Near the end of
August I ran into a difficult ministry decision. Each year I have helped coordinate [alt],
which is a Christian alternative event to the partying, drunkenness, and
violence that occurs each year in Hays after the local Oktoberfest celebration. [alt] provides a Christian concert that
starts right after Oktoberfest and ends around midnight. Then later night alternatives are provided by
local ministries (including Unite—our game night and coffee house run all night
that evening). The lead coordinator for
[alt] stepped down from his ministry position at his church near the end of
August, and the other coordinator and I weren’t sure if we could do the event
without him in such a short period of time.
The bands hadn’t been locked down and the money was partly tied to the
lead coordinator and his church, which was understandably unwilling to route
the funds through their nonprofit accounts without his involvement. Everyone indicated that if I could get it all
organized through Unite’s nonprofit accounts, could get good enough bands
locked down and money to pay them, and if I could keep the whole event at least
as high quality as last year that we could go ahead and do it. We all agreed that was a long shot. We also needed to know within a week to get
advertising out OR to get out the word that [alt] would be coming back bigger
and better next year. It left a very
short time window, but I felt like I should definitely pray about it to see
what God wanted me to do and to look into the possibilities to see where we
were really at.
As I prayed and
looked into it, I didn’t really feel like I was hearing any answer or getting
any inclination about whether to proceed or not. Several doors opened up—I found some leads to
different bands that might be able to perform for the event, and I was able to
get permission to use our nonprofit accounts for [alt]. Also, some of our old partners were up to the
task of helping out, and I had already done some work earlier this year in
getting new partners to help with the event.
We didn’t have any god leads to indicate how much financial backing we
could expect from old community partners, but at least one indicated that they
would provide something if we could get the event to work out.
It was an odd
contradiction for me, because as I prayed and meditated, I felt slightly
inclined to hold off until next year, but as the more I looked into it, the
more doors seemed to open and the more it looked feasible with God’s providence
and with a titanic amount of effort (which I was willing to provide).
My meditations
brought me back to an interesting moment from the week before. Unite had a table at Fort Hays State’s event
‘Picnic in the Quad’ along with the dojo and our Godly Warrior and early church
prayer meditation ministries. Right
after the event I had to run to Trinity Lutheran church for a meeting, so I
shoved all of the contents of the tables (including some syrup for the coffee
house and some candy) into my car. When
I came back to unload it for the coffee house, I grabbed the candy first and
then the syrups. I had to set one of
them up on the roof of my car before I could grab the next, so I made sure it
was secure and then reached in for the next one. To my surprise I heard the wobbling sound of
the glass bottle ‘walking’ down the roof of my car. I popped my head out and shot my hand forward
to catch it, but with the other full of candy I couldn’t support it very
well. I readjusted but ended up dropping
the bottle, and it shattered and spilled lovely smelling syrup all over the
ground. Needless to say I was upset—in
hindsight I should have dropped the candy and let it spill all over the ground
to catch the breakable syrup bottle; then I could have picked up the candy and
put it back in the bag. Unfortunately,
it was now too late.
The whole
picture was a good analogy for my life at the end of August. I was so busy during the first week of school
between promoting the different ministry opportunities at ‘Picnic in the Quad’
and other events, organizing and running ‘Get Plugged In’, and preparing for
the grand back-to-school-opening of Unite Game Night/Common Grounds Coffee
House that I literally felt unable to breathe at times. I was also still running the small groups,
leading prayer meditation, and doing the various dojo ministries. My hands were quite full.
I spent a few
days trying to figure that analogy out (I didn’t want to drop the
syrup—whatever that meant). Then the
next week the [alt] decision came up. At
first my meditations just let me to different Bible verses and ideas, but then
they also showed me how those verses related to the situation with the
syrup. It struck me that the candy I had
held onto was somewhat similar to [alt].
If we dropped it this year, we could always put it back in the bag and
make it even bigger and better next year.
The syrup was more similar to my life in ministry at this time: the
small groups I lead, the one-on-one meetings with college students, the Unite
Game Nights/Common Grounds Coffee House, my relationship with my girlfriend and
friends and family, writing down some of what God is teaching me, and the
unforeseen Kingdom Work that pops up in front of me from time to time (from
preaching at different churches to helping make Hispanic ministry connections). Though those things wouldn’t necessarily
shatter never to return if I devoted less time to them, they also represent the
heart and soul of what I do. Would it be
right to drop those to catch [alt]?
Even then, I
still wasn’t sure, because more doors were opening even as the deadline to
decide approached. Finally, in
meditation, I realized that it was much like the story of Mary and Martha in
the Bible. I could choose to run around
and do very real and necessary work (like what I would have to do for [alt] to
be possible), OR I could choose to slow down and devote time to listening to
Jesus and relationships. In prayer I
honestly believed that God would open the doors to make [alt] possible if that
is the road I picked AND that it would be good and would be a God-thing that it
happened. I also believed that He would
help me slow down and listen and love even better in what I was doing if that
is what I chose. It really felt like He
was asking me ‘which road do you want to follow?’ I picked the listening and relational one.
As such, we
won’t be having the concert portion of [alt] this year. We WILL be asking all of the ministries
(including our very own Unite Game Night/Common Grounds Coffee House) to step
it up this year and offer alternatives that start even earlier and are even
bigger to pick up the slack, and we also plan-Lord willing-to have [alt] again
next year even bigger and better.
I am personally
excited for the opportunity this gives some of the leaders for Unite Game
Night/Common Grounds Coffee House and I.
We have a chance to come up with some really fun stuff to do outreach
for the Kingdom this Oktoberfest night.
Please be in prayers with us as we see what God may have for us to
do! I also personally request prayers
for God’s continued financial providence.
He has gotten me through the most difficult first two years of being an
in-state missionary, and now I am excited to see how He will continue to
provide for this Kingdom Work. I have
not received any additional supporters at this time, so I am still earning $907
per month. However, I have received at
least two one-time donations, and I am hopeful that a few additional
individuals will prayerfully join in supporting me as a missionary. Thank you again for your prayers! --Brandon
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