My Best Day in Ministry: Teresa Tysinger

Teresa, 1999

Today's guest post comes from Teresa Tysinger, a former member of my youth group in Kissimmee, FL back in the 1990s and currently one of my very best friends.  In addition to her work with the church, she is also a graphic designer, great cook and all-around crafty kind of person.  You can check out her online store at www.GoodDayShop.etsy.com or follow her on Twitter @DesignMasterT .  It is somehow very appropriate that someone who means so much to me is posting here on Valentine's Day!  Much love to you all!

Thanks so much to my beloved friend and former youth pastor, Carl, for letting me share some thoughts with you today on his blog.  I’ve so much loved reading the words of the other guest bloggers.

I just celebrated 8 years at Christ United Methodist Church here in Greensboro, North Carolina as the Coordinator of Media & Communications.  (How the times flies!)  I had been working here about 2 years when I was asked to speak at one of our adult Sunday school classes.  As a still fairly new employee, the class president invited me to come speak about my role on the church staff.  I dodged the invitation a few times, finding excuses for why I wasn’t available.  As a recovering introvert, the task of speaking in front of a crowd of highly educated, professionally successful and well-read adults intimidated me.  How on earth was I qualified?  Why would they want me or care about what I had to say?

But the class president persisted month after month.  I began feeling a tug on my heart to accept the invitation.  “Oh, boy. God, you really want me to do this, don’t you?”  It was a rhetorical question. God doesn’t tug on your heart for the fun of it.  And, if I would allow myself to be honest, the words coming to mind that I wanted to say had very little to do with explaining my job at the church.  Which confused me even more.  I finally, yet still reluctantly, agreed to speak to the class on one Sunday in March of 2006 – almost a year after I was first asked.

That morning I prayed for God to be glorified by my words (and to calm my nerves!).  I did share about my work creating marketing materials for church events, managing the church website, producing the church’s weekly newsletter, etc.  But I ended up sharing much more.  I shared about growing up in a family who not only went to church every week but who also talked about the sermon over Sunday lunch. I told about the moment I realized Jesus loved ME -- died for ME -- while participating in a guided mediation led by Carl when I was a teenager in his youth group in Kissimmee, Florida.  And I recounted the small yet significant steps that had led me to working at Christ Church – a quiet unexpected journey.  Without really realizing it, I had been given the chance to testify to God’s love for me and the ways he was actively and faithfully working in my life. 

I not only remember this as my best day in ministry, but I think back on it as the day I claimed being “in ministry.”  The phrase “in ministry” is interesting, isn’t it? It seems logical that those of us who get paid to work at a church would automatically categorize ourselves as being “in ministry.”  Easy, right?  This wasn’t the case for me. Before the opportunity to speak that morning, my job at the church was just that to me – a job.  I felt very lucky to have it, and enjoyed it. But I had not claimed it as my chance at being “in ministry.”  I don’t preach a sermon every Sunday.  I don’t plan Vacation Bible School for hundreds of children every summer.  But just like during that mediation Carl led me through years ago when I felt Jesus’ unique love for me, I realized God valued me using my skills to help others encounter what our church has to offer – including hearing the Good News.

As believers in Christ one of our main objectives should be rooted in what Jesus commanded us to do: Share the Gospel and make Disciples of Christ.  Be fishers of men (or women, youth, neighbors, mail carriers, grocery store baggers, etc.).   I may have finally claimed being “in ministry” through this opportunity to speak due to my position at the church. God used that experience to speak to ME just as much as I hope he spoke through me.  But hear this. Being a church worker has nothing to do with the ability for any of us to claim being “in ministry” together as the Body of Christ.  My office may be in a church building. Your office may be in a classroom where you study.  Or in a garage where you fix cars.  Or in your home where you raise your children.  Or at the restaurant you frequent every week.  We are all employed by God “in ministry” to do his kingdom work. 

My prayer for you today is that God helps you recognize and claim your own unique place “in ministry.”  Who knows – maybe today can be YOUR best day “in ministry.”  How exciting!

