Gratitude and Growth: A Letter to Close the Year
At the beginning of the year, I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
As I have reflected on the different seasons in my life, I was drawn to verse 11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Oftentimes people are resistant to the changes in the seasons of life because they typically come with having to let go of their perceived control and let God’s will be done. A change often means stepping into the unknown, a new direction, hardships, and challenges, but it allows us to lean in on God, trust in His wisdom and understanding, and see the glory of God in walking in the obedience of His will. It is hard but it is better than the status quo because you get to glimpse the Glory of God shining through the hardships obedience can bring.
As we began the year focused on being a Ministry Support System to all our missionaries and partner ministries worldwide to help Reach (Mark 16:15), Equip (Matthew 28:19a) and Multiply (2 Timothy 2:2), we felt the presence of God amongst us right from the very beginning of the year. God started by strengthening our team as He provided us with a great new board member who not only walks with God but continuously encourages others to do the same, has a heart to help those in need, and holds people accountable to make sure that we do everything to honor God both in our work and through our lives.
We also added a Vice President of Global Advancement to our administrative team who is focused on helping find and provide resources for the field to help move the gospel forward. Another addition to our administrative team was a part-time worker who has been instrumental in helping write stories from the mission field and sharing information on our social media pages. Yes, we have even started a Facebook page, Instagram account, and YouTube channel to help us share inspiring stories and clips from our partner ministries around the globe.
During 2024, our joint ministry partner in Kenya inaugurated the Lukanji Community Church, and we were also able to provide additional funding to our partner in Southeast Asia who hosted an Easter service which brought a little over 40,000 people together in the capital city of that country to hear the Gospel. We also started a monthly prayer gathering, taking place over Zoom, for our employees and partners across the globe to pray together as one voice. This monthly gathering has been a source of great encouragement and camaraderie amongst the people of SWH. We committed to investing in a better platform to help regularly send out prayer requests to many more people who have the heart and desire to cover SWH in prayer.
Not only that but we also redefined our mission and vision statements. We continued to follow God’s leading this year to protect SWH for the long term by helping improve our administrative control for more transparency and accountability. We started with updating our statement of faith by clarifying and taking a stand on some sensitive topics to help us not only stand firm in our belief to draw the right partnerships but also to protect the organization in the future from political and social pressures and/or missional drift. We sought and found a faith-based law firm and lawyer who not only guided us to help revise the bylaws of the organization for long-term sustainability but also helped us move our non-profit from Florida to Texas. Yes, we are now incorporated in the great state of Texas! We took on and completed several other administrative tasks so that we could have a robust administrative structure to help be a better ministry support system in the long term.
One area of change that God has been pressing upon our hearts this season is how we should measure success in ministry. This is not a new question but an ongoing one as most of today’s world is focused on metrics that can be easily quantified for potential funding. To go deeper, it has been important to understand the question: Who is the head of SWH? The answer - Jesus Christ. And Jesus is quoted in John 13:35:
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This has challenged us to be different from the world’s ways by looking at the relationships we build in genuine love with each of our ministry partners, choosing to determine ministry successes in a more meaningful way.
Our goal has never been to show these numerical metrics as they don’t tell the true picture of how a ministry is growing and developing. In my experience, I have seen many Bibles being distributed only to end up sitting on a shelf collecting dust, which defeats the intended purpose of helping an individual grow in their knowledge and love of God. I have found the best metric for true growth can be found through the development of relationships. As an organization, we have found our heartbeat to come from building and cultivating relationships. We are currently in a season of relationship cultivation that focuses on discipleship, accountability, and encouragement.
This cultivation of genuine relationships with our ministry partners has proven to be fertile ground for us to help not only encourage our ministries but also hold them accountable. These relationships have helped us walk through both the joys and losses our ministries have experienced; from the growth of several churches and leaders to the loss of seeing some of them crumble because of temptation and sin. At the end of the year, I am proud to say that SWH has played a vital role in our partner ministries being all about Jesus, whether it has been the formation of fifteen new churches in Ukraine, the baptisms taking place in closed countries, the Bibles distributed (and read) in African prisons to reach out to Muslims with the good news of the gospel, or the simple acts of generosity that are helping the poor and vulnerable.
We added five new ministries this year, but we also lost five ministries because of various accountability and sin issues, which was very heartbreaking for us. We also took two small mission trips, one to Kenya and one to India which, gave us an opportunity to see our partners in these countries being the hands and feet of Jesus.
2024 has been a season of leaning in on God’s will and plan as we (the leaders of Serving Workers for the Harvest) walk in obedience to Him instead of our own knowledge; observing how He makes everything beautiful in His perfect timing. And, as the year draws to an end, God has shown that His way is so much better than ours! We rejoice in His hope, try to be patient in times of tribulation, and seek to be constantly in prayer. So, join us in this journey of helping proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ as we walk in obedience with God’s will.
As we look at the year ahead, we are filled with hope and anticipation for the work SWH will continue to do in advancing God’s kingdom, especially within the persecuted church in the 10/40 window and beyond. The relationships God has built within this ministry are a testament to who He is, His goodness, and His faithfulness, creating a network of support and accountability that allows us to move forward with purpose and precision, in His timing, to reveal His glory. Ultimately, we rely on these facts: God is God; God is good; and God is faithful all the time.