Doing The Assignment
A key principle of the online school is that it’s important to look for ministry times that weave in with daily life.
With that in mind, I’ve had two ministry opportunities this week, with several opportunities for personal ministry.
The first sprang up because someone in the Charlotte area had found the prophetic song blog and was excited about the online school of the Spirit - “It’s where our worship team is right now; God is leading us into it.” Then when she found out I would be in the Charlotte area for a month, she called to see if we could meet for coffee.
I suggested meeting at the church so we could use the keyboard as we talked about prophetic song. She called the pastor, and soon we had plans for an informal worship gathering with a few members of the worship team.
I wish I had more time to reach out to strangers, but I do a lot of writing for the online school and I’m working on a book. Both projects demand that I spend time shutting out distractions. So my testimonies this week will be a sample of the principle of looking for personal ministry opportunities that happen as I fulfill my ordinary responsibilities.
4. Soaking, Oct 8. Soaked by taking a walk, then soaked my way to sleep at night. God dropped specific inspiration into my heart re writing JoAnn’s book.
5. October 9. Looked for ministry promptings. Got a few ideas for the website and tightening the school. Sensed a woman named Meg. (As of posting this blog, I haven’t seen her. Did I make a mistake, or will I meet her later?)
6. October 10. Looked for inspiration re meeting with worship leaders in Concorn NC. Sensed I should focus on the two voices of Jesus.
7. October 11. Soaked as I drove to Candor NC. Got a few ideas for reformatting the online school, but nothing for the Sunday service.
5. Ministry, Oct 8. Shopping for clothes. Affirmed two salesmen, Roy & John. Did not sense an open door to go deeper with either.
6. Ministry, Oct 9. Phone visit with an older prophet. Talked about revelatory things; sensed it was an encouragement to him that I called.
7-9. Ministry, Oct 10. The sharing with the worship leaders in teaching and song seems to have hit its mark; it confirmed what the keyboard player had been learning from God. The drummer had a vision and received an impartation of peace that seems to have brought him a measure of deliverance. Prophetic prayer for the pastor seems to have struck its mark.
8-13. Ministry, Oct 12. People came forward for prayer after the meeting dismissed; most wept as I prayed with them. I won’t give names here, but prayed separately for the pastor and his wife, for an Anglican minister who is presently in a holding pattern, for a young couple who lead worship, for a man whom I sensed God was nudging to step into a larger role of ministry, and to a woman whom I sensed God was releasing from issues of condemnation. This is as much as I remember at this point. I felt the anointing was given for impartation; I don’t know how much word of knowledge was in the prayers.
I wasn’t sure if my preaching really connected on Sunday morning. It was helpful to know I would be posting this report; it stirred me to make myself available for personal ministry. Judging from the many tears that were shed, it may have been the most important thing I did.
October 20th, 2008 at 3:06 am Thanks Stan, I found this really helpful. I understand better now that the ministering component can be just small things too. Very curious as to how you soak and drive… I get frustrated that I have limited time at home to soak so to spend my driving time soaking sounds great, is it just a worship CD and tuning in to God ? Please mention on your blog if you ever come near Australia !
October 21st, 2008 at 6:31 am Hi Michelle — yes, soaking while driving is just a matter of using a worship CD and listening to God. Because of the attention I have to devote to the road,I don’t find myself in open visions when I drive. But I can quiet my heart, focus on Jesus, and seek to get into a spontaneous flow of words. One way to do this is with thanksgiving — prayer that focuses on what Jesus is already doing (instead of trying to get God to do something) — because it is a smooth shift from giving thanks to getting into a spontaneous flow of words. I’ll write more about thanksgiving next month, to coincide with the American holiday. Blessings — Stan