~Teresa Reep Tysinger

My Best Day in Ministry: Lisa Moran

Lisa Ramos Moran is one of my oldest friends.  We met through the youth group of New Garden Friends Meeting when we were both in junior high school (I am a year older) and have remained connected ever since.  We shared so many experiences in high school, including my first trip to New York- a trip on which she met her eventual husband, Dan Moran.  We used to greet each other in a most unusual way back in the day.  I would greet her with "Ram it, Ramos!" She would respond with "Jam it, Jones!"  And then we would hug.  Today, Lisa serves as the volunteer youth director at Deep River Friends Meeting in High Point, NC- just as she has for the past 10 years.  She is also in the process of being recorded (or "ordained" for my non-Quaker readers) through the NC Yearly Meeting of Friends. She has three wonderful grown children- Dani Shea, Alexander and Eli- and is married to her high school sweetheart-still her sweetheart- Dan. It is a very special honor to have her share from her huge heart for youth ministry here today.  Love you, Lisa!

My Best Day in Ministry: Flowers for Lisa

Luke 12:28 - If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? 

Carl and I go way back and I was so excited to be able to volunteer for this writing venture! 

Just like all of the other guest writers, I have had many good days in Youth ministry but when I decided to respond to Carl’s request a certain day just popped into my mind.  I feel a bit narcissistic because this story is all about me  …

Last summer, my friend, Sheila- the Youth Minister at First Friends – and I took a group of youth to Philadelphia. There were tweens and teens from both Meetings. I had 3 middle school girls and my youngest son, a rising college freshman. There were 7 youth from First Friends. It was more of an educational trip than a mission trip but God is good, all the time. Our mission, even if we didn’t put a name to it, was about learning love and strengthening bonds within our groups. That, too, can be important work.

We had a blast! We took the train, which was a brand new experience for most, and got to know each other quickly. We learned so much Quaker history, visiting various Meetings and historical sites. We worked with the American Friends Service Committee Office in Philly to make a video about peace. We laughed, ate Philly steak sandwiches and took a bus tour of the city. We walked with mostly beautiful weather above and took lots of pictures.

The last day we were to meet in the lobby, store our suitcases with the hotel staff and head on our last day’s adventures. As I headed to the Starbucks in the lobby (not much roughing it on this trip) my 3 middle school girls met me, giggling as only middle school girls do, with grins as big as their faces, with three of the most beautiful flowers ever. They had bought them at the market and they had bought them just for me.

It was such a spontaneous, beautiful, heartfelt and pure gesture of love from these three beautiful, drama-filled, lovely, mood-swinging, gifts-from-God middle school girls, I could hardly breathe. Maybe you think I am overreacting. I didn’t faint, or cry, or any of that but I was so touched. We took our picture with the flowers and then I decided we needed to put them in a water bottle and carry them with us the rest of the day! I asked the girls if they were up to helping me make sure the blooms survived and we were off!

The flowers rode the tour bus with us, went through the Eastern State Penitentiary with us, had a place on the steps that Rocky ran up, and even rode the train home with us.

The whole trip was great but that day was special. I am a huge fan of the “Rocky” movies- I know, cheesy at best- and I got my picture taken by the statue and a few of us ran up the steps leading up to the Museum of Art. The double decker tour bus ride was so much fun and the weather was perfect. The prison was both surreal and very interesting. The kids were lapping up our last little bit of time in the city, excited for our train ride home but not wanting to leave our own big adventure. And my girls, and my flowers, were my treasure. 

Luke 12: 34 - The place where your treasure is- that is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

The day brought one of those times when I knew I was where I wanted to be, needed to be and hoped I could stay- in the lives of these young people and others, getting to know them, encouraging them and getting so much encouragement from them. I hope that I am teaching them kindness, helping them see how we can work on the ideals of the Kingdom of God here on earth and I hope to remember to thank Jesus for the flowers along the way!

Romans 1: 8, 12 - I thank God through Jesus for every one of you! But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.

I send each and every one of you blessings, peace and joy in everything you do!

Lisa Moran

lulu910@earthlink.net

Facebook: Lisa Moran

My Best Day in Ministry: Matthew Fry

Our guest blogger for this day is Matthew Fry, a youth pastor I have come to know though Twitter.  Matthew serves as youth pastor to the students of Whitesville Christian Church in Crawfordsville, IN.  I am so glad he volunteered to share his best day with us.  You can follow him on Twitter @matthewfry1985.

