Answering the Call

It is so good to be with you all this morning.

As I share with you this morning, I come to you with a story about what God has been doing in our ministry in Idaho.

Three years ago, I was content and faithfully serving in ministry in Live Oak, my home town.

I was happy to be the pastor at Friendship Baptist Church

I was happy to serve in our association and our community

I expected that I would continue to live and to serve here for the rest of my life.

But God had other plans. God was calling us to work in Idaho.

This morning, as we spend this time together, I would ask you to consider how is God calling you into His Kingdom work?

What is His purpose for you in this life, today, right now?

Have you asked Him?

I live in Boise, Idaho

I’m not from Boise, I’m from here.

I don’t live in Boise because I like the weather

most of the time, outside of Hurricane season, your weather is better

I don’t live in Boise because it’s what I can afford

When we moved to Boise we moved into a smaller house for a lot more money.

I don’t live in Boise because it is beautiful and full of outdoor living.

though it is full of both of those things.

If you can do it outdoors and it doesn’t include the ocean, you can do it in Idaho. But that is not why I live there.

I live in Boise because that is where and that is how God has called me to be a part of His Kingdom work.

If you are a follower of Jesus, there is no doubt that He is calling you

Ephesians 2:8–10 CSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Romans 8:28 CSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

You were saved for a purpose

Jesus has redeemed you so that you can be a part of His Kingdom work

He moved heaven and earth so that you can devote your life to knowing Jesus and making Him known

We know that God is calling you into His Kingdom work, the question is how?

What is it that God is calling you, personally, and you, as a church community to do?

In our life and work, we often remind each other that God is in the details

We don’t serve a God who is chaotic

We don’t serve a God who only works in the broad sense and then leaves us to figure it out

We serve a God who is over everything and is in everything

That means, friends, that He has a plan

For you

For your church

For His glory

Even when things don’t seem to make any sense.

Even when it doesn’t look like what you planned.

In our first 18 months on Boise, things had gone well among the Basque

We had worked hard to build relationships in the community

We had faithfully served, volunteering where ever we could

Hosting cultural events

building friendships and trust

Everything was moving towards the early stages of a church plant.

And then it happened

A volunteer on a team distributed some materials we had never seen

They did it in the name of our church

The material was condemning Catholicism

And they gave it to members of the Basque community.

Virtually overnight, 18 months of work was burned.

Our friends in the community stood up for us, and they put out the fires.

But the damage was done.

All of these things were surprising to us, but none of them were surprising to God.

As we sought the Lord’s face, two things became increasingly clear.

The first was that were still needed to reach the Basque community

The second was that we needed more time and a new strategy.

We were to plant a church in our community that would plant more churches

A church that will plant the church among the Basque

And what God turned our attention to was growth

1 Corinthians 3:6–9 CSB

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

In January 2024, we started over again, and what we have seen is God bringing growth

•     Growth in Bible Study

•     In our neighbors who live across the fence

•     In a family that came to our soccer camp

•     In people that we have met through chaplaincy

•     Growth in our Sunday morning worship services

We began looking for a place to meet in August

We searched for months, and had received a no at every location we pursued.

including Pepper Ridge Elementary School

But in early November, Pepper Ridge called us back. God had opened a door.

We started Sunday morning worship services just 6 weeks ago today.

•     God has brought a wide range of people through our doors

•     a few families seem to be “sticking”

•     Over the month or so of Sunday mornings, we average about 18 a Sunday. About 13 of those are there each week, with a group of visitors coming and going, some that we’ve seen a few times and are praying they will continue to come.

Our Sunday mornings look different than yours.

What I’m wearing this morning is what I wear to church.

A suit and tie wouldn’t really fit in the Intermountain west anyway, but it definitely doesn’t fit in a church plant

We unload an 11000 lb trailer on Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m.

We spend an hour hauling stuff in, setting up equipment, and we work up a sweat.

At 8:30 we have sound checks and make sure all systems work

At 9:05 we have a brief prayer, and at 9:15 we are greeting guests

Service starts at 10:30 and must be done no later than 10:45

We visit with our guests, and then start teardown at 11

The trailer door must be closed and the truck moving by noon.

At 12:30, I finish dropping the trailer off where we store it

And at 1:00 I’m home and ready for lunch.

But through all the hard work, all that we see is growth!

We have also seen God bring growth in our team:

2 Timothy 2:2 CSB

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

•     Since the very beginning, this verse has been my driving thought with those that God gives us.

•     Christian is a young man who loves Jesus and music.

•     He studied music at CBU

•     He’s served a lot in worship ministries, but has never really led

•     He’s a great pianist, but his vocal skills are better suited for harmonies and backup than lead.

•     He feels called to ministry, and I have been working with him to develop towards that end.

•     He has been serving on our worship team, and learning

•     Learning what it looks like to lead from a heart full from a strong pursuit of Christ

•     Learning how to invite others and buildothers up, equipping them to serve

•     Learning how to prayerfully plan services

•     This Sunday, he is leading in my absence.

•    My son, Micah, has been planning for years to pursue being a pilot.

•     Initially, that was going to take him to Utah State University and a prestigious flight program

•     But God has been doing a work in Micah, and we’re not sure where it is going to end up.

•     What we do know is that Micah has chosen to stay close to home to be a part of the church plant.

