Acteens Panelist Shares Benefits of Documenting Your Missions Journey
During my life, I have almost always been in a church. In third grade, I started going to Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama.
This was where I first got involved in missions. I joined GA (Girls in Action), where I learned about different missionaries around the world, the importance of missions, and how I can be on mission to those around me.
I also joined the choir. Choir taught me how important music is to ministry.
In seventh grade, I moved up to Acteens where I continued learning about missions and participated more in missions activities. I experienced missions firsthand while on missions trips and choir tours.
On my most recent choir tour, I committed to God that I would follow His plan for my life and let Him take the lead. I knew that if I followed my own desires and plans, things would not go well. I know I cannot do anything by my own strength.
Benefits of Growing Up in Church
As I reflect, I can see how much God has already worked in me since I decided to open my life to be used by Him. For instance, God has given me more opportunities to work missionally, He has given me the strength to overcome temptations that I would have previously fallen to, He has helped me to be more joyful when volunteering my time for others, and He has helped me understand things in the Bible that I struggled to grasp before.
Because of the impact of my church, the support of my family, and the patience God has shown me, I have a passion to share God’s love with others. I feel I’m being led to do this is through music.
Through choir, I have become enthusiastic about the way music intertwines with missions. Music is a powerful tool as it evokes emotion in the heart of the listener. I want people to know the same love that God has shown me. My hope is that they will open their lives to God and see His forgiveness and power.
I continue to pray for God’s guidance for my future and I trust that He will provide me with the strength to do His work.
In fourth grade I learned about the prophet Isaiah’s calling in Isaiah 6. Isaiah was woeful as he stood before God because he was “a man of unclean lips” (v. 5). The seraphim touched his lips with a hot coal and said his sin was atoned for. In verse 8, Isaiah says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: ‘Who should I send? Who will go for Us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me’” (HCSB).
We can see the parallels in Isaiah’s story to our lives today. As Isaiah stood before God, he realized his own wickedness and was woeful. It is important for us to recognize our own sin, repent, and follow God. Christ came down to earth to atone for our sins so we could be called children of God and go and do His work. Like Isaiah, we should be ready to go where the Lord sends us without question and without making excuses.
Benefits of Journaling
Documenting your own missions experiences is extremely helpful. It is encouraging to look back and see how God has used you over the years. Keeping a journal is also a good way to refresh your memory so you can tell others about God’s faithfulness.
You can document your experiences by journaling, creating photo albums, vlogging, or writing poems.
I used writing to document my experiences. I wrote about my day and included the things I learned and the things I struggled with. I also wrote about the blessings that happened throughout the day.
Pray while you document. Thank God for the blessings He provides and ask for His wisdom and understanding for things that may be unclear. Listen to God’s calling and obey His command to teach others.
It is beneficial to document your experiences as you reflect on what God has done in your life. I started documenting my experiences over the past few years. I must say, I wish I started sooner! I hope this is something you will consider adding to your routine.
I pray that God will guide you and give you the wisdom and strength you need to go where He directs.
Destiny MacCarthy, a 2023 National Acteens Panelist, is from Montgomery, Alabama, and attends Eastern Hills Baptist Church.
