A Faith in Formation Prayer Letter
I thought this part of the journey would take about three months.
With my background in business, relationship-building, hospitality, community engagement, and networking, I believed I could apply what I already knew and quickly raise the support needed to begin Graduate and Faculty Ministries at the University of South Florida.
I know how to communicate a vision. I know how to connect with people. I know how to build relationships and make an invitation. So when the process took longer than I expected, I began asking honest questions:
Why can’t I simply use my business background to secure the donations?
Why is this taking so long?
Why does God seem to be so intentional about who becomes part of this ministry?
I am beginning to understand that God is not merely building a donor list. He is gathering chosen Kingdom partners.
From Business Logic to Ministry Dependence
My business experience is not useless. God gave me those skills, and He can use every part of my story. Strategy, organization, communication, networking, and follow-up all matter. But ministry cannot be built by strategy alone.
Business logic can sometimes make us believe that if we say the right words, contact enough people, present the right numbers, and follow the correct process, we can produce the result.
Kingdom work requires something deeper.
It requires dependence on God to move upon the hearts of His people.
It requires me to plant seeds faithfully without trying to control when, where, or through whom the harvest will come.
Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7:
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NIV
This is what I am learning to call seed logic.
Seed logic says I must prepare the soil, plant faithfully, water consistently, and trust God for the growth. I am responsible for obedience, not control. I can make the invitation, share the vision, follow up, and ask for recommendations, but only God can impress upon a person’s heart that they are meant to participate.
That dependence is not a weakness in the ministry model. It is part of the ministry itself.
Serving From Belovedness
The deepest change God is producing in me is teaching me to serve from belovedness.
Before Jesus began His public ministry, the Father said:
“You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Luke 3:22 NLT
Jesus’ identity was declared before His public activity began.
That truth is changing me. My worth is not determined by how quickly I reach a financial goal. A person’s “yes” does not make me more called, and a person’s “no” does not make me less loved.
I do not have to raise support to prove that I am valuable, effective, or chosen. I can invite people with confidence because I am already God’s beloved daughter.
Serving from belovedness also changes how I see others. People are not donation opportunities. They are sons and daughters of God with their own assignments, resources, relationships, and decisions to steward. My role is not to pressure them. My role is to offer a clear, faithful invitation and trust the Holy Spirit to lead them.
God Is Forming the Messenger
I am preparing to plant ministry at USF, but God is also planting something in me.
He is cultivating patience where I wanted speed.
He is cultivating dependence where I trusted my experience.
He is cultivating courage where I feared rejection.
He is cultivating belovedness where I was tempted to measure myself by results.
He is teaching me that the time between the promise and its fulfillment is not wasted time. Formation is happening here.
The ministry is not on hold while I develop partners. Ministry is happening in every prayer, conversation, invitation, act of discipleship, and connection. God is preparing the campus, gathering the partners, and forming me to carry the assignment with humility.
Will You Pray With Me?
My most urgent prayer is for new ministry partners and recommendations.
Please pray:
- That God will identify and prepare the people He is choosing to partner with this ministry through prayer and financial giving.
- That current friends and partners will recognize the right people to recommend for a personal conversation about the USF vision.
- That I will invite people courageously, follow up faithfully, and remain free from fear, pressure, or striving.
- That every connection will be relational, Spirit-led, and centered on what God is building among graduate students and faculty.
- That God will receive all the honor as He provides through the obedience of His people.
If someone comes to mind while you are reading this, would you prayerfully consider introducing us?
Your recommendation does not obligate that person to give. It simply opens the door for me to share the vision, hear their story, and allow them to prayerfully discern whether God is inviting them to participate.
You may be the bridge connecting this ministry with one of the Kingdom partners God has already selected.
A Question for Your Own Formation
Perhaps God is also asking you to release your timeline, your formula, or your need to control an outcome.
What are you trying to produce through your own strength that God is asking you to cultivate through faithful dependence?
Where might God be inviting you to plant or water a seed while trusting Him to bring the growth?
And who are you becoming while you wait?
God is not only preparing the mission. He is forming the messenger.
Thank you for praying, recommending, giving, and walking with me on the Road to USF.
With gratitude,
Jorgie Marshall
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Graduate and Faculty Ministries at USF
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