WOW! This is new, and so unlike me! But the Lord has challenged me to go beyond my comfort zone and take a step of faith! So here I am, by the will of the Lord, in North Carolina - away from my family, and away from my friends and ministry at my beloved Bethel, in order to FIRST pursue my beautiful fiance Kayla, and also to intentionally seek His face through 24/7 Leadership Academy and the ministries of DayStar Christian Fellowship.
Within only 2 full days of living here, though I have always been nothing short of reluctant to take this step, the Lord has calmed my heart and I can almost feel all of your prayers surrounding me as a cushion of comfort. I have never been more confident that I have made the right decision by making this move.
What a joy it is to be in this city with my Kayla knowing that I don't have to wake up the next morning just to drive back for 7 hours - that we can share so many more special moments together - that I can be here for her through the stress of her school - and to know that we don't have to deal with the sorrow of maintaining and trying to grow a relationship while 400 miles apart.
In the past 2 days I've been to DayStar (www.daystarcf.org) three times, and each one of those times was a learning experience.
On Saturday, I had been blessed to be invited to an exclusive event called Worship Culture Creation Day. Eric Freeman (the Worship Pastor at DayStar, and mentor to me for about a year now) had put together a 5-hour agenda to re-ignite the passion for a genuine culture of worship in people involved in worship ministry, and to describe what worship culture is. The event started at 9am with a 45 min set of worship music, lead by people who aren't normally involved with the music at DayStar. This was so those who are normally serving on the worship team had the chance to worship without focusing on what the next transition is or what chord or rhythm to play next. The worship set was followed by a talk given by Eric explaining what worship culture is as a whole, and what it is for DayStar specifically. I believe strongly in every point Eric made, I just could never put it to words before, and maybe haven't even thought about a lot of what he said. But it was clear that the Lord is working through Eric and the ministry he has helped create there. It just goes to show that when you keep your eyes and heart focused on Jesus, everything will fall into place.
Yesterday morning was church, which was nothing short of Spirit-filled. DayStar has an incredible team of musicians, all of which have such a heart and passion to serve in the name of Christ, and it excites me to know I will be able to play alongside of them. Later that evening, I had been scheduled to play at VERT, the middle/high school service. I've never seen so much thought and careful planning to into a church SERVICE for middle/high schoolers, and it was very refreshing to see. It was great to be able to lead these young people into the presence of the Lord.
It would be impossible for me to complete this first entry without extending my greatest gratitude to those of you who have sponsored and supported me through monetary gifts and through prayer. I have never seen such an incredible display of generosity and I have been greatly ministered to through it. And also, I'd like to specifically thank my parents for putting me up for the past 4 months so I could save money to prepare for this move, and for providing such a large amount of support and encouragement that I hope I will be able to return one day.
I apologize greatly for this wordy first entry. If you enjoyed the wordiness, I don't suggest you get your hopes up for more entries like this one. SORRY! I will, however, try to update this guy as often as possible in the case you want to keep up with what's happening with me and how you can pray for me. And also if you have the urge to respond to one of these posts, or just want to drop me a line, you can email me at heeter.chris@gmail.com or you can call/text me at 614-563-3711 . If you've read through this all, I applaud you. And extend this to you... *HIGH FIVE!*
What a joy it is to be in this city with my Kayla knowing that I don't have to wake up the next morning just to drive back for 7 hours - that we can share so many more special moments together - that I can be here for her through the stress of her school - and to know that we don't have to deal with the sorrow of maintaining and trying to grow a relationship while 400 miles apart.
In the past 2 days I've been to DayStar (www.daystarcf.org) three times, and each one of those times was a learning experience.
On Saturday, I had been blessed to be invited to an exclusive event called Worship Culture Creation Day. Eric Freeman (the Worship Pastor at DayStar, and mentor to me for about a year now) had put together a 5-hour agenda to re-ignite the passion for a genuine culture of worship in people involved in worship ministry, and to describe what worship culture is. The event started at 9am with a 45 min set of worship music, lead by people who aren't normally involved with the music at DayStar. This was so those who are normally serving on the worship team had the chance to worship without focusing on what the next transition is or what chord or rhythm to play next. The worship set was followed by a talk given by Eric explaining what worship culture is as a whole, and what it is for DayStar specifically. I believe strongly in every point Eric made, I just could never put it to words before, and maybe haven't even thought about a lot of what he said. But it was clear that the Lord is working through Eric and the ministry he has helped create there. It just goes to show that when you keep your eyes and heart focused on Jesus, everything will fall into place.
Yesterday morning was church, which was nothing short of Spirit-filled. DayStar has an incredible team of musicians, all of which have such a heart and passion to serve in the name of Christ, and it excites me to know I will be able to play alongside of them. Later that evening, I had been scheduled to play at VERT, the middle/high school service. I've never seen so much thought and careful planning to into a church SERVICE for middle/high schoolers, and it was very refreshing to see. It was great to be able to lead these young people into the presence of the Lord.
It would be impossible for me to complete this first entry without extending my greatest gratitude to those of you who have sponsored and supported me through monetary gifts and through prayer. I have never seen such an incredible display of generosity and I have been greatly ministered to through it. And also, I'd like to specifically thank my parents for putting me up for the past 4 months so I could save money to prepare for this move, and for providing such a large amount of support and encouragement that I hope I will be able to return one day.
I apologize greatly for this wordy first entry. If you enjoyed the wordiness, I don't suggest you get your hopes up for more entries like this one. SORRY! I will, however, try to update this guy as often as possible in the case you want to keep up with what's happening with me and how you can pray for me. And also if you have the urge to respond to one of these posts, or just want to drop me a line, you can email me at heeter.chris@gmail.com or you can call/text me at 614-563-3711 . If you've read through this all, I applaud you. And extend this to you... *HIGH FIVE!*
-Chris
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PRAYER REQUEST(S):
-That the Lord would give me clarity with details that haven't yet been established.
-That I could connect further into the community at DayStar and reach out and try to get to know them. (It's easier for a bunch of people to get to know one person, but it's difficult for one person to get to know a lot of people)
-That the beginning of Kayla's school year will have a solid start, and that stress would be a minimal issue this semester.
-That the Lord would give me clarity with details that haven't yet been established.
-That I could connect further into the community at DayStar and reach out and try to get to know them. (It's easier for a bunch of people to get to know one person, but it's difficult for one person to get to know a lot of people)
-That the beginning of Kayla's school year will have a solid start, and that stress would be a minimal issue this semester.
SONG FOR THE MOMENT:
Jared Anderson - Pleasing To You
Jared Anderson - Pleasing To You
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