Unveiled

Victory Church has witnessed incredible life changing growth within individuals who have participated in their men's mentoring ministry, Men of Iron, they started a few years ago.  It has also served to highlight even more that there's a desperate need within our society...
          ...for relationship.
          ...for accountability.
          ...to have a safe and trustworthy confidant.
          ...to be transparent and real.
          ...for discipleship.
          ...to know that someone truly cares.
          ...for strengthening God-centered spiritual foundations.
          ...for encouragement.
          ...to know that we don't have to walk through life's struggles alone.

Its success has now become a catalyst to begin branching out into other demographics.  And I'm so excited about the upcoming launch of Unveiled, the new women's mentoring ministry, that's starting up in September! 

In preparation for its launch, a mentor training meeting was held this last weekend.  Not only was I blown away by the hearts of the women who are heading up this ministry, but I was overwhelmed and literally brought to tears by the passion and heart of each woman who will be stepping up to give of themselves and their time to be mentors.

As an introduction, we were all supposed to say our name and tell everyone a "fun fact" about ourselves, but what actually ended up happening was so much better than what was originally intended. One by one, each woman stood up and shared their excitement over this ministry. And as we went around the room, it was incredible how many similar sentiments were being expressed among the group.

As each woman shared their heart, it quickly became apparent that many of us on some level had at some point felt inadequate to fill this role.  There were thoughts of: I'm not trained for this.  I won't know what to say.  What do I have to offer?  What if I don't know the right answers?  But the amazing thing is that God has made it very clear that we don't need to have all the right answers.  We just need to be available.  We just need to listen.  We just need to be Jesus in the flesh.  It sounds so simple, but in my own life, I've found no greater comfort than hearing from someone who cares and being encouraged to trust that God is in control and loves me.

I also loved how many women shared how circumstances of their past, albeit painful and difficult, have served to not only help them grow as individuals and in their relationship with Christ, but they now recognize how God is able to turn those trials around to be used to help others.  I've seen it time after time.  As we're willing to open up and share, God turns those past hurts into a tool to help heal others.  We all have imperfections.  We've all done things we're not proud of.  We've all had to face hard situations in life.  And, if we're willing to be transparent and real, God uses all of those trials to make us better equipped to take someone else under our wing and walk through life with them. He makes us better equipped to empathize.  He makes us better equipped to know how to uphold them in prayer.  He makes us better equipped to guide them toward Christ and His loving arms.

As the ministry's mission states:  Empowered by the Spirit, we desire to mentor women in the Word of God so that they experience a transformation of heart, mind, and lifestyle. It's my prayer that as each woman involved in this ministry offers up her time and her heart, we would all be woven into more beautiful women of God. 

All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror.  We are being transformed into that same image.