Think for a moment about who has influenced you in your faith journey. What was about who they were or are that matters? What characteristics do they bring that draw to them? What is the story of faith they hold?
We all have people who are faith mentors in our faith journeys. Old, young, it doesn’t matter. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles are all people who can be faith influencers. Colleagues, peers, friends, are all people who can be faith influencers. We don’t have to be famous, or educated, or amazingly skilled and gifted in a particular area. Generally, it is a sense of authenticity, of realness, and passion for who God is in our life that influences us, and others around us.
Think for a moment about your own journey of faith. Where and when the moments of deep growth, when something changed within you? You carry a story of faith, of God at work in your life. Your story can matter to someone else who is going through something similar. Your story can be for someone else the gift of grace they need to hear, the gift of love they need to experience.
As we have people who influenced us in our faith growth, we are influencers for others – whether we know it or not. Whether we want it or not. God invites us to share our stories of faith, not because we have a sense of self-importance, but because God invites us to participate in God’s work in the world, in our families, in our communities, with the people we share life with in all its different places.
You are invited to a challenge – ask someone about a time they knew God was with them. Or to share a time when a change happened in life. Ask them what brought about the change, what was important for them in the change, was God a part of it and how. And listen, just listen to the story of faith that emerges. Maybe their story is meant for you too . . .
If you would like Denise to visit your congregation, to listen and share around leadership formation, contact us via the Presbytery Office 6331 9784 or Denise 0427 647 395 or denise.savage@ victas.uca.org.au