Latest / Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community / Leading Differently Together | "Evangelist" With Ellen Graf-Martin

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Leading Differently Together | "Evangelist" With Ellen Graf-Martin · Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community

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We weren't learning the theology of evangelism. We weren't learning all
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of the theological
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experience with Jesus. People may argue with
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the church or argue with the Bible, but they can't argue
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with your personal experience. What does loving your
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neighbor actually look like? This is
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Journey with Care, where curious Canadians get inspired to love
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others well through real life stories and honest conversations.
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Hey, curious sojourners. We're continuing in our series Leading Differently
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Together. I'm so glad you're on this journey with me. Have you been following
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along? I'd love to hear what you think. Just click on the link in the
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show notes or go to journey with care dot ca. We'd really love to hear
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from you. Ephesians 41112 says, God gives
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some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds,
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teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry for
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building up the body of Christ. But what does this look like in
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Canada? Keep listening to find out. Today, we're gonna get curious
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about evangelism. Now before you tune out with triggers of angry
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preachers or feeling that pressure to create awkward conversations,
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today's guest may give you a new take on evangelism altogether.
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I'm your host, Wendy Park, joined by producer, Johan Hinrichs. And
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in studio today, we have a special guest from Elmira, Ontario.
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She's a marketing extraordinaire, founder and CEO of Graf
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Martin Communications, and personal friend of Care Impact, Ellen
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Graf Martin. Ellen, welcome to the podcast. Thank you.
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It's so fun to join you in studio from
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afar. This is so fun to have you because we've gone
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back a few years through the pandemic, actually. We came
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in contact with you. You've been helping us as Care Impact
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tell our story. So it's it's nice to have you on our our
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podcast. It's fun. I know so much about Care
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Impact. I mean, we knew you as forever families, and we made the
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journey with you to becoming Care Impact. So it's exciting. That's
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right. Yeah. And you've really helped us clarify our message,
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clarify our branding, and what we are about to communicate. But
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I I'm curious about your own story, Ellen. So what
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put you on this path to starting Graf Martin Communication? I'm just
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curious a little bit if you could dig into your story a bit. What brought
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you here? Yeah. I actually was a missionary before
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I was a marketer, which is really fun. It's kind
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of a jump. People think, okay. How did that happen? But after university,
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I grew up on Vancouver Island. I went to university on Vancouver Island. I
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actually studied criminology. I thought that I would be working
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with the rehabilitation of female offenders or
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young offenders. That's what I thought I would do. Had a passion for that. Thought
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that's what God's gonna call me to. Graduated, and I was too young for
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anyone to take me seriously, to be honest. And,
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that's not why this happened, but it was how God then used that
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time was that I, after that, ended up with
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Operation Mobilization in Latin America on their ship,
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Logos 2. And I did a cross cultural
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communications internship with Prairie Bible Institute while I
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was in Latin America doing that and realized, you
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know, I was a word person and communication. It was no
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mistake that I was, you know, in criminology learning
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about how people think. So did you see this thread
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throughout kind of looking back as our hindsight is Wendi, but could you
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see this thread of communication and the love for telling
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stories throughout your life? Yeah. You know, when I was
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a kid, I so I was an early reader. I was a very early
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reader. When I was in grade 4, they tested me and said, well,
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you've graduated English. Wow. And so I no longer had to
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take English as of grade 4. So that was, like, an area of
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gifting for me, but it was also an area of interest. So my mom
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and I would go to garage sales, and my favorite thing to buy was a
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typewriter. And this was I mean, you and I are of the same vintage,
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and so typewriters were a thing. And people were selling them, and they were selling
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their manual typewriters and replacing them with electric typewriters. So I
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don't know how many manual typewriters I had. And I would
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write stories. That's what I would use them for. And I basically would
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replace them when the the ink ribbon ran out. I'd have to buy another one
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at a garage sale, and I was always writing. That is so
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fascinating, that that early interest in how you your
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mom even helped channel that. I'm just curious. What
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about storytelling was so intriguing to you? Was it the
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creativity? Was it helping people down this
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path, this imagination? Or what was it about storytelling?
