In honor of leaving for Launch (final training before heading out for the start of ministry) tomorrow, I’m excited to introduce you to my team I’ll serve with for the next several months. Meet Team Vessel.
Team Vessel (left to right): Connor, Brooklyn, Abby, Me, Jenna, Lexi, Zac
For those of you who don’t know how AIM structures leadership and teams in ministry, this is the smaller team I’ll be serving with full-time. You can get their perspective on the Race by clicking on their blogs in the sidebar to the left. Together we’ll live with ministry hosts—local organizations, non-profits, pastors etc.—in each country, serving and helping them in whatever is needed for those who work full-time in ministry to bring the Kingdom of God on earth. I’m also a part of a larger group, called my squad.
Gap L Squad
The squad will meet up to travel between countries and have debriefs together every few months. Our month in Romania will also be spent serving together at the same church, as a squad. In later months, once teams are serving in separate locations, our squad leaders will rotate between teams to help with logistics and spiritual formation
We have Squad Leaders living with us, a Squad Mentor who lives in Georgia, Coaches (think World Race parents) who visit us periodically, Administrators and Mobilizers and countless others who are walking us through this journey together. It’s a well-organized and layered system, and we have so many people to help keep us all accountable and encourage one another to grab hold of God’s best in this season.
Now, you’re probably wondering where the name “Vessel” came from. During training camp, God spoke a lot of different things over us as a team. He showed us that we can do so much more than we would think we could through his power. He showed us what it means for us to walk together as a family and love each other when it’s hard. One day, we had a particularly intense time of sharing the painful parts of our stories—the things we’d like to hide from others, the parts of us we can be ashamed of—and we were so encouraged by the degree to which God met us in that space and we could love each other through it.
When it came to choosing a name, however, we came to a point where we wanted to ask what God truly had for us, rather than just deciding who we were going to be. So as a team, we prayed over the year and asked God “Who do you want us to be?”
As any of us heard the Spirit speaking anything, we declared it over the team. We heard the Lord tell us that we are going to be strong, that we are courageous, that we have no limits in him as to what we can do. But he also told us that he is “near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18), that we will be brokenhearted in the way we minister, and that our power is found in weakness—“for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). A teammate of mine, Jenna, heard the word “Vessel,” and was given the image of a vase that was cracked and had holes in it, but a stream of water was continually pouring into it, so that water was gushing out of every crack and imperfection. God used this image to tell us that he’s going to give us power, courage, and boldness—but that those things are going to come out of our weaknesses, not our strengths.
It was a beautiful time sitting together with the Father and letting the Holy Spirit assure us of his love, and all he’s going to do this year—we filled an entire page with words, images, and promises of who the Lord says he wants us to be. And so I’m stepping into this year with confidence, knowing that the Father has put every step I have to take before me, and all that’s left for me to do is listen and follow as he leads.
Thank you for your continual support—God is preparing to move powerfully in this squad, my team, and the nations we’ll be in! Please continue to pray for humility and surrender as I step forward, that I could give him everything I have. Also ask for safety in travels; we’re booked to leave from Ft. Lauderdale, so ask for safety in light of Hurricane Irma. I’m leaving early tomorrow morning and will be in Atlanta for Launch training this weekend, and Gap L arrives for ministry in Romania early September 13th!
God’s Peace to you all.
(Bonus: Enjoy these pictures of my trying to fit my entire life for 9 months into one bag, Monty. Yes, I named my backpack.)
