Hello again. It has been a long, long time since I have updated you all. I apologize for the silence. I have gone through some trying months, and it has been a challenge to process and communicate.
Recently though I have been making some really good strides in returning to health, and I am excited to share with you what I have sensed God has been doing in Multiply and in my personal walk with Jesus.
It is a bittersweet moment however. It is hard to believe in some ways, but my time serving with Multiply Central Canada is coming to an end. At the end of August I will be moving on from the Multiply team in order to pursue studying at seminary in the fall. It has taken a significant amount of time for me to come to this place, but I am confident and feel at peace about this transition.
I’ll try to fill you in on how I got to this point.
Obviously back in March the virus drastically affected how we were able to serve. Just like everyone else, we had to figure out how we could move forward with everything shutting down. Thankfully though, last minute we were able to completely re-work our SOAR Heartland program, moving it to an online experience, and we were actually able to have a really impactful week with Jesus.
Since it was very early on in the shut down, it was a really great opportunity to be able to walk through what was happening with over 100 different participants that joined us over SOAR.
Over the week our theme was “Walk With Me”, and we talked together about what it looked like to accept Jesus’ invitation to walk with him. It was an opportunity to share about how life with Jesus wasn’t about following religious rules or patterns, but about having a relationship with an actual personal God who loved them.
Throughout the week we heard many stories of how students had moments of experiencing Jesus, and of how youth groups were able to connect and care for each other as everything in our world was changing. I heard from one youth pastor that the week of SOAR was one of the most impactful and significant times they have had as a youth group. The space to be together consistently helped them build new trust, and it helped create a space where they were able to be attentive to Jesus’ voice in a new way.
It was honestly incredible and almost surprising to hear stories like that. Even through all the disappointment and limited capacity as everything was online, God was reaching out to his children and drawing them back to relationship with himself. It is an honour to be a part of moments like that.
I was also able to share a message during the week which you could listen to here if you like (message starts at 28:00):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBUDqbqWTi0
As SOAR wrapped up our team left encouraged and humbled as we saw Jesus impact our little online community. We all left encouraged and challenged to enter into this new covid situation with Jesus.
This is where it became challenging for me personally. As the virus situation became more serious, our team could no longer meet together and we all had to work from home. Everything was changing and just like everyone else we didn’t know where this thing was going to lead.
That on its own would have been challenging, but at this point I was still in pretty rough place mentally and emotionally which made the situation even tougher. The isolation was hard, and I was hurting.
It was in this season where I began to start thinking about the future. I didn’t know what work was going to look like going forward, and I started to pray and ask God about where he might be leading me next.
This wasn’t the first time that I was considering and praying about transitioning away from Multiply. Last year at about the same time I went through the same process. At that time though, I decided to stay - and I am confident that this was a good decision for me.
So this wasn’t a completely unfamiliar place for me to be. Though the thought of leaving or staying felt scary in different ways, I tried to be open to God’s leading. And one evening I believe God quite clearly spoke to me.
After a particularly tough week, one evening I felt overwhelmed. It had been hard to connect with God and I struggled to not just numb my emotions, but I knew that I needed to process with Jesus. I went to my room and kind of begrudgingly knelt down by my bed and prayed a very simple and almost desperate prayer, “God help me. I just need to hear something from you right now.”
It sounds a bit funny, but at this moment for some reason I had a small sense that I should take down a mirror that was on the wall. Without really thinking about it much I walked over, took it down, and to my surprise I found some words that my older brother had written about 8 years ago. It read, “Invest in your calling. Live by the Spirit. Passion.”
Over the years I have grown to listen to God’s voice. Often it comes by subtle promptings, and it took me a lot of practice and time with Jesus to recognize it. However, this did not seem like one of the subtle “still, small voice” kind of moments. This seemed like a blatantly obvious, can’t miss, moment where God was reminding me that he hears me, and loves me. I mean, how often am I going to get literal words written on a wall when I ask for God to speak to me. Probably not very many times haha.
I was massively encouraged by this moment. Regardless of what the actual words were, I experienced a huge relief and comfort realizing again that my heavenly Dad cares about me, and is with me. But the message obviously was very timely as well.
Maybe surprisingly, it took me a while to process and discern what Jesus might be trying to say to me through this. One thing I was clear of, was that Jesus was asking me to keep going, to not quit, and that he had a calling for me that I was to pursue. The question was, “how should I pursue it?”. I didn’t really know - and I’m not sure if the whole point of this was so that I could find the “one, true path” that Jesus was leading me to.
I fully believe that by staying and serving with Multiply I would be investing in my calling. This has been and would be an incredible place to grow as a disciple and a leader. However, I believe that a different option could be an equally valuable investment.
The idea of studying at seminary has been on the back of my mind for years. After graduating Bible College, and having a sense that God is inviting me to serve in vocational ministry, the idea of studying and training at seminary made a lot of sense. Taking a couple years to be molded by Scripture, and to be taught by wise followers of Jesus I am sure would prove to be an invaluable experience that would help me to serve and lead. Plus, I think it would open up a couple different doors for me down the road.
So I believe both options are good options. I don’t think one path is “God’s path”, and the other is the “wrong one”. Both are good, and I believe God trusts me to make a decision.
So just like last year, I need to make a decision on where I would go. This time though, I believe that now is a good time for me to transition away from serving with Multiply.
I have learned and grown so much during these last three years. I have experienced and seen Jesus move in people’s lives and I have had a taste of the life that Jesus talks about that is to be in the Kingdom. This has changed me, and I am deeply grateful.
I am also beyond grateful for all of you who have sacrificially donated money to support Multiply and my role in the team. It actually blows my mind knowing how much support I have had from you as a community. Please know that your prayers, and the money you have donated in support has made a massive impact. God has used you and your willing heart to make an impact on lives that have now had an encounter with Jesus that wouldn’t have if we wouldn’t have been moved to action. On top of that, these actions have also demonstrated faith in and obedience to Jesus. That I believe, is a powerful witness to the goodness of God that should not be underestimated. So thank you.
It will be really hard to leave. Serving with this team has been so incredible. This team in many ways has become like a family for me, and it has carried me through so many highs and lows over these three years. You guys truly are incredible.
I am sure that in the next couple weeks there will be tears as this season comes to an end. But, above all I am truly thankful. Thankful for this opportunity, for how I have grown here, for having the honour of serving on this team, thankful for all of you who have donated and prayed for me, and thankful to God for being with me every step of the way. This has been a beautiful season of my life.
So for one last time from me here at Multiply, goodbye.
With love,
Levi
