God Prepares Hearts to Partner

I hope you're as encouraged by this as I was!

The story starts in January when my husband and I were invited to speak in a class at the church I grew up at in California. We had a contact signup list in the back of the room, and a handful of people joined our email list. We also texted all of them and promised to reach out the next time we were in town.

Leading up to my August trip home (my husband had school so I was flying solo), I reached out to the list to invite them to coffee. Only one meeting landed, and I met up with a woman and her friend. We all shared about the ministries we feel called to and celebrated how God is using each of us. The woman shared her passion for unity in the Body, and how we all need to be connected and know what others are doing for the Kingdom so that we can encourage and support each other. I was so blessed to hear her so clearly articulate the heart behind partnership development!

She said she would talk to her husband about partnering with us, and I said I would follow up in a week. We were able to schedule a phone call a couple weeks after the coffee meeting, and her husband had some great probing questions about our ministry, accountability, budget, and future plans. I was glad that I was prepared with concise but thorough answers for every question.

The wife also shared that God had been very recently speaking to her from Joshua 14:3, which is one of the many verses in the Old Testament that describes how the Levites did not have a land inheritance like the other tribes. Rather, they served in the tabernacle and God Himself was their inheritance, and the rest of the people provided for them financially.

At the end of the call, they shared they wanted to partner with us monthly for (at least) a year- and in a moment became one of our largest partners! 

Clearly, God had gone before us and prepared their hearts. I felt like the disciples who only had to cast the net and watch the fish jump in!

Where I had been initially a little discouraged that only one meeting from that list occurred, I am now so blessed by God’s faithfulness. It was a beautiful reminder while I may reach out with my best efforts, ultimately God will stir hearts and open the doors!

PS- as a practical takeaway, make sure you have an email list! Invite people to join it, then follow up with those contacts.