Hi friends and partners,
Cristie and myself are having an amazing time with the churches here in Austria and Germany. It is such a blessing for me as I have been ministering here for 27 years and now I am getting to see many young people, who were just children when I first started coming here, now grown into adults and doing amazing things in ministry, music, art and all aspects of life. These young people have grown up in the church which has made me reflect on the fact that real growth only comes when we are connected into a vibrant Christian community.
Psalms 92:13-14
Those who are planted in the house of the LORDShall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing
There are a lot of people today who say that they are Christian, yet only a small percentage of them are actively connected and committed to a local church. I am not saying that you have to attend church to be saved, but the scripture promises us that, those that are planted flourish!
Have you noticed that trees that are planted don’t go from pot to pot searching for better soil? I know that this can be taken to extreme and that people should never be condemned for leaving a church, but I firmly believe that being planted is essential for real growth. Cristie and I are constantly traveling the world ministering the gospel, but we have a home church that we are committed to serve in when we are home, to tithe to and to pray for.
This culture in our life has released so much blessing into our lives. We may have a perfected born again spirit but our minds need to be renewed (that includes our emotions, openness to offense and selfish ambitions) and our flesh (our natural body and mind) needs to be re-trained to be in line with what our spirit is and who we are in Christ!
There is no better way to deal with our flesh than be connected with and committed to a local church. People are people and the moment that you find the perfect church, it’s not perfect anymore. As God connects us with other non perfect people, you are going to have all of those buttons in your flesh pushed. Sadly, I often see that instead of people seeing challenges with other Christians as a way to grow and not be controlled by their flesh, a lot of people run and go somewhere where these issues are not confronted.
When I got married to Cristie, I had issues that I never knew I had until I got married and it’s because they weren’t confronted when I was on my own. If I had run every time things got hard or uncomfortable, then I would never have personally grown and had the absolutely wonderful marriage that brings me so much joy today.
Community and connection is wonderful and the most rewarding thing in life but it’s not easy. I can tell you though that we will have better relationships with other people if we learn true connection, forgiveness and the ‘God kind of love’ by letting the Lord mould us in a local church. God knows what He is doing and He loves you more than you can imagine so if He tells us to be in a local church, then you can trust that it will bring blessing to your life.
We are just over a third of the way through our Europe ministry trip and have been so blessed by having the extended time to spend with Pastors and leaders as well as ministering in the churches and to their teams. Thank you to everyone who sows into this and allowing us to minister the gospel over the world. If you feel God is calling you to partner with us then click the link below. We are excited that our new single, “My God” will be released on all streaming platforms on Monday the 3rd of March. Please like it, share it and follow us on these platforms as it really helps to increase our ability to reach people with the message of Faith and Grace.
Love and blessings,
Peter & Cristie
