The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
My mom sometimes shares the tale of her and my dad traveling by car and U-Haul across the country to take a job in ministry. About half way through the trip, my mom pulled the car over to the side of the road causing my dad to do the same with the U-Haul. When he reached the car to see what the problem was, my mom was laughing so hard she was crying. As she rolled down the window she asked:
“Honey, do you have any idea if this position is paid?”
Nope, he had no idea. God had moved and they were responding. In the discernment process of whether they should pack up and move they were so intent on following God’s lead, they hadn’t thought about compensation.
The story of my family is one that has ups and downs, joys and burdens, but if I were to give my family a mission statement it would be:
“Try to keep up with what we see God doing”
Living out this mission has taken a lot of discernment and we don’t always get it right. Sometimes we get it wrong, and, as my parents experienced, it is sometimes risky…
My younger brother Rob recently took a risk and the story has been unfolding over these last few months.
Rob and Claire, his wonderful wife, moved to Minneapolis right as the planning for The Sheridan Story began at Mill City Church. (See Part 1 of this story HERE). The timing was perfect. What the planning for this weekend food program needed was someone with a logistical mind who could organize how to order, ship, store, pack and distribute enough food to reach what is now 300 kids every week. This is the kind of mind Rob has been given.
Alongside other leaders, Rob led the growth of the program from 30 to 300 kids over a two-year period.
As with any good story – the plot thickened.
God was still moving and was prompting Rob to respond. Claire and Rob began to pray boldly that this program would expand beyond Sheridan School and Mill City Church. Many of us also began to pray in faith asking God to show us what He was doing. Doors began to open in ways that can only be explained by the movement of God in our city.
As soon as we began to pray – we began to see how God was moving:
- People came out of the woodwork from organizations, churches and schools asking how to get involved in The Sheridan Story.
- Rob, who had been one of the leaders of The Sheridan Story as a volunteer, was able to secure funding so that he could resign from his job and spend half of his time expanding the program to other schools.
- He planned on finding another part time job to help pay the bills. However, when Rob went in to resign, his Director at the logistics company was so inspired by The Sheridan Story that he told Rob they’d keep him on at half time. He even mentioned a potential partnership in the future.
- A project called Innove was announced right after we began to pray and Rob applied to this grant program. Just last week he received a $35,000 grant for expansion costs for The Sheridan Story.
- Rob was recently interviewed by MPR and Minneapolis–St. Paul Business Journal. Further, he will present his vision this weekend before hundreds of people at Colonial Church.
I have no doubt that this is only the beginning of what God is doing. I’m also convinced that Rob will continue to try and keep up with an active God and what he sees God doing to fight hunger insecurity. That is just who he is and I am such a proud older sister!
When my parents finished their trip across the country, there was a paying ministry job ready for them, but only because one had opened up during their two-day drive. The original position for which they had packed the U-Haul was a volunteer position. They were only 22 years old at the time and continued to live a story full of bold responses to God’s movement.
There is risk involved when we ask the questions: God, what are you doing? How can I be a part of it?
Your story will change if you step into what God is doing, but stories much bigger than your own will begin to change as well.
As Rob puts it:
“When you peel away all the layers of why The Sheridan Story exists, this is about the fact that there are children down the street who are lacking a basic human need. They are hungry, and we know this breaks God’s heart. We’re participating with God to bring the Church into the story of child hunger, in order to change the story.”
God has been writing a grand tale through The Sheridan Story and this story is nowhere near “The End”.
To read more about The Sheridan Story, to see how you or your company, church, school or organization might be involved, or to donate to help fight child hunger go to: www.TheSheridanStory.com
The Plot Thickens
My mom sometimes shares the tale of her and my dad traveling by car and U-Haul across the country to take a job in ministry. About half way through the trip, my mom pulled the car over to the side of the road causing my dad to do the same with the U-Haul. When he reached the car to see what the problem was, my mom was laughing so hard she was crying. As she rolled down the window she asked:
“Honey, do you have any idea if this position is paid?”
Nope, he had no idea. God had moved and they were responding. In the discernment process of whether they should pack up and move they were so intent on following God’s lead, they hadn’t thought about compensation.
The story of my family is one that has ups and downs, joys and burdens, but if I were to give my family a mission statement it would be:
“Try to keep up with what we see God doing”
Living out this mission has taken a lot of discernment and we don’t always get it right. Sometimes we get it wrong, and, as my parents experienced, it is sometimes risky…
My younger brother Rob recently took a risk and the story has been unfolding over these last few months.
Rob and Claire, his wonderful wife, moved to Minneapolis right as the planning for The Sheridan Story began at Mill City Church. (See Part 1 of this story HERE). The timing was perfect. What the planning for this weekend food program needed was someone with a logistical mind who could organize how to order, ship, store, pack and distribute enough food to reach what is now 300 kids every week. This is the kind of mind Rob has been given.
Alongside other leaders, Rob led the growth of the program from 30 to 300 kids over a two-year period.
As with any good story – the plot thickened.
God was still moving and was prompting Rob to respond. Claire and Rob began to pray boldly that this program would expand beyond Sheridan School and Mill City Church. Many of us also began to pray in faith asking God to show us what He was doing. Doors began to open in ways that can only be explained by the movement of God in our city.
As soon as we began to pray – we began to see how God was moving:
- People came out of the woodwork from organizations, churches and schools asking how to get involved in The Sheridan Story.
- Rob, who had been one of the leaders of The Sheridan Story as a volunteer, was able to secure funding so that he could resign from his job and spend half of his time expanding the program to other schools.
- He planned on finding another part time job to help pay the bills. However, when Rob went in to resign, his Director at the logistics company was so inspired by The Sheridan Story that he told Rob they’d keep him on at half time. He even mentioned a potential partnership in the future.
- A project called Innove was announced right after we began to pray and Rob applied to this grant program. Just last week he received a $35,000 grant for expansion costs for The Sheridan Story.
- Rob was recently interviewed by MPR and Minneapolis–St. Paul Business Journal. Further, he will present his vision this weekend before hundreds of people at Colonial Church.
I have no doubt that this is only the beginning of what God is doing. I’m also convinced that Rob will continue to try and keep up with an active God and what he sees God doing to fight hunger insecurity. That is just who he is and I am such a proud older sister!
When my parents finished their trip across the country, there was a paying ministry job ready for them, but only because one had opened up during their two-day drive. The original position for which they had packed the U-Haul was a volunteer position. They were only 22 years old at the time and continued to live a story full of bold responses to God’s movement.
There is risk involved when we ask the questions: God, what are you doing? How can I be a part of it?
Your story will change if you step into what God is doing, but stories much bigger than your own will begin to change as well.
As Rob puts it:
“When you peel away all the layers of why The Sheridan Story exists, this is about the fact that there are children down the street who are lacking a basic human need. They are hungry, and we know this breaks God’s heart. We’re participating with God to bring the Church into the story of child hunger, in order to change the story.”
God has been writing a grand tale through The Sheridan Story and this story is nowhere near “The End”.
To read more about The Sheridan Story, to see how you or your company, church, school or organization might be involved, or to donate to help fight child hunger go to: www.TheSheridanStory.com
This is such a great story Steph. I would love to sit down and talk with you some time about how you guys worked your partnership. I’ll be sharing this post with some folks from my congregation for sure. Thank you for being faithful to share what God is up to.
Steph, you did an beautiful job of sharing this truly awesome story we’re caught up in! Thanks for spreading the word. 🙂