Hey everyone, I hope you have all had a good spring and are now enjoying the weather as summer has arrived! It’s been a good few months here at Word of Life and God has been teaching me new things and providing me with opportunities to serve Him. For this update, I’ll start with just a quick paragraph about what God has been teaching me lately and then transition into an update about what has been happening here and how He has been using me for His glory. I’ll then focus on the role of discipleship groups for the growth of believers and end with prayer requests. Before jumping in though, I want to take a moment and just thank all of you who support me financially and in prayer. I can’t say it enough that your support is a vital part of the ministry which God has entrusted to me and I really appreciate it!
As I mentioned, God has been teaching me some things lately. One thing I have been learning is to really surrender my life to Him even when it is hard, even when I sometimes want to have things a different way or go a different direction. Through taking steps of surrender, I have also been learning and practicing what it means to trust God with my life and trust that His plan is best. It is definitely not always easy, but He is helping me grow in this area and providing opportunities in the midst of it.
Update for New Role
Speaking of opportunities, I have been blessed with some great ones! The past couple of months, I have been transitioning into my new role as the Bible Institute Administrator with Word of Life. I still will be doing all of the same duties as before with Academics, but I also now have the privilege of being more involved with Bible Institute affairs such as overseeing events including Registration, Opening Weekend and Graduation, being involved with our Student Life Team which includes the opportunity of more involvement in the lives of our students, and one of the most exciting things to me, being directly involved in planning and organizing our discipleship groups for next year!
Discipleship Groups
Discipleship groups are a big part of my life right now and how God has blessed me. I have the privilege of both being in a group and being a leader in another group currently with my local church. Word of Life is going to start up these groups as part of our program for next year! I am quite passionate about how God can use them for His glory! Let me explain what a discipleship group looks like:
Discipleship groups provide a safe atmosphere for openness and authenticity in which people can mutually provide one another with encouragement, accountability, and support. Members of the group will also learn and become equipped to lead others in a discipleship group so that they can “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) whether in their neighbourhood, local church, or wherever God leads them.
I fully believe that God can use this model to help believers to become mature in their faith and relationships with God and others. In fact, I know for certain that God uses it as Jesus is the One who started this idea with the twelve disciples. We are simply following the vision He has given us to make disciples that make disciples. I have personally seen the results and blessing in my own life! So I encourage any of you reading this to share about discipleship groups with your pastor(s), members in your church, maybe find a few people and start your own group! You need three things for it to be effective: The Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the People of God. If you’d like any ideas for material or information regarding these groups, just let me know and I’d be happy to talk with you about it!
Prayer Requests
- Camp! We are running 4 weeks of Day Camp here starting on Monday! Pray for all the camp staff and campers that they would stay safe, have a fun time, and most importantly, that kids hearts would be changed through the working of the Holy Spirit and that those who are unsaved would be saved through God’s work in their lives.
- Personally, pray for me that I would live in complete surrender to the Lord and use my time wisely for His glory.
- Finally, please pray for the church and your own local church. Pray for opportunities to make disciples and be discipled and pray for mature believers and strong relationships that have depth both with God and brothers and sisters in Christ.
God bless!
Tim