Most of us love a good action movie. We love the adrenaline rush, the good guys winning over impossible odds, justice winning the day. Last summer, “The Sound of Freedom” was released, and the conversation about human trafficking was supercharged. It was an adrenaline rush. It woke people up. That’s all good, but it is only part of the picture.
Most freedom work is done out of the spotlight, and a lot of it is not exciting. There is no adrenaline rush when booking flights, arriving in a dark hotel room after midnight, and crunching numbers for a grant application. It is hard to stay awake in some meetings.
But without the essential sometimes boring work, the exciting things don’t happen. Without administrative tasks, safe houses are not built, foster youth aren’t served, and children won’t be repatriated. What the Set
Free Movement does is about something other than the rush. Transformation takes time, innovative work and patience.
Just recently, one of our leaders in Kenya, Yvonne, completed her master’s degree. Her education involved a lot of steady persistence in studying and attending lectures. She is now better equipped to mentor girls in the slums, conduct training and strategize toward more impactful work.
Our Spring Arbor, MI, team worked for more than 10 years before the idea of a safe home for street youth became a plan. It was long, hard, patient, frustrating work. It wasn’t exciting some of the time.
Scripture teaches us about these rhythms. The actions of evangelism, justice work and church planting are balanced with spiritual disciplines of prayer, silence and contemplation. Remember, two of the gifts of the Spirit are patience and self-control.
Set Free leaders like Yvonne and our team in Spring Arbor lean into the long view, forgoing the need to be continually emotionally charged. Their work is incarnational and sacrificial. The result is fundamental transformation, and long-term change is happening.
Our big challenge is that some people only want to support exciting things. Often, essential work isn’t initially successful or doesn’t provide an emotional rush. Sometimes, stories cannot be told.
All our missionaries, national leaders and Set Free leaders engage in essential, sometimes boring, sometimes successful, often frustrating and challenging, yet valuable and sacrificial work. Please think about how you can encourage, pray for and financially support God’s work through these servants who are sacrificing much to advance the mission of Jesus.
Photos: Kevin Austin