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I think it was just that the stories brought me to life. I was
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always very empathetic, and I had a big
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imagination and just loved crafting words
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together in a way that drew emotion and drew
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response and drew people into a story where I think that they could
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escape a little bit. That's just what I loved, and I still love
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that. Today, I just get to do it in a different way. Well and I
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was gonna say too with the Graf Martin Communication, and you have a full team
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and and it's growing and and you just can't keep up, but you
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really look like you are enjoying what you do. It doesn't
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feel like a job to you. At least it doesn't seem like a job when
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I'm interacting with you. You're just infectious about what you're doing. Can you tell us
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a little bit about Graf Martin Communication and sort
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of the area that you work in? Yeah. So we
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exist to strengthen organizations that are
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championing hope, generosity, and justice. That's really
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what we do. Or if an organization is a hope organization, a
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generosity organization, or a justice organization,
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that's where we land. And so we support those organizations
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to get clarity around their messaging because most of them really
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struggle. They know what they wanna do, but they don't know how to say
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what they are doing. That that was us. That
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yeah. It was. It was. There was this enormous passion and
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enormous skill Wendi I saw you and Harold and the
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team around you. You had this dream and a passion and a
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calling, but didn't know how to tell people clearly what
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that was so that they could be invited to participate with you in it.
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And that's really, at the end of the day, what we do, whether that is
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via brand or public relations, or if it is
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through thinking through fundraising, planning, and
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revising monthly donor programs. And just even the language
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around that, we're all about language. And and then what does that look like
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even when it turns into so if you've got a brand language, what does that
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look like when it turns into a logo? So, you know, are you a
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cheerful brand? And do you pick bright colors like a CareImpact? Or are
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you, really serious in picking
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navy blues and bank colors, if that makes sense. And
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so, we kind of run the gamut on that. And then what does it look
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like when you reach out to media? What does it look like for
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public perception? All the way down to crisis communications. Because
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crisis communications is reputation and brand management,
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and the words you use in a crisis really matter. And
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we learn that when we read the news or watch the news, that
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the words that people choose in a moment of crisis are really
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critical. And most charitable organizations
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or the organizations we work with don't have a crisis comms plan
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and don't even know where to start with that. So that's another example
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of how we bring words to life. Can you give me an example
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of a crisis management, like, maybe a organization you're working
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with that that does this or that you've been working with
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to get that message out? Because it's critical. It is critical. So we've
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actually written a number of crisis comms plans
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for charities in the last year because there are
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more landmines in the space than there used to be.
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And people who started out with Goodwill and, you know, a few
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donors and creating something incredible, now, the
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words that they use are being measured in different ways. Like, when you have a
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you're using more words, not necessarily thinking intentionally about every
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single word that you would choose like you would in an appeal or a newsletter.
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Right. And so, the more words we have, the more opportunity we have
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to be exposed or to be picked apart.
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And, like, we have seen a lot over the last,
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not just few years, but the last decade, even with things that have come out
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around residential schools and around church and
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abuse. I mean, there's just so many, like it, unfortunately, it
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is a There are countless ways, even financial
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mismanagement. These are some of the areas that we
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plan for. If it happens, what will we do?
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What will we say? Who will say it? And how will we respond?
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So I think every organization really should have a plan in hand for
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that. So if they have a crisis comms plan and a brand, they've actually got
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a lot of the pieces that they need for a really solid foundation for years
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to come. And recently, we met together in
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Winnipeg. We got to hang out for for a day, which is really a lot
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of fun, and you were here releasing something with The Chosen. You've
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been working with them, and and that's another form of communication, getting the
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word out there, working closely with Dallas in that. Can you tell us
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a little bit about that and what that journey has been like in Canada?
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Yeah. It's been amazing. I've actually never seen anything like
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it as a brand focused or brand engagement focused
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agency, and that's how we use our communications. Seeing the
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brand engagement for The Chosen is remarkable.
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And, like I said, I've just never seen anything like this. And,
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frankly, I think that The Chosen has been my most impactful
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evangelism method over the last 20
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years of work. Even though I was a missionary for 5 years before I
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started this, I think, oh, I have actually told more people about Jesus
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through my work supporting The Chosen in Canada than I did when I was a
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missionary for 5 years. So it's been really exciting. And I think we have a
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lot to learn from the response that people have had to The
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Chosen, and we we did some research with them in the fall.
