Tenacity

Tenacity: The Quality of being tenacious.

Tenacious: Not easily pulled apart, persistent in maintaining to, adhering to, or seeking something valued.

One of the most often asked questions is "Why should I get involved"? "Why should this matter to me"? "What can you hope to gain working in this ministry"?  All very good questions which I hope to address here.

First and foremost I did not choose to be in this ministry, God chose me, same as he did with the other brothers whom I struggle in ministry with. This was not a calling as much as following God's will for which we were designed.

Look at the examples God gives us through the bible. Moses, not an eloquent speaker and certainly not a leader among his circles, but none the less God chose him to lead his chosen people out of bondage. He chose David the runt of the pack to be a King for his people. The bible is loaded with examples like this.

So he chose a group of men, some from Mindanao, some from southern Pennsylvania, directed by men who disregards their own health and safety to serve the needs of others, surrounding themselves with a mixture of men from mixed backgrounds all with the same love of God in their hearts. Following where God leads them to serve.

So why should I serve; God has lead us to this place, we are designed as Christians to serve others in the examples he has provided through his son, Jesus Christ.

So why should this matter to me; Simple you matter, God chose us, not the other way around. We are his, lock, stock and barrel. We should do as he calls us to be, but he never forces us. He does not punish if we sluff off or decide we know better, he loves us all the same. Ministries matter because we matter.

What can we hope to gain through this ministry; The souls of those lost and suffering calling out to a God they do not know for salvation. The people served by the ministers of this association serve the poorest of the poor, the uneducated in isolated areas, calling out for God to hear their pleas. There is no self-righteousness is serving these dear people. Same as Paul found no personal gain from preaching to those who threatened his life while bringing the message of God to the Gentiles.

Value: Job 28:13
Man does not know its value,Nor is it found in the land of the living.
1 Samuel 26:24
And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
The people we ultimately serve through our efforts with the help of many others, either through financial gifts or through direct work in bring them translated bibles or material things, understand value more than we do in the western world. Even though they may not know the Lord in a personal relationship, even though they do not have the luxury of reading his very words written for us, even though their very lives are threatened to organize in churches to worship God, even though all this, they understand it is by his hand that they live, it is by his hand they will be freed from their bondage, it is by his hand they will be given the gift of salvation everlasting through baptism.

The ministry we serves serves those who serve others. We provide the resources for our brothers who have been called to serve those in remote villages, we serve those that place their lives in peril of death threats from warlords.

Your involvement is by your own free will. Again his gift to us - even as he knows some will not live their lives to the fullest potential, even as he knows some will use it for their own pleasures and not in fulfilling the needs of others.

Our Tenacity speaks of our commitment, our belief that even though we struggle to gain support for those in Mindanao, even though we sell ourselves short on abilities, he knows he has chosen correctly and needs us to believe. The people of Mindanao have value, they deserve the same gift many Christians already share.

Your commitment is by your own choosing, don't sell yourself short of abilities, maybe your commitment to the ministry may seem small in our own minds, but to someone who has nothing it means more, your gift - your commitment is deeply appreciated.

May his endless blessings find favor with you and your family this day and always.