PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

the servant is you and me. Here are three principles to help us refocus our thoughts on biblical servanthood.

First, Jesus suggests to us that serving is the gateway to increasing our faith. In Luke 17:5, “…the apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith.” In response to their heartfelt cry Jesus tells the story of a servant who is busy labouring for his master. A growing faith is a faith that’s going. Studying the great doctrines of the Word of God is necessary and can most certainly expand your knowledge of the truth but nothing increases our faith like rolling up our sleeves and living those truths out in a practical way.

Second, serving Christ is not motivated by human reward but divine duty (Luke 17:10b). The servant in the story is ploughing the fields and feeding the cattle (verse 7). After he comes in from a long day’s work he doesn’t sit down to eat

Field Report

BY ANN GERARDI

My Summer in Newfoundland

If there is one thing I always look forward to throughout the year, it is spending my summer in ministry with Child Evangelism Fellowship in Maine. But this past year I found myself being led in a different direction. I didn’t know where but I did know, that due to COVID restrictions and my desire to return to NBBI for my Junior year, I would not be returning to Maine over the summer. About twenty-four hours after I came to this conclusion, One Hope Canada gave a presentation during chapel regarding their camp ministries across Canada. One specific need stuck out to me. On Saturday, June 18th, I flew to St. John’s, Newfoundland to serve with Russell (’82) and Lori (Crossman, ’83) Smith, the directors of New Found Life Bible Camp.

New Found Life Bible Camp’s main ministry is day camp. These run from 9am to 4pm and consist of games, memory verses, a missionary story, and a Bible lesson. This year, we held four weeks of day but prepares the meal for the master. Not once in the story does the servant receive any commendation. He is not praised, applauded, given a trophy or fed superficial words to boost his self-confidence. Luke 17:9 says, “Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?” Some may say, “What do I get out of this?” Job 11:6b says, “…Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquities deserveth.” If you served Jesus faithfully 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 10 lifetimes you will not have scratched the surface of the great debt that you owe to God. As you labour for Jesus, remember you are doing what the master commands of you but it is much less than He should require.

Third, the servant of God is never indispensable. Luke 17:10 says, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” The text camp, two themed weeks, a sports week, and a soccer week. We also held various VBSs and Backyard Bible clubs around St. John’s and we ended the summer with a weekend teen retreat. Although we don’t know if any decisions were made for Christ, we reached a total of 104 children and 23 teens. reminds us that, after a lifetime of doing what we have been commanded, we are still “unprofitable” servants. The word “unprofitable” means “worthless or less than nothings”. This is not speaking of our personal worth to God, for we are loved by God in Christ. However, our labours, as plenteous as they may be, do not make God our debtor. God rewards us not because our efforts deserve it but because He is gracious and merciful. In fact, Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that any profitable and good thing that flows from our lives is, “…according to the power that worketh in us.” True servanthood begins with a genuine sense of unworthiness.

Do not have high thoughts of yourself or hard thoughts about God. You are simply doing what God has commanded, but what an honour it is to serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14).