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And one of the things that was most exciting is that of
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the non Christian or non church audience that we
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surveyed, over half of them were had either watched an
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episode or were open to watching an episode of The
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Chosen and interested in the story. That tells us something.
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I mean, we think nobody cares about Jesus, but it's not true
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from the research we did. Well, I'm hoping we can have a bit of a
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conversation on evangelism and what that means today in
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the here and now and demystify some of the misconceptions sometimes
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we have. Because sometimes, for me, it it's felt like, well, we
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need to have these awkward conversations and force conversations that people
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don't want, and yet Wendi we look at the good news and evangelism
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is the spreading of good news, it's infectious. There's something. It's
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good for all people, and and the message might change with the
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audience and and what we're we're speaking of may
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be different for different people. But let's talk a bit
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about that word evangelism. You have
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this gift of evangelism simply by the way
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you are infectious about getting the communication out there. You were out there with
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your typewriter telling stories. You've been living in this,
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built a business around sharing good
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news. When you think of evangelism, even from a
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biblical context, is there some passage that comes to mind or
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or things that that inspire you? Yeah. You
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know, I am inspired by the book of acts because when you
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even asked me to, you know, talk about evangelism, I thought, I
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think she has the wrong person. I'm not the evangelist. And
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so I really had to think about this. And one of the things that
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has driven decision making for me is at the very
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beginning of the book of Acts. And it's when Jesus
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was, you know, giving, not commands, but his
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marching orders to his disciples or meeting with them.
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And before he ascended into heaven, the apostles were with Jesus and
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they were saying, so, you know, has the time come now
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for you to restore our kingdom and free
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Israel? And, Jesus said, the father alone has
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the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to
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know. Mhmm. And I think so many of us think, okay, that God's gonna bring
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his kingdom now. We have to do these things and push.
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And I think he says, I'm building my kingdom when you pray.
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May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in
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heaven. This is God's will, let it happen. But there
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is a job still for us because Jesus said to his apostles, but you
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will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you. And you will be
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my witnesses telling people about me everywhere in
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Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the
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earth. And I think we, I think we make
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our call out to be too big. I think we need to reach everyone.
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And what I hear from this is that, okay, it's important for you to
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talk to the people in your Jerusalem. And I see this as, okay, who
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are the people in my direct circle? Who are the people right around me in
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my neighborhood? And who are the people in my Judea? So that kind of
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next circle of people. And who are the people in my Samaria? Like, the
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place I wouldn't normally go and is outside that boundary, and
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then to the ends of the earth. And what is my responsibility to each of
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those groups? And so, it actually has taken some of the pressure off. I'm
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like, okay, the Holy Spirit is gonna come upon me, make me a witness.
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And then, I just have to ask God, like, where do you want me
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to be sharing right now? What is my Judea? What is my Jerusalem? What
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is my Samaria? And what does to the end of the earth look like for
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me? And so that has helped me figure out where I work.
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And I was actually really disappointed when God was like, Jerusalem and
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Judea is where I'm sending you, because I wanted to be a very exciting missionary
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going to I had great plans for, like, working in a Muslim
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slum in Indonesia, and God was like, you're going to
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Ontario. And, I'm like, what? That was
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kinda my Samaria, I'm not gonna lie. As a West Coast kid, it was
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kinda my Samaria. Well, I was planning to be overseas too. I had
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planned it. I was doing my undergrad overseas, and then,
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finished my master's thinking I had some great jobs lined up that I
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was gonna do, and God said, you're gonna be in Winnipeg. But
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something that what you said there, I love, is that it's like you have to
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know your Jerusalem, though. You have to know your audience. Communication isn't just
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like barfing it out there on the street and it's like, blah, like, here it
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is. Like, take it or leave it. It's understanding your audience. Understanding
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communication is who is receiving that, having that emotional
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intelligence, that communication intelligence to know,
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what it is you're sharing, that it is good news in a way that
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is contextualized. It's not changing the good news. It's
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understanding who you're talking with that is natural, like connection,
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really. One of my good friends is
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a very well established writer, and she
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said to me this is her name is Holly Girth, and she said to
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me, when she writes a book, she doesn't write a
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book because she has something to say. She writes a book
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because there is something someone needs to hear. And that's a
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very, I mean, it might seem like a small difference, but it's a huge
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difference. And I think what And so, when we're even working on
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communications with a client, we think, know your audience
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and then also don't just know them, don't just have an avatar and a persona,
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but understand what they're experiencing right now.
