My daughter and I are reading A Young Woman After God's Own Heart. In chapter 2, Elizabeth George writes about Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators ministry.
"He once spent five days interviewing candidates for overseas missionary service. He spent a half hour with each one, asking specifically about their devotional life. Sadly, only one person out of 29 interviewed said his devotional life was a constant in his life, a source of strength, guidance, and refreshment. As Trotman continued to probe into the lives of those men and women planning a lifetime of service for God, he found that never since they had come to know the Lord had they ever had a consistent devotional life."
If this was the case for 28 out of 29 missionary applicants, I wonder how true it is for others in Christian ministry work. Do our pastors, Christian leaders, and other ministry workers struggle with having a consistent time with the Lord? I imagine that the effectiveness of their ministry must be lacking if they don't have a regular time of prayer, Bible reading, and worship with Him.
This got me thinking about a ministry that is common among many women - raising children in a Christian home. If we don't have a consistent time with God, worshiping Him and growing spiritually, how effective is our ministry to our children? If we can't succeed with the ministry God has given to us, of raising our children, He can't trust us with other ministry work that could have an impact on a greater amount of people.
