What’s your gift?
By Karen Schneider
Half covered, half exposed picture of the church roof mid-repair.
James and Nancy Crosby at the Pastors and Educators meeting in the fall of 2024
Kayenta Mission is a Community Impact Center in Kayenta, AZ. The church building was in desperate need of a roof. The old one was a decade past its useful life. Monsoon season in the desert is no joke! Last year buckets collected water coming through the ceiling. Do you have a picture of the need? If this was your church or your home, what would you do? Call 5 different roofers, get 3 quotes, and choose 1 to get the job done. That just isn’t possible when you live on a mission site. IF you can get an internet signal, Google says the nearest roofing business with laborers and materials is 300 miles away. The nearest roofing supply store is 150 miles away. The nearest Walmart is 100 miles away.
James Crosby carefully cuts this section to ensure it fits just right.
Not a single volunteer answered your call for help. What would you do? Ephesians 2:10 says we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. God prepared James Crosby, Pastor of Kayenta Mission, for this and many other projects. Pastor Crosby was a master builder in his former life. He measured twice, ordered the materials, and collected them from the supply store 150 miles away. Not only did God gave Pastor Crosby the knowledge to repair the roof, but God also gave Pastor Crosby a Proverbs 31 woman. God used Nancy Crosby’s skills to raise the money needed to purchase the materials. God gave her strength to hand 40+ 26-foot-long sheets of 25-gauge corrugated metal onto the roof of the church. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)
This wasn’t just a roofing project, it is a testimony. A picture of faith in action. Of calling, commitment, and a willingness to serve with what’s already in your hands.
So, what’s your gift?
