I did not have this on my 2023 bingo card

Twenty-twenty-three has actually been sort of a wild year for me.

I did not have preaching a Sunday sermon on my bingo card this year. But if there's one thing this year has taught me, it's that it's best to just throw out the card and listen to God call the numbers.

When the year began, I had plans to host an evangelism training class in my home. The idea had come to me last summer while doing evangelism training of my own at Living Waters in California. The idea was rather humble and isolated from any grander meaning. The class started in January, ran for 8 weeks, culminated in a group mission trip to Baltimore -- and, in my mind, went very well.

Two guys who attended that class wanted me to leave the Living Waters training materials behind and come to their churches and do evangelism training seminars based on my own experience and knowledge (much of which came from Living Waters anyway; those guys are the best). This is essentially how my ministry, Iron Outreach, was born. I had already had a hankering to be in ministry for a while, but was just trying to be obedient in the next thing God put in front of me by continuing to go out and evangelize myself. Now I had the training piece as well.

I did my first official evangelism training seminar in June of this year, and at the end, the pastor came up to me and said he wanted me back in a few months to do a Sunday sermon. And so that is where I found myself this past Sunday, October 8th: standing at the pulpit at Iron Faith Fellowship in Wilmington, Delaware, delivering a message on the things that hold people back from sharing the gospel.

While it's true this is something I did not see coming when the year began, there were a lot of things that happened this year that I did not see coming when the year began -- all to God's glory. I suddenly find myself not only running this evangelism training ministry, but helping build evangelism ministries at multiple churches, including my own. I've also written a book about evangelism (not yet available, sorry to break it to you), started a YouTube channel to share my witnessing experiences, and began an evangelism podcast, Bibles & Bullhorns, with Jon Neifert of Tulip Gospel Outreach in Pella, Iowa.

These are some important personal notes I am sharing here, but I don't view any of this stuff as being about me. It's all about Him and the work He is doing. I am just a blessed and fortunate participant.

I encourage anyone who feels a call into ministry or greater service to the Lord to just look for the next chance to be obedient. A few years ago, I wanted to be more involved in a ministerial way, but I didn't know where the Lord wanted me, and I tried to force it a bit. I think He wants you to do the work, but don't get frustrated when the opportunities you're expecting don't materialize. Just do the next obedient thing and let His plan unfold as He has designed it. It's His bingo card; let Him place down the markers.

Finally, I promise I wasn't trying to imitate a cross in this photo below. I actually have no idea what I might have been doing. I don't remember doing it. But the photograph is cool, so I figured I'd share it.

-JDM-