The Guppy and the Whales

October 2024

Oh snap. I'm a little fish swimming among the whales.

This was my first thought as I sat down to write an introductory paragraph for a training pamphlet. The training leader had asked that everyone send in a paragraph introduction, so that all participants have some background to the others participating in the training. This is not exactly something that I do on the regular, so I decided to look at what the other participants had sent in before drafting my own. Well, it made me feel like a little guppy who wandered into a whale pod by accident.

As I read through the biographies of other attendees, I felt overwhelmingly under-qualified. Some participants are professors in global seminaries, others are members of international children's ministry networks, and others still are published authors of books. The list was full of strong, gifted, and powerful leaders who had accomplished so much for the kingdom. Then there was me, a recent seminary graduate who has taught middle school and high school for the past five years.

What on earth am I doing? What right have I to be part of this?

I sat there a moment my mind swimming. However the more I thought, the more I realized, I don't have any right to be part of this, but that doesn't mean I'm not called to do it anyway.

There are a lot of aspects of my upcoming role that I feel under-qualified for at points, and I think the guppy-in-a-shark-tank feeling will linger throughout my first few years in my role, but that doesn't change the fact that this is what God has called me to and the path He's put before this little guppy.

Academic EQUIP Training

A few months ago, I was invited to participate in a training called the Academic Equip training put on by the Global Children's Forum (GCF). The Global Children's Forum is an international network that focuses on pooling resources and people together for the sake of reaching the children of the world. One of their current projects is to provide children's ministry courses to any global seminary that wants it.

There are some cultures globally that see children as more of a nuisance than a kingdom investment. The Brokenness to Wholeness curriculum is designed to be taught in Bible colleges and seminaries, so that the ministry leaders studying there see the importance of children in the kingdom. Before launching this curriculum, the organization is assembling and group of "mobile academics" who are trained in the curriculum and can come alongside global seminaries and colleges to help them cater the curriculum to their needs.

As much as it is intimidating, I am excited to be part of this training! I will have the opportunity to discuss the importance of children in the kingdom with some incredible world leaders from different organizations. The training itself will also be helpful for my role within BCM Intl. Formal ministry training will fall under my role, and so this curriculum is something that I can use in the Bible colleges and seminaries that BCM partners with.

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Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

• Partnership Development Process

  I've officially begun my partnership development process (also known as support-raising).

  • Praise Him that I have already developed some meaningful partnerships with some godly people.

  • Pray that God will help me share my ministry clearly and that God will build me a team who will faithfully pray and/or give.

    
    

• Academic Equip Training (Oct. 29th-Nov. 2nd)

  • Praise Him for the work He is accomplishing through the Global Children's Forum (GCF) and their Brokenness to Wholeness curriculum.

  • Pray for the meaningful connections with global leaders at the training, and for open ears and an open mind. I want to learn the training well because I believe it will be a helpful tool for the ministry that I will be doing with BCM.

• Job Search

  • Pray that God will provide a part-time position that will allow me the time that I need to connect with those in my network, while also meeting our family's needs. I have been searching for a few months now, but I've only been met with closed doors.

    
    

Upcoming Trip Dates:

• Oct. 29th-Nov. 2nd-- Academic Equip Training (Lancaster, PA)