Why We Don’t Give Up
Our 2026 Church Retreat: 54 people gathering together to grow as a healthy church body and pursue God's vision for the future. Grateful for what God is doing.
This past year has been one of the hardest and most fruitful seasons of ministry. We’ve felt pushed beyond our limits and have carried burdens that brought us to tears. At the same time, we’ve seen God's faithfulness in ways that filled us with gratitude and joy. Let me share how God used a child, a Bible verse, and a changed life to remind us why we never give up and why the reward of perseverance is always worth the wait.
We've celebrated so many spiritual victories. We launched our second church plant, sent someone to Honduras to serve and meet practical needs, and watched new leaders step forward to provide spiritual care. We welcomed new families into our church family and celebrated a wedding. New outreach efforts connected us with families who are exploring faith, and one person even came to church because they had a dream about Jesus. That's miraculous! God continues to bring new people into our church family, and every new face is a reminder of His faithfulness.
At the same time, ministry has also been marked by challenges. Someone faced a life-threatening health situation. Another family experienced the loss of a loved one. Changes in visa status have created uncertainty and fear. Relationships have gone through seasons of conflict. We've also experienced the sadness that comes when someone felt led to move on. Like every church family, we have celebrated, grieved, prayed, waited, and trusted God together.
God recently reminded us of something important through the words of a child. Last month, our Kids Ministry was learning about perseverance, and my eight-year-old daughter shared her memory verse with me: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Convinced that I needed the reminder, she tore the verse out of her handout, gave it to me, and even highlighted the words, "Don't give up!"
What stands out is that this verse assumes there will be moments when we want to give up. Ministry can be hard. Following Jesus can be hard. Loving people can be hard. Sometimes we wonder if anything is happening at all. Yet God calls us to keep showing up, keep trusting Him, and keep believing that He is working behind the scenes, winning the spiritual battle, even when we cannot yet see the results.
And then, God gave us a living illustration of that truth. Two years ago, Li first visited Anthem Church at our annual church retreat. She didn't yet know Jesus, and she didn't yet know many people in our church. And then at our church retreat last month, she shared how she has given her life to Christ and is following Him as a key member of our church family. As she shared her testimony (click here to watch online), we were reminded that transformation takes time, and the harvest often comes much later than we expect. Most of the time, God works slowly, patiently, and faithfully through relationships, conversations, trials, prayers, and ordinary acts of obedience.
Li's story is a reminder that we don't always get to see what God is doing in the moment. Seeds are planted long before fruit appears. But in His timing, God brings growth. And so, when we hear her story, we don't simply see one person's testimony. We see the faithfulness of God. We see what happens when people in the church keep loving, keep praying, keep inviting, serving, and refusing to give up. And we’re reminded once again that at the proper time, God always brings a harvest.
We ask that you persevere in prayer for Anthem Church. As we continue this faith journey of establishing Anthem Church, may we take this Scripture and Li's testimony to heart. God is faithful. He will produce a harvest if we do not give up. May we remain steadfast in prayer, faithful in service, and confident in God's timing, trusting that He is doing far more than we can see.