Success?

"God is not looking for leaders who move multitudes, but rather SERVANTS who are ready to give their life for them." Rodrigo Aguilera Often when we think of change, transformation, or even church we tend to think bigger means better. The more obvious the change, the bigger the transformation, and the larger the church are proof that God is at work and that ministry is successful. However, many times that is not true. Recently we have been studying the gospel of John with our church group and last week we studied John 6. Toward the end of chapter 6 many of Jesus' disciples told Jesus that his teaching was too difficult and so they turned back and no longer followed him. What? Jesus' followers stopped following him? Later we see that Jesus' own family didn't believe him, Judas betrayed him, and Peter denied him. Do we think Jesus' ministry was successful? According to what standard? Our ministry is not large, it is not flashy, and to some it may not seem successful, but we aren't concerned about that because we believe that God has called us here to be faithful in our daily lives in Mexico and with what he has for us. Whether that be teaching a Bible study, working at the orphanage, having deep conversations with our neighbors, teaching ballet, or teaching someone about physical fitness, we pray that we will be the servants God desires. A very wise mentor of ours told us "Find a few families in Mexico and pour your lives into them and disciple them." That is exactly what we are doing! Some days the changes are big, the transformations great, and thus we feel successful. Other days we watch people turn their back on Jesus and walk away while they make destructive choices. That is the nature of ministry and Jesus must have encountered the same joys and sorrows that we do. "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" Jn. 6:35 Today we are called to trust God whether we seem successful in the eyes of the world or not remembering in him we find all we need. Pictured: -Remodeling the space for the gym. Hooray! -Friday night group.