“Miss” Sue is a long time regular at our weekly Wilora Lake worship service. A real sweetheart. Years ago, we returned from a mission project overseas to find that her equally kind husband Albert had left us rather suddenly. Her son Joe and his wife have visited every so often through the years, and his kind demeanor is an obvious reflection of his parents. Some years ago, Joe let me know that our ministry with the senior adults inspired him to investigate similar possibilities in the area of his Florida panhandle home of Niceville. Since that time, both Sue and Joe have let me know of the success he has enjoyed, and we have been very grateful to know that God used JAMin. in some way to bring this about.
Yesterday (Aug. 10, 2014), Joe and his wife were once again unexpected visitors, and our conversation following the service was a very pleasant encouragement. “I want to let you know what we are experiencing in our senior adult ministry in NW Florida,” he said. “We are currently conducting ministry in two senior adult facilities in Niceville and Crestview. We are recruiting volunteers to begin a ministry in a third location. Almost no facility we know of offers a worship service to the residents, so there are many others who want us to bring a ministry to them as well. Since we have been doing this, we have seen 14 seniors trust Christ as Savior, and we have seen some of them pass from this life after that time. It was your ministry here that influenced us to do this, so your work in Charlotte has reached to Florida!”
I was humbly reminded that none of us likely realizes the extent to which God uses faithfulness. I was also reminded that our prime concern is to simply be faithful, and not spend time speculating about results or influence. They are out there, but God may or may not let us see them all. (Wilora Lake Lodge recently became Brookdale Charlotte East, reflecting the corporate ownership. However, we are maintaining the name Wilora Lake when we refer to our church, as it is located on Wilora Lake Rd.)
I’m still waiting for my author’s copy of “It Gets Even Better” to arrive so I can give final approval. Once that happens, it will be unleashed upon the world! We’ll let you know!