March 16, 2025 • 28 mins
In this compelling episode of Bleeding Daylight, Rodney Olsen speaks with Kari Hunnicutt, a passionate advocate for international missions and author of "Dormant Faith." Kari shares her transformative journey from simply sponsoring a child to becoming deeply involved with Christian education in Senegal through Go On The Mission. Her experiences witnessing persecuted believers' unwavering commitment contrasted sharply with Western Christianity's struggles to move beyond passive church attendance.
Kari challenges listeners to examine their own spiritual lives, discussing how modern distractions create what one Iranian believer called a "satanic lullaby" that dulls Western Christians' spiritual senses. Through personal stories of witnessing the Holy Spirit's power in remote African villages and her own family's busy life balancing four children and multiple passions, Kari offers practical insights for keeping faith active and responsive to God's invitations in our hectic world.
WEBLINKS
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Wherever there are shadows, there are people ready to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.
This is Bleeding Daylight with your host, Rodney Olsen.
Welcome and thanks for listening.
I'm really glad that you've discovered Bleeding Daylight and found so many inspirational stories of hope.
Please help others discover Bleeding Daylight by sharing on social media and through word of mouth.
(00:33):
There are dozens of other episodes waiting for you at bleedingdaylight.net.
We sometimes hear people talking about a faith that is alive or a living faith.
What does that actually mean?
What is a dormant faith?
And are more people living that kind of faith than we might imagine?
Today's guest shares her perspective.
(01:03):
Today I'm talking to Kari Hunnicutt, whose passionate commitment to international missions sets her apart.
As a board member of Go On The Mission and a key figure in developing a Christian school in Senegal, she channels her faith into actionable change across the globe.
Her recently published book, Dormant Faith, explores the challenges and triumphs of living out the Great Commission in today's world.
(01:30):
Today we'll explore her remarkable passions of faith, family, travel and fitness.
Kari, welcome to Bleeding Daylight.
Thank you so much.
It's great to be here.
There are so many things that we can talk about.
But first, let's get to know you a little.
If I was to visit you and knock on your door, who would I be likely to find at home?
(01:51):
Oh my goodness.
That is a great question.
And I would hope you would be ready for a very busy house.
I have four kids.
They range in ages all the way from 18 is our oldest to 10 is our youngest, with a 13 year old and a 15 year old in between there.
(02:15):
And then my husband, who is also a very busy administrator at an oncology practice.
We also seem to always have a farm of animals too, because we love animals.
So you will be greeted with dogs and a cat and a frog and a cave gecko.
(02:37):
Who knows?
Guinea pigs, hedgehogs.
We have it all.
It does sound like a very, very busy life.
But as I say, you've been involved in a number of things outside the home as well.
What do you think it is that drives all these passions, that drives you to be so involved, not just in your own home family life, but with the lives of those around about?
(03:01):
Well, that's a really good question.
I think just naturally, I have always been a very driven person.
For as long as I can remember, I've had goals that I would post each year and I would always be looking to work towards those goals, helping myself become a better person and growing and learning and turning to God and seeing what He wants me to do.
(03:25):
Ultimately, I think He gives me these passions and this energy to just be doing my part in this world and be serving my family and others all around the world.
It helps that that is kind of my personality, but also, I definitely couldn't do it without God.
We sometimes find that when we're very busy with the general busyness of life and then mission on top of that, we can tend to lose touch with God.
(03:54):
It sounds almost counterintuitive, but it tends to happen for some people that because we're so busy doing God's work, we lose touch with God.
So, how do you stay grounded in that connection with God amidst the busyness?
Yeah, I think that this is a great topic and a huge conversational point for all of us as believers, right?
(04:16):
I think this is our world today.
We are so busy and often very overwhelmed.
I think to stay focused in God, it's very important to have our connection, our relationship with God at the forefront.
So, I know that every morning when I wake up, I need to make sure that I have my Bible open and I am in His Word and I'm communicating with Him all throughout the day, even in the busyness.
(04:46):
Even if it's pop-up prayers, there are different things that are going on throughout life, even outside of those pop-up prayers that I'm really making time still to, to really connect with Him and make sure that He is truly driving it all and that I'm still turning to Him.
I'd love to explore Go On The Mission.
(05:07):
Tell me about that.
I guess I'll start from the very beginning and how I got started with Go On The Mission.
I was in a church service.
A representative of Go On The Mission was there in my church.
We were listening to a presentation about a trip that was coming up within our church.