Week after week I would show up early to finish the setup for our Sunday morning program. I’d arrive about 45 minutes early and every time I arrived Austin would arrive shortly after. He was an eighth grader who was fairly introverted and spent far more time playing video games than he did studying. He’d arrive early each week and would talk about the newest games he had played. Each week I tried to relate to him, but having not played video games since college, I felt like I was getting no where.

On the way home from church one day my wife and I were talking and I mentioned my situation with Austin. I desperately wanted to make a connection with him and didn’t know how to relate. My wife sympathized with me and said that I just needed to pray about it. That night I said a short prayer to make a connection with Austin and I put the situation in God’s hands.

The next day I walked into our church offices and saw Austin’s mom standing there. He must get his introvertedness (if that’s a word) from her because she’s fairly quiet as well. Today was different though. She had a huge smile on her face and said she was so glad to see me. She began sharing how she greatly appreciated all that I did with her son on Sunday mornings and that she couldn’t get him to stop talking about our services. My jaw dropped more and more as she kept talking about how much he talks about me and how he thinks I’m “pretty cool” (I love middle school students and how they don’t realize we’re really not as cool as they think).

This was my best day in ministry for several reasons. Many times in ministry we get caught up in the idea that what we’re doing isn’t having an impact. We spend hours preparing lessons and returning phone calls and text messages, but rarely see the fruits of our labor. The days that we do see these fruits are few and far between so we have to appreciate them. The few thank you cards, e-mails or voicemails that we get are a fraction of the gratitude we’ll receive on the other side of this life. When we get to heaven and see the results of years of dedication to ministry.

I use my story with Austin whenever I encounter a youth worker who feels he/she is getting no where with a student. If you’re that youth worker that needs to hear these words please know that your impact is greater than you can ever imagine. That God is using you to reach students whether you can see it or not. That many students are far too nervous to open up and share how much you mean to them. So like the 1981 Journey song preaches to us “Don’t stop believin’” when you feel you’re getting no where!

-Matthew Fry

Student Minister

Whitesville Christian Church - Crawfordsville, IN

matthewfry32@gmail.com

matthewaaronfry.blogspot.com

My Best Day in Ministry: Tom Zalatnai

Welcome to the 900th consecutive day a post has appeared on this blog!  Our week of themed guest posts takes on an international flavor today as Tom Zalatnai, one of my very favorite Canadians, shares his best day in ministry with us.  He is a Montreal-based Christ-lover, musician, worshipper, foodie, college student and Youth Coordinator at Emmaus Anglican Church. Also he sometimes have a beard. He describes himself as "just another guy who is undeservingly blessed and trying to get a better understanding of the Lord by studying His Word."  I love his heart for youth and for worship, and I know you will too.


When Carl put out a call for guest bloggers to write about their 'best days in ministry' I immediately jumped at the opportunity, because I love taking these chances to reflect on my experiences and just thank God for all the cool things He's made me a part of!

I've been involved in youth & childrens' ministries for a long time now- the first time I worked with kids was when I was 11, wild as that summer was- and I've had so many incredible days. Between day camps, Sunday school, youth group and music ministry, my life has been pretty hectic for the last 7 years. But through all of these adventures, all of these amazing times of serving the Lord and leading His people, there's just too many days that stand out as exceptionally special. Thankfully, one of those days happened just a few weeks ago, so it's fresh in my mind and I figure I might as well take advantage of that for today's post!

At the beginning of January, Emmaus Youth Group had its annual Winter Retreat. The whole weekend was a brilliant testimony to God's provision and grace, but one day in particular stood out for me. The Saturday, which was the longest day of the 3-day event, was slated to be the more packed of the three, with multiple lessons lined up, a few really fantastic games, and the secret surprise of midnight chicken wings, but I had no idea it would be so fantastically full of the Holy Spirit! One thing that's important to understand about this retreat was that we were faced with hundreds of obstacles on the way into it. Our group has always been notoriously bad at finding drivers to transport the teens to events, because most of our leaders either can't drive or don't have cars of their own, and a lot of the parents end up having to chauffeur and can't always make it. This time around, we had prayed for enough drivers to turn up, because we cut it very close last time. God provided, and we had enough drivers lined up that we would have been alright and made it out of the city without struggle!

