“The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.”
Acts of the Apostles 21:18-19
After preaching a simple message about “Building the Church as a Leader”, it came time to minister at the altar to those who were wanting to receive. As I went down the line praying for the thirty plus leaders in attendance I felt Holy Spirit leading me to minister in the prophetic. One by one I began calling out the destiny of each one of the leaders I was ministering to. At the very end of the line I began praying for a woman, who with her husband, was a pastor of eighteen years. At the moment I was ministering to her, I had no idea of her position or ministry. As I prayed for her, I heard as clear as day the Lord speak that she and her husband had been cultivating faithfully for years, but the cultivation season was over and the harvest season was beginning. They would step into a season of reaping the fruit of their labors. I spoke this to her with confidence, and as I was about to finish the prayer I heard the Lord say to me, “WAIT! Tell her I am giving her a new bright green tractor!!” Reluctantly, but obediently, I spoke to her exactly what I heard the Lord say. It wasn’t easy but I have learned over the years that easy and obedience to God do not live in the same neighborhood. As I spoke this over her a big and heartfelt grin came over her face...
Later as we were wrapping up and preparing for the next session she came over and filled me in on all Holy Spirit was doing. She explained that she and her husband were pastors that had been faithfully serving their two churches for eighteen years. They also owned a hobby farm that they cultivated, and every year they had joked to one another about buying a new John Deere tractor. When I heard this, I grinned with as much enthusiasm as she did earlier during my prayer. Jesus knows exactly what to say to hit us directly in our hearts with His love. It’s a joy to be a part of it.
After spending a week in Reynosa with the Kaleo Leadership School, I am reminded and remain grateful for all the incredible doors and opportunities God has connected us to as a local church through our greater Kaleo community. For those who may not know or maybe forgot, we are connected to and of course support the work of reaching unreached tribes of people in Mexican Mountains, South Sudan, and other parts of the Middle East and Africa that are closed to the Gospel. We support and are connected to providing relief and refuge to exploited migrants on the southern border. We are part of an international church planting movement, committed to establishing churches that carry and reveal the Glory of God into every nation on earth.
It is a privilege and honor to spend a few days teaching and sharing with other disciples of Jesus who are hungry and eager for more of Him. In many ways I feel like I have much to learn from them and I’m humbled to be a small part of the school. I can honestly say that I have never been a part of a more authentic, pure hearted and intentional movement of believers. I am glad we have a global family like this to run with.
In two weeks I’ll be back in Reynosa with thirty more of you from First Church for the Kaleo Family Gathering. There we will have an opportunity to better connect and receive all that Kaleo is doing globally. It’s going to be a wonderful time. If you're still considering whether or not you should go, let this be another nudge.
If you're not able to make it, I look forward to sharing updates with you.
All this to say, there is a lot of Kingdom work that our local church body is connected to globally. Of course, we make a big difference locally in our hometown community, but many people fail to realize how much First Church through Kaleo is involved internationally.
I could imagine as Paul connected the church in the Greek speaking world to the church in Jerusalem with testimonies, that the church in Jerusalem was encouraged and uplifted with all the reports of God's exploits.
I am grateful we are connected to a ministry family with a global impact. I am grateful we are a ministry that not only pours out locally but also receives and pours out globally.
Again it’s humbling. It’s encouraging. I am forever grateful that we are connected.
Love,
Pastor John
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