow with them, share with them and be transparent with them. We know that God is leading us and sending us, Grace Falls members, to this location.

It’s scary and it’s new. We don’t know how it will all play out. But, we will be available. We will continue to turn to Him for guidance and support and we trust that He will provide each step as we move forward. We are missionaries, just like you are, sent to a location to serve a community of people and be His good news and we do it willingly and in faith!

Grace Falls Visits Florida

Some of the Grace Falls team is heading South for a little bit of warm weather. Well not for the weather but that is definitely a perk that we will enjoy for a few days.

We will be in Tampa at the mission conference at Idlewild Baptist Church. We are going to meet in room E112 at 1pm on Saturday, February the 28th.

It has been a very exciting year and at the same time a year full of challenges that we would love to tell you about. We are excited about meeting with our Florida friends and supporters from our sending church.

If you can make it we would be very encouraged by seeing you again.

Please RSVP by email to: cissy@gracefallsac.org

Ash Wednesday

Post by Pastor Buff

Ash Wednesday is today and many in the context, which I live, will fill cathedrals and churches to usher in the Lent season. Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church this wasn’t a tradition or season that we recognized. Yet, being here in the Northeast, I recognize how big a deal this is.

I just read where one church is offering a drive thru Ash Wednesday service to handle the volume of people they expect to come by to observe this long standing tradition. If you were like me, you have to ask – what is Lent and why haven’t I observed it?

Ash Wednesday is simply the first day of Lent and the official name is the “day of ashes” simply because of the practice of rubbing ashes on ones forehead in the sign of the cross. Today I will see hundreds of people with that symbol as they dedicate themselves to period of spiritual discipline. Many will choose some sinful habit, activity and practice either moderation or self-denial during these forty days leading up to Easter.

Now the Bible never mentions Ash Wednesday or Lent but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be something that we shouldn’t look at or even consider. For instance, I was challenged with this prayer last week at a meeting…

“Lord, I ask that you would not simply heal the symptoms of what is not right in my life, but would you surgically remove all that is in me that does not belong to you.” - Peter Scazzero

What if the next forty days you and I made this a sincere prayer leading up to Easter? What would our lives look like if this prayer were to be answered? How would the people that we love and live among be different because of this reality becoming true in you and I? Would the change be seen, would it be felt? Would it be a game changer?

Take some time today and read through it as we consider our lives and the opportunity that we have sitting before us. God created us in His Image and His plan is for you and I to reflect Him wherever we are in our daily lives. This is why Easter is so huge.

It is why the Gospel is good news to a world that is drowning in bad news. It is why God sent Jesus to redeem you and I and rescue us so that we could have a ministry of reconciliation to those who have not yet chosen to follow Him.

Why not pray this prayer the next 40 days? What is the worst thing that could happen? You spent 40 days seeking to connect with your creator so that you could completely surrender your whole heart to Him? That the ashes could simply be the scar from the surgery that the Great Physician would preform on you as a result of your willingness to press in for forty days? I’m going for it…how about you?

I surrender Lord – not just some but all.

Ashley And Ody

For those of you that have known me for some time now, you know that I have offered these past 10 years to the Lord completely. You also would know that before that I was a complete compulsive dater. I always had to have someone by my side in order to feel complete. After I met the Lord, he quickly showed me that men and relationships were idols in my life and that I need to pursue him and him alone.

Don't get me wrong, I have not mastered this or have even come close but I am more aware of my deficiencies and I have been continually looking to him for help and guidance in this situation. I didn't kiss dating goodbye completely, as my head was turned towards him and my eyes were fixated on him, my desires began to change.

I no longer wanted just a Christian man but one that relentlessly loved God as I do. I desired a man that when asked to give, gave without any thought. When asked to change a behavior or get rid of anything that would cause harm, didn’t hesitate to obey. Someone that would go where God would lead them no matter the place. Someone that would seek God’s leadership, in every situation, no matter how small it may seem. This commitment led to years of singleness.

