Dear Family and Friends,
It’s not very often that I get the opportunity to
share with you all that God is doing in my life. I wanted to take this time and
share some of the highlights that have occurred over the last year!
As most of you know in September of 2014, I had the
amazing privilege to attend a Discipleship Training School (DTS) through the
organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and was blessed to spend nearly three
months in the country of Nepal. While in Nepal God revealed what I believe to
be His calling for my life. As I hiked to remote villages to share the Gospel,
God confirmed that He has called me to be on mission for His kingdom. After
returning home in March of 2015, I began to seek Gods guidance on the next
steps to take in order to fulfill His calling.
In the spring of 2015 I was asked to join the staff
of The Church at Severn Run, and was given the opportunity to work alongside
other staff members and pastors while having a direct impact in the area of
church ministries. In August of 2015 I became a fulltime student with Liberty
University Online and began to pursue a degree in Christian Leadership and
Management, while also balancing a work schedule at Severn Run. As I learned to
balance a work life, school life, home life, and social life, I was reminded how
it felt to be a student again. And I loved every minute of it! (Except for my
accounting class…) I successfully completed my freshman year of college with a
3.87 GPA and made Deans List both semesters! (Let’s be honest. I wasn’t
expecting that either). As I continued throughout the school year God was
continuously reminding me of His calling, and continued to reveal more of what
His calling meant.
In January of 2016 I began to hear God calling me to
return to YWAM, but this time as part of the staff. This calling caught me off
guard and I was confused as to why God would be calling me to leave again. I
had already done my missions trip and I was now home with a secure job, and
great grades in college. I wasn’t looking for another mission’s opportunity, and
wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon, but God continued to ask me if I was
willing to go. I began to communicate with the base leaders at YWAM Honolulu,
and asked questions about how I could best serve there. During this time God
was confirming His calling for me to return to YWAM Honolulu. I submitted my
application and was soon after accepted on staff. For the last seven months I
have been in a constant battle with God explaining to Him all of the reasons
why I shouldn’t go back to YWAM, and His response has consistently been “Do you
trust Me”? After much time spent in prayer, many tears shed, and a great amount
of guidance sought, I have agreed to follow Gods calling and return to YWAM
Honolulu.
In September I will begin staffing with YWAM
Honolulu. I am not yet 100% sure what this is going to look like, but I would
like to share just a small piece of what I will be doing. For the first portion
of my staffing experience I will be a part of the base staff, which means I
will be serving the base in a variety of ways. During this period of service I
will get the privilege to lead students into the city of Honolulu to
participate in weekly evangelism nights. These nights are focused on building
relationships with local students, homeless individuals, and people in the
community while presenting the Gospel to them. During my DTS these nights were
personally life changing and challenged me to be bold in my relationship with
God. I will also be pouring into the lives of the students through bible
studies, worship, and connection. This is a time where I will be challenged in
my leadership and relationship with God, and will also allow the base leaders
to see my strengths and weaknesses. After serving as part of the base staff, I
will begin serving as part of the Discipleship Training School staff. During
this period I will be discipling students, and challenging them in their
relationship with the Lord, then leading them into a cross cultural mission’s
trip into Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. During my DTS I had two
fantastic leaders that challenged me and poured into my life, and now I get the
opportunity to do that for other students!
Serving on staff with YWAM Honolulu is an experience
of a lifetime, and will provide me the opportunity to fulfill a piece of what
God has called me too. Because YWAM is a nonprofit organization, and because I
will be a missionary for Honolulu and Southeast Asia, I will not be getting
paid for my time on staff. While on staff I will be paying $350 a month which
covers my rent and meals. I am not writing you to ask for “money” or
“donations”, but rather I am writing you because I am looking for partners to
walk alongside me on this journey. I don’t want this experience to be “my”
experience, but rather “our” experience. This is a time where we can
collaborate and reach the nations for Christ! That being said, I am making it
my mission to share with you the fruit of our labor. I want you to walk
alongside me every step of the way and hear the testimonies of what Christ is doing
in the lives of His people.
There are two ways in which you can partner with me
on this journey. The first way is through prayer. This is personally the most
crucial aspect of partnering with me. I am asking that you commit to praying
for the impact I will have cross-culturally in Honolulu, and also in the lives
of the students. The second aspect of partnering with me is financially. I am
in need of partners who are willing to financially support me in paying my
staff fee of $350 per month. If you feel led to financially support me you can
either do that on a one time basis, or a month to month basis. Again it is not
my intention to ask for “donations” but rather for partners both prayerfully
and financially. If you feel led to partner with me in any way please let me
know so I can properly share with you the fruit of our partnership.
If you have questions, want to get coffee, talk on
the phone, or video chat, please don’t hesitate to ask! I want this to be a
true partnership rather than me doing this on my own.
Thank you for your prayers as I follow Gods calling
Joe Thompson
