“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecc 3:1)
I accepted a ministry position about six months ago after the Lord made it clear that He wanted me to step into a Missionary role in this season of my life instead of focusing on building my business.
I’ve been in various corporate and non-profit roles most of career. Only one of those positions required me to raise my own salary through donor support, however that was 30 years ago and that position was for less than a year. So it was an interesting experience having to make a decision this year to put my business on the back burner and begin to ask others to financially invest in the work I am doing for the Lord in my new role as a Story Coach with StoryDrive/3:15 Project.
What’s funny is that without knowing it, the Lord has used the intense experiences I’ve faced over the last 10 years (in both my personal and professional life) to build my faith in preparation of this new career opportunity.
Entrepreneurship Laid A Foundation For Missionary Work
Owning my own business since 2008 required that I generate my own income through the services and products I provided as a Professional Coach, Trainer and Author. That entrepreneurial journey has been quite a roller coaster. Most years I broke even or showed a minimal profit margin, and yet it was the most satisfying career I have had in my adult life.
The biggest lesson I learned was this: I can’t control the outcome, no matter how hard I try. All I can do is proactively make good choices and surrender the results of my choices to the Lord. He knows what I need and when I need it – which sometimes meant the Lord delayed my success in order to provide valuable lessons I needed to learn first .
Trusting the Lord and surrendering the outcome to Him as an Entrepreneur is a perfect training ground for how to develop a “Kairos Timing” lifestyle. It is the same type of surrender a Ministry Worker needs to have when approaching fundraising activities.
Kairos Timing
“Kairos” is a Greek word which means “opportune time, the right moment, a favorable moment.” In other words, Kairos is a divine moment when things come together in just the right way.
The Bible contains many descriptions of Kairos moments:
- Luke 4:13 shows how the devil departed from Jesus after tempting him in order to wait for a more opportune time.
- Habakkuk speaks of an appointed time and reminds us to wait for it in faith: “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
- Galations 4:4 explains that God waited until the perfect moment in Israel’s history (“when the fullness of time had come”) to bring His Son from Heaven to Earth in human form.
- Psalm 102:13 shows a specific time frame He designated to show favor to His people
Waiting for the Lord to meet a need or a desire can be really frustrating – especially when you are waiting months or years for something to happen. However, if we rest in the Lord and simply cooperate with what He is doing on His time frame, we will receive strength through His spirit to remain content in the wait instead of stressing about our circumstances.
The Art of Waiting
In the Lord’s eyes, a corporate executive, a Starbucks Barista, and a Ministry Worker are all equally important to Him. He knows each of their needs and His Word confirms over and over that He WILL provide for them.
We all know that concept in principle, but our level of actual belief of that knowledge is clearly evident by how we respond whenever we experience a gap between what we need and when we receive it.
I’ll give you a personal example. Most of my life whenever I had a need, I would ask the Lord and then wait. If that need wasn’t met in a time frame that I deemed acceptable, my waiting would turn into begging, and then into utter frustration. When I finally received the provision I requested, I would heartily thank Him and move forward with my life. That cycle repeated itself many times a year as new needs came up.
My waiting cycle is completely different now because of the faith journey I’ve gone through over the last seven years. Now, whenever I have a need, I really do believe the Lord will provide and my response clearly aligns with that belief.
Today my waiting cycle looks like this: 1) I thank the Lord for everything He’s done in the past to take care of me; 2) I ask Him specifically for what I need or want, giving Him full permission to deliver it in whatever form HE knows is best for my circumstance; 3) I accept that His time table is much better than my own, and do my best to remain at peace trusting He is working behind the scenes until that “Kairos Moment” arrives which fills that need.
The Kairos Moment Between Donor and Ministry Worker
My support raising activities are rooted in a “Kairos” mindset. As I talk to others about my Missionary role with StoryDrive, my only responsibilities are to share the vision for why the Lord led me into this new career path, the Kingdom impact and goals we are seeking to reach, and answer whatever questions come up during that discussion.
