I’ve been back in the States for exactly one month now, and I’ve had an amazing time reflecting on the year. So much growth and change have taken place, but I wanted to share some of the highlights. Here is a Before & After look at how God radically changed me in these 3 areas:
1. EVANGELISM
Before: “I’m not an ‘evangelist’ – I’m actually terrified of sharing my faith, because what if (gasp) I get rejected? And besides, how do you ‘share the gospel’ anyways?”
After: “The love of Jesus and what he did on the cross is so REAL in my heart that the question is now: how could I not share that love with others?” > “Wait, you’ve never heard of Jesus? Well let me tell you about Him and how he’s transformed my life!”
**Action Step: Make more non-Christian friends – invite them over, do life with them, & share the love of Jesus. Pray for and encourage strangers throughout my everyday life – showing them God’s power & love.
(Sharing the story of Jesus with Thurkka in Sri Lanka)
2. HEART FOR MUSLIMS
Before: “I don’t engage with the Muslims around me because they’re so different and seem a bit scary. What would it even look like to have a friendship with someone of such a different faith?”
After: “I love the Muslim people and enjoy talking to them about God. We have more in common than I ever imagined, even faith-wise, and they are some of the most hospitable people on the planet.
**Action Step: Make some Muslim friends and go deep with them – sharing both life and faith. Be intentional about using my filmmaking to empower ministries to reach the unreached in the Muslim world.
(One of my beautiful Muslim friends from Indonesia)
3. BEING ON CAMERA
Before: “I hate being on camera. HATE. What if I stumble over my words? What if I look dumb? What if people judge me? Ugh. I know God wants me to do video blogs on the World Race, but I’m not happy about it.”
After: “I don’t mind being on camera at all. I’m passionate about people hearing the stories of what God is doing, and I don’t care how foolish I look! After all, it’s NOT about me. It’s all for HIS glory – Woohoo!”
**Action Step: Continue to make raw videos that tell the stories of how God is moving and working throughout my daily life. Create video courses that build up the body of Christ, using them for discipleship and evangelism.
(A clip from each of the 12 vlogs I did this year)
The Lord revealed A LOT to me this year about the power of film and different ways that it can be used on the mission field. He has given me some new direction, and I’m going to be experimenting with those ideas in 2019 so stay tuned!
