“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one
claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything
they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in
them all….”
— Acts 4:32-33
The concept of unity has been coming up in my world lately. Most
mornings, I read a selection from “Tozer on Christian Leadership,” and share it
with my accountability group in the States. This month’s theme is ‘Revival,’
and the last couple of days specifically tackled this idea of unity. Tozer
teaches that God works through a body of believers when that body has, “…through
repentance and faith, brought their hearts into one accord.” Tozer says, “The
Holy Spirit comes because we are a united people; He does not come to make us a
united people.”
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together
in unity!”
— Psalm 133:1
As I look at our ministry here, unity is a theme that is
guiding our day-to-day efforts. For example:
- We strive to be united as a family first. Without family unity, we could not expect God to work through us to accomplish His will. We work on this in a couple of ways. First, by communication with God. We try to start our work days with prayer as a family, thanking Him for allowing us to serve in this way, and lifting up our ministry team, people in the bateyes, and specific needs we are aware of, both here and in the States.
And second, we communicate with each other. We talk to each other – a lot. Granted, we spend a lot of time together, and there are times we need to just be alone and quiet (a need that we respect in one another!). But, we do spend a good deal of time discussing our ministry, what’s going right, what can improve, where we sense God leading us, what is frustrating us, and what is bringing us joy.
- We are working to build unity within our
ministry team. Many readers know that the ministry employs four local residents
with whom we serve. They are a great team, and I love these guys! We all work
well together, but I’m not sure they are fully united in seeing God’s vision
for this ministry. This is something we need to work at together, just as we do
as a family.
- We rely on the supportive structure of a united governing body – the ministry’s Board of Directors. Organizations must have structure and leadership, and ours comes from our Board of Directors located in Westminster, Maryland. It is by God’s work through this body of believers that we are able to do what we do here. Jessica will be returning to Maryland the first two weeks in October to report to the Board and share her vision for where God is leading us in the ministry. In communicating with the Board, we hope to be strengthening the unity within that body.
- One of Jessica’s goals is to build unity among
the ministries that serve this part of the Dominican Republic. There are many
mission-focused organizations here, and each one seems to operate alone, with
their own idea of what is needed and the 'right' way to meet those needs. What
an impact we could have if we worked together on some of those needs! This
summer, we began developing relationships with two organizations here and
have worked with them on projects in ways which are new to us and them. Just
last week, we met contacts with two other organizations, and we hope to foster
those relationships to support this goal of unity. We have just scratched the
surface of the potential. And, of course, we won’t always see eye-to-eye with
our sister organizations. But even if we can partner on a few of our projects,
what a difference that could make!
Okay, so why is this stuff important?
Because this is the type of stuff Jesus prayed for when He
was on earth – and I believe He still prays for it today! Check out this prayer
of Jesus, recorded in John’s gospel (17:20-23):
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who
will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world
may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave
me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may
be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and
have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Unity is important because when the Body of Christ is truly united in our work to serve Jesus, it is then that unbelievers encounter Jesus, and experience His love in a life-changing, life-saving way.
We’d like to thank the many people who have united with us
to make our ministry here possible. Your gifts of prayer, encouragement,
financial support, — even taking the time to read our blogs — mean so much to
us! We are still in need of financial support to ensure our work here will
continue into the coming year. If you are able, and would like to join with us
in this way, you may do so by:
- Clicking the “Donate” button on our blog page. Here you may donate via PayPal (either with a PayPal account or major credit card), directly to our account with The Least of These Ministries. (If you are reading the e-mail version of this blog, you may access our blog page by clicking the title at the top of the page).
OR…
- Mailing a check. Please make the check payable
to The Least of These Ministries, and indicate on the check or a separate note
that the donation is for Missionary Support-Hogan. Checks should be mailed to:
The Least of These Ministries
170 Airport Drive
Westminster MD 21157
The
Least of These Ministries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated
in the State of Maryland. As such, your donations may be tax deductible in
accordance with IRS regulations.
