Some Water, Some Plant...

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a great work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:3-6

For me, as a pastor, this scripture comes alive to me in an all new manner when I am reminded of the different people of whom God has allowed me to minister to over the years. Having the opportunity to serve in several different churches, I now am blessed to hear from students I have pastored in the past and what God is doing in and through their lives from all different places. It is amazing to think how God intricately connects our lives with so many different people over such a short span of time; and even more unthinkable how each of those interactions have the possibility to change the course of our lives.

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I introduce you to Angelika Monego.

Angelika was a part of theTURN, our college & 20-somethings ministry, at Free Chapel when I served there from 2007-2010. A true blessing to so many, my heart to see her fly grew as I began to know her better. I praised and thanked our God like the Apostle Paul did when I received this from her this week:

Dear Pastor Craig,

I wanted to thank you for the word you spoke over many young Christians at one of the evenings at "theTURN" years back. I thought God had called me to Switzerland at that time, but now I know with greater clarity that which He has called me to.

Well I know my calling know and it makes my heart swell with joy. I will be going to the Middle East to help our persecuted brothers and sisters. My heart is focused especially on Iran right now, since the youth there are so zealous for our dear Savior and they are so brave and full of strength. But I know they need God's Word to become more secure and to withstand the horrible treatments they are pressured with day by day.

My heart goes out to them...

I now am in Louisiana with the Ministry "Friend Ships" (friendships.org) where since August I have been with the SeaHawks Program, where I learn about disaster response, physical training, mental and spiritual training, respecting authority, medical missions and just hard work for Christ... I love it here so much. I will be staying another year after graduating in July. I will be going to Honduras soon to bring shoes and desks that are much needed right now. Our Ministry has been in Roatan since 1995... :D We will be going on our Ship the "Integrity" in maybe 3-4 weeks.

Thank you so much for all you have taught me during the time I attended The TURN and I thank you for your zealousness for our Lord...

Maybe we will meet again ;)

Until then God bless and protect you!
Angelika Monego

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Wow. Do you realize every moment of your life is redeemable for the cause of Christ? In Christ, every moment is intentional. Who are you sharing Christ with today that will be on the mission field in just a few years from now? Who have you laid your hands upon today that the Holy Spirit has now constrained his/her heart for His cause in the earth?

Angelika was a girl I met at Chik-fil-a one day. She worked there. And I took the time at the counter that day to simply invite her to theTURN that night. She came. I made an altar call for those who felt a call to missions that night. She responded. I laid hands on her and we as a community gathered around her in the following months. The rest is history.

Friends: be sensitive today to the leading of His Holy Spirit. Don't plow through your life today as if He doesn't have every opportunity around you for you to share His grace. He longs to use you today.

"I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow." - 1 Cor. 3:6

Some water, some plant, but it is always God who gives the increase.

pcraig