Difficult, Yet Rewarding
When we began talks and prayers for beginning a new work for the Kingdom of God, we didn’t have any idea what some of the unintended positive consequences might be. Little did we know (but should have) that God would do more than we ask or imagine. All we thought we were doing was trying to start a new church so that the gospel would be advanced in Lincoln, North Dakota. Through this effort, many of our Grace LB Church members and attenders have served and volunteered in ways they never have before.
We began the church by means of a Kids Club. Every Wednesday evening, we gathered in the Lincoln Elementary School gym for a night of activities and a Bible lesson. And for 10 years (yes, you read that correctly―10 years!) we had volunteers from Grace serving as game leaders, craft supervisors, snack providers, and Bible teachers. Many of these volunteers spoke of how much fun they had–many of them serving year after year. And when I say many, I believe that Grace had around 50 people give of their time to make this church plant happen.
Aside from the amazing privilege of teaching the gospel to hundreds of kids over the years, one of the effects of being a part of this work has been how the hearts of so many Grace people have been changed. Lincoln Church and Community Center would not have happened without God using each and every one of them for his wonderful purpose. After a crazy Kids Club night, I would hear them tell stories of how one of the kids asked them a question about the lesson, and they got the privilege of further explaining what was taught.
Perhaps the best positive consequence was two individuals and one couple from Grace making the sacrificial decision to leave the church they had been very active members of for years, devoting themselves as local missionaries to the people of Lincoln. Seeing how God has worked in their lives has been awe inspiring.
I recently got a chance to sit and talk to the couple. They told me how difficult it was leaving their church, and with that, the people to whom they had grown quite close. There was much that they had to give up, now being at a church in its infancy rather than an established church. Through this, they have been stretched and have grown in their faith more than they ever thought. And, though hard, it has been the most rewarding endeavor they have ever been involved in.
As I sat there with this dynamic duo (who would never want their names mentioned), I praised our Lord. Only our Savior could do this. Only he could take regular people and give them the desire to do a work like this. And it reminded me that if God so wills something to happen, he will raise up and equip the people necessary to get it done.
And our work isn’t done yet. We have already started another fund that we call Grace For Tomorrow. We are still in the very early planning stages of what this will look like, but in starting one church, and seeing it actually happen, we are excited to see how God might use the regular people of Grace yet one more time.
Ryan Nordlund is pastor at Grace Lutheran Brethren Church in Bismarck, ND.