Love in LoCo

A couple of years ago my pastor preached a sermon series on The Armor of God in Ephesians 6.  It has been one of my favorite series at church to the point that I’ve re-listened to it at least two or three times.  The truth found in Ephesians 6:10–18 is so powerful and practical, yet I forget sometimes that I need to constantly be on my guard against the devil’s schemes.  This past weekend, my younger sister, Catherine, and I were supposed to babysit my niece so my older sister, Rachael, and her husband could attend a marriage conference at their church.  On Thursday, Rachael reached out to Catherine and me to give us the head’s up that our niece had a cold and was running a fever.  She was questioning whether she and her husband should even go to the marriage conference anymore since her daughter wasn’t feeling well—understandable, I’m sure, for all of you parents out there.  I’m pretty sure most of the time my younger sister has more wisdom than I do...

One of the books I have had to read as a new staff member for FCA is called 7 Practices for Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones.  As you can probably gather, the book discusses several practices (7, in fact!) to make your ministry more effective, the first of which is, “Establish your win.”  As I was mulling this over I came across a pretty sobering paragraph in the book that said: “Read or study any report about church attendance in America.  They all suggest the same thing.  Each generation is more skeptical and less likely to attend.  Most experts believe that 70 percent of college students who have grown up in church will drop out when they go to college.  Attendance is declining and those on the outside seem to have a growing indifference toward what the church has to offer.” I don’t know about you but this hurts my heart.  As I continued reading, I couldn’t get that 70% statistic out of my head.  The com...

Well things have definitely picked up steam these past two weeks!  Because I started in December right before the schools were about to go on a break for the Holidays, scheduling meetings and attending huddles had been a bit slow for the first month or so that I was on staff.  Thankfully, that has changed quite a bit lately and I’ve been able to attend several more huddles at middle schools and high schools as well as meet with a lot more volunteers, potential donors, and churches in the area.  God has been so faithful in providing these opportunities and introductions!  In the midst of the busyness, though, I’m so thankful for the staff that I get to work with on a regular basis.  We may not see each other every day, but we communicate regularly via email and text to encourage one another as we hit the mission field.  Monday night I got a text from one of my coworkers inviting the rest of our staff to join him in Tysons on Tuesday from 11-Noon in prayer...

Last August I had the opportunity to attend our Loudoun/Fairfax/DC Staff retreat.   It was an awesome opportunity to learn more about the ministry and get to know my new colleagues.   Prior to the retreat, we had been asked to read a couple of books, one of which was One Word by FCA Mid-Atlantic Director Jimmy Page.   In his book, Jimmy encouraged people to pick a focal point for the year and sum it up using one word that you could post on your mirror, dashboard, wherever you’ll see it and be reminded.   He does this every year along with his wife, kids, and other friends and family members.   The word I chose for myself at the retreat was “bold”.  I am not a particularly outgoing person by nature and while leaving my former job certainly required some boldness, I knew my new job with FCA would require even more of me as I stepped into schools and donor appointments where I knew nobody.  I want to be bold in reaching out to students and coaches t...