(05:27):
And then also with that, they coupled the conversation with the opportunity to sponsor children that attend various schools.
The trip was going to be going to West Africa, visiting multiple Christian schools and a village.
I had always thought and felt a prompting in my heart to sponsor a child.
(05:49):
You always see those promotions and videos and different things about child sponsorship, but I was always a little bit reserved to respond to that prompting, I think, because I wasn't positive where exactly my money would be going.
I wanted to make sure I was a good steward of my money and that I knew these children were really receiving this money.
(06:13):
When I was listening to this presentation and had the opportunity in front of me to sponsor a child and then possibly go on a trip to meet the child, I was like, okay, that sounds like something I want to check out.
Then all the questions start in my head.
How can I take the time off work?
(06:35):
Should I leave my family, my four kids?
But again, as I continue praying about it and give it to God, He made it very clear that I was to go on this trip.
The desire to go just continued to grow and any roadblocks that were in the way, I just saw Him clear.
(06:55):
He cleared them all so that He just paved the way to go.
When I went, I was able to explore a variety of the schools there.
I learned all about the Christian schools and the models there that go on the mission was a part of developing and supporting.
I got to see the model Christian school that had already been developed and had gone from preschool, been developed all the way through to high school.
(07:27):
Then as we traveled to a more remote area, there was another Christian school that I was able to visit that was much smaller.
This was about 10 years ago.
It had only been developed preschool through about fourth grade.
We had the opportunity to meet with the teachers and the headmaster of the school.
(07:50):
When you meet those people and you could just sense the Spirit of God in them, he was one of those people in my life.
He was a visionary.
He told us when this school started, it was just me and my two kids in this community.
We started this school and people would laugh at us.
(08:10):
They would say, this is not a school with you and your two kids coming to this place and would also laugh at the idea that Christianity was the focus and incorporated in the teachings because this is a Muslim prominent community who mostly practice Islam.
When I went there, it had grown from those two students to 90 students.
(08:38):
The headmaster, when we asked him how we could pray for him and the teachers and this community, he dropped to his knees and he just asked us to pray for God to continue to work in that community and in that area and for the school to grow so that eventually it would be like the model school that we saw that went all the way up through high school.
(09:06):
In that whole plan, he laid out that he would love to acquire the land next door, but a Muslim man owned that land and he said there's no way that right now he wants to sell it to a Christian school.
He wanted a library for the students, an IT room, and eventually a school bus that could be able to go around the community and pick up kids because the only children that could go there are the children whose parents could get them there or could walk to school.
(09:39):
He kind of laid out all of these projects for how he saw the school developing.
I just remember during that prayer, just feeling the Holy Spirit fill that room.
I can point to a few times in my life where the Holy Spirit has been that strong and this was definitely one of those moments.
(10:01):
Of course, getting to meet my sponsor child was also very incredible.
When I returned home from that trip, I couldn't get it off my mind.
I kept recalling so many of those moments and especially that time in prayer when I just felt the Holy Spirit moving and speaking and just thought there has to be a way that we can partner with Go On The Mission and create funding for projects.
(10:32):
What I thought was going to be a trip to just visit a new place and meet my sponsor child, I eventually became this volunteer project manager of sorts and really advocating for this particular school to see if we could complete these projects.
(10:55):
Now Go On The Mission, they do have kind of three different parts with their organization.
So you can go on trips with them, you can sponsor children, or you can be involved in various projects like this one that I'm describing.
We have, in the last 10 years, been able to really expand that school.
(11:17):
We just finished the funding for the secondary school.
So now that will be built and pretty soon in the next year or two, we're hoping it will be operating and running all the way from preschool all the way through about 10th grade is when their secondary school and when they graduate to get ready to go on to either trade school or college.
(11:45):
It must be incredibly empowering for you to know that you've had a part to play, and yet, as you've mentioned, it's pure obedience to what God has asked you to do.
How often do you think we miss the opportunity to see real results for the kingdom because we just say, no, that can't be me?
(12:07):
Oh man, you just gave me goosebumps with that question, seriously, because I think that's a huge part of my book, Dormant Faith.
Again, what we were talking about earlier that we are so busy, we can easily miss it.
We can easily miss what God is inviting us to be a part of.
(12:31):
When I think back at that moment when I was sitting in that church, feeling that tugging on my heart to respond and then looking at this last 10 years and what it has grown into and what I would have missed if I would have said no or wouldn't have followed through with that.
