Dear Prayer Partners,
My ministry of 17 years has almost always been among transient populations—people who come and go at a faster rate than the broader population. For many years I served college students on campus, figuring we had on average less than 3 years with them. Then I worked with students and youth pastors in a camp setting, where they often came and went in under a week. And now, of course, I work with our residents here at Eagle Village, who may come and go in as few as 8 weeks.
Some of the pastors I know have said things like, “Isn’t it hard to have such a short time with them?” and “Just when you get to know them, they’re leaving…”
It’s true. It is hard to say goodbye. And it is hard to know that our time with our residents is short, often very short.
But there is also great joy. There is joy in knowing that we’ve had an opportunity to plant seeds in many lives: seeds of the Gospel and seeds of hope. And there is great joy in knowing that they will take with them truths for living according to God’s Word into homes, neighborhoods and places that you and I may never have an opportunity to minister.
And perhaps the greatest joy in my ministry here at Eagle Village is the time we often take at the end of a chapel service together to gather around and pray for those residents who are leaving us soon. Staff and fellow residents will reach out or lay hands on and pray that the work God began in them will continue on long after they’ve left Eagle Village.
Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
It’s a great promise, and a great reason for joy!
In Christ,
Pastor Eric Woods
