October Update - Learning to Trust God in Ministry

May the peace of God be with you!

Usually, I use this space to share the victories of what is happening here in Costa Rica. The celebrations, the wins, and the stories of men whose lives are being transformed by the Gospel. As I write this, in the normal structure of blogs, I could share about four more men who have graduated our program and two more men that I was able to baptize. I will share these celebrations in the next blog, but today, I want to invite you into another part of ministry: the hardships.

I want to share some of the tough realities of ministry, the weight of walking alongside people through difficult seasons, and the challenges that don't always come with a victory to celebrate. Because as much as I believe in the work God is doing here, ministry is not always a series of victories. Sometimes, it is a daily decision to remain faithful in the middle of uncertainty, disappointment, and heartache.

Hardships

Over these past few months, I have watched some close friends relapse. Hardships sometimes come one after another. You are walking alongside men who are fighting for their futures, their families, and their freedom from the things that have held them captive. You lead, you pastor, you encourage, and you try to live by example. You pray for these men, celebrate their progress, and grieve when they stumble.

You begin to see the fathers of children. The husbands of wives. The sons, brothers, and friends whose decisions affect far more than themselves. A poor decision is no longer just a setback in a program. It may mean a child experiencing disappointment, a wife carrying another burden, or a family wondering whether things will ever be different.

This is part of what makes ministry so difficult. We are not simply watching people make decisions from a distance. We know their stories. We have heard their struggles. We have celebrated their progress and prayed for their families. We have invested time, energy, and love into seeing them experience a different kind of life.

So when they stumble, it hurts.

It hurts because we know what is at stake. It hurts because we have seen what is possible. And sometimes, it hurts because we wish we could spare them and the people they love from the consequences of their decisions. But loving someone does not mean we can make their decisions for them. And caring for someone's future does not mean we can control it.

There is a difference between helping someone carry a burden and carrying the entire load of his life for him. Part of discipleship is learning to recognize that difference. We must be willing to step in when help is needed, speak truth when correction is necessary, and walk alongside someone when life becomes difficult. But we must also recognize that growth involves personal responsibility. A man must learn to own his decisions, seek the Lord, and walk in obedience. Our role is not to remove every consequence or make the road easy. It is to help equip these men to walk faithfully through the realities of life with Christ at the center.

We Are Vessels, Not Saviors

This distinction matters because it changes the way we approach discipleship. If someone's faith depends entirely on our presence, our guidance, or our ability to keep them on the right path, then what happens when we are no longer there? What happens when the program ends, the circumstances change, or the person who has been walking beside them is suddenly out of the picture?

Successful discipleship is not about creating dependence on ourselves. It is about encouraging someone to know Christ personally, to abide in Him, and to follow Him when no one else is watching. The goal is not simply for a man to make good decisions while he is surrounded by structure and accountability. The goal is for him to develop a faith that sustains him when the structure is gone.

Ultimately, we want these men to learn to walk with Jesus, not merely to walk alongside us. And yet, knowing this does not make the process any less painful. When someone we love returns to old habits, it is easy to wonder what we could have done differently. Should we have stepped in sooner? Should we have offered more guidance? Did we give too much freedom, or perhaps not enough?

These questions are not necessarily a sign of failure. They are part of the weight of caring for people. But we must learn to examine our own faithfulness without assuming responsibility for decisions that belong to someone else. We can be faithful in how we disciple someone without being able to guarantee the outcome.

Hope That Remains

I share these struggles not because I have lost hope in the ministry, but because I believe hope is worth talking about even when life is hard. It is easy to share the victories. It is easy to tell the stories that have clear beginnings and happy endings. But much of ministry happens in the middle of the story, when the outcome is uncertain, and faithfulness requires us to keep showing up.

It happens in conversations that do not seem to change anything. In prayers that have yet to be answered in the ways we hoped. In the difficult decisions about when to intervene and when to step back. In the moments when we must love someone enough to tell the truth and trust God enough to recognize the limits of our own influence.

Our desire is not simply to help men succeed within a program. It is to see them grow into men who know Christ, follow Him, and continue walking with Him long after they leave us. That kind of growth takes time. It requires patience, wisdom, accountability, grace, and a willingness to trust God with what we cannot control.

So we keep showing up. We keep praying. We keep teaching and discipling. We keep celebrating the victories, and we keep walking through the difficult seasons together. We learn from our mistakes, ask God for wisdom, and continue seeking the balance between providing support and allowing room for growth.

Above all, we remember that this work has never ultimately depended on us. We are vessels, not saviors. We are called to point people toward Jesus, not to take His place in their lives. And even when the road is difficult, we can continue to trust the One who is faithful in every season.

The celebrations are real, and so are the struggles. Both are part of the story here in Costa Rica. And through it all, hope means trusting Christ enough to remain faithful in the middle of the story, even when we cannot yet see the ending. That is the work of ministry. And by God's grace, it is work worth continuing.

Invitation

We continue to invite your prayers over this ministry. We need many gathered in prayer over this mission. We thank deeply those who are partnered with our mission or have given in the past. We continue to extend the invitation to join as a partner if you are not, or to give towards the mission. The platform link is here.