(12:54):
Oh my gosh, it breaks my heart to think, wow, God clearly had a plan here.
It's been an incredible journey for me.
I have grown so much and I've seen Him and His power and just sensed how alive He is and how He is working not only here around me, but all the way across the world, all over the world.
(13:19):
That's a huge part of why I just feel like it is also part of my job to share my story, to share what I've experienced God and His power do and how He does move mountains and perform miracles even in our world today.
(13:41):
So many of us, I think, just miss it.
It's like we're falling asleep on the job.
We're just not quite hearing Him or we do, but again, all the excuses run on and on in our heads like, well, yeah, maybe, but I've also got this and this and this and it just doesn't fit together.
(14:03):
So it is complicating and it is hard in our world for sure.
But yeah, I just think if our eyes are open and we are truly surrendered to God, He will make it clear when we need to respond and not get lost in all the distractions.
And you mentioned there the title of your book, Dormant Faith.
(14:24):
It's a little uncomfortable to think of a dormant faith when we want to believe that we have a living faith, yet so often it is the case.
Tell me, what was it that drove you to write the book?
This is also quite another story that, again, I feel very strongly God planted a seed in me and it's just grown.
(14:52):
You're right.
I think for the longest time I fought actually putting this in a book and putting it out there because I didn't want it to be dormant faith.
Just like you say, it's kind of like, ouch, what do you mean?
But I didn't want it to necessarily seem like a negative thing or very judgmental towards people because ultimately it's not my judgment where other believers are in their faith.
(15:25):
That's God's call.
But I do feel like it's my job as a believer to encourage other believers to run each of our unique individual races that we are called to run in our crazy modern world today that I think we can so easily get distracted and lost and pulled away.
(15:49):
We're not always truly tapping into the Holy Spirit, truly, I think, believing His power and that He can do these incredible things in our lives.
And so it just kind of gets shoved aside.
I call it a lot on the back burner.
God's on the back burner of my life or a lot of people who wear the cross, but don't bear it.
(16:15):
It's like trying to figure out how those all go together.
This whole idea of the book started years ago when I started really in leadership discussions.
It just seemed like no matter where I was, a consistent message across various churches and just trying to address the people and the church was, how do we get people to respond?
(16:42):
We have them showing up to church and they're sitting in the pews.
They're hearing the message.
You know they're taking something home, but when we're asking for them to serve in ministry or for them to do something, it's very difficult to move from the pew to action, whether in the church or outside of the church.
(17:07):
It is like this 80-20 phenomenon where 80% are just sitting and don't seem super active in their faith when we're making these opportunities for people to be involved.
About 20% of the same people are constantly there and ready and seem like they're awake and just excited for what God has next.
(17:35):
But then that 20% eventually, they grow weary and they go tired and they're pittering out too.
How do we work with this and what do we do?
Yes, there are some things that the church can do to continue to help minister and grow in our faith.
But ultimately, what I was seeing is it's our hearts.
(17:59):
Our hearts have to be ready and our hearts have to be oriented toward God.
Sometimes they get hardened and we can't respond a lot with that.
I was just praying.
I just felt a burden like, God, move in your people and move in their hearts.
Two other big parts that I just felt like kind of led into this too was, one, when I went to Senegal outside of the school and what touched me there were the believers' lives.
(18:35):
I didn't know what to expect, but their testimonies just blew me away.
They had incredible stories, heart-wrenching stories of true persecution, where when they found Jesus and they proclaimed their faith in their Muslim families that practice Islam, they were more often than not shunned from the family.
(19:05):
Some of them, even as they told their testimony, were still running and hiding from their family members.
They would have tears rolling down their eyes in all of the pain that they have experienced by deciding to follow Jesus in their culture and in others' response to that.
(19:27):
It was just amazing to me to not only see them share their testimonies like that, but to then hear them talk about their ministries, what they were still doing, even if they had to hide in a small closet so that people couldn't find them, but they would still be looking for God and what He wanted them to do and trying to reach as many people as would be open, all in the midst of it.
(19:57):
So again, when I got back, I'm like, we're over here having these conversations of, how do we awaken people?
How do we get people involved?
Contrasting that to these Christian friends in another part of the world that are just so on fire for God because they're running for their lives and very, very different lives.
(20:21):
But it taught me a lot, and we live in very different worlds, and so it is hard to really compare that.
But one thing that I just kept coming back to is when they made a decision to follow God and to trust how big He is and to see them through it, they really believed it.
