Reflections from Year 1
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord.” - Zechariah 4:6
It’s our birthday! This month, Restor(y) turns one year old. As I type that sentence, I am finding my eyes filled with tears of gratitude. When I set out to start Restor(y), it was out of a conviction that God desired to heal and restore his church and a personal calling to “pastor pastors and guard Christ’s bride.” To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I have the trauma informed education and training, the ministry training, but I knew absolutely nothing about starting a non-profit. Yet, when God calls us he is faithful to provide all we need. He surrounded me with a wonderful coach, an encouraging mentor, and a wonderfully skilled board to begin this work. With their support and wisdom, we were able to establish Restor(y) as an official 501(C)(3) and begin building relationships with those God has called us to serve.
Over this last year we have learned so much. We have been blessed to come alongside over 200 pastors and church leaders to train and equip them in numerous aspects of trauma informed ministry. We have met countless lovers of Christ’s church who desire to see healing and restoration come. We have been inspired by the many pastors we have met who want to shepherd hurting people well, who want to end religious trauma and spiritual abuse. To say this work has been a joy would be an understatement.
Throughout it all, we have remained committed to walking with the local church on the hope-filled journey of restoration so that every church might embody the hope and healing of Jesus. We love this work. We love getting to be a part of what God is doing to restore his church. We see the news, we hear the heartbreaking stories of suffering within (and sometimes caused by) the church. Yet we remain deeply committed to the beauty of the bride of Christ knowing that trauma does not need to write the church’s story.
As we look towards our second year of ministering to the church in this way, we are reminded of Zechariah 4:6 in which the Lord reminds the prophet Zechariah that the good work of restoration is done, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” As we consider the work God has called us to do, we are reminded that we can do none of it by our own strength and power (a refreshing message to those of us wary of abuses of power, but more on that next week). We must be fully dependent on the Spirit of the Lord. That is the posture in which we want to enter this year, one fully dependent on the leading of the Spirit. When faced with a need as great as that of trauma within the church, the temptation is often to operate out of human wisdom and strategy. To help us resist this temptation, we are asking for your help. As we enter into our second year, we are looking for people to join us in this work as prayer partners. Consider it your birthday gift to us! When you sign up to be a prayer partner, you will receive monthly prayer emails and updates as well as a monthly video devotional to encourage you to remain fully dependent on the Spirit of the Lord in your own life and ministry. We would love for you to join us in this way.
Thank you for loving Jesus and his church.
Towards a New Story,
Rev. Kayleigh Clark