Once I ask that person to prayerfully consider coming on board as one of my monthly Ministry Partners, my work is done. There is no pressure to get a “yes” because the Lord is responsible for the outcome.
This may sound crazy, but I applaud the people who don’t shy away from saying “no” or “not now” after prayerfully asking the Lord what He wants them to do. Unanswered calls and emails after ministry support conversations require continual follow up because I don’t know what their answer is. I’d rather have a solid “no” than silence any day. :) Their “no” doesn’t affect my relationship with them either because I know the Lord will eventually bring someone else who is a “yes” in His “Kairos” time.
As I wait after each conversation, I calmly rest in the Lord, trusting He’s going to pay my bills however He decides to do it. And month after month, HE DOES!
Surrendering everything I have to the Lord as I wait for those “Kairos Moments” when Ministry Partners say “yes” is not always easy. However, the Lord never promised any of us an easy life. In fact, He made it pretty clear in John 16:33 that “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The key to waiting well until those “Kairos Moments” of provision arrive are two simple words from that verse: IN ME (the Lord). We can’t wait well in our own strength…it must be through His strength. Once we truly latch onto that reality, waiting becomes a spiritual exercise that builds our faith muscles to provide even more strength “in the Lord” the next time we need it.
A Divine Kingdom Partnership
The Lord never wanted the relationship between a Ministry Partner (the Giver) and the Missionary (the Receiver) to be a mere financial exchange. Instead, He designed it to be a divine “Kingdom Partnership” which allows each person to be a gift to the other by embodying the message of Psalm 24:1 which says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
That type of Partnership is demonstrated as follows: The Receiver serves the Giver by committing to intercede for and generously love and serve the Ministry Partner in whatever way the Lord leads, because He knows what is needed in this season of the Giver’s life. The Ministry Partner in turn serves the Missionary by providing financial support from the money the Lord provides to him/her year after year. Their relationship becomes a divine exchange with Jesus at the center.
Another advantage of this Kingdom Partnership is that when both the Giver and Receiver trust the Lord to meet their needs, the Missionary is not affected if the Ministry Partner diverts their charitable gift to someone or something else at some point in the future. The Missionary simply trusts the Lord will fill that financial gap with someone else through a new Kingdom Partnership. The Giver-Receiver relationship still remains valuable to both people after the financial support ends because that relationship is not financially focused, but Kingdom focused based on 1 Tim 6:17-19.
A Humble Request
Will you prayerfully consider financially investing in my Story Coach position through the resources the Lord have given you by becoming a Ministry Partner with me?
When you invest in what the Lord is doing through our ministry, your gift becomes a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord as described in 2 Corinthians 9:11 which says, “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Below are links about the ministry for you to review before you prayerfully go before the Lord to receive His answer.
If you feel the Lord leading you to say “yes”, follow the directions in the picture underneath those links.
If the Lord says “no,” can you ask Him to bring to mind others in your sphere of influence who may be a good introduction for me?
Regardless of what your decision is, may the Lord bless you richly and give you all the desires of your heart! :) ~Kris Castro
StoryDrive/3:15 Project is a ministry that works with churches, Sunday school classes, small groups and other Christian organizations helping people know and share their stories.
- Jenise Walter Story (3:25 min)
- Impact After Sharing Story: Chris Hornsby (2:27 min)
- Travis Dommert’s story (5:53 min)
- Paula Kast’s story (6:13 min)
- Thank You From Rev. Stirling Smith (2:01 min)
- StoryDrive/3:15 Project Overview (3 min)
If you prefer to give another way other than the option above, contact Kris at 404-551-3601 or by email: Kris @ BeginToShift .com
1 thought on “Kairos Moments”
Kris, thank you for stepping out in faith, it’s been such a joy to see you share the vision and inspire others to join you. Your empathetic teaching and coaching style and gifts make you a much needed warrior. For every story the ministry has the honor of capturing, there is a bigger story of all the people that had to come together in faith and intentionality to make it possible. We are thankful that God has placed you in the middle of this unfolding story! We ALL can help the ripple effect continue like raindrops coming together to form a raging river of love!
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