(20:43):
To know what you're facing in front of you, like that true persecution, you're going to really make sure that that is what you believe before you proclaim it.
Another way that I've heard it put, it was a few years back, I was at a women's conference called the If Gathering.
People joined from all over the world.
There was a pastor on the screen, kind of in an underground church in the Middle East, same type of thing, running from persecution, but really trying to have a church there.
(21:20):
His wife was an Iranian woman, and they ended up moving to the United States, thinking that they were going to come and have a good life here, that He was going to provide her a good life.
He said shortly after we arrived, it didn't take very long at all, but she said, I don't want to live here anymore.
(21:44):
I want to go back home because I would rather be in the throes of persecution and going through what we were in our ministry than to be here because I feel myself falling asleep.
She referred to it as a satanic lullaby.
(22:05):
That was another moment that I was just like, oh, right to the heart.
But again, yes, it hits all of these points that we're talking about.
It's not necessarily that we don't believe, but again, in all this busyness circling around us, I think it's like our own kind of persecution.
(22:29):
It might look different, and it's not like running for your life persecution, but it is dulling our senses here.
If we think of it in that light and think of not just being aware of God's power, but also of Satan and what he can do to try to trick us and distract us and lull us to sleep, so to speak, in our faith.
(22:57):
Do you think that a big part of it is contrasting the lifestyle that we live, I mean, we all have the ups and downs, but our lifestyle can often be fairly civilized and fairly calm, contrasting that to actually what the scriptures say, what life was like for those early disciples?
(23:18):
Yeah, for sure.
I talk about this in my book too, Dormant Faith, with the disciples even walking side by side with Jesus, and he's teaching them, and he is performing miracles right in front of them.
They're trying to grasp everything that's happening.
(23:40):
They doubt.
They aren't sure about all of this all the way through the end, and even after he died, they were still hurt and like, what was all of that?
And some of them, even then when Jesus started reappearing to them after his death, they still were doubting that it was him initially that they were seeing.
(24:03):
We watch them go from that, go from their doubts, go from trying to figure it all out, fighting through it, to by the end of their lives, they are on fire.
Their lives are devoted to him.
They are not distracted anymore.
They are not doubting anymore.
(24:25):
They are going to the ends of the earth to different places, spreading out, and I talk about how each of them died, and a lot of them died horrific deaths in Jesus's name, proclaiming their faith and running their races all the way to the end.
(24:47):
That's kind of how I think about it, and I say, yeah, even they didn't have it all figured out, but you know what they didn't do?
They didn't give up.
They kept persevering.
They kept going.
They kept asking the questions.
They kept fighting through it all, and that's what I think we can also grasp from all of this is, gosh, if I'm feeling distracted, if I'm feeling lost, what do I need to do so that I don't fall asleep or don't become numb to this or don't stay in this place?
(25:27):
You mentioned earlier that when you went on that trip to Senegal, you saw the way that the believers acted.
You saw so much difference there, and it really made a difference in your own faith, and I know that you have a passion for travel.
How has that continued to shape your faith as you've met with believers from various countries and seen the way that they interpret Scripture?
(25:55):
Has that had a bearing on your own faith?
Oh, for sure.
The more that we're connected and involved, whether in our home places or across the world, we can always learn from each other.
I think as long as we're, again, our hearts are open and hearing what God is doing through the ugly, through the beautiful, people have such incredible stories.
(26:25):
God is working differently in people and in different areas, but I think that's why I love it so much.
Being able to see and meet other people in different places and see what God is doing and how He's working there, it helps me a lot.
I just grow so much through that.
(26:46):
If people are interested in getting hold of your book, Dormant Faith, or even finding out more about Go On The Mission, where would be the easiest place for people to find you?
I do have a website.
I have it broken up into three different sections of faith, fitness, and travel, but under that, under faith, they can also find a link to Go On The Mission.
(27:11):
My website link is just devotedexplorer.com.
They can also find Go On The Mission at goonthemission.com or on my website, devotedexplorer.com.
I will definitely put some links in the show notes at bleedingdaylight.net so that people can find you.
(27:32):
I know that there's a whole lot more to your story that people will want to explore so they can jump onto that website, connect with you.
It's so important too, just as you wanted to know, hey, how is my money going to be stewarded when I give to these organizations?
I know that it's important for people to connect with those who have gone, like yourself, and so that's an opportunity for people to really hear directly from you.
(27:58):
Is my giving going to have an effect?
