EACH OF YOU SHOULD USE WHATEVER GIFT YOU HAVE RECEIVED TO SERVE OTHERS, AS FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GOD'S GRACE IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS.
—1 PETER 4:10
One of my greatest joys in ministry is hearing about how people are using their gifts. I am constantly blessed by our Facebook group, emails people send, and even Dwell users out in the wild. This month, I wanted to wrap up our time with real-life Dwell members who have inspired me! Whether it’s starting a Bible study or starting a ministry, sharing a meal or sharing a lifeline, these stories will encourage you and might just inspire you to find a new creative way to share the gifts God has given you.
Darrel Johnson, Founder of Cross Over Hoops.
At Cross Over Hoops, our trainers and coaches use their gifts and abilities in the game of basketball to pour into players and point them to Jesus! Thousands of players of all ages come to our camps and training sessions to get better at the game of basketball. Our trainers and coaches do more than just that though! They use the game as an opportunity to develop relationships, invest in the lives of the players, and most importantly they share the Gospel, hand out LifeBooks, memorize Scripture together, and pray with/for them! It has been absolutely incredible to see what God will do when people faithfully use their gifts and abilities to serve others and glorify Him!
Sports life is short. Real life is long. Eternal life is forever. Our mission is to invest in all three areas and keep them in the proper perspective for our players.
Terrie Moultrie, Lasagna Love Volunteer
Lasagna Love is a non-profit that connects neighbors in need of a home-cooked meal. Volunteering with Lasagna Love has given me so many ways to minister to others in my community. I love to cook so that's an obvious way; but I also pray over those I'm serving, and often write them a personal note to go along with their lasagna. There are times that I can help to steer them in the direction of other help they might need as well. Lasagna Love has given me a way to reach out, use my gifts, and even encourage others to do so as well.
Lauri R., Suicide Prevention
I recently started an organization to help prevent teen suicide in my community. I feel our teens are under so much stress, conforming to social media, judged by how they look, what they wear, what their grades are at school…it's endless. I wanted to let them know they are seen and loved just as they are. So many teens in my community have taken their lives that I had to do something about it. As a nurse, I have always had a caring heart, but I feel everything I have done in my career prior to this has prepared me to reach out to the teens in my own community with the love of Jesus.
Sandi, The Saturday Sisters
God has gifted me with a passion to share and teach what He has taught me and to testify to how He has seen me through the hardest times of my life. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life, and it took the pandemic to drive me to my knees in prayer and into the Word, and I will never be the same. Now, I lead a weekly Zoom small group meeting—we call ourselves the Saturday Sisters. We study God’s Word together with a focus on mental health issues—walking with God through depression and finding peace for our anxious hearts. We are an eclectic group of ladies—different ages, backgrounds and stages of walking with the Lord. But we come together in authentic relationship to grow in our faith through studying the Word, worshiping, and praying for one another.
Jill Dejewski, Mobile Hope Ministry
My name is Jill and I have the opportunity to lead a ministry that serves families and individuals in mobile home communities in Minnesota. I am in awe of the families I get to connect with. They are problem solvers, but the reality is they are facing many hurdles in their lives. I also have the privilege to work alongside many volunteers that are at many different stages of their own faith journey and all want to make a difference in this world. God has shown me by sending His Son that it is all about relationships and building trust. Every part of my story, the hard times and good, God has used. I love hearing people’s stories, laughing together, teaching, mentoring, thinking outside the box, having faith that God's promises are true. God has taken my gifts and put them to work. And when I don't have the gifts needed, he always shows up to remind me it is not about me. I would never have imagined that I would be doing what I am doing, but I have a front row seat to how God is working and providing hope, that is why the name of our ministry is Mobile Hope, centered on the God of Hope.
What about you? What gifts has God given you?
And where might he be calling you to serve others in this season?
