Happy New Year!
I always look forward to the last week of December – it’s an opportunity to reflect on the previous year, spend time with family, thank God for His innumerable blessings, and get some much-needed rest. It’s also when I assess my progress on annual goals and set goals for the coming year.
If you’re like me, your relationship with goals is mixed. Goals can easily turn into shackles if I focus on them too rigidly; but on the other hand, I’m also prone to pay little attention to them at all, rendering them effectively useless.
And what goals should I be setting in the first place? U.S. News estimates that 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February, and research from the University of Scranton suggests that only 8% of people keep their resolutions.
In light of these sobering statistics, how can we set goals that are both attainable and worth attaining?
Harvest Bridge’s missionaries, with whom you partner through your prayers and support, provide helpful guidance by inspiring me to set goals with God’s glory in mind:
“Pray [for us] as we plan to distribute 500 gospel tracts, conduct 25 baptisms, hold ten Gospel outreach programs, and start house churches in ten new villages, all in the next six months.” ~ Pastor Stephen* in Northern India
“My goal is to reach more souls for His Kingdom by continuing to teach income generating activities, teaching families about hygiene, and rescuing children from trafficking in my city.” ~ Sister Sarah* in Bangladesh
“More than 50 missionaries in our ministry network are serving the Lord faithfully in each of their areas, though they face persecutions and temptations. Through them souls were saved, new believers were discipled and new churches were planted throughout Myanmar…It is my prayer for our missionaries that they may be a channel of blessings for their people and fishers of men for Christ in the coming year.” ~ Pastor Mang* in Myanmar (Burma)
As Christians, any goals we set should ultimately be oriented toward glorifying God and advancing His kingdom. God is glorified not only through evangelism and discipleship, but also through His people serving Him with excellence in every field of human endeavor and exercising faithful stewardship in every area of their lives.
Harvest Bridge seeks to glorify God through holistic ministry to whole persons and whole communities; your prayers and support in 2017 brought about the holistic transformation of thousands of lives.
We cannot possibly thank you enough for your generosity!
God is on the move in South Asia, but the needs are vast.
Our missionaries have set their goals with God’s glory in mind; they stand ready to take the Gospel to thousands more who’ve never heard it, train hundreds more couples on best practices for healthy marriages and effective parenting, increase their efforts to lift marginalized communities out of extreme poverty, provide more life-saving aid to families affected by natural disasters, and more.
These men and women already do so much with so little. Your continued prayer and financial support will help them achieve their goals and do even more in 2018!
Thank you and God bless,
Andrew David,
Director of International Partnerships
*Names changed for security