Stepping on the Water: Commissioning Service

This past Sunday, The Vine Church (our sending church) had a Commissioning Service for us. I know some of you were unable to make it so we wanted to share a little bit about it with you. For those of you who do not know a Commissioning Service is when people are set apart and anointed for a specific work in the Church. In our case, we were set apart and anointed to be The Vine's first missionaries. It was an amazing service! Neither of us knew what to expect since we had never attended one. Towards the end of the service Pastor Aaron had us go up and he spoke to us about our calling. He then prayed for us and anointed us with oil. After that he told us that we were going to do our first bit of ministry today. At that point, my stomach did a flip. I kept thinking, "Wait, I didn't sign up for this," but at the end it was an amazing blessing. He told us we were now to pray and lay hand on the congregation. He had all the men and women who wanted prayer line up. I prayed for the women and Todd for the men. Pastor Aaron was so wise. Both of us had never done it before, but know it is something we will be doing a lot in our ministry. By having us do it in our home church with those we know, it took the fear away. It was such a humbling moment to pray and lay hands on those we love, especially our parents. After the service, we had a great time with everyone during our good-bye lunch. The tacos were especially amazing! Below are pictures to show you how the day went. We are both so blessed and grateful to have such an amazingly supportive home church as well as family and friends who love and support us as we step into this next phase of our lives. Thank you all so much!