Missional Living: An Incremental Journey

Delana and I have been living in Manchester, UK, for almost 14 months. Each step of this journey has required greater trust in God than we have ever known. And that process of total reliance upon Him doesn’t seem to be decreasing. Instead, it’s only increasing more and more.

God first spoke to us in October 2021 to move to Manchester. To say we were shocked is an understatement. That move wasn’t on our radar at all, but we knew our answer to Him was, “Yes.” We certainly didn’t have all the details ironed out, and we didn’t have a timeline in place. In the months that followed, we took it a day at a time, praying through the process and discussing the steps involved.

By January 2022, we sensed an urgency to not linger or delay any longer, but to do everything within our ability to obey the word God gave us. In earnest, we began the very practical process of an international move, including passports, visas, housing, etc. Though obeying God begins as an internal reality, it includes very concrete, external actions. Those are not always the most appealing or enjoyable, but they are necessary.

In the midst of all these steps, we didn’t have clear answers about funding, but we knew God would provide. His word to us was too clear. If He undoubtedly called us to Manchester, then He would undoubtedly provide for us in Manchester. After weeks of prayer and discussion, the Lord provided our base salary for the first year. While that was a huge answer to prayer, there was still a deficit in our annual budget. However, we couldn’t defer obedience until we had every detail figured out. In September 2022, we made the move in spite of the deficit, trusting God would provide. And He did. Along the way, God closed the financial gap.

A few months ago, we began approaching our second year in Manchester. Funding once again became a focal point of prayer and discussion for us. We felt our time in Manchester was not over, but that we should stay the full two years of our visa. After several meetings, we had the opportunity to secure our base salary for the second year by taking the lead role on additional administrative projects. Excited, I began strategic development for these projects, creating diagrams, documents, and glossaries for their launch.

As the date drew near to present these plans, the Lord interrupted me through a dream. In it, I saw one of the diagrams I had created. It became clear the Lord did not want me to launch or lead these projects. Instead, Delana and I should focus on (and increase) the missional work currently in front of us here in Manchester, which includes a mixture of speaking, worship, prayer, and writing. The additional admin would only detract from the tasks already at hand.

I woke up from the dream quite shaken. If I stepped away from those projects, I was also stepping away from funding. That was a sober reality for a family of six living abroad. At first, I didn’t tell Delana the dream because I wanted to weigh it before the Lord. As I shared it with her the next day, we both felt sure it was the Lord’s counsel for us. Additional meetings with trusted leaders confirmed that this was the direction the Lord was leading us.

That process has taken us all the way to today. This week, our funding is transitioning to a missionary structure where donations will cover both the cost of living abroad and the launch of strategic missional content. For cost of living, we still need $16,910.21 to meet our 2023 budget. If you’d like to give toward this need, there are easy ways to do that on the Donate page here on our website.

Thank you for journeying with us through this process, and thank you for praying for us. We’re endeavouring to live a missional life in obedience to God’s word. Your love and support mean more to us than you could ever know.

[Update: As of December 24th, we met our 2023 annual budget! Thank you to everyone who gave. We are amazed by the miracles from God and the generosity of our friends.]