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What are they thinking about? What is keeping them up at night? What are they
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feeling? What are they doing right now? Are they so busy that they
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don't even have time to hear what you're saying? Or are they so busy that
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just offering a cup of tea to your neighbor and a break for
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half an hour is actually the best message that you can give and an
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opportunity to connect? So we need to know what
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people need to hear, not what we just wanna say.
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Right. Yeah. No. It it takes some humility to pay attention
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and to listen to people. I I think of if
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we're wanting to work with people that are
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finding themselves homeless, just giving them a track and
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telling them, like, fire insurance, this is the way to heaven,
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and yet we're not extending a blanket or a housing plan
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or asking them, what does good news sound like to you today?
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And coming alongside in those ways, really
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isn't going to be effective. Not to to lose that
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eternal perspective, but sometimes
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that journey towards that full understanding of of the
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gospel and the redemption that God has for us
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starts with that cup of water. And and it says in Matthew
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25, like, when did we see you hungry and and thirsty? When did we see
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you in prison? But that was good news in those moments.
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Being in those spaces, even Jesus wasn't saying, you better preach them
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in. It was so tangible, so
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simple, and that's one of the experiences that I had working with you
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and your team as we were working on some rebranding for Care
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Impact. And how do we break it down to the smallest thing,
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something tangible, something easy to understand? Yes. We're
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doing some complex things behind the scenes, but, really, it breaks down to something
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so simple. We're just helping strangers become good neighbors. And,
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and I see you doing that with so many organizations, faith
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based organizations. How do we bring that into context
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in something that is tangible? Yeah. I think
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we've all been on the receiving side of someone
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telling us something that might be true, but isn't necessarily
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very helpful in that moment. And I mean, if you're married or have a spouse,
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you know this really well. Because sometimes our spouse will say something to us and
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we're like, that you are not being very helpful right now. Like, especially for me
18:30
if my husband gives me advice when I'm upset or if she if he
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said, calm down when I am upset. I mean, is it
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true? Yes, I need to calm down. Is he wrong? No. But is it
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helpful helpful in that moment? Not whatsoever, and it will probably not turn out
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well for either one of us. And so I think knowing where your person
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is at and meeting them where they are at, what would be more helpful
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in that moment is to ask the question, what do you need right
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now? Like, how are you feeling and what do you need? And And I think
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we can all learn that because I do the same thing to him. So I'm
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not picking on him. We wanna solve a problem fast, and we just wanna
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tell people what we think they need to know. And we don't wanna ask
19:10
for clarity from them, and we don't want to listen
19:13
necessarily. And so, communicating is more about listening
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than about talking or sharing words. It's about
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responding. And in order to respond, you need to listen and you need
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to hear your audience and you need to know them. And so,
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yes, if my husband listens to this podcast episode, just want him
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to know I'm not picking on him. I've got the same problem. It's a common
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problem, especially in our culture. We're so busy. We don't wanna have to take
19:39
the time to listen to someone. We wanna just tell them what we think they
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need to know. Well, I have a silly example, but a true
19:46
example Wendi visited you at your house, and we
19:50
we communed over our love for coffee. And I expressed my
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enjoyment for a good bean and a good cup of coffee as did you,
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and so we got on to we were just passionate about it, and then you
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introduced me to your coffee machine. And it just, like,
20:04
was an epiphany. It was just this, like, good news to
20:08
all mankind kind of a moment. I know this is silly. This
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isn't gospel, so don't people don't get too hung up on this.
