The Faces Behind the Box
I have begun to share with you about the ministry God has led me to over the past few months. (you can catch up on those posts here and here) Gather Box is a project I wrestled with because I knew my own limitations and what I was capable of doing. One by one, God gave me the names of women that could be a part of this team. I want you to meet the ladies behind Gather Box and let you know a little bit about them! (they have NO idea I’m doing this and will probably get me for it!)
Together we have 14 children between us. Seven boys and seven girls which is a random fact that I just think is interesting. We are all busy in our mom taxis running kids around, preparing what seems like constant meals, spending time with our awesome husbands, and just trying to keep the laundry caught up! Our circles don’t necessarily intersect and we didn’t all know each other until God brought us together as a team.
When God placed Gather Box on my heart, I was paralyzed with fear because of the places I didn’t feel equipped. What I find over and over is that God meets those inadequacies in abundance. Sometimes He provides what we need personally for that task or for that moment, and other times he provides through the gifts of other people. This makes us dependant on Him and interdependent on each other. I love how the body of Christ works like that. There are areas that I am not gifted, but others excel there. Together we pool our gifts, look to Jesus as the leader, and walk out his mission to make disciples. 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” I am humbled and honored that God would choose some amazing ladies to join me in this ministry. Without hesitation, when I asked each one, they said “yes” without a blink.
Meet Alli. Alli and I and our husbands have been friends for a while. It has been a joy to do ministry with them through the local church and see their influence and passion for the Gospel grow. Alli is one of the cutest and trendiest people I know, in the most casual, unassuming way. She will throw together a cute outfit or build and decorate her house and make it look effortless. Even more than that, Alli loves Jesus and loves women. She has been helping with women’s ministry at our church and helped launch a super successful mentor ministry there. She does it in the sweetest way, talking to and ministering to women one on one. She is constantly smiling, encouraging, and a joy to be around. When it came to Gather Box, I wanted someone who could help design the boxes and choose things for the boxes that would be appealing to women and fun for them to open and enjoy. Alli has chosen some super cute gifts for hostesses and guests that still point to the Biblical theme of each box. She has a great eye and I treasure her input and honesty when we are making decisions about the boxes.
Ally is our next team member. When I called Ally to ask her to be a part of the team I honestly didn’t know her well. To this day, I am still getting to know her! What I knew about her was from watching how she served people. One year for pastor appreciation month in October, she delivered gifts to the pastors on staff every day that they were at work that month! Each gift had a cute little saying or tag that matched the gift and was incredibly thoughtful. At the end of the month, she also sent home a pampering basket for each of the pastor’s wives. She tried to be anonymous, but I found her out! 😉 A while later a cake was delivered to our house by Ally. It was the most incredible, beautiful, and delicious cake I have ever seen someone make! Just because I know you are curious, it was a Reese’s cake- chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, peanut butter icing, and Reese’s crumbled on top! What stood out to me about Ally then and several times since is that she is intentional, thoughtful, and has the gift of hospitality. As I planned what Gather Box would be, it is centered around using hospitality to do ministry and God brought her to my mind. I reached out and she told me how God was already preparing her for something like this, she just didn’t know what. For Gather Box, Ally writes the recipes, chooses different tableware items for each box, and offers hospitality tips for hostesses. Her desire is that ladies not feel intimidated to host people in their homes, but see how God can use their hospitality for ministry.
Jennifer was the third team member I asked to join us. A little back story… a was a tag- along with my husband in December to a conference in Chicago. The conference was for him and ministry leaders like him, but God spoke directly to me while I was there. I had talked myself out of the Gather Box idea until God spoke clearly through a ministry leader I respect greatly and confirmed this ministry in my heart. I specifically remember traveling back from Chicago thinking, “but God, I am NOT a graphic designer. I can’t do this. I want it to look good and I don’t have the skills.” Just a few days later, I was volunteering at our kids’ school for a day and was assigned to a post with another mom I had never met. We got to talking about the normal things and then I asked her about things she is interested in. She told me what she did and then said, “but that’s not my dream.” I asked her what her dream was and she said, “some kind of graphic design or publication for women.” I was completely blown away! I said, “let me tell you about my dream.” I shared with Jennifer about my idea for Gather Box and she said, “yes! I’m on board!” Keep in mind, I had NEVER met her before in my life! I was in awe of how God continued to provide so perfectly and specifically. Jennifer does our photography as well as graphic design for all of the pieces. Her job is the most time consuming and could be the most frustrating as we move things and change things and try to make it perfect. She never complains and she serves and shares her gifts so willingly and with such joy.
Even as I write this I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness and faithfulness. These ladies are committed to serving knowing this is a ministry more than a business and that I started it without a dime to pay them! 😉 There are others that I have called on to ask business advice, media advice, and other questions and each time they so willingly help because they understand the mission. Thank you Mike, Hannah, Kyle, Phillip, Kim. You are part of this team as well. As you read this, would you pray for our team? Pray that God will continue to provide what we need when we need it and that He will use this team to bring Him glory.
Join our team! www.gatherboxministry.com @gatherboxministry on Instagram
One Comment
Mary C Clark
Krista, this sounds like a Beautiful Ministry! Prayers and Blessings as you move forward sharing God’s word.