The Power of Your "Yes”

Church family,

What a morning!

Today we had the joy of welcoming Bobby and Nan Bullard from Partners in Ministry (PIM). I was first introduced to Bobby and Nan a little over a year ago, and I was blown away hearing how the Lord is using their organization to empower indigenous missionaries around the world. I'm so thankful that Church at the Grove gets to partner with PIM and play a small part in what God is doing across the globe.

My biggest takeaway this morning was the idea of how God uses and multiplies our "yes." Bobby and Nan made a simple yes to follow the Lord's leading and became directors of PIM — and God has taken their faithfulness and grown that ministry exponentially, expanding its impact all over the world.

That's how the Lord works. He isn't looking for the most impressive people; He's looking for men and women who are willing to give Him their "yes." When we say yes and follow His leading, He uses us and multiplies our impact more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine.

So let me ask you: What is the Lord calling you to do? Where do you need to give Him your "yes"? Is it inviting a neighbor over for dinner? Becoming a financial sponsor for an organization like PIM? Maybe you feel called to go? Everyone has a next step in their faith journey — where do you need to say yes to the Lord? (If you feel prompted and want to talk it through, I'd love to help you process what you're hearing from Him.)

Want to learn more? Check out Partners in Ministry here PIM website link. And if you missed this morning's service, you'll be able to watch the video online later tonight.

This past week we launched a brand new website — a huge upgrade from what we had before. It's going to be a great tool to keep everyone up to date on what's happening and to help people see clearly what their next step is. One of my favorite pages is the "This Week" section, where you can see everything going on in one place: churchatthegrove.com/this-week.

If you have the old app, you can delete it and replace it with a web app of the new site. Here are some simple instructions to set that up

Finally, I want to personally invite you to join us for a church shower celebrating Reese and Jonah (our Walnut Grove student pastor) as they welcome their first child, Peter, into the world sometime over the next couple of weeks. See the shower invitation below. Here is a link to their registry Registry Link

Events & Opportunities

• Weekly Prayer Call — Wednesdays, 8:30am. We don't talk about it often, but every Wednesday morning we gather for a prayer call. We pray through a passage of Scripture together and lift up requests from our church family. We'd love for you to join us — here's the link prayer call link.
• Family Movie Night — Wednesday, July 29 (Walnut Grove Campus). Our Kids Grove and Grove Student Ministry (GSM) families are invited to a special movie night at the Walnut Grove Campus. This is our last big event before the school year begins!
• JUMP Sunday — August 2. JUMP Sunday is our promotion Sunday. Rising 6th graders will worship with their parents, and our elementary kids will JUMP up to their new grade!

Would you pray with me this week?

• Our staffing search. Continued prayer for our Social Circle student pastor and production director roles. We've received a few applications — please pray for wisdom as we move forward in the process.
• PIM and their missionaries. Pray for Partners in Ministry and the work they're doing around the world. A number of their missionaries serve in highly persecuted areas.
• A great harvest this fall. As we gear up for the fall, pray that the Lord would use our efforts to bring about a great harvest.

Resource to Consider

• This week I'd point you to a conversation between John Ortberg and Joni Eareckson Tada on the Formation with John Ortberg podcast. Paralyzed in a diving accident at seventeen, Joni has lived as a quadriplegic for nearly sixty years — and her testimony to the Lord's faithfulness in the middle of that suffering is one of the most powerful you'll ever hear. She reflects honestly on the emotional and spiritual challenges of living with a disability, how she has found real purpose through faith, the importance of community in life-altering seasons, and the global mission of bringing resources and hope to people with disabilities. It's a beautiful picture of the "yes" we talked about this morning. Listen here: Formation with John Ortberg — "Quadriplegia, Despair, and Learning to Truly Live"

Grateful for you

Nathan