A Not So Brief History

So it occurred to me that we didn't have down in print anywhere, just how we got to this point (missionaries -- going to Ireland, etc) in any sort of detail. You may find this extremely boring and give up after one or two posts. Or you may find it intriguing and have a hard time waiting until we get around to the next post. Hopefully, you will find it entertaining, encouraging, maybe challenging (if you are a Christian and you feel that God may be calling you to a new ministry).

This may take a while. After all, the entire process really started about 3 years ago. So I guess we should get started.

I (Gary) was at a point in my carreer as a worship leader (13 years as Worship Pastor - Calvary Chapel Gulf Breeze, FL) where I was beginning to feel a bit restless. I felt that there was a change coming, whether that be in the next few months or next few years, I wasn't sure. I began to ask God what the next thing would be. What was the next ministry focus that He had in mind? As I prayed about it and thought about it, I realized that my heart was really to train worship leaders -- to bring up the next generation, grounded in the Word and focused on the presence of God. This excited me -- I love to teach and I love to lead worship. It seemed natural. But what form was this to take? A school of worship? A traveling ministry? Not a clue.

Beth and I were asked to go to Ireland and be on the leadership team of a short-term mission trip to Cork. I'd always had a soft place in my heart for Ireland, always loved the music, the scenery, the accent...

That trip took place in July of 2003. We were in Cork for about 12 days, doing various forms of ministry from music concerts to skateboard demos (no, you don't want to see me skate). Our focus was the music, and providing the sound system for the street events. We fell in love with Ireland, as most who travel there do. We loved the people, we loved the countryside, we didn't love the weather. Well... I loved the weather -- Beth didn't. She's rather cold-natured and the weather is anything but hot in Ireland.

As we were flying out of the country, it occurred to us -- there was too much work to be done in Ireland and not enough people to do it. I thought of Jesus' words, "...the fields are ready for harvest, but there aren't enough workers." What were we doing? We came into Cork, set off our fireworks and left. Okay, there was more to it than that. We did see fruit from the efforts, but we had only scratched the surface.

The next few months were excruciating.

To Be Continued...