FAQ: What Will You Do Next?

A few weeks ago, I answered the frequently asked question, “Where are you going next?” with a solid “I don’t know.”

Today, I want to address another question that we’ve been getting a lot, “What will you do next?”

Don’t be surprised if I will answer this question with another, “I don’t know.” (Or, since I’m learning Spanish, maybe I can mix it up and reply with “Yo no se.”)

What We Want to Do

Four years ago this month, my wife and I got away on our yearly (usually) get-away. We spent a couple of days praying about and discussing the adventure that God has us on. By the time our weekend was done, we were able to narrow down our mission:

Through exhortation and serving, to equip the next generation,

in our family, our church, our culture, and our world.

At the time, we saw how we had been able to equip the next generation in our family, our church, and even (to a lesser extent) our culture. But we felt like there was more that God had for us.

Fast forward one year, and we were in Allendale working with children in our culture, and getting better acquainted to the worldwide issue of children growing up in poverty. And we have learned a lot in the past three years, and we are still learning a lot about children, ministry, poverty, and education.

So, in our next step, we still want to work to equip the next generation, and we feel called to continue to work in the areas of poverty and education. But we also know that there is a whole range of opportunities under those categories.

Exploring a Spectrum of Opportunities

The biggest challenge we are facing now is about at what level we want to be involved with children:

1. Small scale? We enjoy being hands-on and building relationships with children (and their families) as we work with them directly.
2. Macro scale? But maybe we need to be less hands-on, which would give us a chance to equip more people to work with children.

In Allendale, we have enjoyed working at both these levels. And as we continue on our adventure, we will probably find ourselves working somewhere in the middle of these two ends of the spectrum. And whatever we do, we also know that this next step is probably the not the final one in our journey.

Of course, we have other factors in the decision, such as location, and which area we want to focus on (family, church, culture, or world). And for those who are wondering if I’ll go back into chemistry, I have been exploring a few opportunities there. But even though I have a chemistry degree (and worked in that field for almost 10 years), I don’t feel like I have to do that again. (If I follow Jesus, I can’t waste my ministry.) But I could, and that would be fine, too, if that’s what God wants.

The biggest thing for us to remember is that there is not just one thing that we could do. Under God’s will, there are a whole bunch of things that we could choose that would bring Him glory as we serve others.

More Specifically . . .

As it is now, we don’t have any offers on the table, but we are in discussions about at least two different opportunities. And as “chance” would have it, they are on opposite ends of the micro vs macro spectrum.

But we are not rushing into any decisions. After all, since we made the move to Allendale after only 56 days of conversations and prayers, June seems like a long time away. (But ask me again in April . . . .)

Please be in prayer for us, that we would have the wisdom to see the right door(s) that God is showing us.

Related Links:

• A Mission for Our Family
• The Best Part of My Job
• Eleuthera Mission Trip
• FAQ: When Are You Leaving?
• FAQ: Why Are You Leaving Allendale? — Part 1 and Part 2 
• FAQ: How Does Grace Church’s Relationship With Allendale Change When You Leave?

**image courtesy of quicksandala via morgueFile