I’m So Glad You’ve Decided to Come Along

I'm so glad you're here.

Seriously. Whether you've been walking alongside me since the very beginning or you're just now joining the journey, I want you to know how grateful I am that you've decided to come along and believe in the vision.

This summer looked a little different than most. Normally, I would spend the two months of summer preparing and planning for the next school year and softball season. I would be working out, at the field constantly, getting my body back into shape, all while trying to spend quality time with my family members here and there. It was busy. It was a lot. Like I said, this summer was not like all the rest.

I spent my days making phone calls, sending text messages, setting up meetings, and sitting across from family, friends, and sometimes people I hadn't talked to in years. I was asking anyone who would listen if they wanted to be part of this passion for discipleship that God had completely wrecked my life with.

And even though I started out being quite intimidated by the task at hand… I ended up loving every second of it!

Not because I loved asking people for money (lol), but because of what those conversations became. Somewhere between sharing my heart for ministry and explaining what God was calling me into, something really special started happening.

I got to hear people's stories. I got to listen to what they were walking through, what they were struggling with, and what God was teaching them. I got to pray over people, speak truth into their lives, encourage them, and remind them of the hope we have in Jesus. And honestly, some of those conversations became some of my favorite moments of the entire summer.

Whether someone decided to financially support me or not, I was just grateful for the opportunity to sit across from them and talk about what a life with Jesus can look like.

Looking back, I realized something pretty special.

Before I ever officially stepped into ministry, God was already allowing me to live out the very thing He had called me to do.

To walk alongside people. To point them to Jesus. To share life with them.

And now, two months into this new chapter, I've been thinking a lot about those conversations. Because I don't want them to end there. I don't want the people who sat across from me this summer to hear about this calling once and then never get to witness what God does through it. And I definitely don't want the people who have chosen to link arms with me to ever feel like they're just another dollar amount making up my paycheck each month.

You are so much more than that to me.

You are the people who have made it possible for me to walk in the very thing God has called me to. You are the people praying, encouraging, giving, believing, and standing behind this ministry. And I want you to feel every bit a part of it. That's why I created Along the Way.

I want this to be a place where I can bring you into the everyday moments of ministry. The conversations with athletes. The relationships being built. The prayers we’re praying. The ways God is moving, even in the little things that might otherwise go unnoticed. I want you to know the people you're helping me reach. I want you to celebrate what God is doing with me. I want you to know how to pray specifically. And I want you to be reminded that your investment is making an eternal difference.

Because this ministry was never meant to be something I do alone. And if there's one thing I've learned about following Jesus, it's that He never intended for us to walk alone either. So thank you. Thank you for answering the phone, sitting down for coffee, listening to my heart, praying for me, encouraging me, and believing in what God is doing. Thank you for choosing to link arms with me.

And most importantly, thank you for being willing to be part of a story that's so much bigger than any of us.

I'm so glad you've decided to come along.

And I can't wait for you to see what God is doing.

With love,
Autumn