Christmas Message
December 2024
It is hard to believe that Christmas 2024 is just around the corner. We truly thank God for this very special year in which Marion and I have seen Him at work. It has been a year of seeing God mobilize more teams to translate our SM courses into more languages. It has also been a special year of seeing our regions at their best with great in-person regional conferences in Europe, West Africa and Southeast Asia plus a great online conference for Latin America. We are so thankful for the many amazing leaders whom God has mobilized to serve our regions.
For Marion and I, it has also been great to journey with Noemi and Caleb (from Brazil) as they have sought to answer questions related to youth mobilization. Throughout the year they have developed a Youth Mobilization workshop and helped teams to shape TUSfY for a range of different contexts and languages. We are so thankful for this amazing couple whom God has mobilized to help us focus on younger generations. Our SM movement is now made up of many ordinary people who like them have taken steps of obedience and are now serving the movement in extraordinary ways.
As we embrace this 2024 Christmas season and reflect upon the diverse people who use their gifts to serve mobilization, I am reminded of the story of the wise men who visited Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). These wise men have become an integral part of the Christmas story and are inaccurately featured in traditional nativity scenes and dramas. Some translations refer to Jesus as a child (rather than a baby) as their meeting Jesus was some time after Jesus’ birth (up to 2 years), by which time Mary and Joseph were living in a house (Matt 2:11). Through a particular star, God mobilized the wise men to go all the way to Israel to recognize and bring gifts to a very special child (Jesus). Yet to those in Bethlehem (and even to King Herod himself), Jesus did not stand out as any different from other children his age.
In reflecting on the story of the wise men, how has 2024 been special for you? Have you coached, mentored, trained or encouraged potential leaders? If so, think of these as gifts which you have brought to them. Have you introduced someone to an SM course or program which clarified or confirmed their calling? If so, think of this as their gift from you. Maybe you have awakened a calling for someone to work as part of a team to translate some of our mobilization tools into other languages. Maybe God has led you to invest in a mobilizer or potential mobilizer. Maybe you have been like the wise men who have brought the right gift at the right time to encourage ordinary people to take those necessary steps of obedience.
Mobilization is about helping ordinary people identify their God-given calling, and then helping them to take steps of obedience. As we embrace this 2024 Christmas season, let us not forget the importance of mobilizing churches and individuals, trusting that God will lead us to people whom He has called to be a part of what God is doing through mobilization. Initially, such people might not stand out from others who do our courses and training. But as we gift them with coaching, mentoring, training and encouragement, their God-given calling eventually will be evident. As we become part of their stories, we too are walking and co-laboring with God.