If your friends aren’t talking about sharing their faith across cultures, and you never saw anyone do it, how would you know what to do? On the surface, it sounds daunting. Yet it doesn’t need to be that way. Today’s guest, a pastor and church planter among Afghan refugees, shares how a good mentor modeled God’s heart for the nations, and that changed everything. Now, he’s mentoring you. Listen and be encouraged in this last episode of the season.
If your friends aren’t talking about sharing their faith across cultures, and you never saw anyone do it, how would you know what to do? On the surface, it sounds daunting. Yet it doesn’t need to be that way. Today’s guest, a pastor and church planter among Afghan refugees, shares how a good mentor modeled God’s heart for the nations, and that changed everything. Now, he’s mentoring you. Listen and be encouraged in this last episode of the season.
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Karen
Have you ever held back from sharing your faith, especially with people of other faiths and cultures? Welcome to the iHOPE Empowers Podcast. I'm your host, Karen Bejjani. And this is our last episode of the season. This season we've been striving to come alongside you to grow your faith and embolden, you to share the hope of Jesus, especially across cultures. How did we do? We'd love your feedback because it will help shape our plans for next season. You'll find a survey link in the show notes that will take you to a quick survey where you can share your thoughts with us. I hope you'll take a few minutes to weigh in. Thanks. And one more thing before we dive into today's show, I have a new book called the Blue Cord coming out in early 2022. And I'd love to give you a sneak peek preview of the first three chapters. It's already getting great reviews and I can't wait for you to see it. Look for the link in your show notes to help you sign up to get that now. Okay. My friend, here's a fresh dose of inspiration to embolden you to share Jesus across other faiths and cultures.
Jamie
I would encourage people first of all to adopt a spirit of a learner. I think that's the most important part of finding a mentor is we first have to be learners and willing to learn from others and to grow ourselves. And so I would encourage people, first of all, to ask the Lord, Jesus, to make me a learner. I want it to be eager and hungry, to grow in my relationship with you. And as a minister of the gospel, whether I'm a vocational minister or whether I'm a marketplace minister. And then from there, I would say, be intentional to seek out a mentor that God has already placed around you. Perhaps that's a person in your Church or perhaps that's a person in your network. And so I would say, be intentional to look for that person.
Karen
Welcome back. Have you ever found yourself longing for someone in your life that would mentor you in sharing your faith and growing your faith? Well, today's guest will share some helpful practical insights for finding a mentor just like that. So let's get started. Today I've invited my friend Jamie, Jamie, are you on with me?
Jamie:
Yes, I am
Karen:
Okay, welcome, Jamie. He's going to share his experiences and knowing God and making Him known among the nations here and you're in for a real treat. So let's start by thinking about Jesus's words and Matthew 28:19 where He told us to go make disciples of all nations. So this is what we know as The Great Commission. So, Jamie, I'm so curious. What are your earliest thoughts about what that meant?
Jamie:
Thank you for asking Karen. It's an honor to be with you on your podcast. God was so gracious to me early on in life to draw me to himself. I experienced a solid Christian upbringing. God drew me to himself through the example of my mother, who was a committed Christian and dedicated member of the church through my grandparents who were people of prayer and people who depended daily on the Holy Spirit's work in their lives. I was blessed to have a father who was an example of strong integrity and character and a church family that really supported me and really encouraged me to grow as a young person in the faith. But as it pertains to the great commission, the impression I got of the great commission early on was that it was something that missionaries did because the times that I heard about the great commission were primarily in a context where missionaries had come to speak and they had come to speak at our church and shared about their stories and their work in countries across the ocean. And my understanding of the great commission was that it wasn't necessarily something for your average layperson to do in their day-to-day life. It was for people overseas.
Karen:
Yeah, that was my understanding too. And so I'm so curious as you reflect back, really, what was the catalyst that shifted your thinking about that? About there being people of other cultures and faiths here? What was the shift?