•     While he studies Mechanical engineering at Boise State, he will also serve with us to grow Waypoint

•     I have been investing in Him, and helping him to prepare. In my absence, Micah will be preaching his very first sermon this Sunday.

•     Connor is a young man who is only just really starting discipleship with me

•     His heart is sincere, but he is young in his faith

•     He is learning a lot and being pushed out of his comfort zone

•     In leading others and showing them what to do in setup and teardown on Sunday

•     In bravely taking on the “host” roll in our Sunday morning service

•     I’ve asked him to consider teaching one ofour youth group studies sometime this spring, and he is praying about it.

•    We have also seen Growth in New Believers

In September, we baptized our first two new believers

Youth that God has given us to teach

And as we’ve been faithful with the Gospel, He has drawn them to Himself.

These two young men are brand new to the Gospel

They’ve never heard the stories you take for granted as common knowledge like Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham.

What we have seen God do in the last year is nothing short of a miracle.

He has taken the broken pieces of what seemed to be nothing but ash and He has made something new out of it.

But this morning, as I share with you these ways that we are seeing God bring growth, I would ask you again:

How is God calling you into His Kingdom’s work?

There is still so much to do for God’s Kingdom in Idaho

To put it more plainly, we need your help!

In my city, 9 out of 10 people have never been in a Bible teaching church

In my city, 60% of the people have a Mormon worldview

In my city, the largest Basque population in America is present

In my city, we have one of the fastest growing populations in the United States

In my city, there is a desperate need for the Gospel

In my state, there are entire counties without any church of any denomination

In my state, only 5.6% of the population are Evangelical Christians

Many of the active youth in your congregation would be the most mature Christians in an entire county if they were to move to Idaho.

In my state, there is a higher percentage of Mormons than there are in Utah

In my state, there has never been a Spiritual Awakening.

We don’t just need revival, we need new birth

How is God calling you into His Kingdom work?

For some of you, it will mean going to Idaho

Maybe you are a young person, and you would consider interning with the Suwannee Baptist Association

If that is you, I will see you this summer as you help us put on two camps in our city to reach people with the Gospel

Maybe you are a young adult, a senior in High School, or a college student, and you would be interested in coming to Idaho for a summer or for a year.

If that is you, you might be interested in being an intern with a new initiative called Reach Idaho.

You could come and serve with us in Boise or in one of many places where Gospel work is being done to reach our state with the Gospel.

Maybe you are an adult or a family, and God would have you to come and serve

You could also come this Summer on that trip to help us lead camps and to do evangelism in our community.

Some of you may need to go to Idaho. Some of you might need to move to Idaho.

I would challenge you to talk to the Lord and ask Him about this possibility (I never thought it’d be me)

It could look like getting a job in the hottest U.S. Job market in Boise so that you can come and help in our church plant

It could mean moving into another community to live as an active and engaged believer helping another church engage their community

It could even be that God would have you plant your life in church planting in one of these places where there are no churches.

I know that where you sit this morning, the easiest thing is to say that it isn’t you that will do these things

And for many, it may be true.

God can and will use you where you currently work, live, and play

And in this, I would ask you to ask Him how He is calling you to go deeper for His Kingdom

But do you know what would be a real tragedy? TO MISS WHAT GOD WAS CALLING YOU TO BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO ASK HIM.

I want to leave you this morning with a Bible story.

It’s about a young boy. This young boy was given to the Lord by his parents

He served in the tent of meeting, under a High Priest named Eli.

He served the Lord, but the boy didn’t know the Lord. He had never heard the Lord’s call

The High Priest wasn’t really teaching the boy or leading him to the Lord.

In fact, the boy was sleeping next to the Ark of the Covenant

He was sleeping in the Holy of Holies

And one day, God called Him, “Samuel”

The boy went running to Eli-but Eli told him to go away. You can almost see the modern Eli flipping channels on late-night t.v.

Again, God called, “Samuel”

He went to Eli-but Eli sent him away

Again God called, “Samuel”

He went to Eli-and before Eli sent him away, he had a thought

This might be God speaking to the boy

So he said, “hey Samuel, if you hear it again, tell the Lord to speak to you and that you’re listening.”

Again, the Lord Called “Samuel”

And Samuel said “Speak, for your servant is listening”

If you are a follower of Christ, you are already better off than Samuel. You know the Lord’s voice

Will you be like Samuel? Will you ask God to speak? Are you ready to answer His call When He does?

Your community needs the Gospel

Idaho needs the Gospel

And God wants to use you to reach both places.

THIS MORNING, Who is ready to answer His call?

I don’t know where your heart is this morning

Maybe you are here, and all this seems foreign to you because you’re like Samuel, and you don’t yet know the Lord.

Maybe you are a follower of Jesus and you know He is calling you to go.

Maybe I started talking about moving, and you got uncomfortable because the Spirit started stirring

Maybe you aren’t in a place to go or to move, but God is calling you to pray and to give to the work that we are doing in Idaho.

Could it be that God is moving to start a new work for the Gospel right here, and you’re supposed to lead it?

Brother Robert is going to be right down front, and we’re going to sing a song

And as we sing, if you are hearing the Lord’s call this morning, don’t you wait to answer it.

Come meet with Brother Robert. Let him pray with you and encourage you as you begin to step in obedience to that call

I don’t know where your heart is this morning, but I do know one thing: God is calling you.

Are you listening? Will you answer His Call?

Pray.