Five Years! It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we started Potential Endeavors. When I look back, God has given us so much more than we could have ever dreamed of when we started this ministry. On May 31st of 2017 we submitted our paperwork to the IRS for approval of our non-profit status. The approval took longer than expected because we indicated that we were working with Ukraine, and we had to submit that we were not working with terrorist organizations in Ukraine due to the Russian takeover of Crimea.
The last five years have connected us with so many new people and opportunities that we could never have imagined.
I think of Dima and Alla and our friendship and connections with Campus Ukraine. I think of the many leaders of Campus and the students we have met and become friends with.
I think of Vasily and Alla and the partnership we have developed over the five years. What started with 20 pastors and their wives in the Cherkasy Region has grown to working with Senior Pastors and their wives across 15+ regions in Ukraine. We were beginning mentoring groups with new pastors to train and develop them to start new churches or lead existing churches and to be passionate about reaching new people for Jesus.
I think of Yan who is focus on caring for the homeless, single parents and addicts in his community. He is helping get people off drugs, but with that comes the danger of drug dealers threaten his life. But his church is growing and reaching people for Jesus. Now with the war, they are caring for refugees who have settled in his town to avoid the war.
I think of Kiril and Yana and how impactful they have been in our ministry – from helping us dream about starting this ministry, to working in Ukraine, to publishing my book in Ukrainian. We are always challenged by their ability to never let barriers get in the way of reaching their dreams.
I think of Adam and the friends we have made through Embrace Church and its network of churches. We have been blessed, encouraged, and fulfilled through all the relationships and friendships we have made because of working with Embrace.
I think of the pastors I have met as part of Mission Minnesota and their heart for planting churches across Minnesota. The opportunity to network and learn from this great group of leaders.
I think of the churches we have been privileged to work with and the people I have gotten to know because of our ministry.
The list can go on and on, but these are a few of the things I could never have imagined when we first started five years ago.
I also think about all of things that God has taught us during the past five years:
Dream God sized dreams.
When we started Potential Endeavors, we selected our them Bible verse to be:
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish immeasurably more than we might ask or think.”
Ephesians 3:20
However, I am not sure we believed it based on what we thought we would be doing in our ministry. To begin with we thought that maybe we would work with 1 church in Ukraine and maybe a couple in the upper Midwest. But God taught us that we were not dreaming big enough. We thought maybe 20 churches in one region of Ukraine and 5 or 6 in US, but God told us to dream bigger. Now we are having an impact on hundreds of churches across all the regions of Ukraine and have worked with over 20 churches or leaders in the US. More than I could have ever dreamed of, but nothing in God’s eyes.
Trust God and live by faith.
As followers of Jesus, we often talk about living a life of trusting God and living by faith. While it is easy to say this, learning to truly do it is much harder. Having a job and a steady income makes it easy to say you are living by faith, but we found that when you are dependent on the gifts from God to do your ministry it puts faith and trust in a totally different perspective. Over the five years we have led Potential Endeavors, we have been blessed to see how God has given us what we have needed to do whatever door God has opened for us. We have learned to say yes when an opportunity presents itself and then trust God to provide the resources needed to walk through that door.
Let me share an example. Early in our ministry in Ukraine, we were asked for resources to buy chairs for a new church that was being started. The amount needed was $1500. We did not have this money, but we felt that God wanted us to say yes and trust him. At that time, I did a wedding for a friend from high school. When he asked us how much we charge, I said to give whatever he felt led to give. That next week we received a payment for the wedding that was exactly the amount needed for the chairs. When I asked my friend why he gave us what he did, his answer was he just felt God was telling him to give that amount! God works in amazing ways when we allow him to show up.
A second story of how God works comes from the recent war in Ukraine. We have raised money to support the humanitarian needs of churches and pastors working with refugees from the war. A driver of a bus in Mykolayiv transporting refugees from that war area was at a gas station to get fuel but did not have the money to pay for the fuel. The driver contacted his pastor, who reached out to his regional Senior Pastor, who contacted our partner Vasily, who contacted me and asked if we could help. I was able to send the money electronically and it was able to be transferred to the bus driver to pay for gas all within 60 minutes. Only God could do that!
Its all about the relationship.
Probably the biggest learning over the past five years is that having a relationship with the people you work with is the most important part. When we started, we would lead conferences and share content that we felt would help make a difference. While the content was good, it was not until we spent time getting to know the pastors and their wives that we saw ideas being implemented. To make an impact, it is not just sharing content, it is taking the time to listen to their challenges, understand their needs and demonstrate that you care about them personally before they will truly apply the materials you share. People needed to see that we cared and that we were going to ask questions about their progress and come back to follow-up on what we discussed. Conferences are helpful, but they can never replace the time spent around a table having coffee or tea and just listening and learning about each other.
As we wrap of this review, one final story comes to mind. It was one year ago that we were in the Donbas region of Ukraine and visited Sievierodonetsk.
When we were there, we were told that we were the first Americans to visit since the war began in 2014. We met to encourage the pastors and leaders because the war had made things so difficult for them. As we were leaving, the Senior Pastor for the Region shared about a need in the occupied territory for resources so that a church could do a camp for kids. What was needed was what we had available to give so we gave it to do this camp. Now this area is in the center of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I think about the kids who last year had a chance to be part of camp to learn about Jesus and are now in the middle of war. My heart breaks.
As we look forward to what God has for us next, our plans are uncertain once again. The war in Ukraine has put our mentoring groups and training on hold, but we know that there is still a need, and that God has plans for us. The focus may change with a greater need for help with leading through trauma, but we will trust God and walk through the doors He opens for us.
Thank you for your support over the past five years. We have felt your prayers and encouragement and could not do what we do without your financial gifts. The needs are still great, and we appreciate all that has been given and that which will continue to be given. You can give on our website at https://potentialendeavors.com or you can send checks to Potential Endeavors, 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109. We accept all forms of payment – credit cards, PayPal, Zelle or checks. If you would like to designate it for Ukraine support for the war, just notate Ukraine Support on your donation.