by Heidi Cummings
About 4 years ago, I had a successful career as a personal trainer, had recently graduated college, and was on track to meet all of my own “life goals”. I even attended church every once in a while. I was usually hungover at church, but I figured that God must be happy that I made the effort to show up. At the wise old age of 24, I thought that I had everything figured out.
Enter, Jesus.
No matter how successful I was, I knew that there was something missing in my life. One night, I pulled out my Bible and started reading in Matthew. I read three or four chapters, and went to bed. I woke up about 4 hours later in a cold sweat, because I knew without a doubt that Jesus was telling me that it was time to give Him control of my life. Not only that, but He was telling me that I was going to move to a place that I had never even heard of, and continue being a personal trainer there, so that I could tell a certain group of people about Him.
Excuse me, what?! No, no, no, Jesus. You have the wrong girl. My family, friends, career, entire life is in California. And by the way, I don’t know enough about You to tell others about You!
Praise God for His mercies that are never ending.
After that fateful night, I miraculously got thrown into the #NoPlaceLeft network, and 4 months later moved to Columbus, Georgia to learn what it means to follow Jesus. I started hearing the term “tent making” a lot. My response to that term was “yeah, I don’t know anything about tents. I don’t even like camping.” All that to say, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, or getting myself into. All I knew was that Jesus had asked me to take my career, and all the working knowledge that I had, and start using it for His glory.
When I moved to Georgia, I immediately started working at a Crossfit gym. In the first week of living there, I was taught how to share the gospel, and I quickly started sharing with members of the gym. Within a month, God gave me a church start with girls from the gym where I coached. Several months later, I moved to a different country, worked at a gym, shared the gospel, and helped people who had jobs and were starting churches. Then I came back to the U.S., switched gyms, shared the gospel, and God gave me another church to serve. About a year later, I moved to Texas, started coaching at a Crossfit gym, shared the gospel, and God gave me another church to serve.
Since Georgia, I have moved 4 times, to different areas of the world, found jobs, and shared the gospel in my workplace.
I honestly have no frame of reference other than sharing the gospel and starting churches at the place where I work. I am what you would call a Marketplace Missionary. May God continue to use my life, and my job to His glory, until there is #NoPlaceLeft.
Heidi has been called a “nomad for Jesus” and is currently living and sharing the gospel in Philadelphia. The Lord has slightly disrupted her pattern and gave her a church start to serve before giving her a job. So...if ya know of any job openings in Philly, send them her way.
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