Affirmation

God has a funny way of “sending” us out to do His work-and then coming along with us. Each of us on the church planting team has been called “brave” countless times. Many believers have told us, “I could never do what you are doing.” The truth is, though, that God doesn't really send us-He just allows us the opportunity to come along for the ride. Stepping out in faith is really just a matter of saying “yes”. After that, it's all pretty much downhill. I say this because ever since we all answered “yes” to God's call to move from Texas to Utah, He has put constant accounts of affirmation in each of our paths. It's His little way of saying, “I'm here. I've got you.” I could share dozens of examples with you, but today I'm praising God for one in particular.

One of the biggest fears the team had as we prepared to re-locate here was that of persecution. It was clear that we were not just moving to any other state in the US, but to one with a culture all its own. We spoke with many Christians who lived in the valley already and and received mixed responses to the question, “Will we be welcome there?” We knew well that it was very possible that we might be ostracized in our neighborhoods or in our workplaces because we do not belong to the religion that is so prevalent here. An even bigger fear was that our children would be made to feel left out. The Heltons- our lead pastor, Ben, and his wife, Kristen- have 3 school-aged children and made the prayerful decision to enroll them in public schools. Since making that decision, I know that they haven't for a second stopped praying that their children would be made to feel welcome-not only by their peers, but also by their teachers. Here's where this story gets good. On their first day of school, Ben and Kristen walked each of their children to their designated classroom. Karis, their middle daughter and arguably the most sensitive of the 3, was introduced to a smiling teacher who stood at her door to welcome students. As Karis' parents chatted with her new teacher, God was certainly present. Within seconds of ending that conversation, dozens of phones back in Texas received a message from Kristen, and I'll leave you with that text:

“God is so good. I have been continually praying for my kid's teachers. Today when I met Karis' teacher, we were talking and she mentioned that she was looking for a church. She is a Christian-one of only 4 teachers in the entire school. She was so excited to meet us and wanted to know all about the church. Please pray she and her husband join our team. She and I both got chills and had tears in our eyes that God had connected our paths!”

From left to right: Rachel, Jax, and Karis on their first day of school