Hey Support Team,
I must apologize for missing my last post. It was partially due to being busy, but also due to the fact that not a lot has changed since my last post.
My last post I talked about the possibilities of staying on with the current church that I am serving with, through a program called Elevation. I have prayed and asked all of you to pray as well and the feedback has been overwhelmingly one sided. With a single exception I have felt through prayer, and conversation that I am to pursue this program. So I have told the church that I am interested and willing to stay on. However that is and was not the end of the conversation. Because although the leadership of the church is overwhelmingly for this, the membership is not as much. Not to say that they are against my coming on, but rather that there was a small, but vocal, group who protested against my wage, despite my having to raise a third of it and the total being less than if I was hired any other way.
So in mid April the church is going to vote on whether or not they want to hire me in this Elevation position. I feel very strongly about it, but if the church chooses to go another way I will be in need very quickly. So I am struggling between exploring my other options and having faith that the church and what I believe God is saying will line up.
Please pray for me in this situation. All my decisions, for the foreseeable future rely on knowing where I will be serving/working. As I get closer and closer to the date of the completion of my program, I get more and more nervous and concerned. So please pray that the both the church and I are able to understand and discern the will of God for me and the possibility of my continued involvement with them. Also please pray that if this is not in Gods plan, that he would reveal my next steps to me.
Other than the aforementioned issue I am doing well. The students are being more open and receptive to me and my teachings. The young adult ministry is thriving and growing. My comfort and ability to preach and teach are increasing. And I am developing strong relationships with mentors and other pastors who have been doing this much longer than I.
Overall this time has been very affirming of my gifting, while also highlighting the necessity of God in ministry. I know that seems obvious, but to my observations it is Christ alone who makes the real changes in a persons life. Over the past few weeks I have been meditating on this thought and a few days ago I read this in my devotions
"After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's Servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Appolos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It is not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What is important is that God makes the seed grow." 1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Whether planting, watering, or reaping a harvest, I am just a worker in the field that the Lord has placed in front of me. Each plant requires its own special treatment and care, and I need to rely on God to show me how to care for them all, because it is God, not me, who makes them grow.
God Bless
- Stefan Klassen
Preaching
Preaching during the main service at church