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But it was easy for you to tell me about this beautiful coffee
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machine that just pours out this beautiful
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blend of of beans. And just like that,
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when somebody has good news to share in a gospel sense,
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maybe they've been set free from addiction or maybe it's just
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that they've learned to meditate and breathe when
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they were feeling anxious, something very practical. But I think in
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our community, we have things like that where somebody is
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expressing to us, just like I expressed to you my love for coffee,
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somebody's expressing to us, I'm anxious or I'm,
20:53
working through this difficult situation or in parenting
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or I'm unsure and I and I'm feeling
21:00
uneasy, to be able to identify with each other and point
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them to something, Maybe it's breathing, maybe it's a prayer, or maybe it's, like
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whatever it is, it there's a natural expression and a connection that
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happens, and those with the gift of evangelism
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are more attuned to it. And I think, honestly, all of us
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should mature in these things. It's not like we just leave it all to Ellen
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and and send everybody to Graf Martin Communications to get
21:26
fixed. But people with the gift of evangelism are part
21:30
of the 5 fold ministry of the church so that they can
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inspire us. How do we share our story? Because we all have different
21:37
gifts as you mentioned. And how do we help connect with
21:40
people in very meaningful ways that it really is good
21:44
news? So, yeah, it may start with a cup of coffee.
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It might start with a cup of coffee. And I think starting where you're at,
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people think evangelism, they think too big for me and too scary for
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me. I think that's really what people think. But I think evangelism
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starts with an enthusiasm and a willingness to share that. And the
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enthusiasm, like, I even think of the, the root of that. Like, this is God
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in me. We've been given the gift of the holy spirit. Each one of us
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who know Jesus have been given the gift of the holy spirit. And it
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is our responsibility to use that
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enthusiasm to bring life to the people around us.
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And personally, how I see this as well is I
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am not in Indonesia, but I'm not also released from
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that responsibility. I do what I do in my neighborhood,
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and I do what I do in our community, in our province, but I
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also see this as my responsibility in my own personal giving and
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in my family's giving. So we give in our Jerusalem,
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our Judea, our Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
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And so we choose what charities we give to locally
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and the things that we believe that God is calling us to
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care about. And, I mean, you and I share a passion for
22:59
child welfare and ensuring, like, family resilience.
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And so what are the groups that are doing that? That you've got us uniquely
23:07
impassioned me for that. And it is life giving to
23:11
me as well as life giving to the organizations that are already doing that. We
23:14
don't need to do all the things. Others are already doing that. And so that's
23:18
what I'm trying to say. So who is doing that internationally and to the end
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of the earth? Who is doing that across Canada? Who is doing that in the
23:25
places that I would rather not go? Like, I am probably not a person to
23:29
do I am way too fussy and proceed to do,
23:32
like, deep street ministry. I am just not that
23:36
person. It's just not me. But it doesn't mean that I don't care about
23:40
it. And it doesn't mean that I am absolved from all responsibility.
23:44
And you are getting the messaging down to a a great point so
23:48
that those people who are called into those ministries can
23:52
really get donors and partners behind them and other
23:55
people who are called into that to hear about it and and
23:59
grow that ministry in that way. So that is a huge part that
24:03
you you play. I'm curious I'm curious in
24:07
Canada, in our current context, what does evangelism,
24:11
good communication of good news look like in Canada? Is it
24:15
a a harder audience to convince in the
24:19
more in the religious sense, the spirituality sense of the
24:23
word? Is it a harder hill to climb in communicating
24:26
good news in a Canadian audience, or is that a misconception?
24:31
I think it's a misconception. And, you know, when I joined
24:35
Operation Mobilization many, many years ago, I
24:39
remember them teaching us. The first thing we learned to do was
24:43
to share our testimony, our personal testimony, and to identify
24:46
it and to share it in 3 minutes. And, yeah, I thought,
24:50
okay, this is seems kinda weird. Maybe, like, why is this the first thing we're
24:54
learning? We weren't learning the theology of evangelism. We weren't
24:57
learning all of the the big, you know, well, I
25:01
guess, theological terms for God to explain him
25:05
well. But we were learning to explain what he had done in our life and
25:09
our experience with Jesus. And
25:13
one of the things they told us in that time was
25:16
people may argue with the church or argue with
25:20
the Bible, but they can't argue with your personal experience.
25:25
And we all have that experience.
25:28
And so learning how to articulate it, even if we don't
25:32
think it's very exciting, because there are a lot of us who our
25:36
conversion or our transformation isn't, doesn't look that remarkable.
25:40
But when I look back, I think, wow, like, I can see what God has
25:44
done in my life and the things that he has walked through with
25:47
me and carried me through and
25:51
carried me from and released me from or saved me from.
