How did God Use You Last Year?

Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we fail to stop and look back at what God has done.  January is a great time to review how God has worked in you and through you over the past year.

As you review the past year here are some great questions you can ask yourself.

• What was the greatest challenge for me?
• In what areas did I see the most growth?
• How did God use me (be specific and write down events, places, people)?
• What did God teach me last year that I can practice this year?

CMI Administrators in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains

This is how we answered those questions.

What were our greatest challenges?

We were certainly challenged by a lot of new laws that made it difficult to help our teammates get visas and registration here in Ukraine.

We were also challenged by spiritual apathy. Many people not wanting to serve but only to be served or unbelievers not wanting to listen to the gospel at all!

What areas did we see the most growth?

We saw growth numerically in our church.

We saw growth spiritually in several leaders in our church.

We saw growth physically and mentally in our children.

Most importantly the Lord taught us the importance of growing together with other believers in community!

How did God use us specifically?

As we reviewed 2012 these were the events and people that stood out to us. It’s really not about us, it’s about God and how He decided to use us. It’s also about the people that we have the privilege of serving!

Each one is linked to a blog post so take a look.

First Time Teaching In January I had the privilege of teaching in a CMI course in Russian for the first time.

Good Soil in Chisinau In February I traveled to Chisinau where I did a half day seminar for about 30 Moldovans. I also presented Good Soil to about 100 church members on Sunday evening.

CMI Leaders Meet in the Carpathians  We met with the CMI leadership for 3 days of planning how to most effectively help churches in Ukraine and Moldova.

Guests from Jerusalem David and Sue Schmidt came and taught “Bible Backgrounds”. It was well attended and well received

Mayovka – Church Picnic Our church held a picnic In the forest for families. About 200 people showed up. Many of them unchurched.

A Few problems with “Word of Faith” I was invited to speak at our fellowship of churches brother’s gathering. I spoke about the dangers of “Word of Faith” Teaching to about 80 men from 7-8 different churches.

The Laying on of Hands Our church ordained Mikhael Rodoslavov to the ministry of pastor.

A New Pastor and Church Camp We had about 160 people for our church camp. I taught the adults about parenting.

Ministry in Faleshti, Moldova Traveled with my father and father-in-law to Moldova where we spent a few days with GAP partner Vasiliy Kaletnik.

Ministry in Moldova and CMI Open House I helped coordinate the CMI’s first ever open house. As a result a small Story of Hope Bible study has started.

Visas, Registration and Chronological Bible Teaching We finally managed to complete much of the paper work and apartment transfers for our teammates so that they can receive residency status in Ukraine.

Carpathian Mountains Conference We had a wonderful 3 day conference with our Bible School teachers  and directors.

Training the Disciple Makers In November Gil Thomas came and helped us do a Good Soil seminar plus training for facilitators in Odessa.

2 Days with 25 Church Leaders I helped Misha (our Good Soil coordinator) lead his first seminar in Nickolaev for about 25 church leaders from about 20 different churches.

What did God teach us last year that we can practice this year?

He taught us the importance of rest, which we have already started practicing!

He taught us that it’s more important who we are than what we do. We need to work on this!

He taught us that our children are the greatest resource and responsibility that He has given us. We need to invest our lives in them!

Question: How did God use you last year? What lessons can you share?