Discouragement

If I had to reflect on what I thought was one of the greatest challenges to the leaders in our Hispanic ministry, I would say discouragement. Just this past week both my good friend and I confessed to each other that we were struggling with heavy burdens.

For me, it came to a focal point during our last Saturday service. After leading the singers in song, I stepped down for the pastor to speak. Having looked at the congregation, I was down. It felt like mere routine. There was little to no visible excitement from the congregation, and the more I tried to smile and move and engage, the more I felt like it wasn’t getting through. How do you motivate people to worship God for who He is and not just sing for singing’s sake?

My friend was wrestling with his own challenges. He recently had some opportunities to spend time with his family, none of whom are Christians. Then, he had the opportunity to be with some friends of his who are. Yet they don’t read their Bibles very often, rarely attend any kind of discipleship or small group, and are generally struggling with worldly desires. His question to me went something like this: How do you motivate people to take charge of their spiritual walk?

I’m sure others on our leadership team are struggling as well. Discouragement is rough because it doesn’t only come after one failure, but after a series of failures that makes you ask, “Does it get better?”

Please pray for the people at Enfoque, our Hispanic ministry at Fall Creek Baptist Church.