As the year draws to a close once more, yet again I’m confronted with the painful fact that another year has gone by when not one person in my family, in my friendship group or in my neighbourhood has turned to Jesus. Another year when it seems like those who once stood so close to the baptistery (almost getting in!), have actually stepped backwards, and well out of the splash zone.

You can pat me on the shoulder with a ‘there there’ and with reminders of seeds sown, God working great things in the darkness, and never wasting a thing. But for now, for today, this is where the rubber of my faith hits the road, and I suspect I’m not alone.

Thankfully the writer of Hebrews saw us coming:

‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ (Heb 11:1)

Leaning into faith when we see nothing happening is surely what faith is. We don’t need a lot of faith when all our prayers are being answered, we need it when they’re not.

That’s when faith becomes almost tangible to us, and we grab hold of it because it’s all we’ve got. Without it there is no glimmer of hope at all. But with it, well….anything can happen, and only God knows what stories we may be telling this time next year.

At Seventy-two we want to help each other and you in the quest to make disciples through igniting mission, inspiring discipleship and by infusing the culture we live in with God’s goodness and love.

If you received one of our reusable coffee cups, discipleship coasters or small group guides this year, I’d love to hear how you’ve been getting on using these.

New for 2019 will be our Empowering Leadership stream to help you connect with training opportunities and inspiring blogs as you lead others in this quest. We’ll be at Spring Harvest again too; available to listen, signpost and pray with you in your endeavours for Jesus.

But until then, let’s keep on keeping on; finding our way in the mission of God, going where He leads us, doing what He asks of us, and holding on to His assurance for the things we’re still hoping for.

Will you join me in that?

‘where (or when) the rubber meets (or hits) the road’:

the point at which a theory or idea is put to a practical test

Alex Drew

Alex Drew leads the Christian charity Faith in Later Life which exists to inspire and equip Christians to reach, serve and empower older people in every community, through the local Church.