amandaheller - Key Takeaways From Launch Week

Well, the day is here and my team has officially LAUNCHED! While the week was grueling as we struggled in anticipation to be on the field, the week was also filled with lots of life-giving and highly necessary discussion surrounding different aspects concerning The Race. I thought to share some of these lessons with you as it is prevalent that we acknowledge- everyone has their own Mission Field they belong to.

There were three over-arching themes of the lessons from this week: Evangelism, The Why, and The Cost.

EVANGELISM. This word has an interesting tinge to it. In the past, when I heard the word "evangelist" I thought of someone on a street corner with a "JESUS SAVES" sign screaming at the top of their lungs about the consequences of Hell. Now, having been saved by Jesus and effectively being called to evangelize; my view has changed for obvious reasons. Evangelism is quite simply learning to be an effective communicator of the gospel.

Key word: effective.

This means that as passionate as the side-of-the-street-screamer may be, that isn't quite how Jesus did the job. Jesus looked to understand his people. He gracefully spoke in parables to bring supernatural realities of heaven into terms we could relate to (how kind). He acted out God's plan to redeem us and called people to love others above themselves.

This is the Jesus of the bible. This is the Jesus we often neglect to share.

That brings us to THE WHY. When asked why I chose to do the race, it was always a call and a longing for my soul to find an intimacy with the Lord that would require something of me. The Race is about intimacy if nothing else. However, true intimacy rarely presents the opportunity to be void of heartbreak.

So, I basically signed up to be broken-hearted for God.