by Craig McAndrews | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
When you think about the word empty in terms of a feeling, it doesn’t feel like a great place to be. Imagine for a moment if someone you love sat down and described how they felt about something using the term empty. Would you be encouraged? Do you think you would be able to congratulate them on getting to a point where they were empty? Most likely you would respond with an attempt to help or improve the way they feel. However, when it comes to serving Jesus Christ, empty is exactly where He wants us to be. Although this may not be an encouraging thought, emptying yourself for the sake of the gospel brings with it reward and a life filled with purpose and meaning. As my wife and I have pursued growing our relationship with Jesus and engaging in His work with His people, we have recently found ourselves in the middle of a lot of pain and suffering. Sometimes it is big big rock issues such as a broken marriage, health problems, and death. At other times, it’s simply the pain we experience as we watch people make bad choices that lead to frustration and suffering. As we walk with people through these challenges, we find ourselves burdened with their pain and seeking God on their behalf for direction or deliverance. Have you ever found yourself truly feeling the pain of a friend as they suffer? I would suggest this is one way that we suffer for the gospel in the same way the apostle Paul told the Philippians they would get to suffer (Phil 1:29). When we suffer with others, we can often feel emotionally and even physically spent,...
by Craig McAndrews | Feb 22, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
I travelled to Haiti with a church group to serve with a team at a pastor’s leadership conference. This was the first of its kind for this group of Haitian pastors and the team who coordinated the event. There was a great turnout, and God was really working on the group who participated. At the same time, He was really working on me. For starters, I had to teach through a translator which is pretty challenging. I knew the process would stretch me, but I had no idea how uncomfortable it would make me. I remember the first time during the talk when I said something to the translator and they simply looked at me with a puzzled face. Turns out what I was trying to say couldn’t even be translated in the local language. There were moments when I had no idea what to say next, but each time God provided words and I managed to get through the sessions without any major problems. God reminded me that day how big of a God He is. The depressing part of the lesson was that God showed me how small I make Him. When I pray my prayers and look at Him through the lens of my own life, I realized I have a tendency to put Him in a tiny little box and lean on Him based on my circumstances. The idea of His bigness escaped me. However, the Haitian people sparked a new perspective in me through the simple act of prayer. I distinctly remember a time when the entire group was in prayer after one of the messages. During the prayer, I could hear the low murmur of the Haitian people...
by Craig McAndrews | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
The Bible quotes God as saying, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (I Samuel 13:14). Do you see yourself as a man after God’s own heart? Another way to think about it is in terms of pursuit. Do you pursue knowing God more and drawing close to Him? I don’t know that I ever fully understood what that could be like until I experienced a nearness to God during a mission trip I took to a foreign country. During the trip, I had countless experiences where I was uncomfortable, nervous, and even a bit afraid. In one specific incident, we were serving lunches at an event we were hosting, and due to the size of the crowd, we ran out of food. In this case, the timing was perfect as each of the attendees received a lunch. Myself, and several members from our group were the only ones who did not receive the meal being served. Since we had prepared our own food before we left the house, it was no big deal as we simply ate the sandwiches we brought with us. However, shortly after lunch, one of the attendees asked our team leader why we did not eat the food that everyone else was eating. He specifically asked if we were unwilling to eat the same food that was provided to those who were participating in the event. As you can imagine, the intensity was high when the question was asked given that we did not intend to insult anyone. I...
by Craig McAndrews | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Testimonies
I recently took a trip to Haiti where I had the opportunity to participate in my first international mission trip. I was hesitant to go and nervous about what to expect, but the work God did in me during that trip made me grateful for the opportunity. The experience taught me a number of things including what it means to live with boldness and courage despite my tendency to live with prejudice and fear. During the trip, there were so many uncomfortable moments for me that ultimately, I just let go and leaned in to whatever was happening. This was never more true than when I spent time in an orphanage. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, but I am most comfortable with kids who look the same way my kids look, which is not what you get in Haiti. The first time I stepped through the doors of the Creche (means Cradle in Haitian), I was bumrushed by little boys. They ran up to us, and held up their arms which every parent knows is the international signal for “hold me”. I knew what it meant, but I didn’t know these boys at all, so it was really awkward. However, they didn’t care, and I didn’t have enough time to process the situation. The only response was to pick them up, or get knocked down in the process. So I scooped a couple to them up, and after a few minutes, I knew this was what I should be doing. The children in that orphanage were energetic, loving, kind, playful and curious. The boys just wanted...
by Craig McAndrews | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Testimonies
I heard a radio station share a story that really caught my attention. The host was discussing a study done by a prominent institution that revealed three characteristics of children who grew up in the church and continued to grow in their faith long after they went out on their own. I was super interested in the article because I have two boys at home who are involved in our church, have professed faith in Christ, periodically read their Bible and aren’t afraid to pray. However, I also know that they are young (15 and 11), and a good bit of their faith is still connected to my wife and I. The research suggested that the most important skills adopted were: (1) They learned how to read and study the Bible (2) They were taught how to share the gospel (3) They actively participated in discipling other believers. For anyone that is a follower of Christ and has studied the calling of Jesus this list may seem like Christ-follower 101. However, I realized that no one is going to teach these skills to my boys except for me; it is what God has called me to do! So to that end, I set out on a mission to equip my boys to do each of these. I would love to share with you the great success I am having by highlighting the progress of our work by listing the verses they have memorized, the number of people they have led to Christ, or the number of friends they are actively discipling. Unfortunately, none of that is really happening. The...
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