It was May of 2009 when we got the exciting news. We were on day 5 or 6 of vacation. 

It was a road trip that took us from Tennessee to Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina back when there was only like 2,000 people attending, and then we drove on to Myrtle Beach, where it was cold but we still managed to get burnt, and then we drove south and visited this crazy place called Tigers Wild Encounter, where we got to hold baby tigers, and then we drove to Savannah, Georgia which is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

And it was one morning in Savannah that my wife Samantha came out of a restroom holding what looked like a thermometer and told me we, “We’re going to have a baby.”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

My job here is done…or so I thought.

Turns out there’s a lot more work that has to be done when you’re expecting a baby. A room has to be prepared. Furniture has to be bought. Walls have to be painted. Drawers and cabinets have to have those dumb locks put on them.

You gotta get car seats and strollers and clothes and diapers and pack and plays and swings and monitors, and how in the world are we going to pay for all of this when my wife is going to take 8 weeks off of work?

Yet miraculously you make it happen. You find the time and the money to make sure you’re ready for that baby to be brought home. Because the blessing of having a child far outweighs the cost.

I think all of us know this, and yet I walk into churches all the time who look like they’re not expecting anyone new to show up. 

They’re certainly not expecting anyone with kids to show up.

You know how I can tell? Because they haven’t done anything to prepare for them.

When you’re expecting guests, you prepare for them.

You clean the whole house. You make sure it smells good. You greet them at the door. You’ve likely prepared a meal for them or at least snacks. 

I show up to some churches and there’s no one in the parking lot to greet me, there’s no signs telling me where to go, there’s often no one at the main entrance, so I’m left to guess which door to go in.

And I’ve been going to churches for over 20 years now, imagine someone is trying out church for the very first time how awkward and intimidating that would be for them.

We expect our congregation to be inviting people to church, but we don’t prepare like we think anyone new is going to show up.

Almost every one of our churches would love to have young families showing up to their church every week, but they’re not prepared for them to come.

Most of them don’t have a nursery or a separate room for kids. If they do have a room it often looks like a storage closet from 1986. They don’t even have a diaper changing station.

So, if by chance a family does show up to your church, they’re probably not going to come back once they see that you weren’t expecting them.

There’s a little story in the book of 1 Samuel that I think we can learn from. In it, Jonathan and his armor bearer have gone to spy on the Philistine camp. 

“Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” – 1 Samuel 14:6

Perhaps the Lord will help us. The NKJV translates that verse,  it may be the Lord will help us.

Let’s try something and maybe the Lord will help us. 

And He does help them, and perhaps if we would prepare like we’re expecting guests to show up to our church the Lord would help us too.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, it just needs to be intentional. Do the best you can with the resources you have. If you’re not sure where to start, please reach out to me and I would love to help.

About the Author: Travis Stephens is the Vice President for Church Health for General Baptist Ministries. He’s been married to his wife, Samantha, for 16 years and they have two beautiful daughters, Layla and Presley.

When was the last time you were a beginner?

I just celebrated my first year in vocational ministry a few weeks ago. Recently, I’ve asked myself some honest questions and given some honest answers. What can I tell you or encourage you with that you haven’t heard before?

I’m sure we’re all familiar with a variety of leadership teachings, sermons, and Bible commentaries. I have found that some of the most helpful lessons are the ones you hear the second time – reminders, not revelations. 

I want to remind you of what it meant for ministry to be new to you. In just a year, I have already seen how easily the beautiful thing we get to do for God’s Church can lose its luster. We can forget what we set out to do, why we said yes, why we began. I have some questions for you to think about. I hope they remind you of why you began, and, if you need it, I hope they give you a little of that beginner’s joy back.

If that joy is not hard for you to find in this season, I hope you’re encouraged to share it with a young leader. Young people need to know that what we get to do is FUN!

So…when was the last time you were a beginner?

I became a beginner again a few weeks ago. I decided I needed a hobby, and a lot of my friends enjoy baseball. So a few of them sent me a game to watch, the game that made them baseball fans, and that’s all it took. Go Cardinals! 

They were so excited – excited not just to pass on the thing they loved, but a piece of the moment that ignited that passion in them.

What moment lit a fire in you for ministry? What made you fall in love with the Church?

I have a friend who is very far from Jesus. She and I haven’t spent time together in years, but we text occasionally. She texted me days after I watched that first game, and we got to talk about baseball. She is coming to my house for dinner to watch a game Sunday night. 

When was the last time you got to share your beginning with someone?

I’m reminded of the, “Drop your nets and follow me,” moment for Simon, Andrew, James, and John (Matthew 4). Jesus called them into discipleship and ministry, and they followed – it wasn’t overcomplicated or supernatural, although Jesus did things that certainly fit those descriptors.  

We have to raise up the next generation of church leaders – it will not happen accidentally; it must happen purposefully. God absolutely calls certain people to serve His Church, but I wonder how much fruit calling can bear without opportunity.

Maybe sharing your beginning looks like remembering what got you started in ministry and giving that chance to someone else. It could also just be telling your ministry story! No one can rise up after you if they don’t know how you got where you are. They can’t take it further than you if you don’t show them how you got this far.

Share your beginning with someone – it matters. 

God is at work in our beginnings. As I learned more about baseball, I began to talk about it more. I have never been “sporty” – I’m the girl who cheers for both teams at football games because I just want them to have fun. So as I talked about it, my dad was shocked that I suddenly knew all this baseball stuff. Transparently, our relationship has historically been rocky at best. But we’re suddenly planning a St. Louis trip to (hopefully) see my team beat his.

Only God could do something that cool. And if I had never pressed play on a twelve year old YouTube video of a baseball game that seemed to be random, I might not have gotten to see it. 

It can be hard to see how God is working in the moment, but I believe that looking back, it’s not hard to see at all. He has this way of asking us to trust His character in the moment and later revealing the evidence of where He’s been. I am willing to bet that God is at work in your church. What was the last thing God did that you wouldn’t have seen if not for your yes? When was the last time you remember seeing evidence of how your “yes” made a difference?  

I got to baptize a thirteen year old girl and see her start quoting scripture to her classmates. A lady I served coffee to as a waitress in 2021 is now in the process of reconciling with her ex-husband, and her daughter comes to our church with this rare kind of joy and a fire for Jesus. Jokes and conversations with a teenage boy who serves faithfully on our usher team led us to a conversation about him feeling called into ministry. He’s interning with us this summer and asking deep questions about theology. 

Please tell stories of how God is at work in your church. Because every story makes your yes worth it. Tell stories you wouldn’t have gotten to see if not for your yes. Every single one of them is evidence that your yes made a difference.

Remember why you said yes. Tell young leaders why they should say yes, too. 

About the Author: Diana Harrison is the Office Coordinator at Generation Church in Portland, TN. She also enjoys serving in their youth ministry. In her spare time, she like to try new coffee places and spend time with friends.