Tonight I had dinner with a number of volunteers who work with Sheila at Freedom Fellowship, a community church that is a ministry of Highland. During the dinner, I heard story after story from the volunteers about how – even though they felt inadequate to the task – their investment of time, money, and emotional energy has paid off in dividends that they would never have imagined.
For our family, the adjustment to the demands of community ministry has been unexpectedly challenging. I don’t think that Sheila or I imagined – a year ago when we were looking and praying for a ministry opportunity of this nature – the adjustments that would have to be made. Yet…it has been so worth it for us and for our family. Now, I cannot imagine what life was like before we began to form the relationships that we now enjoy.
Sheila, of course, does the street-level work. I’m involved only (well, mostly at least) as a support mechanism, providing resources, space, and encouragement for the people that are on the battlefront. Still, I consider it a privilege to be a part – even at a distance – of the work that she and other people are doing, day and night, within the community surrounding the modest, white building that was given to Highland a few years ago.
