Excited To Be On Mission

Have you ever found that the journey towards a goal can be just as exciting and fulfilling as having actually reached that goal?

I have very definitely found that to be true.  When I was searching for my dream banjo five or six years ago, I told my wife, Debbie, that the journey in finding it was more fun than actually obtaining it. So, I would play one banjo after another at music stores and bluegrass festivals until I had finally found the banjo I wanted.  Now that the search is over, it’s kind of a letdown.

Have you ever found that the planning and looking forward to a trip or vacation was even more fun and satisfying than the trip itself?

I think the same is true of being involved in a new work of God. We have been diligently laboring in the Rancho Cordova – Folsom area for about the last six months.  We’ve probably hosted about 10 neighborhood pancake breakfasts, put on a 4th of July neighborhood party, and had a neighborhood Pie Night.  We’ve served our neighbors by cleaning their windows.  We’ve gone to neighborhood Movie Nights at the clubhouse. Our whole core group has gone to 2 out of town overnight conferences, and a couple of guys have gone to a third conference.  We have taken 12 weeks to go through The Story Of God together.  We’ve spent time fasting and praying together.  Our whole core group has gone out of town for a weekend to just vacation together.  We’ve studied 1 Corinthians 12-16 and Acts 1-8 verse-by-verse, chapter by chapter.  We’ve spent numerous Monday evenings in smaller gender-specific groups studying sanctification.

With all this activity and labor over the last six months, you would expect a lot of numerical growth in our core group, right? Wrong! We have gone from 6 adults to 8 adults. However, being involved in dreaming about and laboring for a disciple-making movement has been very enriching and rewarding. In the process, we have built a real sense of family, closeness, and comraderie among these disciples. I realize that I’m enjoying the journey immensely, even though it seems we haven’t progressed very far towards our goal. When I consider that the alternative to throwing our lives into making disciples who make disciples is to sit at home and waste our lives veging out before the TV or computer, I’m so glad we decided to invest our lives in that which will last for all eternity. I really don’t think I would rather be doing anything else!