I love being in a room where I’m meeting women in our IBSA family. As I talk to them and learn more about their stories, I start to get a sense of their scars—those things that have cut deeply, caused trauma, and left a mark. We all have multiple scars, and in those rooms, I […]
Testing the foundation
“Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10 NLT) My church’s mission team has been meeting weekly via Zoom since the shelter-at-home order began. We’ve been looking for opportunities to serve others, but this is a particularly hard time to serve the […]
How can we think long-term?
The COVID-19 pandemic has me thinking about Lydia from the Book of Acts, the woman who was so changed by Christ that she influenced her whole household to know him too. Her love for God was contagious to those around her. In this unprecedented time, we have the same opportunity. How can we be people […]
What people will remember
A few months after my husband died last year, I went on a mission trip he was scheduled to take to the Dominican Republic. It is a very special place to both of us. We led numerous teams there to help local churches reach the people in their communities with the gospel. This was the […]
Casting a difficult vision
Leaders often are tasked with communicating vision. They call people to action, urging them to move from observers to participants. And often, they become leaders themselves. But sometimes the vision is difficult. Sometimes, successes aren’t resounding. For a few years now, our team has been working to equip and advise churches on the issue of human trafficking. It’s an exceedingly messy, heartbreaking problem, and casting a vision for people to help prevent it is also complicated. When an issue is so big, how do effective leaders guide people to real engagement, even without the promise of results? Here are some helpful tips we’ve learned along the way: Read…