Seasons of Gifts & Grace
Dear Friends of the Ministry,
Every time around this year, it is our custom and even tradition to pause with family and friends – to remember, give thanks, and celebrate the gifts and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not that we don’t do this other times of the year, but it is good to have moments of pause and to engage our hearts afresh – to have seasons.
The Old Testament is replete with examples of God-ordained seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Life is full of seasons whether by our own making or God’s unforeseen providence. The ordinances of God through the Lord’s supper and baptism give us moments to pause and remember, to rejoice and celebrate in the gifts and grace of our good God. Seasons are God-ordained.
Here at Vision4Living Ministries, we are pausing this season to remember the goodness of God to us over the last 15 years and counting. Just a few weeks ago, we completed our 16th annual Passion4Christ Summit. When we started this resource – designed to affect and equip the next generation with the gospel – we had no assumptions that 16 Summits later, we would be looking back and reviewing the rewarding blessing of what God has done. The Lord blessed our time together. The preaching of God’s word, the unity of his people, and the fellowship around the table served as the backdrop of hearts being challenged and equipped to think through God’s truth and its implications for our lives.
This year’s Summit was particularly sweet and memorable. It marked the final time we will be gathering specifically at Pleasant Hill Outdoor Center – home to P4C for 15 total Summits. When we announced this change to the attendees, it was met with so many mixed emotions. For many of our attendees who have been coming the last few years, it has been their Ebenezer – a place of remembrance of all that God has done in their lives. As our time ended this year, what a joy it was to hear testimonies of these seasons of God’s work through P4C. One gentleman recalled to us how he could point to different spots on the property where God had met with him and worked in his heart over the years. Another attendee recounted to us how P4C and the subsequent themes each year had been the crucial formative layers of foundation in his young Christian life.
For me, there was a particular antidotal moment of remembering. As Micah and I did one final walk through of the lodge at Pleasant Hill and made our way out to the van to pull away for the last time, I looked Micah and simply said, “The Lord has been good to us here.”
The Lord has been good to us. When we look back over the last 15 years, we are moved by the memories of what God has done in over 600+ alumni who have attended P4C. The God-given commission was to equip the next generation. By God’s grace, that mission has been accomplished and will continue long after P4C doesn’t even exist. We trust his promise that his word will not return void.
However, Lord willing, this does not mark the end, only a new chapter. We are thrilled to announce that starting in 2024, P4C will have a new home at Camp Lutherhaven in Albion, IN! Our prayer is that this location will be a new place of remembrance of God’s working in the next generation.
Finally, we rejoice and give thanks this season for the continued blessing of our Podcast ministry. Cross Talk continues to serve as a resource for communicating the biblical foundations of transferring all that we hold dear in Christ to the next generation. Our listenership more than doubled this year, and we expanded our content by hosting various guests on the show to talk personally about the truth we tackle each week.
As you can see, we have so much to rejoice and give thanks for this Reasons to Give season. As we remember God’s goodness to us over the last 15 years, we want to ask you to either continue to partner with us or join us for the first time through prayerful and financial investment. Vision4Living Ministries continues to affect the next generation year after year through God’s blessing in your giving. When you give during our Reasons to Give season, your gift is directly tied to the testimonies of God’s grace above. So prayerfully join us this season, and together, let’s continue the next chapter that God will write in this new season of ministry.
Daniel Cavanaugh
