Sunset is a beautiful time of day, and I enjoy looking out across the Pacific Ocean from one of my favorite beaches. But with each sunset, I am reminded that after a night of rest, there is another day to engage in the work of the Lord and accomplish the ministry He has appointed for me to do. We approach the same realization at the end of this year and the beginning of the New Year. All our White Fields pastors are busy proclaiming the gospel over the end of the year and preparing for the activities of ministry that await them.
King David expresses well the need to ponder what we are accomplishing and assess our lives when he says, “Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.” Psalm 26:2-3
I often take time at the end of the year to reflect on all the goodness God has poured out on our ministry. I thank God for our partners who generously support national pastors reaching the lost in remote villages worldwide. I thank the Lord for opening the hearts of many who have heard the gospel and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We receive reports showing our pastors baptizing the new believers to announce their faith publicly.
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4
Considering Strategy Updates
Another common practice I keep is reflecting on changes that God might bring to my mind that I should practice in the New Year. I also lead our pastors in online discussions to help them engage in changes that will make their church ministries more effective in the future.
As we journey on our road of life, I reflect on the privilege that God has provided for another year of life, and the Apostle Paul’s word comes to mind. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord–for we walk by faith, not by sight–we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Paul reminds us here that we must have courage. You need to pray for the pastors because they serve in communities that persecute Christians and put limitations upon them and their families. The pastors continue faithfully proclaiming the good news because God has transformed their lives, and the new believers are being discipled and walking in faith. Even against all odds, God is making beautiful new lives in previously lost people.
Paul also reminds us that we look forward to a tremendous promise of eternity in the presence of Jesus. He expresses that remaining here on earth for another year is helpful for the ministry he has been sharing; however, it is in the absence of the fantastic future in the promised home with the Lord.
Faith Provides a New Life in Christ
Scripture reminds us that we walk by faith because we received Jesus’ sacrifice as a promise of atonement for our sins. We now look forward to our future home as we continue walking in a new life.
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
The supporting partners who give and pray for our pastors encourage the ministry’s work to move powerfully into the following year. Many people are placing their faith in Jesus, getting baptized, and starting their new lives in Him. The churches are actively making disciples, and these disciples are transforming their entire communities.
The testimony is profound. Previously, formerly unbelieving men sat drunk, abusing their families and acting with worthless abandon, but when they received Jesus by faith, they became workers, feeding their children, bringing them to school, and improving their neighborhood in many ways.
As we approach the New Year, please partner with us to continue expanding the number of workers in the harvest fields. We cannot do it alone. We need God’s guidance and the support of His servants to accomplish the work before us.
Solomon Instructed Us About the Sovereignty of the LORD
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2
Three examples describe God’s sovereignty: building a house, protecting a city, and earning a living. White Fields Ministry intends to fulfill God’s biblical purposes in our practice and outcome. We proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and establish a church so the new believers become disciples walking the way of Jesus. We serve in this way because, without God, our endeavors are worthless. But with God at our side, as we obediently serve Him, we accomplish His will.
“Without God we are nothing. Great houses have been erected by ambitious men; but like the baseless fabric of a vision they have passed away, and scarce a stone remains to tell where once they stood.”
C.H. Spurgeon
We are also thrilled to plant churches because God receives all the glory for the ministry we pursue. We cannot build the church of God apart from His divine guidance and spiritual blessing. He receives all the glory; we labor for His sovereign purpose. We exert our effort, but ultimately, God receives the glory for all that is accomplished.
Please pray for us this year. We diligently labor to walk faithfully in the work that God has prepared for us, even to the point of exhaustion, knowing that when we fulfill His tasks in proclaiming the gospel, He will bring fruit in our labors. Your prayers are needed.
