ServLife International, Inc.

The year was 1989 and it was the summer before my senior year in High School. I was about to embark on a course that would take me in a direction that I was completely oblivious to at this time, not unlike most teenagers. I had signed up to go to Indonesia to help construct a wall around a local college that was training native pastors. My decision to go had been pretty spur of the moment, and I only had a few days to secure the $4,000 needed to partake on this two-month mission. The outfit that I had signed up with recruits teens from all over America and sends them around the world to complete projects like the one we were about to do. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been reflecting in recent times about whether we as followers of Jesus give of our time, money, energy to God’s mission in the world sacrificially or do we give out of our own surplus. Sacrifice is defined as a giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance. We have all read that throughout American history, many people sacrificed their lives, vocations, time, money, and comfort for our country and times of crisis, especially during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »

A young girl from Africa penned these words:

“To become involved is risky. Pain is often contagious. Our hearts may be broken and our lives may be threatened. Yet we hear God calling and we can no longer hide. Our steps may be small and timid. We may read a book, write a letter, or make a gift. But each tiny step is blessed by God and multiplies. God is more relentless than war. God is more pervasive than hatred. God is more insistent than despair.” Read the rest of this entry »

We are in some uncertain times and that has many distressed. Angst, high blood pressure, and panic fill many Americans in recent days. Many are in fear with the economic uncertainty we are living in and how our government will respond or not respond. Political elections draw near and the world is watching. People are extremely fearful of their future, investments, and security. Who knows how the current events will unfold. These are times that demand we inwardly examine our own hearts and also see opportunities to offer hope to others.

The late pastor and author, A.W. Tozar, wrote, “God’s address is at the end of one’s rope.” Read the rest of this entry »

I have just returned from a sabbatical with my family and experienced a magnificent renewal in mind, body and rest in my soul in remarkable ways as never before.

A few things that God showed me during my time away were really helpful for me. Sleep experts say that human beings must experience rapid eye movement (REM) in order for your body to truly rest during a night’s sleep. I have reflected upon this and have come to realize that we all need “REM” of the soul on a regular basis to allow us to live a fruitful and joyous life that God desires and intends for us to live. Read the rest of this entry »

The prophet poignantly states, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24)

A river of any size or speed is movement and momentum. God is moving in the world, and we as His people must enter into that movement and what He is doing and desiring to do for the last and least on our planet. Read the rest of this entry »

I just returned from a ServLife trip to Zimbabwe and had a conversation with someone that was really insightful. I asked a local poor pastor how he had seen God working. In his response, it occurred to me that our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are poor often are so grateful for how they have seen God supply their every need, no matter how difficult the situation seems from us as the outsider. Some of his responses were, “God has given me enough food for my family this year” and “God protected us from the ambush”. This is true from most of the regions where I have been. Most often, we from the West who are materially so blessed only see what is lacking or what is not present. I often think in my mind, “If only they had a better, wholesome diet.” What a lesson this is for me in recent days. We should be so grateful for how God supplies. We should see what is present in other people or nations and not merely what is lacking. Read the rest of this entry »

This is our hope. This is our foundation. We sing the hymn of Amazing Grace but are we truly amazed of this grace? This is news worth being amazed about.

God in his mercy sent his own son to leave the comforts of the familiar to step into the maze and messiness of the unfamiliar. Jesus left his home to become homeless through his life and ministry on earth. This advent season we celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior. The word advent comes from the Latin word, adventus, meaning “coming”. We also must celebrate how Jesus is still coming today and revealing himself and changing lives through His Spirit working in and through the church around the world. We are His hands. We are His mouth to speak life. We are His feet to walk to places and nations to offer healing. We are the body of Christ. We also must celebrate how He will come again one day. But until that day comes, there is much labor and energy that must be given to the least, last, and lost on our planet who deserve dignity, self-respect, salvation, and hope. Read the rest of this entry »

What the world needs now, perhaps more than ever, is individuals and communities intent on the work of God in all places. And here’s some great news: Every disciple of Christ, whether in Montana or Malawi is invited – all are necessary and the requisite is simple: Love God and be prepared to love the same world His Son died for. This means God has global openings for ambassadors, for those devoted to being salt and light . He’s looking for reconcilers, for witnesses who will follow Him even to the death. Read the rest of this entry »

God and the Spirit sent Jesus Christ into the world as a babe born in a barn. Jesus sent the Spirit after His resurrection to empower us. God the father, God the Son, and God the Spirit send us today into relationships, conversations, and nations to offer hope, healing, and love. As a new year begins, let us rememberi and participate in the mission of God in near and far places. It is our great privilege to co-create with Him.  In 2007…

May the discovery of God’s mission Bring you Love

May The remembrance of the coming of Christ Bring you Peace Read the rest of this entry »

Our Zayd prays more and more often at meal times now. After listening to Elise and I pray for nearly four years, he’s begun his own dialogue with God, his own expressions of faith. We find this so beautiful. And as we listen to him talk with God about the things deep in his heart, things that so often have nothing to do with what he’s heard Mommy or Daddy pray, his words are little soul-mirrors that show us what four years of global living have birthed in him. We’ve learned this about Zayd through his prayers: he sees, really sees – people and things that are broken. And he prays continually for:

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By Joel Vestal

The word Entrepreneur comes from a French word meaning, one who takes into hand. Introduced in the 19th century by French economist Jan-Baptiste Say, entrepreneur characterizes a certain kind of economic actor. It is not merely someone who opens a business, but rather someone who, shifts resources from one area of lower productivity into another area of higher productivity.

Twentieth Century growth economist Joseph Schumpeter characterized the entrepreneur as the source of creative destruction necessary for major economic advances. Look at the individuals who re-imagined cars (Henry Ford) and computers (Steven Jobs) into mass-market goods. They destroyed the patterns of their industries, paving the way for leaps in productivity and triggering waves of change. The danger of comparing the mission enterprise of the church to business enterprise models is a risky one because it does not always allow a quantifiable way of measuring the results, as some want to do. Some regions of the world are very hostile to the Gospel and have been unresponsive for decades. Read the rest of this entry »

By Joel Vestal, Living Springs, Mennonite Resource Ministry Resources, Souderton, PA – 2002

I heard a wise statement one time, “You don’t have to be rich to be a slave to riches.” Many of us think that one has to have wealth to be a slave to it. But the poor can be a slave to wealth just as much as the rich. The core of the matter is not the size of our portfolio, our ability to retire by the age of 45, or how poor we are. The issues really are – are our hearts pure? Are our intentions pure? Are our decisions to invest in the Kingdom of God greater rather than our own financial security? Jesus wants and calls us to be a slave to himself (Matthew 16:24-25). The whole goal of spiritual formation is that our obedience Read the rest of this entry »

By Joel Vestal -  July 2002

The American dream, what is it? Independence, personal rights, the pursuit of pleasure, safety, freedom, and security give us a bit of a description. Were these the characteristics of the teachings of Jesus? I would argue that the core of the teachings of Jesus and “American dream” stand in contradiction to each other. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.” (John 14:12) Jesus was not about his own pleasure, safety, or security but he came to do the will of the father who sent him. Jesus says “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it (Lk.9:23-24). Read the rest of this entry »