I'll make sure that people know how to find you.
Kari, I just want to say thank you so much for sharing some of your story with us today.
Thank you for your time on Bleeding Daylight.
Yeah, of course.
It's been my pleasure.
Thank you so much for your time and your willingness to have me on your show.
(28:21):
Thank you for listening to Bleeding Daylight.
Please help us to shine more light into the darkness by sharing this episode with others.
For further details and more episodes, please visit bleedingdaylight.net.
Wherever there are shadows, there are people ready to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.
This is Bleeding Daylight with your host, Rodney Olsen.
Welcome and thanks for listening.
I'm really glad that you've discovered Bleeding Daylight and found so many inspirational stories of hope.
Please help others discover Bleeding Daylight by sharing on social media and through word of mouth.
(00:33):
There are dozens of other episodes waiting for you at bleedingdaylight.net.
We sometimes hear people talking about a faith that is alive or a living faith.
What does that actually mean?
What is a dormant faith?
And are more people living that kind of faith than we might imagine?
Today's guest shares her perspective.
(01:03):
Today I'm talking to Kari Hunnicutt, whose passionate commitment to international missions sets her apart.
As a board member of Go On The Mission and a key figure in developing a Christian school in Senegal, she channels her faith into actionable change across the globe.
Her recently published book, Dormant Faith, explores the challenges and triumphs of living out the Great Commission in today's world.
(01:30):
Today we'll explore her remarkable passions of faith, family, travel and fitness.
Kari, welcome to Bleeding Daylight.
Thank you so much.
It's great to be here.
There are so many things that we can talk about.
But first, let's get to know you a little.
If I was to visit you and knock on your door, who would I be likely to find at home?
(01:51):
Oh my goodness.
That is a great question.
And I would hope you would be ready for a very busy house.
I have four kids.
They range in ages all the way from 18 is our oldest to 10 is our youngest, with a 13 year old and a 15 year old in between there.
(02:15):
And then my husband, who is also a very busy administrator at an oncology practice.
We also seem to always have a farm of animals too, because we love animals.
So you will be greeted with dogs and a cat and a frog and a cave gecko.
(02:37):
Who knows?
Guinea pigs, hedgehogs.
We have it all.
It does sound like a very, very busy life.
But as I say, you've been involved in a number of things outside the home as well.
What do you think it is that drives all these passions, that drives you to be so involved, not just in your own home family life, but with the lives of those around about?
(03:01):
Well, that's a really good question.
I think just naturally, I have always been a very driven person.
For as long as I can remember, I've had goals that I would post each year and I would always be looking to work towards those goals, helping myself become a better person and growing and learning and turning to God and seeing what He wants me to do.
(03:25):
Ultimately, I think He gives me these passions and this energy to just be doing my part in this world and be serving my family and others all around the world.
It helps that that is kind of my personality, but also, I definitely couldn't do it without God.
We sometimes find that when we're very busy with the general busyness of life and then mission on top of that, we can tend to lose touch with God.
(03:54):
It sounds almost counterintuitive, but it tends to happen for some people that because we're so busy doing God's work, we lose touch with God.
So, how do you stay grounded in that connection with God amidst the busyness?
Yeah, I think that this is a great topic and a huge conversational point for all of us as believers, right?
(04:16):
I think this is our world today.
We are so busy and often very overwhelmed.
I think to stay focused in God, it's very important to have our connection, our relationship with God at the forefront.
So, I know that every morning when I wake up, I need to make sure that I have my Bible open and I am in His Word and I'm communicating with Him all throughout the day, even in the busyness.
(04:46):
Even if it's pop-up prayers, there are different things that are going on throughout life, even outside of those pop-up prayers that I'm really making time still to, to really connect with Him and make sure that He is truly driving it all and that I'm still turning to Him.
I'd love to explore Go On The Mission.
(05:07):
Tell me about that.
I guess I'll start from the very beginning and how I got started with Go On The Mission.
I was in a church service.
A representative of Go On The Mission was there in my church.
We were listening to a presentation about a trip that was coming up within our church.
(05:27):
And then also with that, they coupled the conversation with the opportunity to sponsor children that attend various schools.
The trip was going to be going to West Africa, visiting multiple Christian schools and a village.
I had always thought and felt a prompting in my heart to sponsor a child.
(05:49):
You always see those promotions and videos and different things about child sponsorship, but I was always a little bit reserved to respond to that prompting, I think, because I wasn't positive where exactly my money would be going.
