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On the dot, Mrs. Kim welcomed everyone. “Some of you are from out of town, so I want to introduce myself and my assistant.I’m Lydia Kim, and my husband is the senior pastor of Midtown Chapel, Pastor Eldon Kim.”
Mrs. Kim had always been humble and rarely ever introduced her husband as Dr. Kim, even though he had earned a Doctor of Divinity degree. As for Mrs. Kim herself, she had a master’s degree in counseling.
She pointed to Maggie. “This is my assistant, Maggie Jacobs. Many of you have seen her in the women’s ministry office when you come to talk to me or pick up props or flyers, and so forth.”
Maggie waved to everyone.
“Most of us here are Christian mothers, who want to come together to encourage one another,” Mrs. Kim continued. “We have all read Titus 2, in which older women are to mentor younger ones.”
Everyone nodded.
“That’s the purpose of our meeting today, to form a new ministry under the women’s ministry,” Mrs. Kim said. “To be sure, our church already ministers to moms. We help new mothers, provide relief for preschool moms, and stand alongside mothers of teenagers, as well as minister to empty-nesting moms. Plus, we all know about our church widows and homebound elderly mothers. On and on.”
Everyone clapped.
“So we need a name with ‘mom’ or ‘mothers’ in it, and we need to be more intentional, strategic, and practical about it.” Mrs. Kim looked around the room. “Today, we’re consolidating all our ministries to mothers under the banner of Midtown Moms. I know that some of our friends from overseas spell ‘moms’ as ‘mums,’ but our focus here is primarily in the local area and statewide. If this ministry takes off and expands overseas, we will call it Midtown Mothers internationally, and our church will be the case study to help other churches worldwide to minister to moms.”
Maggie started to take notes, as she always had in meetings.
“Everyone here has received a personal email from me about this ministry. If you are here today, you are the charter members of this new ministry that Pastor Kim has approved and budgeted under the women’s ministry beginning in January. Until the end of this fiscal year, the women’s ministry will shoulder this project under its current budget—since we will not have any conferences or workshops until next fall, at least.”
Conferences? Workshops? Online and offline?
Maggie nearly clapped as she listened to Mrs. Kim.
She loved scheduling women’s conferences at Midtown. She loved calling speakers, organizing activities, getting all the logistics together.
She felt a surge of excitement. She could totally serve God here—at her church home where she belonged.
Right away, she wanted to be a part of this ministry, even though it was primarily for mothers. She wanted to be involved in it, to help Mrs. Kim coordinate events. She knew God had gifted her some organizational skills that she could put to good use here, serving in the house of God.
She sensed the calling of God here at Midtown Chapel, not at Lakeside Resort working as Colette Fitzpatrick’s marketing assistant. She could easily use her college communications degree to serve God in either place, but she was sure that she could feel a stronger calling here.
What now?
Maggie had already quit her job as ministry assistant in the women’s ministry. Mrs. Kim had approved it, even though she was taking her time to find Maggie’s replacement.
While Mrs. Kim took questions about the new ministry forming, Maggie half listened and half prayed. She felt that perhaps her resignation from her church job had beenpremature. She had reacted to her own unrequited love in a way that affected her own calling and career.
And ministry.
Even though she could very well minister at Lakeside Chapel, a sister church of Midtown Chapel, it would be after work and on weekends. Her primary job when she moved to Lakeside, Florida, would be to cater to the customers of Lakeside Resort.
Or would she rather be in the Lord’s house every day of the week?
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
Her shoulders sagged as she remembered Psalm 27:4.
