Ministry Update December 2021

Merry Christmas to all our dear friends and ministry supporters!!! ~ Greg and Jill

It’s so hard to convey the excitement in our hearts as we send out this letter to all of you! Jill and I have some BIG news to share and we sincerely hope that you will give us just a few moments of your time to read through our year-end update letter! Are you ready? Here it is!

We are thrilled to announce that Jill is formally joining the staff of Standing Together effective January 1st, 2022!

As we shared in October, God has done a remarkable new work in our lives, marriage, and family over the last year. We are grateful beyond measure and deeply humbled by His love, grace, and mercy to us! After a season of marital brokenness and struggle, over six months ago, Jesus began a miraculous healing work in our relationship as husband and wife. He’s restored our family and we have fallen in love with each other anew. What the enemy of God sought to do; to kill, steal, and destroy us, our marriage, our family, and our ministry, was derailed by the Son of God, who declares that He came to bring us life more abundant! (Jn. 10:10)

After our summer sabbatical concluded, God began to reveal some new things to us about how we could best serve the Body of Christ in Utah. For the first time ever, Jill and I began to serve side by side every Thursday. Over the last three months and nine unique pastors gatherings in Northern Utah, Salt Lake County, and Utah County, we have experienced some of the most significant unity meetings we have ever had. Attendance has increased, participation has deepened, and the Holy Spirit has moved powerfully in our discussions and prayer times. We sense that God is moving powerfully among the pastors of Utah that we serve and the call to unity and transformation that we boldly proclaim.

We have been told by multiple pastors that there has never been a greater need for the work of Standing Together in Utah and that the days ahead of our ministry will be more anointed than the former days! The encouragement and welcome that our pastoral network has offered Jill each Thursday has been remarkable. Many of them have walked with us over the last year and prayed deeply for us. Our marriage miracle and renewed partnership in ministry have become an encouragement to them and our testimony has become a reminder that God is truly able to heal and redeem broken hearts and souls.

Over the last three months, we’ve hosted group pastors gatherings, held a pastors’ wives fellowship, and met personally with over 50 pastors and Utah ministry leaders. Over and over again we have heard how challenged and burdened Utah pastors are today. The effects of the pandemic, divided congregations, loss of congregants, staff conflicts, and pure weariness have inspired us to love, support, and pray for pastors with a new passion.

Remarkably, a couple of months ago, Jill and I were speaking about the new joy we have discovered in serving Jesus together in our ministry, side by side, week after week. Then she shared with me that God was laying on her heart to leave her part-time position at a local law firm to give herself fully to serving on staff with Standing Together. A few days after our discussion, I felt strongly that the tangible fruit of God’s marriage miracle in our lives was that, moving forward, Jill and I were to lead the ministry of Standing Together, TOGETHER! Both of us sensed that God was calling us to “stand together,” as we lead Standing Together into the future.

While Jill will engage in ministry full time, we only need to replace her part-time salary to meet our family’s financial ongoing needs. So, with Standing Together’s board’s full support, we are seeking to raise an additional $25,000 by year-end 2021, above our regular giving, to fund Jill’s new ministry position. And we are thrilled to share that upon hearing this exciting news, one of our existing supporters has offered us a $6,000 Challenge Grant with the hope that our support team will consider our invitation to help us meet our goal by year’s end. What a confirmation and what an amazing blessing this grant is to us! So, can you join us? Will you consider increasing your monthly giving or providing a special year-end gift to help us as we step forward in faith? We thank God for all of you and wish you all a Merry Christmas!