I wanted to make sure I was a good steward of my money and that I knew these children were really receiving this money.
(06:13):
When I was listening to this presentation and had the opportunity in front of me to sponsor a child and then possibly go on a trip to meet the child, I was like, okay, that sounds like something I want to check out.
Then all the questions start in my head.
How can I take the time off work?
(06:35):
Should I leave my family, my four kids?
But again, as I continue praying about it and give it to God, He made it very clear that I was to go on this trip.
The desire to go just continued to grow and any roadblocks that were in the way, I just saw Him clear.
(06:55):
He cleared them all so that He just paved the way to go.
When I went, I was able to explore a variety of the schools there.
I learned all about the Christian schools and the models there that go on the mission was a part of developing and supporting.
I got to see the model Christian school that had already been developed and had gone from preschool, been developed all the way through to high school.
(07:27):
Then as we traveled to a more remote area, there was another Christian school that I was able to visit that was much smaller.
This was about 10 years ago.
It had only been developed preschool through about fourth grade.
We had the opportunity to meet with the teachers and the headmaster of the school.
(07:50):
When you meet those people and you could just sense the Spirit of God in them, he was one of those people in my life.
He was a visionary.
He told us when this school started, it was just me and my two kids in this community.
We started this school and people would laugh at us.
(08:10):
They would say, this is not a school with you and your two kids coming to this place and would also laugh at the idea that Christianity was the focus and incorporated in the teachings because this is a Muslim prominent community who mostly practice Islam.
When I went there, it had grown from those two students to 90 students.
(08:38):
The headmaster, when we asked him how we could pray for him and the teachers and this community, he dropped to his knees and he just asked us to pray for God to continue to work in that community and in that area and for the school to grow so that eventually it would be like the model school that we saw that went all the way up through high school.
(09:06):
In that whole plan, he laid out that he would love to acquire the land next door, but a Muslim man owned that land and he said there's no way that right now he wants to sell it to a Christian school.
He wanted a library for the students, an IT room, and eventually a school bus that could be able to go around the community and pick up kids because the only children that could go there are the children whose parents could get them there or could walk to school.
(09:39):
He kind of laid out all of these projects for how he saw the school developing.
I just remember during that prayer, just feeling the Holy Spirit fill that room.
I can point to a few times in my life where the Holy Spirit has been that strong and this was definitely one of those moments.
(10:01):
Of course, getting to meet my sponsor child was also very incredible.
When I returned home from that trip, I couldn't get it off my mind.
I kept recalling so many of those moments and especially that time in prayer when I just felt the Holy Spirit moving and speaking and just thought there has to be a way that we can partner with Go On The Mission and create funding for projects.
(10:32):
What I thought was going to be a trip to just visit a new place and meet my sponsor child, I eventually became this volunteer project manager of sorts and really advocating for this particular school to see if we could complete these projects.
(10:55):
Now Go On The Mission, they do have kind of three different parts with their organization.
So you can go on trips with them, you can sponsor children, or you can be involved in various projects like this one that I'm describing.
We have, in the last 10 years, been able to really expand that school.
(11:17):
We just finished the funding for the secondary school.
So now that will be built and pretty soon in the next year or two, we're hoping it will be operating and running all the way from preschool all the way through about 10th grade is when their secondary school and when they graduate to get ready to go on to either trade school or college.
(11:45):
It must be incredibly empowering for you to know that you've had a part to play, and yet, as you've mentioned, it's pure obedience to what God has asked you to do.
How often do you think we miss the opportunity to see real results for the kingdom because we just say, no, that can't be me?
(12:07):
Oh man, you just gave me goosebumps with that question, seriously, because I think that's a huge part of my book, Dormant Faith.
Again, what we were talking about earlier that we are so busy, we can easily miss it.
We can easily miss what God is inviting us to be a part of.
(12:31):
When I think back at that moment when I was sitting in that church, feeling that tugging on my heart to respond and then looking at this last 10 years and what it has grown into and what I would have missed if I would have said no or wouldn't have followed through with that.
(12:54):
Oh my gosh, it breaks my heart to think, wow, God clearly had a plan here.
It's been an incredible journey for me.
I have grown so much and I've seen Him and His power and just sensed how alive He is and how He is working not only here around me, but all the way across the world, all over the world.
(13:19):
That's a huge part of why I just feel like it is also part of my job to share my story, to share what I've experienced God and His power do and how He does move mountains and perform miracles even in our world today.