But then our location cancelled on us about a week before, and we had to scramble at the last minute to find a new place to host it. My co-coordinator and I called around to a number of places and finally ended up booking a retreat center in the city, about five minutes away from my parents' house. Not really much of an escape, but it would have to do. We were hesitant, because part of the magic of youth retreats is the long car rides out into the middle of nowhere, and isolation from the rest of the world for the whole weekend. But with no other options, we forsook the many drivers we had booked, and had everyone drop their kids off in the city instead of carpooling out to the Townships. Thankfully, the teens had an amazing time and actually requested that we go back to the same place next Winter.

That's not where this story ends though, don't worry. Over the weekend, our theme was "Value through Christ" and we talked a little about spiritual gifts and encouragement. On the Saturday in question, we had planned a two hour prayer session called the 'Honoring Chair'- one by one, people would come up and sit on a chair in the middle of the room to receive prayer and encouraging words from whoever felt called to share with them. We had 14 people on the retreat with us, and expected to get all of them done in the two hour period, and had three hours of games planned for afterward. By the time we had gotten through half of the group, we had been there for five straight hours praying for each other! The teens were so encouraged and excited about this that we cancelled the next morning's games and continued with another three hour prayer session to finish things up.

Seeing the teens that we so often pray for- asking God to reveal Himself to them in powerful new ways, asking Him to open their hearts and eyes to see things the way He sees them- seeing them so filled with His Spirit, praying over their closest friends and leaders, was such a powerful experience, and has placed itself in my heart as one of my best ministry experiences. There was not a dry eye in the room by the end of the prayers, and it was just amazing seeing this group of teens so full of the Spirit and loving each other so much.

All that being said, I am so thankful for the ministry God has given me at Emmaus, and am so excited to see how He moves in our hearts in the future!

Blessings,

Tom Zalatnai
@tomzalatnai

http://tomzalatnai.blogspot.com/

My Best Day in Ministry: Andrea Ward

Today's guest post comes from a new friend, Andrea Ward.  We met through blogging and Twitter, and I have become an avid reader of her blog- Jesus, You & Me.  I love her heart for ministry and I know you will too.  She lives in Hickory, NC- a place where I spent one glorious (and as yet unblogged!) year as a student at Lenoir Rhyne College back in 1977-78.  You can follow her on Twitter @citrus_sunshine.  Enjoy her post.

This is not the post I wanted to write when I volunteered to do this guest post.  My husband and I are new to youth ministry.  We are only a few months into full time ministry and 2 years into youth ministry at all.  I wanted to write about overcoming challenges with our very broken youth.  However, those words weren't coming to me.  The words that are coming to me are from several years ago before I was married.  I'm not even sure I was out of college yet.  For about 5 years I was a counselor at a small inter-denominational youth camp.  Being inter-denominational means it is small and not really modern and fancy like other camps I have heard about.  This camp and the board that runs it very specifically keep the cost low, $35 for the week.  Any child 10-21 is welcome.  Of course most who hang around until the 21 age are often drafted into service to the camp.  This was me and I was comfortable with that.

This particular "day" is really just a handful of hours in my mind.  I really don’t remember anything from the morning or afternoon.  What I remember most is the church service.  And from the church service, I don’t really remember the sermon.  I remember the altar call afterward.  As a counselor, I always pray with any kids at the altar.  Rarely would they tell me what it was about and I didn’t push them to tell me.  I would just pray with them and hug on them if they needed it.  Then we would go on to other activities.  However there is one girl that sticks out in my mind, one prayer service that keeps running through my head when I think of my best day in the ministry.  During the prayer service, I do remember that the directive was to pray about lies Satan tells you. 

