Zebra Ministries: Following God

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Following God

2 Timothy 4:9–11a (ESV)

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me.

Good morning Zebras,

God used to tell people to do crazy things. This morning I was reading about Ezekiel, who was told by God to lie on his right side for 390 days, during which he could eat only one eight ounce meal a day cooked over manure. Weird. But what was Ezekiel’s reward? He was used by God as a prophet to the nation of Israel.

And what about the disciples? When Jesus called them, He told them to leave their jobs and their families to follow Him. They gave up everything to follow Christ. And what was their reward? God used them to spread the Good News to the world.

But that was during Biblical times. It doesn’t seem like God is asking for that much these days. It seems, when you really look at the way we live that God has changed His mind and that He’s willing to share the spotlight, to let us have a little bit of the world and a little bit of Him. Or is He?

Yesterday I went for a walk and I hadn’t gone very far before I was joined by a stray dog. He was a big golden retriever, very friendly, who I stopped to pet. After which he decided to join me. Sometimes he walked a little ahead, sometimes he walked a little behind and sometimes he walked right at my side, but he kept checking to see if I was still there.

It was obvious he lived in the area because he seemed to know where we were going, that is until I took a turn to the right and started heading down the hill to the park. At that point he sat down and looked at me. I stopped and petted him one more time and then continued on my way. He, however, didn’t come. He sat and watched me until I turned a corner but he wasn’t willing to walk alongside me any further.

On my way home I started thinking about that dog and how different it would have been if it had been Joshua, my incredibly loyal little dog. Joshua never would’ve stopped; he would’ve kept following me no matter where I was going.

And that’s because Joshua knows and loves me. To the stray I was just a person to keep him company for a short while; to Joshua I am the “reason he exists.”

This started me thinking...

Maybe it isn’t that God has quit asking to us to follow Him and do crazy things, maybe it’s just that we don’t know Him well enough to hear Him, or maybe we don’t love Him enough to go.

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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