A 7-Day Post-Field Devotional Guide

For Members of Project Serve Mission Teams

Dear Project Serve Team Member:

Congratulations on having survived your short-term mission trip! You have undoubtedly been changed in some significant way by your trip experience.

The seven lessons of this devotional guide will help you process your trip experience and examine yourself. The idea is to stimulate your thinking and give you a desire to go deeper in God. Please devote some consistent, quality time during the next seven days to go through this material. Meditate on God’s Word and ask God what He would have you to learn through your short-term experience. Keep a journal of your reflections.

Please note: you will likely continue to process this experience – and its impact on your life – over the next several months and possibly for years to come. It would be helpful for you to “revisit” this devotional a few weeks or months from now!

We pray that you will continue to live for God and be used by God in a mighty way. May God bless and guide you as you continue to serve Him!

The Project Serve Staff

Project Serve Department/Youth for Christ/USA

PO Box4478 * Englewood, CO * 80155 (303) 843-6738 * (800) 669-4932

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7-Day Post-Field Devotional – Project Serve/Youth for Christ/USA

ONE: Changed?

Much of our personal growth through life’s experiences comes gradually, step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson. Other times growth comes in leaps, often triggered by an experience or a decision – either within our control, or beyond our control!

Read: Acts 9:1-8

This is the account of Saul’s experience with Jesus, which immediately changed his life.

Saul’s point of view: What were Saul’s human feelings or reactions at this instance.

______

God’s point of view: What work was God performing in Saul’s heart?

______

What is significant about the fact that Saul did not seek or choose this encounter?

______

Now, while God may not have physically knocked you to the ground and spoken to you in an audible voice during your trip, He probably did speak to you in some manner.

Check all that apply to your encounter.

Courage in facing challenges or new experiences

Acknowledgement of a closer, more personal walk with God

Desire to be a witness of the Gospel

Desire to serve others through some area of service

Motivation to step out of your “comfort zone”

Direction for future, either career or personal

Interest in living in or otherwise experiencing another culture

Direction for involvement in the church or the community back at home

Desire for a new or stronger relationship with a particular person or persons

Hunger for a deeper spiritual walk

More sensitive to things like poverty and materialism

Anger and/or frustration

Confusion, lack of interest and/or a “heavy heart”

Other? ______

(Continued on back)

You undoubtedly held some expectations in one or more of these categories when you started on this trip. How has this trip impacted you in an area of desired or expected growth?

______

Also, God may have moved upon you in some unexpected way on this trip.

Identify one unexpected encounter with God on this trip.

______

As a new man, Saul later received a new name: Paul.

What adjectives might you now attach to your own name, to reflect the work that God has done in you? Write down a couple of ideas: (Examples: Inspired, Impassioned, Convicted, Awakened, Renewed)

______

In one sentence, how are you a changed person?

______

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, continue to work in my heart as I process

my trip experience. Help me to listen to Your voice as You lead me.

TWO: Credible?

Be prepared: you will be observed upon your return!

Your family members, friends and others in your home community will be watching you for evidence of what difference, if any, this trip experience has made in your life. There may also be some people who don’t know you went on a trip that notice a difference.

Read: John 9: 1-25

What is the evidence of Jesus’ miracle in this account?

______

Write down the exact words of testimony of the healed man (in verse 25).

______

Discuss the significance of this passage in regard to his witness.

______

Now . . . where is your evidence of your experience with Jesus?

Circle below the areas of your life in which you feel that others may seetangible evidence of what God has done in you through this mission trip experience.

PrioritiesHabitsLifestyleOutlook on Life

GoalsLanguageSensitivityCareer Direction

FriendshipsUse of TimeUse of MoneyFamily Relationships

Eating HabitsPrayer LifeCommitmentPhysical Condition

Others? ______

(Continued on back)

What have others asked of you so far?

______

What might they be looking for in you?

______

What changes do you expect of yourself?

______

Do you have a testimony? Try to put your testimony into 25 words or less:

______

Prayer: Father, give me the words to testify of the work

that You have accomplished in me through this experience.

THREE: Unworldly?

Check any of the following statements that may apply to you:

Feeling depressed or discouraged since returning home

Grieving over the loss of any former interests or passions

Angry or judgmental of others…especially family and friends

Feeling unsettled or anxious in any respect

Looking at any relationships differently

Reconsidering any previously-made decisions or goals

Feeling lonesome or disconnected

Feeling uncomfortable about any activities that used to come easily for you in the past

The feelings described above are certainly not unusual for those in your situation and are likely an indication that God is at work in your heart!

You may begin to look at the world through very different eyes, and if you haven’t already experienced it, you may come to notice a feeling of separation from, or a lack of interest in, what was once comfortable and familiar to you at home.

Read: I John 2:15-16

How does this passage speak to you? What “things that the world has to offer” come to mind for you that you are now NOT to love? Write down a few possibilities.

______

If you continue to love these things, why would the love of the Father not be in you?

______

(Continued on back)

Read: II Timothy 2:4

Identify some “affairs of this life” (activities, people, goals, other things) that hold your attention, your heart. Can you identify any that are at odds with what God wants for you?

