I once had a parishioner who was new to the faith. A profound experience of Jesus had led him away from dysfunction and alcoholism and into a new way of life. He became a new person, passionate about God, the church, and ministry. He was also hungry to know the scriptures. The only hiccup was that he didn’t know where to begin. The Bible seemed daunting and confusing.

I suggested that he start with the Gospel of Mark. I instructed him that whenever he came across something he didn’t understand, he was to put a sticky-note in the page and mark the question. He was to read slowly, and prayerfully, and when there was a sufficient number of questions we would get together and talk through them. 

As it turned out, we met every week for over a year. He would sit in my office with his Bible filled with notes stuck to every page. One by one we would tackle his sticky-notes. We journeyed through Mark, then Luke, Matthew, then John, before moving on to the rest of the New Testament. Over time, his knowledge of the Bible grew dramatically. But more than that, he began to uncover a calling for his life. He took on ministry tasks around the church and became a significant leader in the congregation.

It can be easy to think of our spiritual life as pertaining solely to our unique walk with the Lord. But the fact is, God never calls us to faith simply for our own benefit. We are always asked to reach into other people’s lives. Our experiences with God are a testimony to others, and our life with God serves as a guide for others.

Take Moses as an example. Moses’ leadership wasn’t just the every-day tasks of people management. Moses didn’t just sit in a tent, making executive decisions, and overseeing committee meetings. Moses understood the necessity of training a new leader. Throughout the Exodus, Moses poured his life into Johsua.

We often think that Joshua takes up his ministry where Moses’ ministry ends. Yet if we read the story of the Exodus with an eye to look for Joshua, we see that Joshua was in the background of many events. For example, Joshua was there when Moses prayed during the battle with the Amalekites; he journeyed with Moses part way up Sinai when Moses received the 10 Commandments; Joshua was with Moses when things when awry with the Golden Calf. During all these events, he may never have taken center stage, but he was there watching and growing. As God was working through Moses, God was also preparing Joshua.

There is a beautiful parity in this. Just as Moses’ life and ministry was borne out of the ministry of faithful midwives, so too God called Moses to serve as a midwife for Joshua. Moses provided the space for Joshua to experience the presence of God. Joshua watched as Moses both succeeded and struggled in his ministry. He absorbed the real-life, every-day, dynamic of Mose’s walk with God. And in the end, Joshua could only be faithful to God’s call on his life because Moses was faithful to his.

Who is the Joshua in your life? Who is the person that you can support in their faith development, or their experience of ministry? Who can you invite to join you as you journey in faith? This may seem like a tall task, but in truth, it doesn’t have to be. It can involve simple invitations to church or Bible studies, or letters of encouragement. It really is that simple. For Moses and Joshua, despite the grand and miraculous events, the greatest acts of mentorship between the two took place in simple one-to-one conversations.

Still, pouring our faith into another, while simple, is lengthy. Being a spiritual midwife is not a singular action. Moses committed to an ongoing relationship with Joshua. In fact, Joshua is noted to have been Moses’ aid since youth. For over three decades, God worked through Moses to prepare Joshua.

Just as God brought people into your life, to help you become the person God calls you to be, so too God wants you to help form the faith-life of another. You are called to encourage, to lead, and to build up someone up for ministry.  And just as Israel was blessed by Joshua’s leadership, you just never know how God will use the next person to bless the community you love and pray for.