Zebra Ministries

Monday, March 20, 2017

Good morning Zebras,

I love you. This is a topic I’d rather not even address, but knowing God, He isn’t going to give me anything new to say until I do. I know this is a sensitive subject for lots of people so please know any conviction you feel is not coming from me. It is not my job to judge the world, and I have no right or desire to throw stones at anyone. But I do have an obligation to God to say what He tells me to say.

However, if this z-mail encourages one person who is alone and waiting for the “right person” to wait a little longer or prevents one person from making a mistake they’ll later regret then it was worth writing.

Yesterday some of you might have noticed Sue invited me to go to the Disney Museum with her. It is sort of a running joke between us because she loves Disney and I am ambivalent at best. I told her she deserved a better companion because the things we treasure are enjoyed best when they are shared with people who really understand.

That’s one reason why I think God has told us not to be yoked together with unbelievers, not because they are “bad people” but because their lack of faith in something so important to us will end up dampening our joy. They won’t mean to, but they will.

Of course, the main reason, cited in the Bible, is because believers and nonbelievers don’t share the same goal. If your goal is to live a life that’s honoring to God, if your heart loves God more than anything else in the world, what do you really have in common with a person who doesn’t even believe He exists?

2 Corinthians 6:14: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

The answer of course is lots of things, but not the thing that matters most, our faith in Jesus Christ. And the thing about true faith is it affects everything we do, including how we spend our money and our time.

Paul loved God so much he chose not to marry rather than be distracted from his ambition to please God. He seemed to think remaining unmarried made life simpler.

1 Corinthians 7:32–35: “I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”

Paul wished all people were like him but he acknowledged his ability to remain unmarried and focused on God was a gift.

1 Corinthians 7:7 I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one person in this way and another in that way.

Most of us aren’t like Paul, we want to have someone to share our lives with. But if you have a passion for Jesus Christ, for your own sake, think long and hard before you get involved with a non-believer or even with someone who is obviously lukewarm because whoever you marry will influence your walk with God.

Genesis 2:24: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

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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