Jonathan Enns

Moving Towards a Goal

// August 6th, 2010 // ministry

Sometimes I think about goals in ministry. Perhaps one day a tribal church planted, or that tribal church sending out its own missionaries. To get there I had to first reach the goal of being equipped and ready to dive into that ministry. Yes these are goals, and they may even be good goals, however they are not THE goal. God has increasingly been realizing this truth upon me…the goal is Christ, to know Him, to glorify Him. Christ must come first, before any ministry goals.

It is interesting, because I was challenged in this not too long ago, when I received an email asking me to prayerfully consider joining Light in Action, a ministry in Brazil which close friends of mine started some years back. To be honest I did not even want to consider changing my plans…I was excited to head into NTM training in Durham, ON, with my sister Gina, to be stretched, challenged, and grown during the two years of training there, then head out to start striving toward the goal of a Tribal church plant! I knew I had to pray about it, but I didn’t want to. I was scared God my change my course…I sat in bed wrestling with genuinely considering and praying about it, but finally began to be open with God and consider if He would have me partner with Light in Action (LIA).

Light in Action was started by former New Tribers who saw a need for chronological bible resources in video format to be used to reach people groups globally. Why chronologically? Because a firm foundation is necessary to understand the Gospel properly (see my blog post on this). So LIA set out to professionally direct and film Tetelestai, a 12 episode series of dynamic teaching videos explaining the Gospel from Creation and the Fall, to the event of the Cross, all the way through weaving the truth of the promised Messiah, the character of God, and the history of man throughout the teaching.

And so?

So, through time in prayer and seeking input from friends, church, and family, I fully believe God is leading me to

1. Partner with LIA to aid in the production, editing, and marketing of this Bible resource
   1. I have experience in photography & web design so I will be using these skills and learning more about video production
   2. Engaging contacts, churches, and missionaries worldwide who we can partner with to use these resources to get the Gospel heard & understood
2. Partner with my home church and the local church in Natal Brazil to see Christ & His word spread & understood
   1. First of all, we as a team want to be personally kept accountable before eachother & God. When I join with them I am excited to be challenged and to grow with the team as we sharpen eachother and dive into the truths of scripture and see how our lives line up with it
   2. Secondly, LIA is heavily involved with local churches and the community through ministries to lower income families, bible studies with various groups, and discipleship with local believers. I am excited to get involved here to better learn portuguese and to be able to express my heart & teach Brazilians, and also grow and learn from my Brazilian brothers & sisters.

My long-term vision still includes New Tribes Mission, however for the next few years I am excited to partner with LIA in Natal, Brazil. The ultimate goal? Christ. That I  might know Him more. That He might me glorified. I press on toward the goal of His calling.

Please, pray.

James explains that the effectual fervent prayer avails much! I know personally I tend to doubt my own prayers…if they have effect. But we have a GREAT HIGH PRIEST, who takes our prayers, INTERCEDES for us, and presents them perfect & holy before the Father! Yes! PRAY! I need your prayers!

How?

• Pray I will maintain priority on my personal relationship with Christ, in my prayer life, and daily Bible study. It is so easy to slack.
• Pray that I will be able to find a way to get all the equipment I am bringing down to Brazil (a new camera, computers, etc). I am limited in my baggage, and the cost to ship it is bordering insanity.

This rock house will double as a set piece and a real house for one of our couples on the team!

The driveway at Light in Action. We are headquartered just minutes outside of Natal on a former coconut farm!

This is the team at LIA. I will be joining them on October 5th, and another couple is joining us Lord willing in 2011.