Welcome to my Blog...
Last fall I had the opportunity to lead a life group at my church (Northlife Community Church www.mynorthlife.com). The groups were a little different this time around. We were challenged to hold our groups out in the community. Where will I hold my group? It just so happens that I recently got a scare from my doctor. My cholesterol was through the roof, my sugars showed that I was a border-line diabetic and I was considered obese. Now I had 2 problems...where to hold the group, and how do I get myself in shape. In other words, how can I both exercise my body and my spirit? That's when God gave me the answer, hold the group in a gym.
I approached my friends Saiid and Valesta who also attend Northlife Community Church. They are the owners of an "Anytime Fitness" in the area. They were excited to help and agreed to let us use their gym for a 2 month period. There was a lot of interest in our group. In all we had 14 people in our group which we named "Ministry Muscle".
The group officially met on Wednesdays during the 2 month period. Since we had an unlimited 2 month membership, we were allowed to use the facility at any time. Most of us would go 4 to 5 time /week. During our Wednesday group, we would meet for 1/2 hour to discuss our study "Outrageous, Contagious Joy". Then we would spend the next 1 1/2 hours working out. Saiid would lead our workouts and he would not pull any punches. You see, Saiid is a professional bodybuilder. In fact we nicknamed him "Sargent Saiid".
What an experience it was! We worked our bodies hard, we talked about spiritual things, and we were able to minister to people in our community. People got to see God at work through us.
Here are the number of my experience with the "Ministry Muscle Life Group"...
80 - The number of points that my cholesterol dropped.
30 - The pounds that I lost during our time together.
13 - The number of friends I have made from the group.
12 - The points my sugars went down.
5 - The inches I lost around my waist.
1- One step closer in my relationship with God.
Have a great week...
Joe