I wish I could say I enjoyed every moment of it or that I trusted God in every step or that I never cried about it but that would be a lie. I had wonderful moments with the Lord through it. I also clung to HIM through the times of tears. Yet I continued to hear “wait” or “not that one”. I was starting to believe that maybe a life of singleness was for me. Until a dear and beloved “sista” of mine said that she had never called herself “single” over her lifetime as an independent woman. That statement stuck with me and shortly after that another dear beloved brother said that the desire to be married was placed in me by God that we would trust God would see it to fruition in HIS timing.

This past April the Lord brought to Grace Falls Church a man named Joseph but many knew him as “Ody”. He was a new believer exemplifying strong convictions and a heart to bring as many of his loved ones to our “family” as possible. His joy was so contagious and I found myself wanting to be around him, wanting to talk with him and hear God’s story in his life. The more I got to know him the more I found myself in his answers. I could relate to his convictions and his heart to surrender and be “all in” with the Lord.

We began dating in July. I found myself having a hard time making commitment. Not because I didn't like or trust Joseph but because I was anxious and nervous after not dating for so long. We sought God’s approval and acceptance in this relationship and continue to do so. The thing that has captured me is that Joseph loves me just as I am.

When I am anxious and nervous about the next steps, Joseph loves me and trusts that God will lead us through the process. God’s word has been faithful to guide me through this relationship and I thank HIM for it. We continued to date with the idea of getting married while continuing to look for any sign from God that we should end the relationship.

On October 25, 2014 Joseph asked me to marry him! I said yes. Again, I wish that I could say that I said yes without any nervousness or anxious feelings but again that would be a lie. The beauty of it is that Joseph allowed me to process through everything with God, to go to him and allow him to see me through it. I am truly grateful that God has given me a man that is not afraid of my anxiousness or the time that I needed to process all of this.

These last few months have been hard with the economy in Atlantic County, three casinos have closed and 10,000 people from those casinos are out of work, making hard for non-seasonal jobs to come by. Joseph has been struggling to find consistent work that isn't seasonal. Joseph continued to apply and apply with no response. Seasonally work was given and we were grateful, yet nothing lasting.

Over the Christmas holiday we as a church family read through an advent book that really spoke to Joseph and I about “waiting” and how “God is in the wait” and that “He is working when He is silent”. This comforted Joseph and I to know that He was moving even when we weren't hearing answers from HIM. So we waited and trusted that He would provide.

I visited Florida in October and when I did my eyes began to open and I began to wonder if Joseph would ever consider moving back to Florida? His answer was that he always loved Florida and always felt that he would go back there. So we began praying about Florida and would God have us move there.

As we continued to pray we decided to take a trip to Florida just to see if God would lead us there and see if any answers would come. Boy did they ever. After day one Joseph had two potential jobs and a place to stay until we got married and by the end of the week he had two jobs, a car and a place to stay. Everything fell into place and very rapidly. God answered very quickly and loudly.

Joseph immediately began training for the two jobs and stayed in St. Petersburg while I flew home to Jersey. Again I wish I could say that took all of these swift answers gracefully but again I’d be lying. Yet, again my sweet Joseph allowed the Lord and continues to allow the Lord to lead me through this change and process.

I will be leaving Grace falls at the end of February to move back to St.Petersburg, Florida to be with my fiancé. God has used my time at Grace Falls to help me grow as I helped my sister and my brother in law.

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement through this process! I have grown tremendously and I have become a stronger disciple of Jesus here in Atlantic County.

Unity

Often times we go through our days in survival modes. We look at our calendars; answer our messages and emails so that we can get things done. By the time our lists are finished we look at the clock and the day we once had is now gone. What do we do? We get ready for the next day. Lets face it…life happens and we don’t have the option of hitting the pause button. Think back for moment…doesn’t Christmas seem so long ago now?

This is why I love days like Dr. Martin Luther King day. Days that we as a nation set aside to help us remember. Remember the sacrifices and lives of those who have gone before us. The trailblazers and pioneers who were willing to risk their days and lives for something they believed in. Willing to risk their lives for something that was truly bigger than them. Today is one of those days.

