Birmingham: Learning about OM Lifehope

After our time in London, we spent about 24 hours in the suburbs of Birmingham, England. We visited an OM Training Centre (note the British spelling) called Lifehope OM. Though our time was short, it was far from wasted! We felt very encouraged the entire time we were there, from the staff individually and by the organization as a whole.

We spent most of our time getting to know staff members' stories - how they heard of OM, made the decision to join, and logistically got themselves to England. All the stories spoke of God's grace and faithfulness throughout the process. It was really fun for us to hear how God was in control of each unique story, no matter where they were from or how they had struggled.

While getting to know the staff, we were given a great picture of OM's vision as a mission organization. We loved hearing that their goal is to keep their focus on the bigger picture. This means not getting hung up on the minor details, personality differences, etc. that can sometimes put a hold on real ministry. Along with this bigger picture, they really emphasized the importance of the church. So a lot of the ministries they were maintaining partnered with a church so that there would be consistency in a community. This was really encouraging for us to see...that they didn't believe they were sufficient but that they wanted to foster church growth.

Another thing we loved was that they really made an effort to help each person realize their gifts and passion, and then help them plug in where they fit best. This model of ministry seems to have generated a lot of growth in the center as each person gets to grow in their strengths rather than fight to fit into a job position with structured requirements.

There were tons of gifts and passions from each different staff member, as we saw from the variety of ministries they have coming out of Lifehope! They had ministry teams for everything from Muslim ministry, kids, sports, dance, youth, Polish, and so much more. You found that some people worked part-time in logistical things, like finances, personnel, etc. and part-time in field ministries like dance, kids, youth, etc. It was awesome to see that you could create your job and be involved in completely different areas, as long as you were using your gifts.

Last thing, we had an amazing conversation with a woman named Atonya. She gave us some wonderful advice - to have passion and to be ready to serve in that. Seeing how often our generation feels entitled to what they receive, we forget that there is something worth fighting for and serving in...no matter the cost to ourselves.