Level Up
Saturday, October 14, 2023 marked the formal shift of my ministry from one level to the next.
That day, the evolution of my ministry stopped being plans inside the Notepad app on my phone and became a reality. That day, I was planning to serve the women alone because initially, everyone on my team were suddenly unavailable. That day, I hosted my first event under my new ministry name and called it, A Day at The Well.
Although I’ve been hosting ministry events since 2017, this was the first event I’ve planned in a day. From the content, to the agenda, to the location, everything was seamless. It was so seamless that initially, I questioned the ease. But after prayer and confirmation, I realized that the ease of planning was God’s favor, and a result of my prompt obedience.
Saturday, October 14, 2023 was also the first time that the success of an event scared me. It wasn’t the number of people who attended the event, it was the outcome of the event. It is also the things that have happened since the event. And I don’t mean scared as in frightened or terrified, but as in panic or nervousness. Today I realized that the nervousness stems from anxiousness about “What’s next?” Specifically, what is God going to ask me to do next? What is He going to require of me next? What is He going to trust me with next? And while I wait for God to reveal “What’s next?”, my confession is that “I’ll do it afraid” if that means I get to experience what God did at A Day at The Well again and again.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the footage to prove what took place. That day was truly one of those “You had to be there” kind of moments. Still, no amount of footage would’ve been sufficient to capture what happened, both naturally and spiritually. For example:
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the safe, free space my team and I intentionally created
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the community of safety that inspired the exchange of transparency and vulnerability to take place
Nothing would’ve been able to capture how strangers talked and laughed like longtime friends because they bonded over their honesty about their spiritual strengths and weaknesses
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the feeling of being seen despite a mask of perfection
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the feeling of being heard despite the words you spoke
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the chains that fell and the bondage that broke after unlearning religious myths, lies and preferences
Nothing would’ve been able to capture the freedom experienced after relearning and learning biblical truth
Absolutely nothing would’ve been able to capture how the Holy Spirit met a small group of women on a Saturday, because we were willing to admit that certain life experiences had produced tension in our relationship with Christ
No amount of physical evidence would be satisfying enough to demonstrate how a small group of women came together and trusted that Jesus could handle our pain, our anger, our disappointment, and our unbelief. And as a result of us trusting Him with our heart, He met us at The Well.
This is more than enough motivation to level up because I don’t want to wait until I get to heaven to experience Jesus. I want to experience Him while I’m here on Earth.
*Missed the first A Day at The Well? Don’t worry, it’s happening again Saturday, January 20, 2024 in Ponte Vedra, FL. Save your spot here!