“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” — Acts 20:28
O what peace has filled our hearts since we returned from the States and have resolved to fully embrace our call to be wholehearted and single-minded toward seeing the purpose of God fulfilled here in Cambridge. The Lord has spoken to us to take the next step of faith to move to Sunday morning services beginning on Resurrection Morning, thus planting our flag in the ground…a fellowship called Calvary Chapel Cambridge.
As first-time missionaries living in another country, we came here eager to answer God’s call…but found ourselves asking questions in the back of our minds about the certainty and longevity of our call here in Cambridge. I find it interesting that when the prophet Isaiah answered God’s call saying, “Here am I, send me…” he went on to say, counting the cost, “Lord, how long?” So we are determined to give God our best and to leave the results and the details up to God. The word of the Lord to us is: “Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.” (Prov.4:25-26)
Our trip to the States allowed us the time to contemplate all that God has done in our hearts up to this point and served to solidify our call to Cambridge while reminding us of the overwhelming love and support we have from the body of Christ. Tiffany and I were so moved by how many people our hearts have become so tightly knit with on both the east and west coasts.
It all came to a head the last night I taught at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge and was re-united with so many beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord…and then witnessed the tears of my daughter Madelyn as she broke down at the reality of having to say goodbye to the people we love so dearly. But it is essential that we die to ourselves for the sake of the call to impart the life of Christ to the people the Lord has sent us to.
I love what Paul reveals about the ministry in 2 Corinthians 4:12 and 15…
“So then death is working in us, but life in you…For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread to many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.”
It is amazing for us to consider how the Lord is bringing people from all over the world into our sphere of influence that we might share the love of Christ with them. Over this past year alone, we have had people from each of the following 18 countries come into our home and lives…England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Italy, Germany, Barbados, Uganda, Ghana, India, China, Spain, Hungary, Israel, Iran, Sweden and the United States. On any given Friday night, we have several countries represented …Amazing!
We are getting a little taste of what awaits all of us who love the Lord and long for His glorious appearing, when there will be… “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10)
We have recently seen the dynamic power and clarity that comes through set times of fasting and prayer. We have established prayer meetings every Tuesday night and we are really looking to line our hearts with God’s heart and to see the bonds of wickedness loosed and heavy burdens lifted. Read: Isaiah 58
As soon as we arrived back in Cambridge, the Lord connected us with a family that had been searching for a strong Bible teaching church for over a year. They recently heard about the ministry of Calvary Chapel through a friend of theirs who attends a Calvary in Oxford. Robert and his wife sent me out an email and shared how they were eager to meet us and learn more of our ministry here in Cambridge. They are now committed to fellowshipping with us and want to serve and get involved in any way that they can.
We have had a handful of new people come through our doors lately that heard about us from one person or another. It is exciting to know that the Lord has ordained each and every encounter we have with each and every person.