______

Just as God brings a change in your life through first a change in your heart, you should try to begin in the same place. How can you begin to deal with your feelings/issues?

______

Have you already identified some possible areas for change?

______

Prayer: Lord, help me to identify the sources of my new questions

and uncomfortable feelings. Open my eyes to Your will in my life,

and help me to understand Your work in me that is going on right now.

FOUR: Sincere?

One of the primary fruits of a genuine Christian walk is genuine compassion for others. Through your efforts, sacrifice, and service on this trip, you have demonstrated love toward others . . . or have you??

Think about this:

Any act we perform, any word we speak,

any decision we make – is founded upon a motive.

Read: Exodus 2:5-9

What was Pharaoh’s daughter’s motive for her actions in this passage?

______

What did Pharaoh’s daughter have to gain for herself by her actions?

______

Read: James 2:14-16

Explain what this passage has to say to you about motive for service.

______

(Continued on back)

Consider your own acts of love/service on this trip (on a personal level, not as a member of the team.) What are some specific things you have done to serve others on this trip?

______

Examine your response above. Now, identify your motives for what you have done.

Other-CenteredSelf-Centered

______

What will you do to deal with any self-centered motives?

______

Prayer: Dear Father, search my heart and help me to identify my motives for

everything I do, say, or feel. Help me to serve for reasons that glorify You.

FIVE: Free?

Read: Galatians 5:1

In the context of this verse, how would you describe a life of liberty?

______

Read: Galatians 3:23-25 and Romans 3:20-24

From reading these passages, what do you understand to be the purpose of the law?

______

Read: Matthew 5:17

How has Christ fulfilled the law in the lives of His people?

______

How, then, are we to accept the liberty that Christ has for us?

______

(Continued on back)

Consider your own Christian walk. List up to five convictions, decisions, or guidelines by which you choose to live as a Christian. In each case, what is your motivation? Could it be God’s voice, your own personal conviction, a desire to “do what is right”, fear of falling, obedience to another person, obedience to your church or pastor, obedience to the Bible, Christian peer pressure, or some other reason? With each, do you feel bound or free?

My Christian life choice:Why I live this way: Law or Liberty?

Are you able to discern areas of your life in which you live “under the law”? How so?

______

What steps can you take to begin to live in liberty through Christ?

______

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, do a work in my life and in my heart,

that I may serve you joyfully in all aspects of my life.

SIX: Grateful?

Read: Psalm 30:1-5 King David pours out his heart in thanking God for his deliverance.

Someone once said: “The life of a Christian is a life of gratitude.”

Does that condition describe your life, your attitude?

Part of our appreciation for God’s bounty is remembering and acknowledging the great ways that God has already been with us and worked in our lives (verses 2 and 3). Can you recall a particular time and place in which God performed a transforming work in your life? Identify that time and place.

______

Write down a few adjectives that would describe your life or your condition before you accepted Christ as Lord of your life. (i.e. aimless, afraid, angry, lonesome, self-absorbed)

______

Describe what happened in your heart on the occasion of your transformation.

______

Describe how God’s transforming work has changed your life since that moment.

______

(Continued on back)

In verse 6 of this passage in Psalm 30, David proclaims, “I will never be shaken.” (NIV)

Has your mission experience helped you place a conviction into you that will never change?

______

How will you allow this conviction to impact/influence your attitudes and decisions from this point forward?

______

Why do you feel that God provided the opportunity for you, of all people, to participate in this experience? Do you have special qualities, desires or special needs that qualified you?

______

How do you specifically show your gratitude to God for everything He has done for you?

______

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for being my Lord and Savior,

and for the life-changing work that you have begun in me.

SEVEN: Ready to Serve?

Let’s examine the newly-birthed ministries of two well-known Bible figures; let’s start by looking at the Apostle Paul’s ministry.

Read: Acts 9:8-22

What has God done for Paul in this passage?

______

How soon did Paul “go to work”?

______

What was the immediate impact of his ministry?

______

Now, let’s look at Jesus’ ministry.

Read: Matthew 3:16-4:17

What has God done with Jesus in this passage?

______

Describe Jesus’ first steps upon this life-changing experience.

______

(Continued on back)

Based upon your responses to earlier lessons, what do you feel that God expects of you? What has He equipped you for? (Include all ideas - even slight possibilities and scary ones)

______

The time to begin is right now.

Consider the following actions that you can immediately take in stepping out in faith to serve.

Daily prayer for God’s guidance!
Daily Bible study!
Open, honest discussion with trusted family and friends for feedback and reflection
Identification and resolution of any potential hindrances to your spiritual growth
Identify ministry opportunities in your church or another Christian organization locally
Research through your church, over the Internet, or through other resources for information on types of ministry opportunities for which you may be suited
Connect and meet with a “mentor”, a parent, pastor, teacher or other qualified individual that you would trust to help you to assess your gifts and interests, and provide ongoing guidance as you find ways to serve. List three possibilities here:

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be diligent, faithful,

and active each day as I seek your direction in my life.

As it is for every Christian, your continued growth in faith and service is directly linked to your personal relationship with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

God has great plans for your life – typically beyond your wildest imaginations. Your responsibility is to trust Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Do this, and He will lead you to where He wants you.

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