We are all familiar with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:40. Well, nearly every Sunday for the past month I’ve been either travelling on outstations off-campus or working in the kitchen, and in some ways, I’ve felt like Martha—busy. As God has called me to serve, though, He has really met me in some new ways.
On January 17 we had an outstation to Hearts Ablaze, a church in Albany pastored by Pinecrest graduate Stephen Addo. During worship, God really gave us His joy, as we thanked Him for all He has done and made a proclamation that we would not stand by and watch our families or our situations be overcome by the enemy. God is bigger and greater than any obstacle we face. First Year student Job Wafulu from Kenya preached a sermon on allowing God to make us into the leaders He wants us to be.
More recently, I participated in an outstation to Faith Deliverance Tabernacle in Schenectady, NY on January 31. God met us there from the get-go. The church was absolutely beautiful, with a giant stained glass portrait of Mary Magdalene bowing at Jesus’ feet. As I was thinking of how beautiful the church was, the congregation started filtering in, and I realized that the people, too, were beautiful. They had hearts full of welcoming hugs and kisses towards strangers.
God truly met each one there that day through worship, and Third Year student James Culver preached a grounded sermon on Philippians 3:1-14, in which he challenged us to realize that all our achievements are counted as rubbish in comparison with knowing Christ. How true that statement is.
On January 17 we had an outstation to Hearts Ablaze, a church in Albany pastored by Pinecrest graduate Stephen Addo. During worship, God really gave us His joy, as we thanked Him for all He has done and made a proclamation that we would not stand by and watch our families or our situations be overcome by the enemy. God is bigger and greater than any obstacle we face. First Year student Job Wafulu from Kenya preached a sermon on allowing God to make us into the leaders He wants us to be.
More recently, I participated in an outstation to Faith Deliverance Tabernacle in Schenectady, NY on January 31. God met us there from the get-go. The church was absolutely beautiful, with a giant stained glass portrait of Mary Magdalene bowing at Jesus’ feet. As I was thinking of how beautiful the church was, the congregation started filtering in, and I realized that the people, too, were beautiful. They had hearts full of welcoming hugs and kisses towards strangers.
God truly met each one there that day through worship, and Third Year student James Culver preached a grounded sermon on Philippians 3:1-14, in which he challenged us to realize that all our achievements are counted as rubbish in comparison with knowing Christ. How true that statement is.
In all of this, God, in His goodness and in a way only He can, has been working something in me: humility—humility to realize who I am serving. Am I serving the people in these churches, or am I serving the God they worship? The answer is resoundingly the latter. God calls us to serve, then enables us to do it. And it always was, always is, and always should be all for His glory!
- Stephanie Polivka, Second Year Student
The Pinecrest outstation group with members of Faith Deliverance Tabernacle
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