Dr. Martin Luther King day is a day that we as a nation recognize the life of one who was taken violently because there were those who believed foolishly that separation and division was the way God intended for us to live. Their belief, no matter how ridiculous it was, had a voice that at Dr. King’s time was both loud and strong and was believed by many. I can’t speak for that generation of why they believed that but I know many who adopted those racists and bigoted views claimed they were biblical…these perverted thoughts I can and will speak to.

To say that their desire to be separate and divided and say that was the way God intended is not only heresy and so far from the truth but goes against everything Jesus Christ died for. Jesus prayed to the Father these words just before He demonstrated the greatest act of love this world has ever seen.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be ONE, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may be in US, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

God gave Dr. Martin Luther King his dream. It was a dream of a life and a world (not just a nation) the way God has always intended for it to be…ONE. A world that isn’t divided and separate but loves, forgives, unites and gives glory to the One who created it.

This is why I think today is a day we shouldn’t just glance over or check off. It is a day that we must stop, reflect, and remember. Not just Dr. King. Remember the Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, Little Rock Nine, Ella Baker, Vivian Malone Jones, Bayard Rustin, James L Farmer Jr. and so many more. Take the time to read and learn whom these people are and what they did to take a stand. Pass on what you have seen and learned. Be honest and open with yourself and others. Confess and repent if you had or still hold onto prejudices and ask God to continue to reveal to you areas you have yet to identify.

The Daniel Fast - Are You Listening

The Daniel Fast is a great opportunity for you and I and even our church family to focus and reflect on what God is trying to say to us and where He wants to lead us.

You have heard me say that listening to the spirit is vital to our growth as followers of Christ. It is the means by which God wants to lead us. Just like God used the cloud by day and the fire by night to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and reveal to us the way He wants us to go. The real tension for you and I is this:

Am I listening for the Holy Spirit in my everyday rhythm of life? Am I willing to believe in Him no matter what He reveals to us? Am I willing to do whatever He asks no matter what?

You see how these three all build on one another? You have to be willing to slow down, eliminate the noise and take time to listen. When you and I do that, we can be confident that He will speak and will reveal something to you.

How? God speaks to us in a variety of ways, God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and your church family to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways.

Did you notice why He speaks? To show you and I who He is – our provider, our help, our refuge, our deliverer, our peace, our healer, our sustainer, our refresher…I could keep going. He also speaks to show us His purposes. You want to find out His will – Do what He says – He will show you. Finally, He speaks to show us His ways. We learn how God works in and through our lives by following His voice. TRUSTING His voice and knowing that He isn’t going to lead us down a path of destruction.

This is why is should be easy to be willing to do whatever He asks no matter what.  Yet it  causes the most tension for most of us. Why is that? I would love to hear your thoughts.

As you are taking this time with the Daniel Fast and hopefully taking some time to listen and reflect. Here are some tips that might help you as you work out that muscle of LISTENING to the HOLY SPIRIT.

Where does God have you and where are you seeing Him working in your life? Is there a need or needs in you or others that you see? Is there a burden you feel or have that you can’t shake off? Is there something, someone, or somewhere that you see you can bring or be good news to? Why aren’t you going? What has God given you? Look around and really consider this in light of this question…Are you using it for Him or for you?

Please know that I am praying for you and with you as you take this journey. Be encouraged by these verses today as you think of LISTENING & TRUSTING the voice of the HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” (John 16:16) It goes on to say that the disciples struggled with (or experienced tension) what He meant by this. Yet, listen to these words He said just before that statement:

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:12-15

You really need to take time to read this entire chapter and even go back to Chapter 13 and read up to this point to see where this whole discussion began to gain a greater perspective. But look at this final question…

“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered. John 16:31-32

This is where we are at now! A church scattered. Followers of Christ all over the world scattered abroad sent by God to be His expression and example to a world that desperately needs Him. This is why it is crucial that we ALL are leaning in and listening to what the Spirit is saying and BELIEVING it. This why it is important for us to gather and encourage one another to do just that…BELIEVE. Believe in who we know God is. Believe in what God has and is doing. Believe in what that means to us. Believe in who we are as a result of what He has done. THEN we go and do with confidence not in ourselves but in a God who loves us so much that He did all of this to show us the next steps.