Trail Blazing
Corey Nieman / Caring Network and Recovery Church Pastor
Pioneering efforts can be thrilling, rewarding, exhausting, and risky ... and after planting a Recovery Church I can see why. There are big sacrifices to be made emotionally, physically, and spiritually. This includes giving up time with family, recreational activities, invitations to events, etc. As a kingdom building endeavor, you become a bigger target for the enemy trying to trip you up. When pioneering, I often think of the old computer game, the Oregon trail. In school we learned quickly that exploration and pioneering has its costs … like possibly dying by snakebite, flash flood, or dysentery. I was programmed as a kid to think pioneering was kind of insane. As an adult I got to visit part of the Oregon Trail that Lewis and Clark traded on when we took a cross-country trek through Nebraska. This monument was a meeting post back in the day because you could see it from miles around and did not need GPS to find it.
When choosing the location of Recovery Church God gave me a vision for where it was to be planted, down to the building. The first nine months were amazing with seven salvations, and three baptism candidates, and so many people celebrating sobriety milestones. These are all fantastic works of the Holy Spirit, and I am grateful to have been a part of them. However, over the next few months we lost our Worship Arts husband and wife team as they took a full-time worship role in the Catskills. A few of our leaders have gotten too busy to continue. Some of our congregants have experienced relapses, cancer, and financial woes. We personally lost some family members and supporters of this ministry who passed away. The going is starting to get a bit tougher now. Yet 2 Chronicles 15:7 spurs us on to be strong and not give up.
As we look ahead to the one-year mark, I am starting to dream about what else is possible. Who will God send as a new worship leader? How will He provide for some of our leadership gaps? Now that the ministry is birthed, what will it take to grow it? Could we possibly plant another Recovery Church in Niagara County? Only God knows what is in store. Yet He has brought us this far. With your continued help in supporting Recovery Church through prayers, finances, and referrals, we will continue to blaze a trail that others may follow. I know that with God leading us, lives will be forever changed.