Early in the beginning of the Circle Church ministry we began to discover in Scripture the teachings concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This freed me from a guilty bondage, particularly those words from Ephesians 4:11-12:
“And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”
David did have something I didn’t have! He had an active gift of the Holy Spirit.
Further freedom came when I realized that every Christian was gifted and responsible before God for the development and use of his own gifts. For years I had been trying to do something I wasn’t equipped to do. From this point in understanding I set about to work on the abilities I knew the Holy Spirit had given me, one of which was the gift of hospitality.
Once we began to open our home for the purposes of ministry, I discovered that my facility became linked with David’s gift of evangelism. We soon began to function as a team, working hand in glove. I can’t count the times when, with the room softened by candle glow and our hearts softened by the Spirit, our conversation has lingered into the wee hours with someone finally bowing head and heart before his or her Savior.
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Award-winning author Karen Mains continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
Karen has long had an interest in Christian hospitality and is the author of the best-selling book, Open Heart, Open Home.
Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags. This micro-finance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. The are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and churches at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
