Getting to this point

Some of you may be interested to know how we got to this point – well leaving the practicalities to one side… Over the last year or so we have been on a journey to discover what we believe as Christians God wants us to be doing with our lives. We wanted to see Gods Kingdom purposes leading and guiding our lives.

So, with the help of a book called Living on Purpose by Tom and Christine Sine, we entered upon a process to write a mission statement – or a summary of what we felt called to do with our lives. We soon rediscovered the words of Isaiah 61 – which summarised for us Gods Kingdom purposes – the practical and the spiritual.

Jesus sets out in his work through these prophectic words – reading them at his first sermon (recorded in Luke 4). The words call into being the Kingdom or Reign of God. They shape Jesus’ ministry, giving it expression as he proclaims God’s liberating love for all.

From this first sermon to the rest of Jesus’ life he challenged his hearers to live a life that trusted his Kingdom-agenda, and it is that which has helped lead and guide us as we have prepared to return to Africa.

We’ve ended up with a sentence that summarises for us what we believe God wants us to do with our lives – “To be trees of justice… in community, with the poor, speaking out and caring for the environment.” It was a hard process to go through, but it has been a really valuable process – and that is why we share it here.