Students built 300 feet of fence in two hours

A sustainable life is purpose driven

The decisions a person makes about the direction of their life in their late teen years and early twenties will set them on a trajectory that determines the course of their entire life. During these young adult years I believe every person should set aside time to ask the real questions.  Questions like: Who am I? What am I made for?  Is there really a God who knows and cares about me? And if he gave me the gift of life, what is his purpose for it?  If these serious questions aren’t asked and answered it is easy to make wrong choices and either waste precious time discovering meaning by trial and error or possibly missing it all together.  Without direction and the conviction that God has put you on the earth for a purpose many fall into a status quo life that ends in social conformity and missing the uniqueness of God’s divine plan.

This past week eight VCOM students (Vineyard College of Mission) accompanied by their leaders came up and spent two days with Nancy and I here at Timber Butte.  The directors of the school, Michael and Terra Montford, asked Nancy and I to share how we had discovered the path we have taken and how God had directed us on it.  Using Romans 12 as a Biblical reference we shared our life story and exhorted them to investigate what the scripture means when it says; “Don’t copy the behavior of and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is”. [Romans 12:2]  As the students sat in the comfort of my study Nancy and I shared how we had pursued God throughout our married life and how we had heard him through the use of spiritual disciplines such as solitude, prayer, Bible study and living a life in the context of purposeful community.  We’ve always considered it a real privilege when we get the opportunity to invest in young people who are so deliberate and serious about their lives.

As a part of their time with us the students took long walk; some even climbed to the top of Timber Butte to spend purposeful quiet time alone.  In addition to that they built 300 feet of fence that would have taken me two days to do alone.  With the help they provided the job was completed in just two hours.  Like the Amish so famously say, “Many hands make for light work”.

VCOM has several unique courses of study.  The students that visited us this week are part of SOBA (School of Biblical Action.)  SOBA is an intense fulltime six-month track that takes place both in the classroom and doing outreach events.  In addition to SOBA, the VCOM leadership has been developing a number of other educational opportunities for anyone of any age who desires to pursue a life of ministry. Children in Crises is a program that orientates and equips people to work among suffering children worldwide.  It especially focuses on human trafficking and the present day global slave trade. Missions Medics is another course that prepares people to bring medical aid to the developing world.  These programs are presently in session while the VCOM leadership is in the process of developing two other courses of study:  Worldview Video School will equip those who desire to document and communicate worldwide crises and need through the medium of film; and the School of Environmental and Social Impact will focus on agriculture, water development, reforestation and other environmental issues that are becoming major contributors to extreme poverty.  All of these schools come under the umbrella of VCOM and can be explored further through the website [http://vcom.vineyardboise.org/] or by calling our office @ 208-377-1477.