Endless Intentionality

In a couple of recent M3 Weekly articles (“Finding Meaning in Mission” and “Challenges and Joys in the Journey”), we met David and Grace, missional enterprise leaders seeking to honor God and bring his transformation to their own people group in a difficult part of the world. Today, we conclude our interview, as David shares about the things that have helped sustain them in their journey. The transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

M3 Weekly: You, Grace, and your team are like a beacon, like a lighthouse, to a culture that does not have a healthy foundation for life. But for you and your family to stay healthy and continue to be that beacon, what kinds of support have meant the most?

David: The number one thing is that we have a good community, a church community. We have six or seven families together. And my wife and I have learned that having mentors has really helped us.

It took me years to realize it, but the affirmation from mentors is powerful. The way those mentors have affirmed me helps me to see others differently, to see people as who they are in God’s image. I’m still practicing… but it’s powerful.

The key is that the support is intentional. We’ve been receiving intentional support, time, and investment, and that’s been like a lifeline for us.

For years, we felt like we didn’t deserve that kind of support. However, the unconditional support and endless intentionality we’ve received communicate to us, ‘Yes, you do deserve support. We’ll stick with you. We’ll be with you forever.’ That really nurtured our souls and lifted our self-image.

It helped us see that we don’t have to succeed in our business to hold our heads up. Now, when we want to support others, we want to emulate that kind of support. We want to focus on people.

M3 Weekly: Are there steps that you take as an individual, as a couple, and as a family that help you maintain spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational health?

David: I have a little theory about different levels of happiness, so I’m practicing that and trying to tap into all levels all the time. We need a little excitement, a sense of responsibility, and good relationships. On an even deeper level, we need a sense of morality and meaning in life. But ultimately, we need God, because all these other things, even the accomplishment of our mission, won’t ultimately satisfy us. Only God can.

In the Bible, Nehemiah says many times, “God, remember.” Nehemiah sensed that what he was doing might fail. He knew that it wouldn’t last long. Nehemiah was just building a wall, trying to revive the people, but he knew that it wasn’t enough. Jesus is the eventual accomplisher, not Nehemiah.

Maybe I’m like Nehemiah, but I’m glad that I was born after Jesus.

So, for me, it comes down to this: I can find happiness in being a husband. I can be a happy father. But eventually, I only need to be the son of God.

Verse of the Week:

Endurance in mission is sustained not by outcomes but by grace—by communities that remind us who we are, mentors who call out the image of God in us, and a joy that rests in being known by our heavenly father. May God’s endless intentionality toward us sustain us for his glory.