Zebra Ministries: The Cost of Obedience

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Cost of Obedience

John 12:26a (ESV)

If anyone serves me, he must follow me

Good morning Zebras,

Last time I shared with you that I had to stand by and watch God shut a door in my life. Today I want to share a couple of the lessons I learned along the way.

First, obedience costs. My decision to step down as commander affected more than just me. It affected my family because we have served together in Awana for ten years and it affected the church. It’s not that they wanted to close Awana; they just didn’t have anyone who was called to step up and run it. I know they would’ve been happy to let me continue on as commander. But I couldn’t.

And because of that decision, sixty kids don’t have an Awana program to attend and our family had to find a new church home. (As members of the Northern California-Northern Nevada Ministry Team it’s important we attend a church that offers Awana.)

We know our sin can affect others, but the truth of the matter is that our obedience can too. But, like Abraham who left his home to follow God dragging his family along with him, we need to obey God and leave the results to Him.

The second thing I learned is that I wanted someone to be “wrong.” As I was watching the door on Awana slowly shut, I wanted it to be someone’s fault, but God graciously gave me a great story about a couple of birds to reassure me that wasn’t the case.

The cuckoo bird is a large bird and it lays its egg in an English sparrow’s nest and flies away. The sparrow hatches the egg as if it is one of her own. When the egg hatches, the large cuckoo bird pushes the smaller sparrows out of the nest or starves them out by hogging up all the food. The book said “You can always tell when there is a cuckoo bird in an English sparrow’s nest because the ground is littered with dead sparrows.”

What God showed me from that story is that neither of the birds is “wrong.” Each one is just doing what God has designed them to do. They just shouldn’t be doing it together.

And somehow that stupid story set me free. I knew I was doing what God was calling me to do and I had to trust that everyone else was doing the same. It was just time for us to go our separate ways. Maybe the greatest thing we can do for the kingdom is to obey God and give others the freedom to do the same.

Love,

Jill

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Why Zebras?

In the summer of 2008 I was looking at a herd of zebras in a wild animal park and commented to my son that I didn’t understand why the lions didn’t just eat the zebras because their markings make them so obvious. He told me that the opposite was actually true. God has marked zebras so when they hang together in a herd, their stripes create the illusion they are one large animal and therefore too big to attack. It is the lone zebra that is usually eaten. The same is true of Christians; we must hang together and encourage each other to fight off the lions. The lone Christian is easy prey.

1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Therefore:

Zebras was started to encourage women who desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, who want their lives to be transformed to honor God and who are willing to be “zebras” in a world of “horses”. Zebras exists to reassure you that you are not alone and that God has called you to be peculiar. As a peculiar person you should look different than the world

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Pastor Endorsement

Jill Getchell speaks from her heart and from God’s word in a way that brings encouragement and hope to God’s people. I’ve been blessed to hear her at Awana conferences, a women’s retreat, and from the pulpit of our church. I am confident your people will be equally blessed by spending the day with Jill at We Have Hope...your church will be blessed as well.

Pastor Al Marks

First Baptist Church Vallejo

I have known Jill for many years now. She truly desires to encourage the churches in our community and to strengthen the believers that attend our churches. Her passion for Jesus comes out in her ability to speak, and her heart is to encourage all those that attend to go back into their churches and be a blessing.

Pastor Kelly Patchin

New Harbor Community Church, Benicia

I believe women are vital to the unity and health of the church. They bear the image of God and serve Him in a great way within His church. Zebras has the ability to unite and excite women to grow in their faith and in their relationships with each other. In John 17:20 Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” One of Christ’s last prayers for His church is that they would be one as He is with the Father. And through our unity the world can come to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Unity is essential for a healthy church and healthy relationships between women. Zebras can stimulate healthy growth in the spiritual lives of the women in your church too. It is a blessing at New Harbor and I believe it would be a blessing for any pastor to have in their church.

Kelly Patchin, Pastor
New Harbor Community Church

Testimonies

The Zebra herd has given me the opportunity to be myself. I think we all have a face we put on for others, especially on Sunday. We don’t want to let anyone see the pain or hurt we’re suffering because we feel that it’s a reflection on our walk with Christ. I now have a group of loving Christian women with whom to share the joys and sorrows equally… Without the Zebras, I’d still be wearing my Sunday face. ...............Dawn C.

The Zebra ministry has deepened my relationship with Christ and the women at my church beyond what I thought possible... Most importantly, it has given me a safe place to be very, very real… I have learned how to be transparent and allow my fellow Zebra sisters to support me in prayer and God to minister to the deepest part of my soul--the part that needed it the most.................... Jennifer H.

When I came to New Harbor Church I was so lonely. I knew I needed the fellowship of other Christian women but did not know if I could break out of my self-imposed isolation. I felt unworthy of anyone’s friendship, let alone" godly people"... But Zebras has made me feel the true acceptance of these wonderful women. I have slowly opened my heart to them, with their encouragement and love! I don't have that heavy ache of solitude anymore. ................Barbara B.

I was with you in the beginning meetings of the herd and watched it evolve into a place where we as sisters in Christ could share our burdens without judgment. Being a Zebra helped me through a very trying time- Leap of Faith– leaving a relationship, selling my home and trusting in God. It was encouraging to know that I was not alone and being a part of a group where women could feel understood, comforted, and lifted up spiritually. .................Tracy M.

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