Dear CCW Family,
Jim and Pam are on the road as I write. They left earlier in October and will be gone most of the month traveling in the southern and eastern US. They are visiting family and friends, Jim is engaged in various Bible teaching opportunities, and they are sharing the gospel with anyone who will listen. I have talked with Jim multiple times since their departure. He is so appreciative of your prayers.
Soon after Jim and Pam return, Marco and a young man in our church will be traveling for a ministry trip to South Africa for a week and a half in November. You might recall that Marco was a missionary in that country before returning to the states to serve with CCW. He remains connected with some faithful ministry leaders in South Africa and is looking forward to multiple opportunities for Bible teaching and leading Bible intensives.
I’m anticipating another ministry trip to India in January. I’m losing track of how many years I’ve been there! Later in January I’ll be speaking multiple times at a youth retreat in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of my closest pastor friends leads this retreat every year that includes youth from a number of churches in several states. I’m honored to be returning a fourth time.
More than Public Bible Teaching
The ministry we do as the “communicators” of CCW is a great privilege. We always aim to teach the Bible, but that’s not all. We also really try to get to know the people we are serving. Jim, Marco, and I despise the thought of being the kind of “guest preacher” who just flys in, engages no one prior to speaking, hustles up to the front for a sermon, and then is whisked away before interacting with anyone. No thanks! We love to slow down and get to know people.
One additional avenue of developing relationships with people while traveling is by sharing meals with ministry leaders. We sometimes also stay in their homes. As much as I know how important the Bible teaching portion of our ministry is, I’ve sometimes returned from a trip and shared with Patty something like, “I think the most important thing I did this weekend was listen to the pastor and his wife share their struggles and then provide biblical counsel for them.” More often than I ever could have imagined in my two decades with CCW, church leaders have needed help in either their marriages, or their parenting, or both! Sometimes it is the stress of ministry that has led to trouble, but other times it just seems like they’ve never really been trained.
Words to a Pastor’s Wife
Years ago, I traveled to a church in another state to lead a Bible intensive on a Friday evening and Saturday and then stayed into Sunday to speak at the church’s main meeting. Rod McDonald, who helps us with our websites and occasionally writes for our bulletin inserts site, accompanied me. While there, we stayed in the home of the pastor and his wife. It did not take long to realize that the pastor’s wife was an unhappy lady. She had recently experienced having a stillborn baby. Lasting bitterness ensued. At one point in our discussion, Rod mentioned something he had said to one of his kids recently: “Is Jesus Lord or not?” It was shared warmly and, though we did not know it that day, timed perfectly. Soon after our weekend at that church, this pastor’s wife went to a Bible conference. While there, she found herself thinking about Rod’s words and confessing, “I’m bitter.” She repented, declaring, “Jesus is Lord.”
Four years later, I was back at that church with Kole Farney (who served several years with CCW). The pastor’s wife admitted to not even remembering me, but her first words were, “Is Mr. McDonald coming?” I let her down gently, but I could tell she was a changed woman. Soon we were sitting with her and her husband at their dining room table watching her weep for joy as she shared the story of how God used Rod’s words in her life.
So, Pray Also for This
Jim, Marco, and I want the Scripture we teach from a pulpit or platform to sink deeply into the hearts of people. But our words around a kitchen table or in a living room might be what God uses most effectively on some of these trips. So, as you’re praying for Jim and Pam on their current ministry trip, or for Marco’s ministry in South Africa in November, or for my time in India and Ohio in January, we need your prayers for our Bible teaching — absolutely — but pray also that we would eagerly and helpfully engage people in those unplanned conversations. Like Paul’s heart for the Thessalonians, pray that those we spend time with would “become very dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) — dear enough that, by our interest and questions and responses, we make them feel as valuable as they truly are in God’s eyes.
Put simply, ask the Lord to give us more stories like the one above about Rod and that pastor’s wife.
Warmly in Christ,
Steve (for Jim and Marco)