Perseverance in Ministry: We Did It Together

We Mastered it!

After 8 years of coursework, a pandemic, a burnout, a semester on the bench, and nights writing papers in a chemo suite, we graduated! I say “we” because Nicole carried this just as much as I did. It’s been a long road, and this season of perseverance in ministry has shaped me more than any classroom ever could.

When We Started

When I enrolled, Nicole was homeschooling our older two boys and chasing a toddler. Our church held one Sunday gathering under a different name. Neither of us knew what the next 8 years would hold. What we knew was that God had called us forward, and we were going to keep walking.

Course by course, challenge by challenge, Nicole was always there. Encouraging me through every paper. Holding down the home when ministry demanded my time and energy. Championing the work even when she couldn’t see the finish line any more than I could.

What God Built Along the Way

Looking back, the degree didn’t happen in spite of the chaos. It happened through it. God gave me more than enough content for every course. A church revitalization gave me real examples instead of theoretical case studies.

There were leadership challenges, congregation growth, governance decisions, and staffing struggles. But every hard lesson handed me material I could write with confidence because I had lived it. I didn’t see it at the time, but God was gracious to allow these seasons.

Fast forward, and the church that once held a single gathering is now home to a couple of English gatherings and a Filipino congregation. Under a new name, we’ve experienced growth across every metric. God built something around me while I was studying how to build.

Papers Written in a Chemo Suite

My final year was the hardest and the most refining. As I stepped into what felt like my healthiest season of ministry and life, Nicole stepped into cancer. Surgery, rounds of chemotherapy, then radiation. The long hours in the chemo suite are the most memorable. I’d unfold a little table beside her chair, open my laptop, and write papers while she slept.

I now see that God had, in his mercy, given me a centred and steady heart for exactly the season Nicole needed me most. The Apostle Paul’s words come to mind:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 

It doesn’t always look the way we expect, but this truth always proves true in the end. Looking back, I can see how carefully he arranged it all.

We Mastered It

Yesterday, the 8-year journey ended. Our oldest is about to graduate from high school. Our middle son is in mid-stream of high school. Nicole is homeschooling our youngest, managing a full home, recovering, and getting stronger each and every day.

Nicole stood beside me as I held the degree. It’s a picture of two people who have walked through a lot, held together by the grace and power of Jesus. Not perfect people. Not people who had it all figured out. Just people who kept going because he kept providing.

All praise to Christ our King.

If you’re in a long season of faithfulness with no finish line in sight, keep going. The work matters. The character being formed matters. God sees it all, and he wastes nothing.

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