Story
"Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering." - Augustine
I can remember the moment like it happened yesterday... we were racing down a small gravel runway, our plane shaking, engine roaring, heading out into the wilds of Alaska. Once airborne, we turned and began to follow the Copper river deeper and deeper into the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. As we flew, something began to awaken in me; this was bigger, wilder, more beautiful country than I had ever experienced. In many ways, I saw God in it. Like C.S. Lewis once wrote: "the beauty that we see, the veil of endless beauty be." The mountains, glaciers, and rivers were just a glimmer... a shadow of the Almighty. And then it hit me... nature, in all of its awe-inspiring glory, also revealed something about me; this beauty wasn't Gods best work... He said I was.
That moment, combined with thousands of others over the years, exposed a chasm between what I believed to be true about God and what I was experiencing daily. Why, after a bible degree, masters, and 10 years of full-time pastoral ministry was I still using performance and approval as a means for determining my value? Why were fear and unrest still issues in my life when God clearly invited me to not be afraid or anxious about anything? Why was real humility, which is supposed to be a primary indicator of Christian maturity, all but missing in my life? Little did I know that over the next 12 years, Gods healing and real answers to these, and many other questions, would form the foundation of ChristLife Ministries.
God will remove
or transform
everything that's hindering you from fulfilling His great purpose for your life.
Now fast forward to November 2015... I was attending a Ransomed Heart Boot Camp in Colorado. John Eldridge was teaching from Ephesians 1:23 where Paul writes: “The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” In that moment, I knew that if I invested myself in the leadership of the Church, I would find myself in the middle of what God's doing in this generation. It was about two months later, that I received my first phone call from a Christian leader who needed help. Now years later, ChristLife is a fully functioning 501c3, supporting dozens of Christian organizations, and leaders across twelve states. We believe this is just the beginning of a transformation that God is bringing to the "one church" of the midwest and beyond; as restored leaders bring help, restoration, and awakening to their ministries and to other Christian leaders.
Greg Dempster
Founder and Director
ChristLife Ministries