Jamie:
Yeah, you know, I wonder what the shift was as I looked back. One reason that I wonder is because the town in which I grew up in what was fairly monocultural and the church that I was raised in as well. So I wonder how it was that coming from that type of environment, that God drew me into a ministry that is really focused on the nations around us, all peoples around us. I think one of the catalysts was in college I studied overseas in two different locations. I studied in the Caribbean Islands and I studied in Kenya. And I think that that was a catalyst. It was in the Caribbean specifically on the island of Trinidad, where I first got to meet people of a variety of backgrounds and cultures, and religions, including Islam and Hinduism. It was the place where I first got to visit a Mosque and visit a Hindu Temple and meet people from these religious backgrounds and hear about their religion. But I think the main catalyst was in my graduate school years, it was a relationship with a mentor named Stan. Stan and his wife Valley had been missionaries in their early years. They were missionaries in West Africa and also in the Middle East, but they had to come back to the states because Stan's wife Valley was diagnosed with MS. And so they moved to the town where I was, or the city that I was living in and the city where my graduate school was, and I got to meet them. And over time I learned about Stan and his heart and his desire to see new people discipled specifically people from other cultures discipled. Stan had a lot of experiences working in reaching Muslims in West Africa in the Middle East. And he decided that God was calling him to plant a house church in his home. And so Stan was reaching out to a lot of Iraqi refugees that had moved to that specific city. And after a time of befriending them and working with them and helping to meet practical needs, he began to invite them into his home. And it was in his home where he and his wife would prepare dinner, a meal, and people would sit around the table. And then after the meal, they would open the word and discuss what Jesus was telling them through the word. And then they would share communion there at the table as well. And it was through that time of attending that house church on a weekly basis. And also just talking and being mentored by Stan that I really came to embrace the great commission as a way of life, rather than just something that people did overseas.
Karen:
I love this, how you're talking about mentoring and discipling it's when someone takes us by the hand and shows us what it looks like to live as though you really believe God's heart for the nations how does that look? So as you watched Stan model this for you and mentor this for you, how did that impact you?
Jamie:
Well, one way it impacted me was I got to see Stan interact with people of other cultures. And I got to see Stan introduce Jesus in ways that connected with their culture and their background. For example, in our house Church time, after we would study the word together and ask what Jesus is telling us through the word Stan would share communion, but he wouldn't it with grape juice and wafers, as I was used to, he would share it by using tea and naan used culturally appropriate food and drink to share communion. And that kind of challenged me and stretched me, Hey, you know, why are you using tea? You know, and naan as communion, but anyway, he was seeking to build bridges of understanding and relationship to the people that he was reaching out to. So that was an encouragement to me. And, and also the fact that Stan and Valley, they had to leave the mission field because of Valleys MS. And Stan had to give up his dream of being a missionary to serve his wife and to come back here to the United States and to continue carrying out his calling. But at the same time to serve his wife who progressively had to deal with the MS diagnosis. So I learned about just the character of Christ as the husband who was serving his wife
Karen:
You know, as you share this story, Jamie, it causes me to reflect on my own growing up years in my college years and post-college years. And, you know, I think I only ever have a mentor like that, that really modeled God's heart for the nations. And I would have to say, no, no one I knew was kind of slinging back that darkness and living as a beacon of light in their neighborhoods, like by inviting people from other faiths and cultures over for dinner, just to chat about Jesus. So what an incredible role model that you had in your life that could really model what that would look like in an everyday ordinary situation right where you were, so then how did you begin to apply that for yourself?
Jamie:
Yeah, good question. After graduate school, I moved to the San Francisco bay area, and while I lived there, I served as a part-time associate pastor. And then I worked in a marketplace job as well. So I did kind of have time in ministry and half-time in the marketplace. And I think Stans mentorship helped me to navigate both worlds to navigate the church world, but also to navigate the marketplace that I was living in. Instead of there being this divide between sacred and secular Stans emphasis was on discipleship and discipleship is the daily moment by moment, day in day out relationship with the Lord Jesus. It's not something that is confined to the Church. You know I grew up in the Church and I'm blessed by my upbringing in the Church, but I was really blessed also to have a mentor who focused on discipleship and the development of the character of Christ in His people. So that impacted me. Also, the San Francisco bay area, as many people know is very diverse and my relationships with Stan and other people. And also my education helped me to interact with people that were very different from very different backgrounds, very different religious and cultural backgrounds as myself. So it just really helped me to build relationships and to listen and be able to reach across the cultural chasm and to minister and to serve.
Karen:
So there's a couple of big themes. I'm hearing you say, Jamie, as you're sharing, one is just this whole beautiful mentor that the Lord placed in your life. He modeled the character of Christ. And so for the listener who's listening today, who says, that's great Jamie it's awesome you had a mentor. I can't even fathom where I would find someone like that. And I would love for you just to share for those people who would love a mentor like that, that might take them by the hand to model the character of Christ among the nations because it's in that community, that day-to-day community that we really can begin to see very practically what it looks like to be an authentic Christian witness among someone of another faith or culture. And then in that process, we discover it's nowhere near as hard as we imagined, or as truly scary as we made it out to be. But it's through that mentor that can take us into those places that we see ourselves in that story. So what are your thoughts about that, Jamie, where might people begin to find mentors, or even they're ready to take the step to be a mentor?