25:55
And I just think of the hope I have, you know, even when I when
25:58
I lost my dad 8 years ago, I didn't understand the
26:02
reality of heaven until then. And I, when
26:06
I lost my realize, I read something, a book called Imagine
26:09
Heaven. And I realized my dad didn't wanna come back.
26:13
He was in heaven and he didn't wanna come back. He was just waiting for
26:17
us to be there. And even that piece of my testimony is a
26:20
is it's a testimony, and no one can argue with my
26:24
understanding with that. I mean, they could try, but it's not gonna get anywhere. But
26:28
they they can hear it, and they can hear it a lot more than if
26:31
I was quoting scripture, rescriptor, rescriptor to them. They may
26:35
not realize that I've actually woven the words of scripture all into my testimony,
26:39
but it's my story. And it's the story God has given me uniquely, and I
26:43
can share it. I think that's very profound and and
26:46
very practical, actually, because it it begins within
26:50
ourselves. Yes. We wanna listen to our audience, but before we even just
26:54
scan our audience and who who God has brought in our
26:58
midst, what is God doing in our hearts? What is good news in our own
27:02
life that we can celebrate? Are we even
27:06
focused on those things? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our
27:09
lives and recognizing his presence in ours so that we have something to
27:13
share, not just a doctrine to pass
27:17
on? It it's not just a religion to to spread,
27:21
but what has God actually done in my life that is
27:25
truly joyful? Because when when there's joy in a person's life,
27:29
when there's life, like, oozing out of them, I naturally
27:32
wanna know, hey. What gets you up in the morning? Right? And and and,
27:36
wow. Like, I'm seeing something or even in their grief, but there's a
27:39
tenacity. There's something just grounding them that
27:43
I want to know. There's there's something almost magnetic that
27:47
I want to know, but you've given us something practical formulate. What is
27:51
it that God has done in my life? What is it within me? And being
27:55
able to communicate that is evangelism
27:59
at its core, which is just so beautiful. Is
28:02
there anything else practical that you would give other people? Perhaps
28:06
they're awakened saying, hey. Maybe I love marketing. I love telling
28:10
stories. I I identify with your childhood story. Maybe there's something
28:13
within me that I do have the gift of evangelism that I need to be
28:17
offering that to the the broader church and community or
28:21
ones that are learning from you. Are there some practical things that we
28:25
can do to grow in evangelism
28:29
right in our own Jerusalem? I think, number
28:32
1, specific to evangelism is to know
28:36
your story, know your personal story. I think so many of us are just moving
28:39
so fast, and we discount, what happened before.
28:43
And it's funny. This morning and forgive me for this, but this is a strange
28:47
reference. But this morning, I was listening to music with my daughter on the way
28:50
to school, and then Miley Cyrus' song, Wendi I Was Young,
28:54
came on. And I thought, we all have that story, you know?
28:58
You say that I was this, but I say that I was young. You know?
29:01
You say that I was wild. You say that I was crazy. You say that
29:04
I was fun, but I say I used to be young. And,
29:08
like, in that, she's actually recognizing like, I think this is Miley Cyrus,
29:11
and she's able to recognize her own personal transformation and journey.
29:15
That song actually makes me reflect and stop in my
29:19
tracks and say, what was my used to be young?
