TESTIMONY

My wife, Julie, had received a call from the Salvation Army in Greensboro, NC to see if we could take a half pallet of baby food and distribute it to those in need. They were not successful at selling it, and it’s expiration date was only a couple weeks away so they wanted it to go to a good cause. As a family, we support many ministries, one being the Fostering Hope Foster Closet (FHFC) in Burlington, NC. After being foster parents for 8 years, we understand the need of providing for children when they first come into foster care. Julie had contacted the director of FHFC and they were willing to accept the baby food so they could distribute it to those in need.

When I got to the Salvation Army to pick up the food, there were two full pallets of it, not a half pallet. I was chatting with the guy that had called Julie while the other worker was loading my trailer with the pallets. I told him that our church supports a non-profit pregnancy center so that if any more food came in, he could contact them directly and they could get it. He asked who to contact but I didn’t know, I only knew our church supported them. I told him that I would get the info for him at a later date. We finished up then I left out of there fully loaded with baby food. Little did I know what I had just said would so greatly affect my life.

I was about 5 minutes into the 30 minute drive home from Greensboro to our house when the Lord spoke so clearly to me. I didn’t hear voices but my heart was immediately stirred and filled with emotion. The thoughts that the Holy Spirit was giving me were, “this is what you need to be doing and this is what it is going to be called.” It wasn’t a message of “quit your job and start a ministry”, but instead it was a call to continue doing what we have been doing as a family, but in a more legitimate role. He immediately gave me the name for what the ministry was to be called. I cried for the next 25 minutes on my way home while the Holy Spirit continued speaking to me. He gave me the basic ideas and plans of what the ministry was to be. I found myself overwhelmed with emotions and not really knowing what to do with them. By the time I got home, I was an emotional train wreck. I backed the trailer in the driveway and was met by Julie so she could see what I had picked up. When she approached me she knew something was wrong. It was like I had a huge lump in my throat and I could not speak. My eyes were red from the tears, and all I could do was look up at the sky. She consoled me and put her hand on my shoulder and asked If I had almost been in a wreck while driving. I just shook my head no, still not being able to speak. Finally I mumbled a few words and then the lump cleared up. I told her what had happened and her first response was not to tell me that I’m crazy, but instead to say “that’s great, it’s what we already do.” “What do you mean”, I asked. “The middle man, that’s what we already are”, she said. There was a relief that overcame me by knowing that I had her support. I think part of the reason I couldn’t speak is because I didn’t know what her response was going to be. She knows that I have a servant's heart, and love serving the saints.

This isn’t going to be something that I do by myself, but it will be something that our family will do. I spent the next couple of weeks doubting myself and wondering if what happened was real or just my flesh. I was reminded of one of my favorite Bible stories where Moses had issued the order to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tent of Meeting, and the peoples hearts were stirred to come and serve, Exodus 35:30-36:2. I was having flashbacks of my heart being stirred on my way home from Greensboro that day. I immediately sat down at the computer and figured out how to search for business names and buy a domain. That night, Middle Man Ministries (MMM) came to fruition. I didn’t want to go talk to ministries first and have them tell me that I wasn’t needed or that they’ve been successful without me. I didn’t want to have negative feedback talk me out of following through with what the Lord had so plainly told me to do. So I followed through with starting MMM without talking to a single ministry that I was going to assist. I wanted to follow the Lord instead of my flesh or feedback from others. Over the next few weeks, I proceeded to fumble my way through the process of becoming a legitimate non-profit for the sole purpose assisting existing non-profits and glorifying the Lord during that process. That day when I was at the Salvation Army talking to the guy and I said, “I don’t know who to contact, but I’ll find out for you” was the start of a new chapter of my life.

You may be wondering why the Salvation Army called us to begin with. The manager of the store contacted someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew us. They knew that we supported many ministries and asked if they could give the manager our number. We are thankful for the world of networking that we live in now, but God is the greatest networker there ever was or ever will be.