(13:41):
So many of us, I think, just miss it.
It's like we're falling asleep on the job.
We're just not quite hearing Him or we do, but again, all the excuses run on and on in our heads like, well, yeah, maybe, but I've also got this and this and this and it just doesn't fit together.
(14:03):
So it is complicating and it is hard in our world for sure.
But yeah, I just think if our eyes are open and we are truly surrendered to God, He will make it clear when we need to respond and not get lost in all the distractions.
And you mentioned there the title of your book, Dormant Faith.
(14:24):
It's a little uncomfortable to think of a dormant faith when we want to believe that we have a living faith, yet so often it is the case.
Tell me, what was it that drove you to write the book?
This is also quite another story that, again, I feel very strongly God planted a seed in me and it's just grown.
(14:52):
You're right.
I think for the longest time I fought actually putting this in a book and putting it out there because I didn't want it to be dormant faith.
Just like you say, it's kind of like, ouch, what do you mean?
But I didn't want it to necessarily seem like a negative thing or very judgmental towards people because ultimately it's not my judgment where other believers are in their faith.
(15:25):
That's God's call.
But I do feel like it's my job as a believer to encourage other believers to run each of our unique individual races that we are called to run in our crazy modern world today that I think we can so easily get distracted and lost and pulled away.
(15:49):
We're not always truly tapping into the Holy Spirit, truly, I think, believing His power and that He can do these incredible things in our lives.
And so it just kind of gets shoved aside.
I call it a lot on the back burner.
God's on the back burner of my life or a lot of people who wear the cross, but don't bear it.
(16:15):
It's like trying to figure out how those all go together.
This whole idea of the book started years ago when I started really in leadership discussions.
It just seemed like no matter where I was, a consistent message across various churches and just trying to address the people and the church was, how do we get people to respond?
(16:42):
We have them showing up to church and they're sitting in the pews.
They're hearing the message.
You know they're taking something home, but when we're asking for them to serve in ministry or for them to do something, it's very difficult to move from the pew to action, whether in the church or outside of the church.
(17:07):
It is like this 80-20 phenomenon where 80% are just sitting and don't seem super active in their faith when we're making these opportunities for people to be involved.
About 20% of the same people are constantly there and ready and seem like they're awake and just excited for what God has next.
(17:35):
But then that 20% eventually, they grow weary and they go tired and they're pittering out too.
How do we work with this and what do we do?
Yes, there are some things that the church can do to continue to help minister and grow in our faith.
But ultimately, what I was seeing is it's our hearts.
(17:59):
Our hearts have to be ready and our hearts have to be oriented toward God.
Sometimes they get hardened and we can't respond a lot with that.
I was just praying.
I just felt a burden like, God, move in your people and move in their hearts.
Two other big parts that I just felt like kind of led into this too was, one, when I went to Senegal outside of the school and what touched me there were the believers' lives.
(18:35):
I didn't know what to expect, but their testimonies just blew me away.
They had incredible stories, heart-wrenching stories of true persecution, where when they found Jesus and they proclaimed their faith in their Muslim families that practice Islam, they were more often than not shunned from the family.
(19:05):
Some of them, even as they told their testimony, were still running and hiding from their family members.
They would have tears rolling down their eyes in all of the pain that they have experienced by deciding to follow Jesus in their culture and in others' response to that.
(19:27):
It was just amazing to me to not only see them share their testimonies like that, but to then hear them talk about their ministries, what they were still doing, even if they had to hide in a small closet so that people couldn't find them, but they would still be looking for God and what He wanted them to do and trying to reach as many people as would be open, all in the midst of it.
(19:57):
So again, when I got back, I'm like, we're over here having these conversations of, how do we awaken people?
How do we get people involved?
Contrasting that to these Christian friends in another part of the world that are just so on fire for God because they're running for their lives and very, very different lives.
(20:21):
But it taught me a lot, and we live in very different worlds, and so it is hard to really compare that.
But one thing that I just kept coming back to is when they made a decision to follow God and to trust how big He is and to see them through it, they really believed it.
(20:43):
To know what you're facing in front of you, like that true persecution, you're going to really make sure that that is what you believe before you proclaim it.
Another way that I've heard it put, it was a few years back, I was at a women's conference called the If Gathering.
People joined from all over the world.
There was a pastor on the screen, kind of in an underground church in the Middle East, same type of thing, running from persecution, but really trying to have a church there.
