By Josh Kerby
As we approach each summer, we start thinking about who will be on staff with us. What guides will be returning and how many new guides do we need to hire. Each of the staff has something special they bring to Journey Quest. Sometimes it is with wilderness experience, but in reality, it is their walk with Christ that is special. One of my favorite parts about summer is getting to know the staff and where they are in their walk. This encourages and bonds us as a family.
We’re all just a bunch
of yahoos on a journey
It’s very important for a ministry to have the right people. We trust God to have those people apply and give us direction with whom to hire. When hiring summer staff, we don’t look at what the applicant has done or is capable of, but rather where their heart is. Mark (our director) has always told the staff, “I didn’t hire you for your skills, but rather for what I heard on the phone.” What did Mark hear on the phone? He heard someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus. He isn’t concerned about their ability to navigate a river; anyone can learn that. He’s more concerned with where their relationship with Jesus is.
You can’t challenge others to pursue a personal
relationship with Jesus if you don’t have one
I think it is vital for Journey Quest to have guides that continually pursue that personal relationship with Jesus. We can teach anyone to navigate a river, but you can’t teach someone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. This relationship has to come through their personal conviction. The individual has to make the decision. We can encourage them, but they are the ones that ultimately make the decision.
God will do mighty things if we
open our hearts to Him
When we get right down to it, the staff aren’t the one running Journey Quest. What do I mean by this; we as the staff are just the ones taking people down the river. God is the one running the show. He works through each staff member in a unique way so that we can then minister to those He has brought to our ministry. Only with a personal relationship with Christ will we open our hearts for him to do mighty works through us.
This is true in our everyday lives as well. We don’t have to change what we do to make an impact; we have to change our hearts. When we change our hearts to let God in, amazing things will happen. We may never see it, but God will do miraculous things in your life if you let Him. You have to fully commit. It’s like jumping off a rock into the river. You have to fully commit, here is no partially jumping in. You have to fully jump in and allow God to work through you, to run the show. Which leaves me with one question to ask you, who’s running your show?
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