Jamie:
I would encourage people, first of all, to adopt the spirit of a learner. I think that's the most important part of finding a mentor is we first have to be learners and willing to learn from others and to grow ourselves. And so I would encourage people, first of all, to ask the Lord, Jesus, to make me a learner. I want to be eager and hungry to grow in my relationship with you. And as a minister of the Gospel, whether I'm a vocational minister or whether I'm a marketplace minister. And then from there, I would say, be intentional to seek out a mentor that God has already placed around you. Perhaps that's a person in your Church or perhaps that's a person in your network. And so I would say, be intentional to look for that person.
Karen:
And so thinking about these years that you were in San Francisco, as you were learning to step out with intention across different cultural boundaries, as you think about those stages, what were some of your thoughts and feelings as you were going through that learning phase, as you remember them, what are some big themes that the Lord taught you through that time?
Jamie:
One of the biggest areas of growth during that time when I lived in San Francisco was the importance of our identity in Christ and knowing our identity in Christ and being rooted and having our identity in Christ, being the source of our security and our acceptance as Christians. Before then, you know, I appreciated the messages I got from my Christian upbringing about surrender and sanctification and these kinds of themes, but there was a gap and that gap was knowing who I was in Christ. And I think that's really the beginning point for all believers is knowing who we are in Christ and what God has done, so that now being in Christ, we are rooted in Him. And so I think that was really key for my time in San Francisco was after leaving graduate school, going to San Francisco, being out on my own for the first time, being away from my home, being in a new environment, being in a very challenging environment, spiritually speaking, being surrounded by many different people of other cultures, I needed to be grounded in who I was as a follower of Christ. So that was really key for my time. And I had some rough spots during that time. And I was grateful for the community of Christ that came around to me during that time and helped care for me and support me and encourage me. We need the body of Christ in our lives to encourage and support one another.
Karen:
Yeah, I can so identify with what you're sharing Jamie because you know, growing up, I always knew we're supposed to share our faith and it comes down to do we have a faith worth sharing. And I think it's, as I began to engage with people of other faiths and cultures that caused me to really consider my own faith. And what did I believe? And in that process of considering what I believe that's to your point it helps press me harder into being rooted in my own identity in Christ. And so I love that you shared that and as you were getting rooted in what that identity looked like, then how did that change your actions on the other side of it?
Jamie:
Yeah, that's true. Identity then impacts the way that we act, the way that we live in the world. Very good question. It just gave me greater confidence to be the person that God has created me to be, to be the minister of Christ that God has made me to be. It empowered me to know who I was in Christ, empowered me to serve the Lord in the ways that He had gifted and called me. I believe that's vital for a flourishing Christian life.
Karen:
Absolutely. So fast-forward you no longer live in San Francisco, you moved to America's Heartland or maybe you move someplace else before he moved to America's Heartland. But now today I know that you are planting a church and among people of many faiths and cultures right here in North America. And so I'd love for you just to share a story or two about how the Lord's changed your actions and how differently you're living today than those years ago.
