Give Thanks

I am thankful for where I am.
I am thankful for where I am going.
And I am thankful for my precious Savior who leads me every step of the way.

A General Rule

Photo by Corey Stevens

"A general rule for the good use of time is to accustom oneself to live in a continual dependence on the Spirit of God, receiving from moment to moment whatever it pleases to give us, referring to him at once in the doubts which we necessarily run into, turning to him in the weakness into which goodness slips from exhaustion, calling on him and lifting oneself to him, when the heart, swept away by material things, sees itself led imperceptibly off the path and finds itself forgetting and drifting away from God."  ~Francois Féneton

I have run into doubts. 
I have discovered anew my own weakness.
I have slipped into exhaustion from all my efforts. 

So I must call on Him. 
I must lift myself to Him. 
I must find my strength in Him. 
I must pray the prayer of that Father, pleading with Jesus to help his son, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 
I must surrender to Him. 
I must lay down my burdens. 

I must expect a miracle. 

Please pray for me, and pray for the mobilization of Ecuador as we seek five 40/40 church planters to begin a church in the coastal city of Manta.

Encouragement and a Challenge

It was an absolute joy for me to be home and visit so many churches, sharing the passion that God has given me for discipleship. Every week, my desire and prayer was to bring with me both encouragement and a challenge.

The encouragement I long to instill is drawn from the incredible things God is doing in South America. Extreme’s Cercado team has a brand new church building of their own in Arequipa, Peru, and is continuing to see growth from the Love Extreme event and beyond. As the missionaries step out of leadership and prepare to leave, local leadership is stepping up to take on their roles, and flourishing. Additionally, Extreme’s team in Ambato, Ecuador is seeing tremendous growth in both attendance and individuals in leadership training.

Can I say it again? God is doing incredible things in South America!

Furthermore, the challenge I long to bring is this: God has called every believer to live out his or her faith in action. It is not enough to just send others into the disciple-making business; every believer should be fulfilling Christ’s mandate to, “As you are going, make disciples of all nations.”  Discipleship is not an easy call, but Jesus Christ is worth it all every single day.

For those who cannot go plant churches in South America for two years (or more), there is still the necessity to be obedient. No matter what it is that God may call us to do, the best thing is to say yes!

An eleven-year-old girl asked me in my very last speaking engagement if what I do is fun. And I can say in complete honesty that doing the work God called me to do is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life! I am incredibly blessed, even on the days it is hard. Even on the days I am pleading with God to yield the fruit of my work, I am blessed.

God is still calling me. And the God who called is able to provide for all my needs. When He called me to go, He called others to send me. So even though I have not reached my fundraising goal, I know He is still calling others to send me. Please consider joining my support team as God may be calling you. If you would like more information, contact me at cstevens@extremenazarene.org.