NLDC BACKSTAGE: JULY 2008
Activate Your Call! NLDC Did 25 Years Ago
Twenty Five years ago, God gave me the vision for New Life Drama Company. I did not know it would still be around after 25 years, but I knew what God told me to do so I obeyed. Since that time NLDC has been on the front lines winning souls and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a unique ministry in that no one person can receive the credit for the thousands of souls that have been won, the millions of salvation tracts that have been distributed, and the thousands of services that have been performed. It is truly a corporate anointing.
Activating the call on your life can be very challenging but in this hour God is calling more and more people into full time ministry. There are four things that you must do to activate the calling that is inside of you and see your ministry become not only productive but long lasting as well.
1. Obey what God tells you to do.
2. Do something every day for your ministry.
3. Sow seed into other ministries.
4. Never give up!
First obey what God tells you to do. That seems to be a very simple thing to do, but many great callings on earth are stopped dead in their tracks at obedience. We have so many voices that speak into our lives that we sometimes do not take the time to pray to hear that one small voice. God has a promised place for you and he will guide you there if you will take time to tune out all of the distractions of life and separate yourself to hear His voice.
Secondly, do something every day for your ministry. The Bible says in Matthew 22:14 Many are called but few are chosen. The difference between the called and the chosen is that the chosen show up for work. If you applied for a job and received a call that you had been hired you would get very excited, but if you do not show up the next day for work, you would have been called but not chosen. You decide if you are chosen or not. I know that sounds radical but a lot of people get excited about their calling but never show up to work. Do something every day for your ministry no matter how small. Eventually you will be doing more and more.
Thirdly, sow seed into other ministries. This is not only with your money but also with your time. Volunteer at the church, pay your tithes, and send offering to ministries like NLDC, ministries that are out doing the job of evangelism. God will bless your seed and will add partners to your ministry. Remember message from Luke 6:38. You have to bless to be blessed
Lastly, never give up! It does not matter what the Devil and the worlds system throw at you, never give up! It does not matter if you have been shipwrecked in your past attempts at ministry; swim back to God’s shore and start again. Never give up! You will find that if you stay the course, God will get you to where He wants you to be.
So those are some simple keys to launching and continuing in the call you have on your life. After 25 years I know that they work because we practice them every day, week, month and year.
~Pastor David Woodrow (Founder President of NLDC)
Testimonies from the Road
It was our last service in England and the church was packed. Earlier that morning we had gathered together to seek God's direction for the service. One team member asked God to simply move, for God to visibly rock that church. Despite a great response to the sketches during the service and several people visibly touched by the message only one person came up for prayer.
The pastor of the church came forward to say some closing words and finish out the service when a man from the congregation came forward to share something he had received from the service. As the man began to talk he started to weep and cry out to the other people in front of him saying that our team had come a great distance and everyone should WANT to be prayed over for an anointing to be passed on. All at once there was a flood of crying and wailing people on their knees. We began to minister in prayer and anoint heads with oil. The anointing of God flooded that floor and people began to hear words from God, and hearts were restored. God heard that prayer before the service to please...move. Where two or more are gathered in His name there He is in the midst of us.
~Joelle Shenk
Last week, we had a lot of ministry opportunities! For instance, we opened up this week with a prison service in Grafton, WV. We did services for and got to pray for several of the inmates and see two come to know Jesus. We are also keeping in contact with three of the men we met there to encourage them in the things of the Lord. I know there were a lot of seeds planted in the hearts of the inmates there that day and the Bible says that the Word of God will not return void.
Later on in the week, we got to be part of a spiritual emphasis week for a Christian school in Fayetteville, NC. During the two days we spent there, we saw over twenty-five 7th & 8th graders rededicate their lives to Christ. Many of them were struggling with the normal Jr. High problems (parents, rejection, grades), but others were also dealing with parents being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was an amazing privilege to be apart of what God is doing!
~ Jessie Orr