Jamie:
Yeah. You know, the story of how I became a pastor of the church that I'm serving is really an interesting story because I didn't go and seek out submit resumes, etc. I didn't go seeking out this position. It was dropped into my lap. In fact, it came to me. And so I was serving as an associate pastor here in a city, in North America at the time and in the same city, a children's pastor at another church in my denomination contacted me and said, Hey, I understand that you have some interest and experience reaching out to Muslims. Well, we're meeting a lot of Muslims in our community where we serve. Would you come and visit our Church? I didn't know at the time that they were actually without, maybe I did, but I wasn't really going to that Church or visiting that church for the sake of wanting to become their pastor. I just thought, hey, you know, this is an interesting opportunity, a Church that has a lot of Muslims around them and so I went to visit the Church. And when I came to the Church, the first Sunday that I visited, I got a chance to meet some of the people that lived in the apartment community, where this Church met. So the Church met at a community space inside of a large apartment complex. And I showed up at the community center. And while I was there, I got a chance to meet some of the people that lived in that community. And they were from Iraq. And that got me interested more in this community. And so on that same Sunday that I first visited one of the members of this Church and a member of the elder team or board came up to me and said, would you be interested or would you consider serving as our next pastor? And I hadn't expected that you know, to receive an invitation from the children's pastor to visit and then to receive an invitation from one of the elders to serve as the pastor, Aizada'my wife and I got to know the Church and the people. And we fell in love with the people and the ministry. And we felt like this was a perfect assignment for us. So I've been serving as the pastor of this church for about four years now. And as I mentioned, it's a church based in an apartment community in an area of our city that is saturated with people from other cultures and religions, a lot of refugees, a lot of immigrants, as well as a lot of people who are native-born and who just live at the margins of society. The Church that I pastor really has the heart to reach out to those at the margins. And, and it just so happens that a lot of those people around us are refugees and immigrants, and my wife and I, my wife comes from another country and she and I share a special passion for evangelism and outreach to people of other cultures and backgrounds. And so I became the pastor and about three and a half years ago, began meeting a lot of Afghan people that had been resettled by refugee resettlement agencies in our apartment community. And that led us on a journey of beginning to meet more and more Afghan people that were resettled here. And then our Church started a nonprofit organization. And through that nonprofit, I also just had the opportunity to serve the practical needs of many of these refugees, especially a lot of Afghans. So there are so many stories that I could share over the last three and a half years. It's so wonderful to have been, first of all, just to be embedded in a large apartment community where I'm not just coming in and then leaving instead I office there. So our church uses an apartment in this apartment community where I office. And so our Church doesn't come in and sort of serve people transactionally, and then leave. Instead, we're embedded in the community. We sort of quote-unquote, live there throughout the week because I get to office there. And so I organically meet a lot of people that live in this apartment community, including more than, I'd say, 50 Afghan families. In addition to Afghan people, there are many people from other places like in Somalia and Ethiopia and Cameroon and Sierra Leone, and other places, Arab countries as well. So it's really an amazing place to meet people from all over the world and to share the gospel with people, you know, especially places like Afghanistan. Places, where there are very few Christians, very few churches, very few opportunities for Afghan people to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, and to receive an authentic witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. But here they have that now that they live right around us. And so we're just compelled to see the Great Commission move forward.
Karen:
Oh, so you bring up like two or three big things that you just shared, Jamie, that I would love for us to unpack. So there's the first is it's for the listener who's listening and thinking that is awesome. Jamie, you are a pastor, but I think is interesting is that the Lord planted you right there. And there's a wonderful verse in Isaiah, Isaiah 60:21. Basically, He says they are the branch that I planted the work of my hands so that I may be glorified. So the Lords planted you right here in the heart of all of these nations so that he may be glorified. And for each listener who's listening today. It is the exact same thing. It's not an accident where you're living right now. The Lord has planted you right there so that you might glorify the Lord. And so the thing that's important for us all to realize is that we might be in our suburbs, living among people who look very much like us and just a few blocks away, there is an apartment complex, just like what Jamie's talking about, where the nations from many unreached people, groups are living and thriving. And this is a great opportunity for each one of us to be very intentional with tithing time so that we can begin to nurture relationships across those cultures to have opportunities to plant gospel seeds. So, Jamie, I'd love to hear just a recent story or two just help us know what that looks like for those. Who's never done anything like that before? Give us some practical stories about what it looks like to befriend someone from another faith or culture and look for opportunities to plant seeds.
Jamie:
Yes, boy, I could go on and on about stories, but let me share this story. First of all of Haamed. Haamed is a gentleman from Afghanistan. He and his wife moved to this apartment community about a month ago now. And I think I was the first neighbor to knock on their door and introduce myself to them and welcome them. And when I did so I invited Haamed who, you know, he, he moved in two doors down from my own office apartment. So I invited him over and we have an English center at my office apartment. And so I showed him around and introduced him to our English classes that he or his wife could attend. And we just got to introduce ourselves at that time. Well, fast forward, a couple of weeks Haamed and another Afghan were talking and Haamed told me that this other Afghan man who lived in this apartment community told him about the job where he is working Haamed was looking for a job because he needs to support his family. And so he decided that he was going to work at the same company as this other Afghan man. And so Haamed asked me if I could go with him to a staffing company to apply for this job because he's new to the area and it would be better for me to go. Plus he doesn't feel comfortable driving on the busy roadways. Yet and so he gave me the keys to his car. He hopped in the passenger seat and I hopped in the driver's seat and we drove to this staffing company and we applied for the job and everything went well and smooth and got to learn a little bit about him on the drive there and a little more on the drive, back. And on the drive back. He asked me about what I majored in in college. And I said, well, I also have a master's degree. And he asked me about my major. And I said, well, theology. And that intrigued him. He said, he also likes to discuss and learn about this particular topic theology. And that gave me the idea later, after we went to Walmart together and he was so gracious, he felt so blessed that I went with him to the staffing company. He wanted to buy me something. So he got me some things at Walmart and in addition to him, and so after we had gone, as I was back in my office, I thought, man, if he's interested in theology, maybe this would be a good opportunity to invite him, to read the gospel of Luke with me. I have a gospel of Luke in English and Dari. One column is Dari. One column is English and Dari is his native language. I also have a friend who lives in this apartment community, who's learning Dari. And so I thought, why don't I invite this Christian friend and Haamed and we'll study the gospel of Luke together in English and Dari. Haamed can teach us Dari and Haamed can also learn from my Christian friend and I about the gospel of Luke since he's interested in theology. And so I plan on inviting him soon into that study, but I found out also a couple of days later, that Haamed got hired for this job that we applied for at the staffing company and that was earning a good hourly wage to support his family. So thanks be to God for this new relationship that I believe is going to blossom.
