For the first four months of the Race, I’ve been doing ministry with the same team of six guys, and it has been absolutely incredible getting to know them and do life with them over that time. However, this month, we changed teams, so I wanted to take some time and look back over those four months and see how we have each learned and grown from one another. Ministry and the people we have met have stretched us quite a bit, but I want to focus here specifically on the team itself, and how we have grown as a result of being a part of it. I asked each person to share a little of their heart, to give you a look at what has been going on with all of us outside of the ministry stories that I’ve shared here.
Andrew Galea
Coming into this season of life, I was really nervous being on a team with just guys. My story deals with many issues with other guys in my community. I wanted to trust that the Lord was going to heal this in His own way in His own time… but I didn’t expect for Him to decide to do it now.
Being on Team Resurgent has been overall very healing for me. It changed the way I view all-male communities in some powerful ways. For example, I didn’t realize how simple and easy it would be to get along with other guys. Most of them are straight-shooters and don’t beat around the bush too much. This especially has been good for me as I have previously had issues with reading too much into how I interact with people. The guys on the team have stretched me to say what I mean and mean what I say. They have encouraged me to continue pressing into the Lord, and I have developed some very healthy habits in making space for quiet time with the Lord every day.
Probably one of the most fruitful things about our experience together has been in the deep encouragement we receive from one another to continue in pursuit of our God-given gifts and passions. Until this team, I hadn’t thought too much about how the Lord chooses to manifest His spiritual gifts in me at all, but now I have been encouraged to pursue Him in these gifts, allowing Him to fully express them in me rather that silence them and “quench the Spirit” (as I had previously had the tendency to do). What I’ve come to learn from them is that belittling what God has put in you and created you to be is not true humility: it’s pride wrapped in a guise of low self-esteem.
Colby Wayenberg
Going into the World Race, I think the thing that I was the most excited about was living in community. Most of my life, I haven’t had a solid community of believers that I was a part of, at least not any deeper than surface level relationships. Most of my friendships, in and out of the church, didn’t go very deep, and I had a hard time letting people into my struggles and failures. I knew that was something I would have to get over this year, and the team of guys that I was a part of for the last four months has been exactly what I needed to break out of those bad habits. I have absolutely loved being a part of such an encouraging community of people willing to speak truth into me on a daily basis. Sometimes that was something that I wanted to hear, and other times the things they shared were difficult for me to swallow. Everything, though, was ultimately helpful and necessary for me to hear. They helped me not only learn to let people in, but also to lean into the gifts God has given me that I often don’t recognize in myself. I’ve grown a lot from these people in the last four months, and I’m so excited to continue that growth in my new team.
John Sanchez
Over the course of the last four months, the Lord has used my team to grow me in a large variety of ways. One of the most obvious ways I grew is in my general understanding of how the Body of Christ works. We all have different strengths, different passions and different life experiences that cause us to do ministry in different ways and when we put it all together it creates a beautiful masterpiece and I see the work of the Lord. It’s like a painting with a mixture of all sorts of different colors. We are those colors and the Holy Spirit is the painter.
Another huge thing I learned from this team is the value of thorough communication. As a result of being the team translator for 3 of the 4 months we were together, I was often placed in positions where I was the only one who knew what was happening and I had to communicate to our whole team what was happening. This was harder to do than I anticipated and I often thought I thoroughly communicated something to our team that our team did not understand. Learning to be patient with myself and others as a translator for 3 months was a growing process.
I have also grown in giving and receiving feedback. I discovered that my primary love language is words of affirmation and based on feedback I received from my team and talking with the Lord I realized that is one of the ways I love my team and I just love it. Before I was nervous about giving constructive feedback because I didn’t want to affect our friendship but I realized true brothers call each other higher even when it’s hard or uncomfortable.
Lee Cole
Diving headfirst into community was anything but easy. For me the community, no alone time, and forced relationships have been the hardest part, but at the same time it’s been beautiful, growing, challenging, and even life changing. It’s been so cool to see how far the 6 of us have come since we first met on October 16th, a bunch of guys that knew very little about the other. We pushed boundaries, tested out jokes to see which ones would work and which ones were and were not appropriate (mostly mine, sorry mom), and even asked the uncomfortable questions. On a daily basis we pushed each other to be more like Jesus, forget our past and remind each other that Jesus loves and forgives us for anything that we may have done, he wants us and wants all of us. We’ve encouraged each other to do things we didn’t think we could or things we weren’t comfortable doing but we did them and we did them together.
Writing this, I think back to the 10 days at training camp and the people I gravitated to, I gravitated to people that were similar to me, people similar to ones that I used to hang out with, and people that had the same humor as I do. I judged these people off of a first impression. None of the men on my team were ones I clung to at training camp but thank God he knows better. He hand picked this team, he forced me to form relationships with men I normally wouldn’t pursue. He changed my life, perception on life, changed the way I view myself and others through the 5 men of team Resurgent. I will forever be in debt to these men as we move forward on this journey called The World Race and in life. So, thank you for all that you’ve done and all that you have put up with, in helping me become a better man.
Michael Williams (Our fearless team leader)
Being on this team has grown and shaped me. This team has helped me grow in vulnerability and learning how to lead in more humility.
It was at times uncomfortable leading this team. I have become more patient and being open and honest with my emotions. I had moments when the ugly parts of my sin showed within a community I couldn’t just freely escape. I couldn’t just get in my car or go somewhere else. I have seen myself come along way with sharing tough things that I use to let fester in my heart. I have never been in a community that forced me to be transparent with what I am feeling.
I have learned to process why I sinned in certain situations with my teammates. I have learned a lot to have a heart of repentance and bringing it all to light.
I struggled before this team to walk in confidence and authority. There were times I was tested, and it was hard, but I know now why it happened. I have learned to bring them to light and not keep them in. This team has encouraged me so much, and I know what I am gifted at because of this team. This team has changed the way I walk and how I do ministry.
We all are so different and come from so many different backgrounds. This team has shown me the importance of listening. I know because these past few months I have had to listen more than I have ever had to before. And I see the importance of it.
I have been encouraged by the boldness and the biblical knowledge my team has. This team has pushed me and sparked within me to learn and want to study the Bible more in depth. This team has challenged my thinking and have motivated me into digging deeper into what I believe. This team has made me hungry for more knowledge of the Lord. (This has shown me my desire to go to seminary after the race.)
I know how to live in a healthy community and let people into what’s going on inside as far as struggles etc.. I know how to call people higher out of love from the father. These are my brothers forever, and I have never had a friendship like this. I thank the Lord for each one of these brothers of mine. The Lord brought so much healing into my life from past communities.
