Humility Leading to Unity

21 Mar Humility Leading to Unity

Hello everyone! My name is Ashley Ross. I am Justin’s better half and I am sure I have meet many of you reading this blog! I have the privilege of leading a women’s discipleship class in the Bordos ever Monday afternoon. We started meeting together back in the fall of 2009 with a group of around 5-8 women. Fast forward to 2016 and we typically have 25-30 women joining us each Monday. I wanted to use this week’s staff blog to provide a quick update about what is going on in the women’s discipleship group and how God continues to use the group to teach me! Over the past last year or so, one of my continued prayers for our group was unity. I wanted to see God unify our group in a way that would bring Him glory and cultivate spiritual growth in each individual involved. What God has taught me since then is that unity requires humility.

In January, I started my first set of online seminary classes in pursuit of a master’s degree. It has been a lot of work, but I am thankful for the opportunity to learn more about God and His Word. One of the classes that I just completed was Intro to the New Testament. It was fascinating. I learned that one of the purposes Paul had for writing the book of Philippians was to address some reports of disunity that he had received. He addressed a specific conflict between two women in the church, Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2-3). In the Philippian church, as well as in our churches today, we often find it hard to get along with one another. Why is this? According to Paul, the reason may be rivalry, conceit, selfish-ambition, or to sum it up in one word – pride. So what is the remedy? Paul’s answer is humility. Paul writes, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the others” (Phil. 2:3-4 NIV).

As I sit here and think about one word to characterize our group of women, the first word that comes to mind is humility. And the byproduct of that beautiful spirit of humility is unity. God has certainly answered my prayers because our group seems more unified than ever. There have been a lot of trials for the women during these past few months. As you all have heard, there has been evacuations and threats in the Bordos community. In the midst this difficult time, It has been incredible to witness these women look out for one another. They have helped their neighbors move their things, they’ve made space in their homes for other families to have a place to sleep, and they’ve helped rebuild and repurpose things for others. This has been such a testimony of what God has done in their lives. The way they treat each other and deeply care for one another today is a night and day comparison to the “every man for himself” mentality that ruled the Bordos several years ago when we first arrived.

We have begun the year with a 14-week study that covers the very foundational elements of our faith. Our group is very diverse and the level of spiritual maturity varies, so I wanted to use material that would be good newer believers to grow and learn, but also beneficial for believers who have been following Christ for years. Each week we are breaking into smaller groups to start, before come together at the end for a discussion. Something that has been on my heart, prompted by the example of Jesus, is to try to identify and develop leaders among our group. The vision is to raise up leaders so that they can take responsibility in teaching and leading the other women in the community. It’s been remarkable to see how God has been highlighting certain women in the group, who are now helping lead the small groups, volunteering to pray, and serving the community of women. It’s very exciting! This study should lead us right up until teams start coming this summer.

Our Bible study group has also started to visit the Asilo (a local elderly home that our sort term teams often visit) once a month. Taking the trip is a tremendous way for our group to serve together and put into practice the things we are learning and discussing each week. In the beginning, it was very difficult to get the women to share and participate, but over time it has been neat to see God use each of the women! Our services now are fully lead by the women from the Bordos. We have songs and worship, preaching, and personal testimonies shared. It is always a beautiful time together!

I close with saying “Thank you” for reading our blog. If you will, before you jump back into your day, please pause and take a few minutes to pray specifically for the group of women in the Bordos who are in community together. We will be meeting together at 2:30 this afternoon and our Today’s topic is “Putting Christ First.” Shall we all place HIM where He belongs this week!

Many Blessings, Ashley Ross