Doing the ministry waltz

I normally only dance at weddings, so I'm not an expert, but I know enough to recognize when all the diverse parts --the instruments, the song, the atmosphere, the dancers--come together in just the right way to create an enjoyable event. Our first week of ministry has seemed to me a lot like a waltz. A wide variety of components each functioning on its own, but the interactions between the parts make for a beautiful thing.

We came into contact-- dancing, in a sense-- with a lot of different people this first week in Canada.

• First there was our team. Our ministry team consists of 7 of us, each with a different role to play. We learned a little bit of their contributions during meetings early in the week. 
• Then there are those we serve, ministry leaders who will have the responsibility to look after our volunteer interns day-by-day over the coming 12 months. We visited several on Thursday, then a couple more on Friday. Names are important, and we are using all the tricks we know to remember them, and match them to the faces we saw. 
• Then there are those who are blessed by the larger Liebenzell ministry. On Saturday, a group of enthusiastic young adults used the retreat grounds here to plan out and pray over their own, God-led, ideas for ministry. Our facilities are offered cost-free to Christian groups that need a place of escape and solitude. On Sunday, we shared a meal with a Hungarian congregation who graciously invited us while they enjoyed the use of some of our 45 acre fields. We enjoyed hearing their stories-- both blessings and struggles-- as they adjust to life as foreigners, and as believers, in a big city like Toronto.
• We met people, too, who have nothing to do with our ministry-- check-out associates, government office clerks, salesmen-- who may or may not have a relationship with God yet face the daily struggles of living. We remind ourselves that they need a word of encouragement from the Holy Spirit.
• And we met other Servants of God, ministering in their own way to the people of Toronto. We may have no affiliation with them in organization, yet we are all called to the same purpose: love those we serve with the love of Christ.

And so as we met these all fine folks during this first week it reminded me of a dance-- always moving, coming in contact for a short time, interacting briefly, trying to keep in step with them, releasing them for the next partner. They will come around again and we'll be ready with encouragement, practical gifts, words of hope. Are you dancing with your Saviour today?