This year we celebrate 20 years of ministry at VantagePoint3. Hard to believe. 20 years of helping people get a better vantage point on these three questions:
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- Who is God?
- Who am I?
- What am I to do with my life?
There is so much for which we as a ministry need to celebrate and give thanks, both to the Lord and to the many leaders who have facilitated these VP3 groups for the last 20 years. God has been up to something very good…
Just this last week a friend forwarded me a pastor’s recent perspective as he looked around his church community. “Honestly, the people who are growing during this pandemic are the ones who went through VP3. They have a deep sense of abiding.”
This story surfaces what I know to be true in the vast majority of participants and facilitators I have come across over the last 16 years. People who walk through The Journey become more rooted, more self-motivated, more self-feeding in their walk with the Lord; over and again there is deepened awareness of God’s loving activity in their lives and in their communities. They are growing people.
We came into 2020 celebrating the many stories of facilitators discovering the deep joy of guiding others on the journey. Little did we know eight months ago that this life-upon-life, guiding others’ work would be so important for the year ahead. In January we thought about our 20th anniversary primarily as a celebration for our VP3 community. Today we think about our 20th anniversary as also a challenge to our VP3 community.
And what is the challenge to our VP3 community? The Spirit of God is inviting us, for such a time as this, to give of ourselves in ways he has been preparing us for all along the way (Eph. 2:10): our time, our money, our attention, our presence.
We as a VP3 team are more compelled than ever during this COVID-19 season, to cultivate and encourage this focused, relational work that Randy Reese founded and so many others have built upon, contributed, and participated in for 20 years.
The pressing question that is penned out on a 3×5 card sitting on my desk is this: amidst this crucible of 2020, how can we journey with others in a way that will help them continue and persevere in their faith? 
Many of you know how timely and life-transforming The Journey was for you. And it sure seems like the time is right for a lot of adults today. As we all struggle to make sense of the changes around us, we hunger for honest conversations that are inviting, not polarizing; we long for personally meaningful conversations about God, ourselves, and where we fit in God’s kingdom work in the world at this peculiar juncture in time.
So we are asking you to prayerfully look around your sphere of influence: Who are you noticing in the everydayness of your week? Might the Spirit be tapping on your shoulder? Maybe it is time for you to simply walk more intentionally as a friend or spiritual companion with those few people that keep coming to mind? Or maybe it is actually the right time for you to pull together a group and lead a VP3 group?
The world needs leaders who befriend and mentor and come alongside others. Beyond simply telling people what to think or what to do, we need men and women to provide a leadership of companionship amidst the great difficulties and possibilities of this time. Let us be such people… in Jesus’ name.
As we look forward to the ministry year ahead, we recognize it is going to be, as with so many other things currently, an unpredictable year. We would be grateful if you would consider as one-time donation or perhaps initiate a monthly partnership with us if you are able. Let the ripple continue…
