Bringing Healing to the World

The Calling

In the summer of 2019 I was working as an accountant with Huntsville Coca-Cola, as I walked out the door for lunch I had such a heaviness. This longing inside me began to cry out from the depths of my heart.

The calling was silent, yet so very loud. It echoed in my mind so powerfully to “follow Jesus” and to “work for God”. I couldn’t wrap my head around what that meant. I was a believer, I did follow Jesus, but it was something deeper. Like the calling was more of a beckoning of grace that overwhelmed my soul.

I continued to my car and opened the door. I sat down and began to weep like a child suddenly torn from his home. I wasn’t where I was meant to be, where I was called to be. It felt so odd, because I had a great job, I loved my coworkers, I was on a fast track to advancement in the company and the pay was great. But there I was feeling like I was on a desert island, desperately trying to find my way home.

I HAD to do something for Christ. Something specific that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Nothing else could fill that void, but I had no idea what I was looking for. I scoured the internet looking for “Christian Jobs” but all I found was pastor, youth minister, worship leader and a slew of other things that just were not quite right.

I returned to my search about every six months, hopeful that something had changed, there was something I had missed. Finally in February of 2024 I found Communitas International.

At that point I was the Controller for Huntsville Coke and I had gained a lot of experience in business as well as having obtained my MBA. The open position was for Director of Operations, and after looking it over I realized this was it! This is what I had been waiting for, what I had been called to do!

Ministry Work

I had never worked in ministry before, so the idea was a bit daunting even if it is exactly what I’m meant to do.

Communitas is a rather small organization with a big reach. They are a missions and church planting organization with teams in North America, Russia, and much of Europe.

After I met with several of operations and finance teams I realized how difficult it is to get missionaries to their destinations and get them the resources they need in order to do what God has called them to do.

The people at Communitas are is amazing but the job is extensive. Better put, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” There is so much that can be done with additional direction and help.

The Organization

Communitas has been around for over 50 years and currently have over 150 members serving in 15 countries in world wide.

The mission of Communitas International is to equip believers to start communities of faith that love like Jesus in their neighborhoods.

Communitas reaches those in need by developing and cultivating relationships within communities that lack a strong faith presence. This is done through actively seeking opportunities to live out opportunities to apply God’s word to real life situations.

It all begins with serving the community through cleanup projects, tutoring, feeding the hungry or any number of ways. From there the associates may develop a small bible study or even go directly toward building a church, but the focus is on discipleship and true fellowship regardless of individuals backgrounds or circumstances.

Every time the process is unique to the circumstance, but each time it all begins with sharing the love of God and ends with a family of believers supporting and growing with one another.

The need

People need that community and support so much. Bearing the pains of life is hard, but its unbearable alone. One example I’ve seen of what it can look like without that is actually with my own brother

When I was 17 years old I sat up in bed in the middle of the night with a deep dread in the pit of my stomach. I was just overwhelmed by this overwhelming fear. I tried to dismiss it and fall asleep but just as I rolled over and wrapped up in my blankets, trying to soothe the knots in my stomach my older brother came into my room.

It was the first time I had seen him cry. He was there to tell me goodbye. He was 25 years old at the time and the 3rd of 4 boys .The oldest two were very close and he felt like an unwanted third wheel. & couldn’t get over the mistakes he had made, and felt like he had wasted his life.

He had gotten addicted to alcohol and experimented with drugs. He’d lost several jobs for fighting and he thought that God would never forgive him for the things he had done.

He and I were close, we always had been but otherwise he felt totally alone. He had tried going to church but all he saw were clicks and checkboxes and judgement. He didn’t see the Holy Spirit have free reign to change lives, discipleship, or the community that welcomes in the hurting.

That night I stayed up until dailight begging my brother for his life, trying to bring him some sort of hope to hold onto, a reason to stay. I was so scared to lose him, I needed my big brother. All my words were amounted to little more than trying to fix a shattered heart with band aids.

