Helping global workers flourish on mission with God out of an abiding relationship with Him

Live In Step

The name In Step comes from Galatians 5:25, which says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Through about 25 years of working in cross-cultural ministry, we have seen global workers floundering when they could flourish in an intimate relationship with the triune God. This intimate relationship births a deep and growing desire to receive and reciprocate God’s loving and personal pursuit, and our pursuant God moves the disciple into accompanying Him in His mission to draw all the people of the earth into relationships with Himself. The purpose of In Step is to help global workers flourish on mission with God out of an abiding relationship with Him.


In Step provides guidance for you to live intentionally in step with God, gaining deeper insights into your unique design and growth potential and intentionally developing your ability to serve, influence, and grow throughout life. 

Get to Know Us


  • I had the privilege of a heritage of parents and grandparents who modeled living in step with God, and I started my journey with God as a young boy. I learned to walk in step with the Spirit through my teens and early adult years, and the Spirit led me, with my wife and our three young children, to Germany in 1997, where I led a church planting team for Communitas International (at that time, Christian Associates International) in Berlin for four years. In 2001, we moved to The Hague, The Netherlands, where I served as the Director of Europe Operations for eight years. Sadly, part of our story included a three-year battle with ovarian cancer, and my wife at the time, Deela, went home to be with the Lord in January of 2007. Much to our surprise, God creatively brought Elizabeth and me together, and we wed in 2008. We have been enjoying this adventure of walking in step with the God of the nations together. God guided us to Spain in 2010, at which time I began to observe that many global workers are floundering when they could flourish in an intimate relationship with the triune God and in the journey of participating in His mission. One of my greatest joys was launching and leading the Staff Care and Development team for Communitas. About seven years into that role, God surprised us again by guiding us to leave Communitas and join Barnabas International in 2019. God continues to deepen my experience of keeping in step with Him, and He gives me the privilege of helping other workers flourish in step with Him. My pilgrimage of learning to live in step with the God of the nations sometimes involves faltering steps, pain, and struggle. I benefit greatly from the varied investment of many people through whom the Lord impacts and develops me. I am grateful and eager to walk alongside other pilgrims who want to increasingly live in step with the God Who never leaves us.

 


  • Like Al, I grew up with the rich blessing of Christian faith on both sides of my family. I began walking with the Lord as a very young girl, and He has been faithful to help me grow and mature through varied experiences throughout my life. During my year of graduate work in Israel, the Lord awakened me to a desire to live cross-culturally, which eventually led me to join Christian Associates International, now called Communitas International. Beginning in 2004, I served for a few years on a church-planting team in Florence, Italy, but because my teammates and I never received the long-term visas we needed, we eventually moved out of Italy, at which point I moved to The Hague, The Netherlands. That geographical move in 2007 included a move from church-planting to member care, as I started coming alongside the staff of my organization in a caregiving role. To put it mildly, God surprised me in The Hague by bringing Al, Daniel, Bobby, and Katie into my life, and Al and I married each other in 2008. We moved to Spain in 2010, and we have enjoyed the Lord’s gradual process of revealing that Al and I work well together in caring for God’s servants all over the world. At first, we stepped into partnering in member care within Communitas, and in 2019, we shifted into an even closer partnership with each other in caring for God’s servants on a broader scale through Barnabas International. As we continue our work together, still based in Madrid, Spain, I am especially grateful that the Lord continues to mold me. In our work in member care, I’m increasingly aware that my work does not depend on me being wonderful at what I do; rather, I need to depend on the ultimate Caregiver, the Shepherd of shepherds. As I learn to trust Him to accomplish His will and reveal Himself, I find myself resting in Him and even eagerly watching for whatever He will do. God is always up to something good that we cannot see!

 

The Camino Metaphor and Lifelong Development

We live in the beautiful country of Spain, and one of Spain’s unique features is the Camino de Santiago (the way or path of Saint James), a pilgrimage across northern Spain. The Camino is a path countless people have walked for a myriad of reasons, ranging from adventure to soul searching. The length of the traditional route is about 500 miles (over 800km), passing over the Pyrenees Mountains, through lush vineyards, and across Spain’s beautiful and sometimes barren countryside to arrive at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. A physically fit pilgrim can walk the whole Camino in about one month. Many strenuous uphill and downhill stretches test the pilgrim’s legs and feet. His or her back and core face the laborious task of supporting a backpack of about 20 pounds (almost 10kg). A wise pilgrim embarks on the trek with a clear plan for daily distances and overnight waypoints, not to mention the necessary supplies and well-informed expectations. A successful Camino pilgrimage requires intentionality, as does the pilgrimage of living in step with the God of the nations. Having a sovereign mindset helps you consider the big picture of staying in step with the Spirit today and throughout your lifelong pilgrimage.

Even the fittest and most prepared pilgrim can face days on the Camino when each step is painful from blistered feet, a sore back, or aching joints. The pilgrim needs good self-care along the way to ensure the body can physically endure the arduous journey. Food, water, and sleep are essential on the Camino, and a few interspersed days of rest can make a huge difference in one’s ability to press on and enjoy the trek. Community is also an influential part of one’s Camino experience. Regardless of whether a person sets out on the Camino with or without companions, the bonds that form between pilgrims are integral to finding perseverance and joy in the journey. Some pilgrims join each other for a few hours or days, and some even become lifelong companions. In the same way, your lifelong journey of walking with Jesus requires good self-care, preparation, rest, and companionship. 

Regardless of planning well, the traveler is sure to face unknowns on the Camino, so adaptability is essential as problems arise. A pilgrim might send his or her backpack on a bus to the next waypoint because physical pain or illness could necessitate a schedule change. An aware pilgrim recognizes the need to hone strengths and develop skills as the journey itself reveals the challenges and realities of the Camino. Likewise, you’ll face the challenge of adapting and growing on your lifelong journey as you encounter exhaustion and twists and turns. These difficulties ultimately bid you to experience God, deepening your intimacy with Him and your trust in Him.

The Camino is challenging, demanding, and humbling, but the experience is also beautiful, illuminating, and encouraging. Similarly, a person’s lifelong journey with God is not easy; it demands everything. With intentionality, a Christ-follower can flourish in his or her unique lifelong pilgrimage, arriving at the end more spiritually alive than at the beginning. Lifelong development (LLD) is a term used for a whole-life perspective on one’s growth in light of God’s purposes for him or her. LLD is not an attempt to presumptuously control your life, but it’s a way of thinking that can heighten your awareness of what God is doing so that you can align with His purposes. Attunement to the Holy Spirit is a lifelong journey that calls for intentionality and submission to His leading as life unfolds. Rather than approaching lifelong development with pride or a desire for control, disciples can humbly acknowledge that God establishes their steps (Proverbs 16:9).

Life is hard. As Christ-followers, many of us skeptically wonder whether we can thrive or hope to complete our journeys more alive than when we started. As a global worker, trusting and hoping for increased flourishing can be even more challenging with the particular stresses and demands you face. We believe you can indeed flourish. We’ve enjoyed watching the In Step Pathway take shape over the past several years, and we’re excited to invite you to journey with us…and let us journey with you.

Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to engage in the In Step experience, including the possibility of joining us on the actual Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2023!