Every year we are required by law to have an Annual General Meeting (AGM). It is a necessary gathering to inform the church of the numbers, budgets, metrics, and overall analysis of the church. And although it may seem like nuisance at times, it has become a forced reminder for the church family to review God’s faithfulness!
We can even see the growth and evolution of the church family. This was Josh Siu’s first time presenting the data as the church treasurer and he did an amazing job! This was Samantha Tse’s first time being the MC and she messed up. It was another great report of God being God; doing more than we can ask or imagine. If you would like to watch the AGM recording, please send an email to ryan@life-spring.org requesting it.
As I sought the Lord for the AGM, I felt the Lord want to encourage the LifeSpring family that it is OK to not be OK. We have seen such amazing growth over the past years that in the midst of growth we can sometimes create ungodly expectations for ourselves. For example, when my and Karyne’s business hit $1 million in revenue, a new company record, we celebrated and rejoiced! The following year our expectation was to not only hit $1 million in revenue, but surpass it. It became a pressure from outside influence and it became an expectation (self expectation). And when we didn’t beat our record revenue, it was deflating, it felt like a failure.
In our journey with the Lord, it can often feel like we are not where we are supposed to be. We are supposed to be more holy, we shouldn’t stumble on stupid things, we shouldn’t still act like children, we shouldn’t be anxious, we shouldn’t worry, we shouldn’t have to think about money, we shouldn’t be fighting in our marriages, our children shouldn’t be struggling; all of these expectations on what a professional Christian is supposed to look like.
But God wants to encourage us: It is OK to not be OK. Life is not without challenge. Challenge is inevitable. But when God is invited into the challenge, it is the safest and best place to be.
God really really loves you. In the good times and in the bad, He really really loves you.
You will not find perfection in Karyne and myself.
You will not find perfection at Lifespring.
Don’t expect to find perfection in yourself.
But expect God to do immeasurably more than what you can ask or imagine even in your imperfections. It was God’s grace that saved us. It is God’s grace that sustains us. It is God’s grace that will carry us to our next phases. God is with us. God is with you. AGM is an annual reminder that God is good and He is faithful.
Father God. Thank you. You are so good. Help us not grow to self-sufficiency, but help us grow to true dependency on You! You have been faithful, are faithful today, and will continue to be faithful tomorrow. Teach us to not put things in our own hands, but to put it all in Your hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.