Be a Spark

By: Elita Fung - Outreach Worker in St. James Town

Our EPIC tutoring students having a chat with their tutor and sharing about the impact of long-term volunteers.

This month, we held our Ignite Event where we highlighted our new Spark initiative. A Spark is someone who is investing long-term with us - be in through prayer, volunteering, or financial partnership. 

Granted, Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch once and Jesus met the Samaritan woman once. God certainly uses one time encounters. But the overall thrust of Scripture shows a God who is in it for the long-haul. He's a God who chose never to abandon His people even when they were headstrong in turning away from Him.

Long-term commitments are a calling from God. It's when your heart and the heart of others are united in one purpose and cause. Paul visited and revisited churches. He took people around with him on extended trips. Jesus had twelve that He spent three years with. Long-term commitments are a call. But they are also gifts. It's not something we're owed or we earn. There are many times people have invested in communities in Toronto but after a while, God calls them away to something else. Our length of time here is determined by a Father who upholds the Kingdom that is being built. Not being in this ministry forever is a reminder that it's not up to us!

Having said that, I have been extremely blessed that God has given me many years here. I understand that this is not of my own doing, but a gift from the Father. By His grace, I have had the chance to see children grow into teens and teens grow into adults. I have had the opportunity to learn how to minister better and better and to see individuals and groups come to love the Lord and find community that extends beyond geographical proximity. 

I encourage you to consider if God is giving you a heart to unite with our hearts at TCM. Consider being a Spark!