David’s Dialogues

June- Prayer & Planning

Dear Friend,

Things have definitely slowed down in Blacksburg now that summer is in full swing.  Summer classes have begun, and most people have gotten into their rhythm for this season.  When the town changes seasons so drastically, our church does as well!

Our Summer Engage Group has been meeting weekly and diving deeper into the Sunday sermons.  Each Wednesday night, we gather for dinner and fellowship, and then we start into our Bible study time.  We discuss things in small groups, as well as a larger group.  It has been great getting to know some members of NLCF who I don’t interact with normally during the school year!

Another big emphasis for the summer has been prayer.  As you know, there’s no way we can do what we do without powerful and persistent prayer.  Since the summer offers a little more flexibility, the members of our staff team have each committed to praying five hours per week individually, and then 4 hours per week together as a team.  One of the goals I have set is to make 300 laps around the drillfield in prayer.  That’s 300 laps for the 300 people I’m praying we will see at our Sunday gatherings in the fall.

Besides prayer, another area of spiritual and professional development that happens during the summer is reading!  When working in ministry, there is always more to learn and more perspectives to understand.  Part of becoming a better minister is reading!  I’ve been reading Toxic Charity, by Robert Lupton in order to better understand how to help alleviate poverty, especially for our work in Honduras.  Check out a blog post I wrote for NLCF including some of my reflections!

Obviously, I am very excited to be getting married in just a few days now!  I am thankful that God has brought me someone who I can do ministry with as I continue on with NLCF.  I will be taking some time off in July for the wedding and a vacation.  Once I get back, things will start getting busier getting ready for the Fall!

In Christ,
David