One girl came forward.  We had been worrying about her because of her choice of male accompaniment.  You all remember the camp romance right?  Anyway, she came forward to pray.  I prayed with her and she bared her soul.  I prayed with her and told her that all of that was certainly a lie from Satan.  I also said that it would be a slow process of retraining her mind to not listen to those lies.  Well I was wrong about that because God showed up and changed everything.  I’m not for sure about exactly what happened next.  If I had to guess one of our girls who had a gift for imparting the Holy Spirit, prayed with her.  She regularly prayed with kids and God showed up in big ways.  She probably did that again with this girl.  After the prayer session was done with for most kids, this girl and 2 others were not done.  We took them down to the cafeteria to keep praying.  I’m not sure if I stayed by myself or if someone was with me.  Anyway, the rest of the campers went on with their games for night activity.  I stayed with those girls.  God showed up and the room was filled with a nearly tangible presence.  The girls were speaking to God in a very intimate way that was only understood between them and God.  I remember they were on the floor praying.  There was crying and there might have been shouting and there was speaking in tongues.  (Yes, tongues.  Yes, it was God.  Yes, I believe that happens sometimes.)  This went on for an hour and half or so.  I just waited for them to be done with God.  This has happened a time or two before and I was just there as a monitoring presence.  I was there keeping God in and others out.  So I continued monitoring.  When they were done, we joined the other kids and there was a difference.  This girl who was broken and used was whole.  God healed her then and there.  She was a different girl for the rest of the week and every week after that.  She eventually went off to some kind of missionary training.  She came back a wonderful, beautiful, whole Christian girl who was in love with a great young man and ready to spread the gospel.  This was my best day in the ministry that had nothing to do with me and everything to do with God.  Isn't that the way it should be?

~Andrea Ward

My Best Day in Ministry: Eric Hendrickson

Today's guest post comes from Twitter buddy Eric Hendrickson, a long-time youth pastor and blogger. In addition to his own work, Eric has been a tremendous source of personal encouragement to me.  It is an honor to have him share with us today!


Looking back over the past fourteen years, there have been many days that I could describe as my best day in ministry in different areas.   I look at my first day at my first church, Faith United Methodist on December 21, 1997 when I my only thought was reaching students.  I didn't worry about budget, fundraisers, how much I was getting paid, making sure I was up on the latest curriculum, playing the right worship songs, or anything.  It was all about ministry and accepting my calling.  It was simple.   I had no real structure, a 5 year plan, or anything really.  It was trying to get the students involved at this church excited about Jesus.  I owned a guitar and only knew the song Light the Fire.  And for the first couple months that was al the music we had.  We played a few games and sang one song and then I led a lesson.

I look at my first day as Full time Youth Director at Tucker First UMC, May 2, 2002  I see many similar aspects of my first place in ministry, but with knowing a few more songs.  But over the years that first day begin the best day has gone away.  Because as I've learned church ministry, new positions and day to day operations have changed to worrying about the budget, knowing when and how many fundraisers to do, worrying about taking care of my family with pay, staying current on curriculum and ministry trends, and keeping up with current worship music.  In some ways its sad, but also just a reality of things.  

But in ministry I have learned not to worry about these things.  I've learned over the past couple years that those things are important and I need to pay attention to them, but I do not need to let them get in the way of ministry and keeping that same spirit of ministry I had on December 21, 1997 and May 12, 2002

With that beings said, my best Day in ministry was July 5, 2006.  Every year at my church Lithia Springs UMC, we hosted River of Life Mission Retreat.  River of Life is a series of events held each summer aimed at enabling youth and adults, from many different churches, to come together to express the love of Jesus Christ by ministering to the people of a particular local community through exterior home repairs and improvements.  That was my fourth year leading it at Lithia Springs UMC.   I had been a part of River of Life since 1995 and had participated with in 18 different weeks as a student, musician, and team leader. But this year and this day was what I look at the best day of Ministry.  As I started to lead worship, I looked out into the crowd of over 200 students, adults, pastors, and youth workers and saw one guy.  One guy that was in full worship. A youth leader that had six students.  A youth leader who was on his first retreat and his first mission trip.  I saw the look in his eyes and recognized it from December 21, 1997 when I had my first youth program.  I saw students surrounding him and were also in full worship.  After the service I saw him speak to one and stop and pray with the young man.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I thought back to May 2, 2002 when I met this youth worker for the first time, when he introduced himself to me after youth group that night at Tucker 1st UMC.   I thought back to that Thanksgiving on 2002 when I saw this youth worker who was 16 at the time give his life to God and being called into ministry.  July 5, 2006, will always remind me of how ministry can always be the way of just reaching students for Christ and seeing those students reach others.  I'm very blessed to still have that youth worker, Mark Ashby, one of my former youth as one of my best friends and partners in ministry.  I look and see how when I let go and not worry about worrying about the budget, knowing when and how many fundraisers to do, worrying about taking care of my family with pay, staying current on curriculum and ministry trends, and keeping up with current worship music that that day can be everyday in ministry and every day can be my best day in ministry.