Karen:
Well, there's a couple of things that you didn't mention, but that I want to point out. So number one, you're tithing your time to make space for these types of relationships to develop and nurture. So that's something that everyone on this podcast today can do is to say, Lord, use me, help me to be intentional. Look for opportunities around me and you're tithing your time to do things everybody can do. You don't have to be a pastor to take an immigrant to a job interview or to zip them over to Walmart because the conversations that might come up in that open up opportunities for you to take the next step, like to invite someone to a Bible study, a gospel-centered Bible Study. So that's awesome. So tell me another one, give me another story, Jamie. I would love to hear some recent stories
Jamie:
Yeah, yeah. So right above our office apartment is a Burundian family. Bruni is a country in central Africa and I studied in Kenya and this gentleman who is from Burundi he speaks Swahili. I learned a little Swahili while I was in Kenya. And so we've started a good relationship and he's a Muslim man and he has two sons and two daughters living with him in his apartment, but living right above us, we get a lot of chances to meet each other here and there throughout the day. His name is Alfani and Alfani is funny is a wonderful guy. We have exchanged many things here and there. We've just had a great friendship over the four months that I've been officing at this apartment. And Alfani and I have had spiritual conversations. As you know, for example, I've seen him on Fridays dressed in more traditional clothing and going to the Mosque or coming back from the Mosque from Friday prayers. I have a chance to ask him about this or that, you know, just the clothing that he's wearing or the fact that he just came back from Friday prayers at the Mosque, opens the door for spiritual conversations about prayer or about going to the Mosque for about Islam or about his, his beliefs. And we've enjoyed having spiritual conversations. And I've just enjoyed learning about his story of how he became a political asylum or political refugee here in America. He was involved in politics in his country, but recently I was bringing a gift to another family, the gift of a prayer rug. You probably know, and your listeners probably know that Muslims pray on prayer rugs at home. Well, I had been given several prayer rugs by this company that recently had invited some guests from Saudi Arabia to visit. And they had bought all these prayer rugs for them and they had a surplus. And so they gave them to us, a friend who works for this company. They gave these prayer rugs to us because they knew we have a lot of Muslim neighbors around us. And so I like to give these prayer rugs as well as gospel booklets, like the gospel of Luke booklets, because, you know, as Muslims are praying on those prayer rugs in their home, God can speak to them. God desires a two-way relationship with people. And oftentimes Muslims think about prayer as just a one-way communication to God. But God desires to have that two-way communication. And so as I go to the homes of Muslims, I will often bring a gift. And sometimes, you know, recently I've been given all of these prayer rugs. So I'll go and bring a prayer rug, which our Muslim friends really appreciate. And I appreciate the fact that there are people of prayer, but I also believe that God can speak to them while they're there on that prayer rug And so I pray for that prayer rug before I take it over to them. And then I give them also or offer to them, a gospel book, I'll find he saw me bringing a prayer rug to another family that had recently arrived or recently moved from Afghanistan to our apartment community. So he said, Hey, could I have one? And I said, sure, man, he asked me how much. And I said, of course, they're free for you. And then I haven't given it to him yet. But what I plan to do is presenting this prayer rug to him, but also showing him the book that node has authored the way to paradise and inviting him into a study of the way to paradise and seeing if he's interested in and walking with me through them. So that's another neat story. Another neat story is an Afghan neighbor named Newer. Newer was recently in a workplace accident where he sustained a first-degree burn on his hand. And he's out of work now for three or four months, he's had three surgeries already. He's had to stay in the hospital several nights, but I had a chance to visit him in the hospital. And so that was a wonderful time just to visit him and check in on him, see how he's doing. And I offered to pray for him in Jesus's name. And he allowed me to do that. So those were some neat seeds that were being planted.
