Hello! Happy April!
I am excited to share with you more of what this month is going to look like for my team!
Something my team grew a lot in last month was learning to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit & respond however He is leading us. Sometimes those responses looked like prayer, preaching, sharing testimonies or sharing our time with specific people he puts in our paths. We all saw & experienced the Lord in really incredible ways we never expected (if you missed any of my updates from month 6, let me know & I would be happy to send it to you directly!). Little did we know, our experiences last month really prepared us for what ministry would look like this month.
New Ground was asked to do an ATL/Unsung Heroes month!
What is that? Well I am glad you asked!!
ATL – “Ask the Lord.” This sounds simple & it is 🙂 Each morning we gather as a team we spend time in worship & prayer & we ask the Lord to lead us in the direction or toward the people he wants us to interact that day. We write down what we hear or where we feel led to go & we go! A really incredible part of this type of ministry is that we get to grow in discernment of the Lord’s voice; we also get to grow in trust within and for one another. As we act on the things the Lord speaks to us, we see if it was indeed Him who led us or if it was simply our own voices. This is going to be a month of humility & growth together & as individuals. If you have any other questions about ATL or what that looks like comment below or message me individually, I’d love to share more of our experiences.
**for clarification, when I say “hear from the Lord” or “He speaks to me,” I am not referring to the audible voice of God, I am referring to the Holy Spirit. I have learned to recognize the nudges from the Holy Spirit in my heart & mind. In my own relationship with the Lord I am experiencing what Jesus said in John 14:26 – “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative-that is, the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
peep the Himalayas!! ^^
A huge part of ATL is engaging in what we have learned about Listening Prayer. There are 5 steps that we are guided by & use as we learn how to better discern God’s voice to us:
- Does it exalt Christ (John 16:14)?
- Is it scriptural? Scripture is our authority and God does not contradict himself (Proverbs 30:5-6).
- Do other mature Christians confirm it (Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 15:22)?
- Does it bear fruit? Does it produce life or death in those who receive it?
- Does God cause it to actually take place (Isaiah 55:11, Deuteronomy 18:21-22)?
Here is a link if you would like to learn more: https://www.worldrace.org/?tab=about&subtab=believe
As a team we will have the opportunity to not only discuss & engage in these steps, but to challenge & grow alongside one another as we see things confirmed/not confirmed through our interactions & prayers this month.
“But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or does not come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message.” -Deuteronomy 18:21-22
Unsung Hero – Men and women who are dedicated to serving some of the most impoverished populations in the world, yet rarely receive recognition for their dedication and service. These givers may also live with meager conditions but give consistently from an abundance of God’s love. Their names may not be in history books, their acts unknown to the rest of the world, while unrecognized, they shake a generation and move a culture and ultimately build the Kingdom.
After talking with our leadership team, we have been given one main task for this month: find new hosts for future WorldRace teams to come serve this city! Specifically with this in mind: How is the Lord moving in this region & who is He using to accomplish His will? These are the people we want to find & partner with. & My team has been given the opportunity to FIND these people! Just like a treasure hunt. (EEK!) Holy Spirit is our flashlight & we are heading out onto a dark map to seek & find what the Lord has in store for us.
What an incredible opportunity, right?! We CANNOT wait to see how the Lord is going to move & what He is going to reveal to us this month!
