One of the monthly features on the Eurasia Community Blog is a testimony from our Financial Partnership Development program, led by Jenn Fortner. In FPD, missionary associates receive small group training and coaching as they invite individuals and churches to partner with them financially in the work God has called them to in Eurasia.
Sometimes, when it seems like things aren’t going our way, and God isn’t answering our prayers, it’s because He’s planning greater things than we, in our short-sightedness, could ever imagine.
And that can be especially true throughout the process of raising support to come to Eurasia.
Greg and Harriet Crawford* are in the process of itinerating right now, and when they first started sending out support letters, they were incredibly discouraged at the lack of response they received.
But they had no idea what God was getting ready to do for and through them.
Some of the other members of the Crawford’s Live Dead team were able to connect them with a church that wanted to invest in a team going to Israel. But when Greg talked to the pastor, a single mother named Sharon, he felt a special burden for what she was going through.
As they prepared for their visit to the church, the Crawfords prayed specifically that God would use them to minister the tangible presence of Jesus to this single mother and her family. They also felt led to invite a friend who had been one of their earliest supporters to come to the service and hear their presentation.
In one weekend, all the things that God had been orchestrating for weeks came together for His glory, and for the good of not just one, but three families.
The Crawfords were able to minister to Pastor Sharon, and encourage her. In fact, their specific prayer of showing the love of Jesus to her was answered—after their time together, she told them that when she looked at them, she could see Jesus in them.
But God also worked a miracle in the life of the friend they invited. This friend has an autistic son and had trouble finding a church home that fit her son’s special needs. But she felt welcomed and at home at the church where the Crawfords were speaking, and since that weekend, has started attending regularly.
In fact, the church made such a difference for her family that her unsaved husband visited with her, and was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit.
And in the midst of all of this, God still hadn’t forgotten the Crawfords. From this small congregation, they received a $1000 love offering that weekend.
We never know what unlikely opportunities God is going to use to make a difference in the lives around us, so if you’re itinerating right now and it’s hard, don’t lose heart! God is faithful, and will meet not only your needs, but the needs of those around you as you are obedient to him.
And if you’re in the position of being able to give to someone who is coming to Eurasia, you never know how God might multiply that gift in the lives of those around you. God used a church with a heart for the lost and one woman’s small offering to bring encouragement to a pastor and salvation to a husband.
We can’t all go to Eurasia, but we can all do something. What is God asking you to do today?
*Names have been changed.