(21:20):
His wife was an Iranian woman, and they ended up moving to the United States, thinking that they were going to come and have a good life here, that He was going to provide her a good life.
He said shortly after we arrived, it didn't take very long at all, but she said, I don't want to live here anymore.
(21:44):
I want to go back home because I would rather be in the throes of persecution and going through what we were in our ministry than to be here because I feel myself falling asleep.
She referred to it as a satanic lullaby.
(22:05):
That was another moment that I was just like, oh, right to the heart.
But again, yes, it hits all of these points that we're talking about.
It's not necessarily that we don't believe, but again, in all this busyness circling around us, I think it's like our own kind of persecution.
(22:29):
It might look different, and it's not like running for your life persecution, but it is dulling our senses here.
If we think of it in that light and think of not just being aware of God's power, but also of Satan and what he can do to try to trick us and distract us and lull us to sleep, so to speak, in our faith.
(22:57):
Do you think that a big part of it is contrasting the lifestyle that we live, I mean, we all have the ups and downs, but our lifestyle can often be fairly civilized and fairly calm, contrasting that to actually what the scriptures say, what life was like for those early disciples?
(23:18):
Yeah, for sure.
I talk about this in my book too, Dormant Faith, with the disciples even walking side by side with Jesus, and he's teaching them, and he is performing miracles right in front of them.
They're trying to grasp everything that's happening.
(23:40):
They doubt.
They aren't sure about all of this all the way through the end, and even after he died, they were still hurt and like, what was all of that?
And some of them, even then when Jesus started reappearing to them after his death, they still were doubting that it was him initially that they were seeing.
(24:03):
We watch them go from that, go from their doubts, go from trying to figure it all out, fighting through it, to by the end of their lives, they are on fire.
Their lives are devoted to him.
They are not distracted anymore.
They are not doubting anymore.
(24:25):
They are going to the ends of the earth to different places, spreading out, and I talk about how each of them died, and a lot of them died horrific deaths in Jesus's name, proclaiming their faith and running their races all the way to the end.
(24:47):
That's kind of how I think about it, and I say, yeah, even they didn't have it all figured out, but you know what they didn't do?
They didn't give up.
They kept persevering.
They kept going.
They kept asking the questions.
They kept fighting through it all, and that's what I think we can also grasp from all of this is, gosh, if I'm feeling distracted, if I'm feeling lost, what do I need to do so that I don't fall asleep or don't become numb to this or don't stay in this place?
(25:27):
You mentioned earlier that when you went on that trip to Senegal, you saw the way that the believers acted.
You saw so much difference there, and it really made a difference in your own faith, and I know that you have a passion for travel.
How has that continued to shape your faith as you've met with believers from various countries and seen the way that they interpret Scripture?
(25:55):
Has that had a bearing on your own faith?
Oh, for sure.
The more that we're connected and involved, whether in our home places or across the world, we can always learn from each other.
I think as long as we're, again, our hearts are open and hearing what God is doing through the ugly, through the beautiful, people have such incredible stories.
(26:25):
God is working differently in people and in different areas, but I think that's why I love it so much.
Being able to see and meet other people in different places and see what God is doing and how He's working there, it helps me a lot.
I just grow so much through that.
(26:46):
If people are interested in getting hold of your book, Dormant Faith, or even finding out more about Go On The Mission, where would be the easiest place for people to find you?
I do have a website.
I have it broken up into three different sections of faith, fitness, and travel, but under that, under faith, they can also find a link to Go On The Mission.
(27:11):
My website link is just devotedexplorer.com.
They can also find Go On The Mission at goonthemission.com or on my website, devotedexplorer.com.
I will definitely put some links in the show notes at bleedingdaylight.net so that people can find you.
(27:32):
I know that there's a whole lot more to your story that people will want to explore so they can jump onto that website, connect with you.
It's so important too, just as you wanted to know, hey, how is my money going to be stewarded when I give to these organizations?
I know that it's important for people to connect with those who have gone, like yourself, and so that's an opportunity for people to really hear directly from you.
(27:58):
Is my giving going to have an effect?
I'll make sure that people know how to find you.
Kari, I just want to say thank you so much for sharing some of your story with us today.
Thank you for your time on Bleeding Daylight.
Yeah, of course.
It's been my pleasure.
Thank you so much for your time and your willingness to have me on your show.
(28:21):
Thank you for listening to Bleeding Daylight.
Please help us to shine more light into the darkness by sharing this episode with others.
For further details and more episodes, please visit bleedingdaylight.net.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com