29:23
And what are the ways that I think people or even myself, I would have
29:26
characterized myself in those young days? And now, what
29:30
has got done in me? And so, knowing our story and just being able
29:34
to articulate it. An easy way to do that is,
29:38
this is a coaching exercise that I do with people,
29:41
is I get them to write a timeline of their life. And on one side
29:45
of the timeline, I get them to put in their major life events. So,
29:48
like, born, moved, graduated high
29:52
school, married, first child, like, whatever those look like. And then
29:56
on the other side of the timeline, so top side is your is your life
29:59
event. So those are kinda like the what's above the water of the iceberg. And
30:03
then on the bottom, I get them to write in a map of what are
30:07
the things that God has really done in their life. And then compare
30:11
that and take a look at that because often I see, now, that I
30:14
was being confirmed in my faith at 13, and I also realized
30:18
I was going through a really hard time. Personally, like, this is core
30:22
puberty time, so awful for all of us and also
30:25
so awful for self image as girls, 13 year old girls. Like, poor, I
30:29
just, oh, that 11 to 13. But I see that God was
30:33
really grabbing hold of me at that same time. And it reframes
30:37
my memory to say, yeah, I was really struggling with that,
30:40
but God was so present there. And so learning how to articulate our own
30:44
story and identify what God has done through us, I think
30:48
is a massive first step in being able to
30:51
share the gospel and what God has done in your life
30:55
with others. So that would be one really, really practical
30:59
tool that I would give. And the second would be, what are the unique gifts
31:02
that God has given me? Identifying what is your uniqueness. And we did this with
31:06
Care Impact. So we do this with organizations, so I think I may have
31:10
even said this to you. So if all these things that you say are great,
31:14
other people are doing, but what is unique about you? And if there's nothing
31:17
unique, why don't you just go merge with another organization because there's nothing
31:21
unique? And that gets people's back up, you know? Like, well, you know, if
31:25
there's nothing unique, there's something unique about you. And identify what that
31:29
you uniqueness is, that gifting, and ask god to
31:32
equip you in that area as well. That's really good.
31:36
Yeah. I think sometimes we feel very unequipped to be able to
31:40
share our story. I could even think of examples, though, where we
31:44
sometimes overthink it possibly, that we just need to allow
31:47
God to work through us. I think of the shepherds. They got the the good
31:51
news, given to us. They just, like, stormed into the
31:54
town to say the Messiah has been born. But when we
31:58
feel ill equipped, like, what would you say to people who feel
32:02
unequipped? I would say it's not our job
32:05
to do the transformation of a person. It is our job to make a
32:09
space for a person to meet Jesus because I don't feel
32:13
equipped most days, to be honest. I think, oh, you know, God, what have you
32:16
asked me to do? I did not prepare for this. You know, I started
32:20
out in criminology and as a missionary. And now for 15 years, I've run a
32:24
communications agency. And what has
32:28
he has brought back to me over and over is from Exodus. It's a story
32:31
in Exodus of a man named Bezalel,
32:35
who God specifically equipped to
32:39
build the tabernacle. So this is a place where people would meet
32:42
God. And in Exodus 31,
32:46
I'll start with first one. The Lord said to Moses, look, I have specifically
32:50
chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of
32:54
the tribe of Judah, which would be Jesus' tribe eventually.
32:58
I have filled him with the spirit of God, giving him great
33:01
wisdom, ability and expertise in all kinds of crafts.
33:05
He is a master craftsman expert in working in gold, silver and bronze.
33:09
He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving
33:12
wood. He is a master at every craft. I think of this
33:16
as probably Bezalel is like, I'm a carver. I
33:20
build things out of wood. I like art. I He said he's a
33:23
master craftsman. He probably wasn't thinking, I have the gift of
33:27
evangelism. That Bezalel was being given the gifts that
33:31
God had for him in order so that he could build a place
33:34
where people could meet God. And I think that is what we are called
33:38
to do. Look at your gifts. What has God equipped you to do? What are
33:42
the experiences that you carry? What is unique about you? And how can
33:46
you use that to create a place where people can meet Jesus, sometimes
33:50
for the very first time? Beautiful. So whatever God
33:53
has entrusted within you, poured through you, share it.
33:57
Don't hold on to it. Give it out. That is the work of the evangelist.
34:01
Thanks so much, Ellen, for taking the time to have this conversation.
34:05
You've really encouraged me and challenged me to really share what God has
34:09
put in my heart, and I hope many people have been encouraged today.
34:13
Thanks so much, Wendy. And be sure to stay tuned for the rest of the
34:17
series. Thank you for joining
34:21
another conversation on Journey with Care, where we inspire
34:24
curious Canadians on their path of faith and living life with
34:28
purpose in community. Journey with Care is an initiative of Care
34:31
Impact, a Canadian charity dedicated to connecting and equipping
34:35
the whole church to journey well in community. You can visit their
34:39
website at careimpact. Ca or visit journeywithcare. Ca
34:43
to get more information on weekly episodes, Journey With Prayer, and
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Thank you for sharing this podcast and helping these stories reach the
35:01
community. Together, we can explore ways to journey in a good way.
35:05
And always remember to stay curious.