Karen:
Wow. Those are amazing stories Jamie, and just my head is spinning up all the little practical ideas that you did share. One of them is you mentioned sharing the Bible that was in both English and Dari. And so that is such a critical step because over the last decade as my husband Renod and I have been in ministry iHOPE Ministries we've found that a hundred percent of people, of other faiths and cultures like Muslims who come to faith in Jesus, say that reading scripture, hearing scripture was an instrumental part of their journey to Jesus. And so I love how you are planting God's word. And so we really recommend an app called bible.is It comes in lots of other languages, some in audio as well. And so you don't have to have a Duri Bible laying around. You can have that app on your phone and teach your friends of another faith, how to download that app to get the word in their hands. And so the other thing I wanted to mention was you mentioned studying the Bible with a new Muslim friend using Renod, that's my husband's book, The Way To Paradise. That is a Bible study series. That's been tailored for Muslims for their worldview. And I'll put the links to that in the show notes today. Something that really struck me, Jamie, as you were sharing, I was reminded by a verse in scripture in I Timothy 2:4 where God says, I desire all people to be saved and all of them come to the knowledge of the truth. And I think the big takeaway here today is that the harvest right here in North America and wherever you may be listening from whatever country you might be listening in, the harvest is plentiful. God has brought many refugees on the move all over the world who do not know about Jesus and the salvation that can come through that. And so that person is not far from God because you are there. The Lord has planted you wherever you live to declare His glory among the nations. And so Jamie today, I so appreciate how you have shared. The Lord has planted you right here in America's Heartland, in a big city where there are people from many, many of, some of the world's most difficult places of unreached people. And what we have to remember, is that how will they know about salvation in Jesus unless we tell them. And so we have to be willing to tell them, and it goes back to Jamie, what you shared, realizing our identity in Christ. That's where it all begins. And so Jamie, any last words or anything else that you're stirred to share in today, as we close out our time together.
Jamie:
I appreciate Karen, what you shared about being where God planted you. God has planted every believer in a location, in a community where He is working already. He's going before them and where He's drawing people to himself. He's doing a new work also here in our country. You know, the church could respond in a not-so-kind way by resisting the influx of refugees and immigrants into our country. We can have our opinions and our views about policies, but when it comes to actually meeting people and greeting people and welcoming people, I don't think there's really any doubt that what Jesus wants His followers to do with the neighbors who live right around us. And that is He wants us to welcome them. He wants us to greet them and you know, the things that I have shared I hope that our listeners would understand that they're not something that super-spiritual people only can do the act of taking people to a staffing company to apply for a job. Anybody could do that. The act of visiting someone in the hospital, anyone can do that. You know, the act of sharing a scripture booklet in someone's heart language. Anyone can do that. I also appreciate Karen, your encouragement that the harvest is plentiful right around us. Jesus also says the workers are few and to pray for more workers in the harvest. And so my encouragement is to pray, but also be an answer to that prayer, be a worker in the harvest right around you, right where God has planted you
Karen:
Amen. Thank you Jamie so much for joining me here today. It's been such a blessing, there are so many takeaways that it's hard for me to synthesize them all at the end, but I think the most important one is being rooted in your identity in Christ and asking the Lord for more faith than I used to see, and to be a learner and to send a mentor that can help take you by the hand and in, but don't wait, just get started and rest and being rooted in your identity. Thanks for joining me today and what a privilege it's been to share these empowering stories with you all season long. We can't wait for next season. And until then, could I ask you a favor? We'll be planning next season soon, and your input will help us in our planning process. Don't forget to share your feedback with us.
Just click on the link in your show notes now, and remember to get your sneak peek preview of that Blue Cord book too. That link is in your show notes. Also, thank you, my friend, may God bless you richly until we talk again. Thanks for listening to this podcast. A donor-supported series from iHOPE ministries or more bite-sized things to know and do to share your faith with intention. Follow us on Instagram @ihopeministries then go to ihopeministries.org and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you listen. Your review helps the show empower more everyday Christians with the courage, confidence, and know-how to share Jesus in our generation. See you next time.