About Me

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I am married to my lovely wife (Shasta), and we serve in the ministry together. We both love the Lord, play sports, love to travel, and we love the outdoors. I serve as the Campus Pastor at Liberty Fort Oglethorpe in Fort Oglethorpe, GA.

Monday, May 1, 2017

An Open Letter to People Who Experienced a Ministry Closure

Ministries sometimes close, and when ministries close, the people who were a part of the ministry are often hurt and discouraged. My prayer is that the letter below will bring comfort and encouragement to those who have experienced a ministry closure.   

Dear Fellow Follower of Jesus,

I am extremely sorry for your loss. Although Jesus told the disciples in Matt. 16:18 that the Gates of Hades (death) won’t prevail against the Universal Church, you likely feel that you just had the funeral for your church. You may question why Jesus's words in Matthew 16:18 didn't apply to your church, and to be honest, I don't have an answer, but what I do know is that you are still a vital part of the Universal Church. Sure, you might feel amputated from the Body of Christ, but you, are still as vitally a part of the Body of Christ as you were the day the Father called you, Jesus saved you, and you were filled you with the Holy Spirit. Things might not have turned out how you wanted them to, but you are still God’s Plan A.

As a part of the Body of Christ, I hurt not just for you, I hurt with you. You may rightly say that I don't know you and I can't experience your pain. You would be correct. I am still your brother in Christ, your partner in ministry, and someone who wants to help shoulder your burden. I know that words cannot adequately express the pain of seeing the lights turned out for the last time, and to hear the doors that once made way to laughter and joy close for the final time to the sound of tears and hopelessness. I am truly sorry for what has happened, and I am truly sorry I could not have helped you. 

Even though the day came and went when your place of ministry closed, a closed place of ministry does not mean God is done with you. We serve a God who can do incredible things with humbled and hurting people—and guess what? You are in the perfect place to see God do incredible things. Please, I beg of you, don’t give up on the Lord, His Church, and on serving Him! 

I hope these seven points are encouraging to your soul:

1) You are a part of the Church, not the vacant building

The doors may never reopen and the lights may never come back on in that building, but remember, you are a part of the living the Church, not that vacant building. Sure, that building may hold a lot of memories, but you house the Holy Spirit within you! Because of that, we can’t lose sight of the Great Commission that always takes us outside the four walls of a building! Christ purchased you a long time before someone purchased your building. Christ died for your soul, not a vacant building; so, live in the abundance of the life that Jesus died and resurrected to give you. In your search for hope, know that your greatest hope is not confined to a street address. No, your hope is in the resurrected Christ.

2) You have a lot of wisdom to offer to other ministries

During the process leading to the closure, there were things that you learned that can help other ministries avoid the same mistakes that led to the closure of the ministry you were a part of—and to never share those lessons with other ministries is a grave mistake. Instead of allowing other ministries to go down the same perilous road yours traveled, you could be an integral part in helping a ministry to revitalize. After experiencing all the heartache of your ministry closing, wouldn’t it be wise to help other followers of Christ avoid this heartache? Please, don’t be a critic, but help steer ministries in the right direction based on what you’ve learned. You could be the deciding factor in helping to save another ministry because of what you’ve experienced.

3) Your testimony right now matters more than ever

Some people have said that when we are hurting, people pay more attention to how we act, what we do, and what we say. Sure, there will be the critics who come out and make fun, ridicule, blaspheme, and act sinfully about the closure of your ministry, but through the blood of the Lamb and your testimony, you can overcome! As people who have never believed in the hope Jesus has to offer, your testimony during this time of despair can speak so powerfully that some people might come to faith in Jesus. Because we possess an eternal hope, this momentary struggle is not the end of your faith, but it can be the lead to the start of someone else’s faith. Please, remember that because the Gospel includes the pains of Christ, often the greatest messenger for the Gospel is someone in pain that holds on to the Solid Rock for hope. Your testimony right now matters more than ever, so please, struggle unto the glory of Christ.

4) Your soul needs a healthy local church

The worst thing that can happen in painful times is that we forget the fellowship we have with the Savior when we suffer, and the hope we have from our Savior’s suffering. There is no greater fellowship with Jesus than to know His sufferings because through knowing His suffering, we will know His comfort. (2 Cor. 1:5) This painful time is a time you need comfort and the truths of the Gospel, so I encourage you to not only find and attend but plug into a healthy local church. Why? In times of pain, the best medicine is the Gospel, and healthy local churches preach and live out the Gospel. Please, plug into a healthy local church to feed on the Bread of Life and drink deeply of the Living Water and enter a Sabbath rest for your soul.

5) Your gifts are needed in a local church

Your ministry may have closed, but the Holy Spirit did not remove your gift(s). Although it may feel like you’ll never be needed in a local church again, you are still as vital to the Kingdom as you were the day you launched or joined your previous ministry. In these times when you feel insignificant, remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:22-26, “22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” You’re needed somewhere, so search diligently for where God would have you to play a vital role.


6) God is still sovereign in your suffering

I think that one of the saddest things that happen in Christian culture is that we maximize the stories where God radically healed someone, delivered someone, or raised someone up, but we minimize the stories where God walked through Hell with someone. How many Christians would have highlighted the stories of Paul and Silas in prison, but neglected to include the story of Jesus submitting to the Spirit in the Garden of Gethsemane? What about the part about Jesus weeping over the death of Lazarus? What about the rugged cross and the suffering of Christ? Should we have jumped to the empty tomb and left out the stories of suffering for the Gospel? Because we have minimized the stories of Jesus walking through troubled times with us, we have made Jesus Savior of certain circumstances and neglected to profess Him as Lord of all and our companion in our deepest pain—something that I believe pains the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is that sometimes in God’s sovereignty, He allows us to suffer so He can show us that His grace is sufficient for us. Sometimes He doesn’t heal, but He walks through a situation with us. Why do we not marvel at the fact that the God of the universe wants to sometimes walk through things with us so we know a deeper fellowship with Him than we would have known if He had healed everything like we asked? Take time to remember that God is still sovereign over your most profound suffering, and He can and will use you again if you will again submit yourself to His plans.

7) God’s Word is a lamp in dark places

You may feel like darkness is creeping in around you, but the Word of God is still a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. (Ps. 119:105) Although it may appear the shining city on a hill that your ministry sought to be lead you to the valley of the shadow of death, God’s Word can comfort, guide, strengthen, mend, and revitalize your soul unlike the literature of this world. Turning to writings outside of Scripture will not fan the flame of the lamp lighting your path. Instead, turn to the Word that blazes with the authority of our Living God to find all you need right now. I pray for fresh insights for you as you encounter God’s Word from where you are now, and I pray the Word will ignite a new fire in you for serving the Lord!  

Although this is a painful time for you dear brother and sister in Christ, I pray these seven suggestions are helpful to your walk in the Lord. I pray you find healing, restoration, and a place of service soon. Most of all, I pray that you would remain faithful to Jesus through this and in time you can hear, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matt. 25:21b)

In Christ’s Love,

Ryan Ralston
1 Corinthians 9:16

If you found comfort and encouragement through this letter, please like, comment, and share this post so others can find comfort and encouragement as well. Thanks for reading!