Alex: From Pressure to Provision

A Hard Season of Ministry

Since last summer, life and ministry have been unusually intense. There have been many projects in the church, many people to care for, and many reasons to pray. Again and again, I have felt the weight of feeding, tending, protecting, and leading.

This has not been a quiet season. There have been attacks from outside, including painful setbacks like the exclusion of our church soccer team from the league. At the same time, there have also been the pressures that often come when a church is moving forward to reach lost people.

We have seen sickness, mental breakdowns, challenged marriages, and many situations that required pastoral care, prayer, patience, and endurance. In a season like this, it becomes very clear that ministry is not abstract. It is deeply personal, spiritual, and costly.

Carrying Two Worlds at Once

In the middle of all this, I was still working in my secular job. That made the season even more difficult. My heart was increasingly drawn toward the needs in the church, but my time and strength were still divided.

Toward the end of last year, I tried to reduce my workload with my employer so I could give more attention to ministry. That request was rejected. So I continued carrying both worlds at once, even as the demands in the church kept growing.

By March, I was close to losing patience. I could feel how stretched things had become. But the Lord had His own timing.

God Opened a Door

Then something unexpected happened. Together with my whole team, I was laid off from my secular job. Humanly speaking, that could have looked like bad news. But the Lord used it differently.

Because the layoff came with a severance package, it became a real provision in the middle of uncertainty. What could have been a moment of fear became a moment to recognize the hand of God.

Praise the Lord.

I do not say that lightly. After months of pressure, this felt like the Lord making room in His own way and in His own time.

The Prayer Request Now

The prayer request now is very practical: please pray that I can raise the funding needed for a salary so that the church will be able to employ me.

We are a church in the city center, and that brings significant costs, especially rent and other ongoing expenses. Because of that, the church may not be in a position to fully carry this financially on its own, even though the ministry need is very real.

So we are asking the Lord to provide through His people.

Why This Matters

This is not mainly about making life easier for me. It is about freeing more time and strength for the work that is already in front of us.

There is a need for shepherding, prayer, leadership, protection, discipleship, and ongoing care for people in crisis. There is also a need to continue pressing forward in evangelism and in the work of reaching those who do not yet know Christ.

We want to be faithful in both directions: to care well for the flock and to keep moving outward toward the lost. That requires people who can give themselves to the work with endurance and clarity.

Please Pray

• Pray for open doors and the right supporters for ministry funding.
• Pray that the needed salary would be raised in full.
• Pray for strength, wisdom, and joy for me in this transition.
• Pray that our church would be able to continue caring for people well, even in costly seasons.
• Pray that the Lord would use this whole testimony to bring glory to Himself.

I am grateful. The last months have been heavy, but the Lord has been faithful. I believe He is leading, and I am asking Him to complete what He has begun.