A mighty Redwood tree starts with an unremarkable little seed. God works much the same way. Though the Lord does amazing things in large ways such as creating the universe, He also uses small, seemingly unremarkable things that become large things. In our opinion, He does that so we may understand. It may be difficult to comprehend a God so mighty He can create a universe but it is easy to understand God as gardener planting seeds that bear fruit. It is no coincidence that the Bible has important metaphors related to planting seeds because we can wrap our minds around that; actually plant seeds in our everyday lives. God is just planting different seeds. In all things it’s not the size of the seeds but what the final result of those seeds are.

In life we understand the impact of large life events – births, marriages, deaths, to name three – but there are ordinary circumstances that occur all the time that we don’t know at the moment are going to be life-changing. It is only years later when we look back and realize “what might have been” if that ordinary moment didn’t happen. And then we realize how remarkable God is.

Tony and I are living proof of that. A seemingly ordinary circumstance led to something that far exceeded any expectations.

Tony and I met in June 2017 at church through our Bible study. Ordinary, right? Millions of people across the country are involved in Bible studies. We were truly in different places in our lives when we met and I don’t think either of us had any thoughts of dating anyone at that time. But there was just something different that attracted us to each other and we started dating a month later. Incredibly, we were married in September 2017 in the church chapel. Talk about a whirlwind relationship!

While our marriage may have seemed rushed to some people and ill-advised by others, we knew God’s hand was in this, we knew He had a specific journey in mind for us but we had no idea where that journey would lead. We walked in faith – a lot of faith! – and let Him lead. We trusted God knew what He was doing and were obedient to God’s calling both in our relationship as well as His calling us to serve as missionaries. We just weren’t clear until January 2018 just what kind of missionaries God wanted us to be.

Our time of waiting was God’s time of preparation for us until God opened the door inside the prison system on August 22, 2018. Following a 5-week intensive training with Team Expansion Tony and I began serving in the prison ministry one month later, working with nine men inside a halfway house.

A common misperception people have is that when you’re a missionary you get sent to a foreign country or an impoverished part of the country. As is shown numerous times in the Bible, any place can be a mission field and prison is a prime mission field.

Tony and I loved on those nine men showing how God could free them no matter their environment or circumstance. Those men took the tools we taught them and, with that, a seemingly innocent seed took root and began growing into a powerful movement that continues today because God put Tony and me into a Bible study together. There may be those that say it was just a coincidence, a stroke of good luck. The older we get the less we believe in coincidences or luck because you just can’t reasonably expect for that many coincidences to fall so perfectly in place.

Oh no, there was no coincidence here. From Tony and I meeting at that Bible study to our journeys in life, through all the ups and downs, the hard roads and knocks, using Tony’s difficult past to reach men that are incarcerated to using me and my digital marketing skills to amplify His work, there were so many seeds that God planted knowing what those seeds would grow into  all for His Glory. That’s worth celebrating, isn’t it?

It is indeed

One year to the DAY of our first day in that halfway house with those nine men, we are celebrating 127 baptisms, 90 first-generation baptisms, 18 second-generation baptisms, 18 third-generation, and 1 fourth-generation baptism. That’s some coincidence, huh? No, this was God’s plan all along and is another example of what happens if we are obedient and let Him lead us where He needs us to go. Understand, Tony and I did none of this – God did. However, we must always be mindful that we are His hands and feet here on Earth if we are willing to be, if we are willing to trust and obey Him.

It is no coincidence either that we have used the seeds metaphor in this month’s newsletter. If there is a planting of seeds, there comes a season of harvest, of celebration. We along with Team Expansion are hosting our 2nd Annual Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction on October 10, 2019. This event is a celebration of God’s Harvest in the last year and is also our biggest fundraiser of the year, bringing in necessary funds to continue serving in the mission field on our own city – Louisville, Kentucky – to serve inside the prison system here, helping the men and women who benefit from our Discipleship Group Training.

This year’s benefit dinner will be held at the Ice House in the Main Hall off East Washington Street in Louisville, Kentucky. Come be part of a fantastic evening filled with great friends, good food, a silent auction and special raffle prizes. You’ll also experience the joy of seeing the impact of your ongoing support through updates, stories, baptisms, and cardboard testimonies!

Our Harvest event will let you see and hear about the discipleship tools, the training, and the Kingdom building with the incarcerated and their families through the Disciple Making Movement; the lives God is changing, as well as hear about future exciting plans for God’s Harvest in the mission field and the calling to expand His territory. You’ll hear how our ministry provides spiritual guidance and moral support and the impact this has had on the lives of the incarcerated and their families.

Our special keynote speaker is none other than Tony Cash. Remember us referencing God using Tony’s difficult past for our current ministry? When you attend our event you’ll hear about Tony’s 36-year history inside the prison system and how God set him free and what makes him uniquely qualified to reach the incarcerated in ways that many others cannot. You’ll learn why the disciple-making movement is the number one fruit-bearing tool in the world right now and how we use this effective tool to train men and women.

We want to help more men and women grow in their walk with Christ, to grow in their faith and relationship with Him, and be able to continue with them on their walk as they re-enter society upon release, much like Paul walked with Timothy, teaching them to be fishers of men – and women – outside the walls of the prison system and how they can be obedient to God’s calling on their lives, giving them purpose and direction so they can remain free from returning to prison. We will able to do that with a large outpouring of support from the community, with support from people like you.

Come to the event, hear where God is leading us and what we are called to do moving forward. We constantly ask God for His provision so we can reach more men and women while they are still in the prison system. This is when you can be part of that provision.