SWAT Team - Servants With A Toolbelt

This month's story is from Keith Nelson's GPS testimony!

"I had the opportunity to go through a GPS small group presented by our church in 2017. During the course I was challenged to look at my current career along with what I felt God was calling me to in my next career. At that time, I believed I was 5-8 years from retirement. The program was laid out well by first focusing on my God given strengths, which seemed to be servanthood-through ushering, greeting, helping at church behind the scenes.

One of our assignments was to develop my personal GPS Life Journey Road Map for the rest of my life. We were encouraged to do that during our prayer time and allow the Lord to speak into that statement.

My wife Kammy and I were on a business trip when I found time one afternoon to just stop and rest at the desk in the hotel room and allow the Lord to speak to my heart. I felt the Lord simply laid out a plan that spoke to me so deeply and positively that I knew it was from Him. I sensed Him impressing me with-look at all the talent I have given you in the construction industry, don’t waste it on just those who can afford it.

He also revealed how my heart hurt for those in my life that had suffered lost or divorce. Both my sisters had divorced and one of my sisters husband committed suicide. Even though she was very strong and appeared to be able to manage all the issues of home ownership on her own, I knew she needed encouragement and support. 

That made the vision of helping widows and single moms clear almost immediately. The Lord allowed me to write a simple plan: “My personal mission statement is to fulfill needs thru works of service to those in need so they will be introduced to the love of Christ.”

The vision for the next stages of my life:

*I envision people’s lives less stressful thru my works of service.

*I envision starting a ministry outreach for the single moms and widows.

*I envision people’s eyes being able to focus on the love of Christ thru random acts of kindness.

My action steps were:

1. Explore single mom’s ministry teams online.

2. Find out if there were any current groups offering similar services in our community. 

3. Ask for prayer from church leadership to sharpen the vision.

The ironic thing about this entire testimony is that during the time of reflection and hearing from the Lord-I was a secret but functioning alcoholic. The Lord delivered me from that bondage November 10, 2019! This resulted in a new passion for the ministry to start. 

I shared my vision for this ministry with our small home group and a good friend stated he wanted to join me in this ministry. We approached the church and asked our Senior Pastor Keith Kerstetter for his thoughts and asked if the church would support this ministry. His response was overwhelming. He said he’d been waiting 20 years for someone to come forward with this, as he also had a vision for this ministry

Since then, we’ve spoken to a men’s breakfast and had 43 guys sign up to help with the SWAT team. (Servants With A Toolbelt) We’ve participated in 9 different projects with about 15 guys helping on different projects. Some of the projects included helping a single mom of 6 children replace a broken tub, repair structural posts and repair broken sewer lines. We’re currently completing a bathroom for a single mom with 3 children who lost her husband a year ago. We may be able to send a couple guys on a missions trip to Romania this fall to help paint and do repairs on a girls home. 

With the Lord’s help, this ministry will continue to bless all who we serve, but it truly blesses us that we get to help others." 

Keith Nelson, Ter Wisscha Construction Company, Willmar, MN

If you're interested in participating in the GPS Life Journey process then check out the EVENTS happening in person and online.  Or learn more here!  We look forward to helping you discover God's plan for you.

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