Today I preached at two of the eleven weekend worship services at Victory U-Belt (aka University Belt).
I think I need to go to the U-Belt more often. Going back to where it all started is good for my memory, and good for my soul. The U-Belt reminds me why we stayed in Manila beyond the one month we signed up for. That was twenty-eight years ago. Hard to believe it has been that long ago. Time really does fly when you are having fun.
I was twenty-five. Deborah was twenty-two. We were clueless. We knew two things: campus ministry and small group discipleship. So we got busy doing small group discipleship on the campuses of the U-Belt. Soon those students we were discipling started small groups of their own. Then others did. And others. And others.
Now there are over five-thousand people leading Victory discipleship groups all over Metro Manila. And, that church we helped start in Manila's U-Belt twenty-eight years ago is healthy, strong, and influential, meeting in sixteen Metro Manila locations. It has sent missionaries and planted churches all over the Philippines, Asia, and the world.
As I look back on twenty-eight years of making disciples, training leaders, and planting churches in Asia, I am convinced that ministry success is relatively simple. Not easy. Simple. At least it was for us.
Long-term ministry success simply comes down to this:
1. Dare to believe.
2. Refuse to quit.
If you are young and clueless, just starting out in ministry, DARE TO BELIEVE. If you have been at it for a couple of decades, REFUSE TO QUIT.
Over the years we have had countless opportunities to quit. I am glad we passed on every one of them. Every time we rejected a good opportunity to quit, another would soon present itself. And we would pass on that one too. No regrets for not quitting.
Too many people believe for too little and quit too soon.
If you will simply dare to believe and refuse to quit, you will wake up one day amazed at what God did in, for, and through you.
Amen, pastor Steve! I'm from U-Belt, and I should've been there yesterday!
Posted by: Aric | July 09, 2012 at 09:12 AM
Today M and I were sort of marveling at the growth happening here, and I laughed to think of all the times we wondered last year how to help the church grow. We haven't changed anything; it's just growing. Reading this helps to define what we did "right": we just kept believing and refund to quit. God did the rest. Thank you for your wisdom!
Posted by: Carrie Stephens | July 09, 2012 at 09:44 AM
Favorite scene fron Dodgeball (the Movie)....
Peter La Fleur: Uh, actually I decided to quit... Lance.
Lance Armstrong: Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer, all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying from that's keeping you from the finals?
Peter La Fleur: Right now it feels a little bit like... shame.
Lance Armstrong: Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. But good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever.
Posted by: lfberry | July 09, 2012 at 12:25 PM
i was in the middle of the 1st sem for enli (then...) when i had a stroke (cerebellar) and told ptr al bantayan of victory-legazpi... i'm quitting... ptr junn besanna, encouraged him and he encouraged me... just attend. just be there, make up for the missed classes... and so i did. i finished enli 1-2(we were the last batch for enli before it became training for victory). now, by God's grace, i am alive and in transition, as the lead pastor of victory sorsogon. all by the Grace of God! God bless and regards ptr steve
Posted by: doc alan lopez | July 12, 2012 at 04:17 PM