***Update*** After I wrote this guest blog a few hours later I got a text from one of my current students that is feeling a calling to youth ministry.  The text said, "Eric I just wanted to let you know I witnessed to someone at school today for the first time.  It was an amazing feeling to spread the word of God!"  ****

Every Day is our best day in Youth Ministry

Carpe Diem!

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 My Blog http://www.uscerock.com Follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/uscerock

My Best Day in Ministry: Darin Miller

Darin and my lovely wife in the Kissimmee days!

Today's guest post comes from my old friend Darin Miller, a member of my own Youth Group Hall of Fame.  Darin serves as the Adult Ministries Pastor at The Cove Church near Huntsville, AL, after serving as a youth pastor for many years.  And once upon a time he was a volunteer in a student ministry I led in Kissimmee, FL.  To read more about those days, click here.  Darin is a blessing and an inspiration to me, and I know he will be to you as well.  I am so glad he wanted to share in this series!


It is truly difficult to single out “my best day in youth ministry.”  After being involved with youth ministry for 15 years plus, my involvement with youth has been filled with many up’s and down’s. But this particular moment was probably the first time that I felt like the Holy Spirit truly made himself visible to everyone in our youth group.  And without doubt, the presence of God undeniable.

 I’m not sure of the exact year…maybe 1998.  (it’s funny how they all run together) But I do remember that it was Fall Retreat for Asbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.  We were in the second night of our retreat, which included singing and a speaker. Somewhere in the middle of the signing part of our night, I was called away to take care of an injury or logistical issue.  But as I returned to the main room, I noticed that there were students on the stage with the microphone.  I was a little surprised because our “plan” for the night didn’t involve student presentations at this point.  So as I entered I started examining what was happening.

The whole group of roughly 100 people was sitting quietly and with anticipation as one of our high school girls spoke about her experience during the weekend.  Our theme was “Shine” and our group had really come together on the whole idea of being a city on a hill and letting our light shine.  This teenage girl was finishing her story of coming this weekend and the impact that it would forever have on her life.

I had begun my youth ministry “career” as a volunteer in Kissimmee, Florida.  I admit that my initial reasons for becoming involved were a mystery to me.  I knew that I wanted to be involved with the church.  I knew that was where I “should” be.  But as far as my path to that youth ministry, I’m unsure of exactly why I started. But in those early years, I began to understand the importance of “impact” in youth ministry and the eternal legacy that can be left if Jesus is the focus.

I had yet to experience that in my first church in Birmingham.  I was still “green” and the fruit of labor and faith hadn’t yet become evident.  But as that teenage girl spoke, I began to realize that after a year of toil, legacy was being formed.  And though that testimony from her was enough to have filled my heart, God had an even greater surprise in store for us.  At about the time she finished, I noticed a stir among our high school boys.  Without prompting, a group of three of our senior boys began to make their way to the stage.  My pulse began to quicken for two reasons: one, an open mic in the hands of a high school student is always cause for apprehension; two, a spur-of-the-moment testimony from three of our high school seniors is a blessing from above.  This is especially true in a situation where the depth of faith has seemed as shallow as a desert stream.

Those three young men went to the stage and took turns sharing about where they were with Jesus.  They spoke about how they represented God in their high school.  They even spoke directly to the middle school students and told them that they would be there for them if they ever had any problems at school or at home.  They had learned the lesson that if our faith doesn’t impact the lives of others it is selfish at best if not entirely useless.  They wanted to make sure that their faith had an impact.

I had been observing from the very back of the room this whole time.  I was standing near the door of the room and was suddenly overcome with emotion.  Being a part of something that God had orchestrated was too much for me to handle stoically.  I stepped out of the room and fell to my knees and prayed, thanking God for his Spirit and for calling me to ministry.

 It was on that night that I found the answer to the mystery of why I showed up to volunteer in Kissimmee, Florida. I had a heart for expanding God’s Kingdom.  It showed me that the toil and sweat of ministry should always be directed towards God’s glory.  If so, being even a small part of his plan guarantees impact and an everlasting legacy for His Kingdom.

~Darin Miller

www.covechurch.com