When Vickie and I stepped down as Trinity Church International’s children’s pastors several years ago, in the days leading up to our final Sunday, we had so many wonderful conversations with the children who had been in our ministry during our 25 years. It was amazing to see that, in many cases, we were now pastoring the children of the children who were in our ministry when we first arrived at Trinity. We were now ministering to our second generation. So you can imagine there were a lot of stories to tell.
It brought me great joy to hear young adults tell about how they would groan year after year as I drove the church vehicle by an orange juice factory in central Florida. On these trips past the factory, I would break out stories about the days I worked there. Every time I drive past the factory, I feel so sad because that’s where they canned me for not being able to concentrate. And it is heartbreaking to remember that the seedy bosses squeezed the very pulp (life) out of their employees. Soon, the job wasn’t appealing to me. To be honest, telling those stories and hearing the groans of Trinity’s kids as I pulled out those horrible jokes was one of the highlights of my ministry each year.
The laughs were plentiful as I heard the stories about the Phat Sats, swimming parties, Gross Out Saturdays, and the many messy games that culminated in a massive shaving cream fight. Soon those laughs subsided as I looked into the tear-filled eyes of those who had meant so much to us. Person after person tugged on my heartstrings as they told me I was like a second dad.
The stories that meant the most were the ones where a child, or now young adult, told me how, through our ministry, they fell in love with Jesus and were born again. My heart filled with thanksgiving when I heard they, too, had developed a relationship with the Holy Spirit. With tears beading in my eyes, I listened as a young man named Matt told me how our emphasis on the Person of the Holy Spirit led him to desire the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit has changed his life. I received a lengthy text message from a young lady named Christina that I’ve read and reread over and over again. She wrote, “… you taught me when I was young about the Holy Spirit and how He is always there…” A young man named Aaron, now a fiery Holy Spirit-filled evangelist, told of the impartation of our passion and love for the Holy Spirit that made an eternal imprint on his life. Story after story was told about Spirit-filled world-changers who came out of our ministry.
Please know that I haven’t shared these stories to bring us honor. All glory goes to Jesus. I just wanted to emphasize that your tomorrow stories are being created by your today actions and ministry. What will your stories be? Will they just be about the trips and fun events? Those are important; they really are. But will people line up to tell you about falling in love with Jesus? Will people tell you they now share your passion for the Holy Spirit? Again, those stories are being created today.
So, go create some stories! Destinies are waiting on you.
