Wednesday, August 27, 2008

They Dream

Faithful pastors who remain in ministry, do so because of a deeply held passion and conviction of God’s call on their lives. At the end of the day, week, month, year, lifetime – for a faithful pastor, it really doesn’t matter how much money they make, how well known they are.
What matters is knowing that their life was spent doing what God called them to do.

Yet, many struggle.
They are tired.
They are discouraged.
They’ve given up.

Yet, most can’t imagine doing anything else. Ministry has become a part of the fabric of their lives.

Ministers don’t enter ministry with a goal of being burned out someday. They never planned to be depressed or discouraged, but hey that's part of life. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world."

Pastors dream of winning many people to Christ. They dream of having the right words to say to a grieving family. They dream of sharing the highs and lows of life with the members of their congregation. They dream. Not just their own dreams, but the dreams the Father has given them. They dream with their Elders, staff and congregation. Sometimes they do as much as they can to help those who dream see their dreams come to fruition. Pastors of all kinds are destined to dream.

Rebecca and I have had a dream for twelve years. The dream of helping Christian leaders remain in the trenches of ministry. The dream has been fostered by places like, Cookson Hills Christian Ministries in KS, Oklahoma to places like The Blessings Ranch in Colorado. For some reason God keeps Rebecca and I returning to the idea of a retreat center. It hasn't taken off as quick as we wished, but God's timing is better. After I finished my MACM program at Friends University, I knew God was calling me to be a different kind of youth pastor. He is calling me to use the principles I've learned in Spiritual Formation and Direction in the youth ministry I currently serve in and to help all Christians come to know how deep the love of God runs in them.

The purpose of FreshWater Ministries is to bring encouragement, renewal, refreshment, and restoration to the hearts of Christian leaders.



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Our Purpose

Helping people find significance and confidence in their lives.

We are a non-profit organization, operating solely on the generosity of individuals who desire to partner with us as we strive to help all people find significance and identity in their lives. Please consider partnering with us.


Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

What is Spiritual Direction?


We define Christian spiritual direction as help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship. (William A. Barry, SJ and William J. Connolly, SJ, Center for Religious Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)

Is it the same as counseling?
Although very similar, spiritual direction provides a place to deal with issues that remain hidden and dark within a person’s soul, many times issues that have been suppressed for so long that the person doesn’t fully realize how much it is affecting them. Counseling’s primary focus is on a plan of action to deal with the effects of woundedness within a person’s life. We will sometimes refer to a counselor when a more clinical, psychological approach would be more beneficial. Spiritual direction’s primary focus is to teach people how to let God accompany them through all of their life, including their past pain. By companioning people in their pain, they will gain confidence from His presence and power.