{"id":20601,"date":"2021-08-05T14:37:26","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T20:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/?p=20601"},"modified":"2021-08-06T09:55:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T15:55:47","slug":"a-million-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/news\/a-million-lights\/","title":{"rendered":"A Million Lights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello Friends of EFM,<\/p>\n

I officially started at Evangelical Friends Mission on August 1. These last few weeks, I\u2019ve been reflecting on the team effort required to \u201cmake disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.\u201d It inspires me to realize that, yes, we all are partnering together with others around the world. This work is not easy, but it is significant. It impacts eternity. I am grateful we labor together.<\/p>\n

Here in the beginning, I want to share a bit of my story. It is the underlying motivation for joining you in what God is doing through you and through EFM.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n
A million lights \"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026shining outside my window as I journeyed home on a nearly empty, cross-country red-eye special. In wonder, I gazed down at this stream of lights \u2013 town after town, city after city. Around Phoenix, God transformed seat 8F into a sanctuary.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach light represents a life,\u201d many of them helpless and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd.<\/p>\n

I prayed, \u201cWhat would it take to unleash God\u2019s people with such conviction that somehow, some way, we could live out and usher in the Kingdom of God in every single one of the places?\u201d The answer came\u2026 a Spirit-led movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cA million lights, a million lives\u2026\u201d continues to inspire me. In almost each place I visit \u2013 Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Mussoorie, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Budapest, London, Dublin, San Salvador, Peronia, Aguascalientes, Los Angeles, Seattle and many others \u2013 I look to find a high point. Sometimes it is a tall building, sometimes a hill. I want to see lights.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Since deplaning that over-night flight, I pray, think, study and train motivated by the hope that God\u2019s Spirit will release his relentless love, compelling his people forward with the power of a movement. Scripture, history and experience convince me that a key human element to experiencing movement is equipping leaders to equip others. This conviction is matched by the purpose of EFM.<\/p>\n

I am excited about this new opportunity. My hope is that God will create a scenario in which together we experience \u201ca million lights, a million lives\u201d disciple-making movement.<\/p>\n

Today, most of all, I am grateful. I\u2019m thankful for our missionaries, who strive to make disciples in dozens of places around the world. I\u2019m moved by the national leaders in each one of those places who sacrifice to carry forward the Kingdom of God. I\u2019m encouraged by the Friends congregations here in the United States who unify (in prayer, in sending, in going) around our commitment to fulfill the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment. I\u2019m appreciative of the EFM staff who tirelessly works to enhance ministry around the world.<\/p>\n

I realize our call (as disciple-makers) is challenging. It compels us to pray and carries us to a deeper experience of God\u2019s Spirit. Our confidence is that God continues to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine, because his power is at work in his people.<\/p>\n

The greatest, most noble aspiration is that a million lives would encounter the One who is life, who is the light of all, who is, in fact, Jesus.<\/p>\n

Together, we carry that light. To God be the glory!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stanley David Leach<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello Friends of EFM, I officially started at Evangelical Friends Mission on August 1. These last few weeks, I\u2019ve been reflecting on the team effort required to \u201cmake disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.\u201d It inspires me to realize that, yes, we all are partnering together with others around […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"full","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[200,239,237,150,238,208,240],"class_list":{"0":"post-20601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"tag-200","8":"tag-a-million-lights","9":"tag-efm","10":"tag-executive-director","11":"tag-friends","12":"tag-missionary","13":"tag-story","14":"entry","15":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20601"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20625,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20601\/revisions\/20625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}