Enjoy The Shepherd Ministries
Enjoy The Shepherd is a ministry that we can honestly say God birthed. We had no plans, no ideas, and really no vision for it. On February 1, 2016, a set of twin lambs was born on our farm, and one of them was rejected by its mother. I worked several hours hoping to have the mother once again accept her own baby, to no avail. During this process, I felt led to shoot a short video about what we were watching and how it related to us and our relationship with the Good Shepherd. That video is what God used to launch an opportunity to share the love of the Good Shepherd for his people with daily lessons from sheep.
A year later we now have seen wonderful opportunities and have witnessed great testimonies of God’s work in peoples lives. All starting from a simple prayer that He would take me and use me up for His glory. Never did I dream He would use a little rejected lamb, in a small stall, in Tennessee, on our farm, to open this incredible door. But boy, am I glad He did.
Since He has opened this door, we have prayed and talked here in our house and thought it would be wise to have a mission statement which sums up what He is doing in and through our lives.
Mission Statement:
Sharing the love of the Good Shepherd with His people through lessons seen in our relationship with our sheep on our farm. Our hope is to reconnect the heart of His people with the Truth of who the Good Shepherd is and how much He LOVES His sheep so that they may Enjoy Him fully!
Method:
Our desire is to do this through devotional videos shared on Facebook, Youtube and other online channels. We also desire to compile devotional studies with a goal of encouraging people to go deeper in their Enjoyment of Jesus as their Good Shepherd. Lastly, we hope to travel and share the love of the Good Shepherd with those we are honored to be asked to speak to.
Ministry Support:
God has placed on our hearts a firm desire to completely trust in Him for provisions for this work. George Mueller and Hudson Taylor’s life story have had a huge impact on me. Their desire to never ask any man for money or share a need with anyone other than God really resonates with my heart. Many think this is crazy and old fashion and that God does not work like this anymore, but my heart is telling me that this is what He wants from us.
Therefore, our support will come through the sale of the devotional books and any other future books God lays on our hearts to write. We will also attempt to support the work through the sale of items with the logo on it (shirts, calendars, etc). As part of this journey, we will also offer devotional download studies for a reasonable cost that can be done by individuals or small groups.
Love offerings and donations will always be accepted with grateful hearts. At this point, Enjoy the Shepherd is not a 501c3, as God has not yet led us to become one. We feel as if God at this point would have us remain as we are. What this means is no donations made to Enjoy The Shepherd are tax deductible. Again, we feel this is an area for us to trust Him in. Our heart is to never ask for money or donations, however, if you believe the Good Shepherd is leading you to help support the mission through monthly gifts or a one time gift and join in the sharing of His great love through this ministry, you can donate online at EnjoyTheShepherd.com or send your donations to:
Enjoy The Shepherd
233 Simpson St
Gallatin, TN 37066
All donations will be used to
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Help support our family needs and free up more time to write and develop devotionals to share.
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Provide for the needs of the farm and the sheep.
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Help pay for travel expenses to go and share His message of love and enjoyment of His sheep with those who cannot afford to pay to have us come. (you can send request for Ray to come speak by emailing EnjoyTheShepherd@gmail.com)
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Help support mission work of other organizations like Agape to the Nations, Sonlife Ministires, Faith Rx’d and others God lead us to join in His work.
There are no commitment cards to sign or place to sign up as a donor. We simply want to trust God to lead you as He is leading us. I would like to always look back and be able to say along with George Mueller that this ministry was proof to God's people that God still provides for His people and as Hudson Taylor said, "If the work is of God it will never lack funds." What a testimony to God's might and power and care for His people as their Good Shepherd.
Most of all, we covet your prayers and words of encouragement. Your testimonies of how God has blessed you through our work and your commitment to pray for us is by far the greatest gift you can give us. We love to hear from you through Facebook Messages, comments, emails, and your cards are treasured. Every story you have shared about God working in your life through our lessons from sheep about Enjoying the Shepherd is what keeps us going. We would be honored to hear from any of you who have committed to keep us upheld in your prayers.
May God richly bless you and as always . . .
Go Enjoy The Shepherd!
Ray and Katie Carman (our kids Hailey, Raygan, Truett and Knox)