Years ago, I was sitting in yet another dusty, developing country admiring the work of our team.
Our church had partnered with a child sponsorship program and flown down to put the finishing touches on a Learning Center for their community.
But something was missing. Or rather, incomplete.
We had invested in the immediate need: a structure that would feed, educate, and offer medical help. All good.
But as I watched the local, on-site directors of that community, the men and women who would stay long after our plane lifted off, I realized we hadn’t invested in the lead. We’d missed the human leadership infrastructure: the flourishing of the people who would carry this work forward after we packed up.
Behind their practiced smiles, they were worn out, exhausted, carrying burdens we never thought to ask about. Partly because we were busy finishing drywall. Partly because no one really saw them in the midst of all the other needs. Mostly because we didn’t know.
We are driven by tangible needs. We invest compassionately in clean water, micro-finance, feeding programs, homes for those escaping the evils of trafficking. That’s good and right and shows the generous heart of God. We should keep investing in those Kingdom structures.
But let me offer a both/and.
Behind every Kingdom endeavor is a lead. A man, woman or team called by God, pouring their life into others. They are the human heart infrastructure holding it all together. And because of who they are, they will keep pouring out until empty, often with no one to refill them.
Why wouldn’t we invest in their flourishing? Their marriages, their health, their healing, their renewal? Why wouldn’t we refresh those who refresh others?
When we invest in the lead, the needs of this world are then met with reconciled hearts, refreshed bodies and renewed vision. Without the lead, the needs rarely get met.
In our ministry ecosystem, the lead is the need. And the need is great.
As the Director of Oasis Rest International, our global team has the privilege of meeting thousands of needs by investing directly in the lead. For over 20 years, we’ve offered 3-7 day R.E.S.T. Retreats – Retreat, Encouragement, Safety, Transformation – for pastors, global workers, and Christian leaders across dozens of Oasis locations worldwide. Funded entirely by generous partners like you, there is never a cost to the guest.
This isn’t a vacation (although there are wonderful organizations who provide those opportunities). It’s a sacred space to reconnect with God, guided by a sacred face, a trained host who helps a leader and his or her spouse unpack the weight of life, love, leadership and legacy. Food, sleep, a listening ear, laughter, shared tears.
R.E.S.T. makes a better story.
Decades of guest surveys confirm what we see firsthand: leaders who are filled up lead differently. More hope, patience, resilience, clarity, connection, dreams…more faithfulness and good fruit for years to come.
If you’re a pastor, global worker or Christian leader in need, reach out to us. We get you. There’s no shame, no judgment. Tired? We can help. You are why we exist.
And if you’re meeting tangible needs with your financial generosity, keep giving.
But I also invite you to invest in the lead with Oasis Rest International. Even closer to home, ask your leader how he or she is doing. And then simply listen.
Every well you fund, every child you sponsor, every school you build… all of it depends on a leader still standing at the end of the day. You already understand leverage. You look for the investment that multiplies. You want to see a Kingdom return.
This is that investment and together, we have an opportunity to meet the needs of the lead every day, all over the world.