He left at around 6:30 that morning to go end his life. He had the spot picked out that had some sort of meaning to him. Thankfully things didn’t go as he planned, something changed his mind that day and he came home. I believe he really did intend to end his life that day, but I also believe that he just needed to feel like he was worth something. To not be alone in a world of 7 billion people. He needed support and encouragement, but up until then had only gotten judgment and condemnation.

He’s still alive and well today, but the pain in his eyes and the shake in his voice, and the thought that things could have gone so very differently still haunt me to this day.

But its not just him

People are alone, needing hope, and in pain to the point of ending their own lives.

in a 2022 study on loneliness in the EU an average of 13% of people felt lonely all or most of the time. It was the worst in Ireland at 20%. 2019 study on suicide among non-theists and Christians .The lowest risk of suicide was among those in the conservative Christian group, who in the fully adjusted models were about 30% less likely to complete suicide – opposed to those with no religion.

We have a large presence in Europe and according to a 2019 survey about Religion in the European Union Christianity is the largest religion in the European Union accounting 64% of the EU population, down from 72% in 2012.

Without organizations like communitas it is likely to continue to decline and those hurting will miss out on that help, community, and love of Christ that they desperately need. There are people everywhere, but its still so easy to feel totally alone, looking to feel the void but never getting what you need.

Its like being on an island, thirsting to death and there is water everywhere but it is stagnant and dirty. You drink it because its all you have, it quenches your thirst for a moment, but it always makes you sick. The more you drink the worse you feel.

1, 3, and 5 Year Goals

My vision is for Communitas to double the number of missionaries, build tight-knit communities of believers that point each other and their neighborhoods to Christ.

Currently the plan is to increase the number of churches planted year over year.

My role in this ministry is the Director of Operations. The purpose of the role is to create an engine that will fuel the impact of our associates on the field. In other words, my job is to make sure the resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible. We can’t make it our mission to love like Jesus and not show that love to the members out in the field that are working to share the gospel.

To do this I would like to streamline communications and processes in order to allow the team to do more with the available resources and provide greater support to our missionaries.

Year one I would like to have the team more unified toward specific goals and solving sticking points within the organization. My goal is to have a system for identifying issues and opportunities, dividing responsibilities, and closing projects.

Year 3 I would like to have processes condensed and key roles to have contingencies for any vacancies of the positions. I would like to have established measurable metrics/KPI’s in order to monitor operations and make adjustments.

By year 5 I would like to see us double the number of missionaries sent/churches established as compared to my start date.

What that process would look like

In order to achieve these goals we will need to evaluate existing processes, meet with the teams and analyze any potential improvements. I would come together with Communitas leadership and develop a regular and open communication where we bring issues to the group weekly or monthly and create an accountability among the team.

Each member would receive an action item that helps to solve an issue or work toward a goal. This item would be due at the next meeting.

Essentially we would identify an area of improvement “count the cost” and not just bury our talents, but use them to bring a return on what God has given us and hold each other accountable to this.

The missionaries are on the front lines and our job is to support them and give them what they need in order to fulfill their calling and meet these needs. This strategy keeps the needs front and center and helps us to overcome challenges that may become obstacles for the field teams. Additionally, this strengthens our reach to new missionaries who God is calling to do this work, and it helps us to utilize the resources we are given more effectively and efficiently so that we can send them to where God is leading them.

The Best Parts

The most rewarding part of all this is that we have the chance to

See the healing that only God can give. Lives are not only changed but they are saved and shared. There is much to be said for a life worth living, and I believe that is what is found in Jesus.

I love that with Communitas It’s not just a message and then goodbye either, its building Christ centered communities. It is truly “not good for man to be alone” as we see in Genesis, and in this ministry we’re forming genuine connections between believers and giving them the discipleship they need.

Communitas is a support funded operation, so every bit of this effort is dependent on families like yours to partner in bringing hope and healing worldwide.

So I invite you today to be a part of what God is doing through Communitas and through my role as Director of Operations, whether that be through prayer or through giving.

To donate you can follow this link Support the Mission