Choosing Well

Peter and John did not look like they really could do the job. I mean REAAALY, would you have chosen common fisherman to do some of the greatest work for the Kingdom of God? They hadn’t even been to seminary much less Bible School. We are talking great stuff here, like building the church of Jesus Christ! Surely in all of Israel Jesus could have found someone better and more learned and more capable! But apparently God knew who was the best choice, and He chose them. It is such a picture of God choosing the surprisingly simple and then empowering them to do great things through His Spirit.

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We had gotten her name from Trace Balin who had simply said she knew a young woman who was doing some creative things in videography working part time filming various members’ testimonies at a local church. She encouraged us to speak with her about possibly handling all of the filming for our 66 DVD Bible study. So I gave her a call, and she agreed to meet with us the following week.

The four teachers along with Robin Rosebrough were all sitting around my dining table (AKA command center) when Kelle Ortiz arrived. I must say we were shocked when she walked in! She was a tiny petit blonde child, and well… she looked very young. Surely she could not be old enough nor experienced enough to take on such a huge project!

We invited her to sit down, and I outlined the scope of the project, the vast amount of filming that would need to be done, the tremendous responsibilities it would entail, the desire for individual music videos that would require a creative mind and the hard work that would be involved, along with the fact that she would have to work closely with us to ensure our desires and dreams for this study were realized.

She sat undaunted and busily took notes of everything I said. Then we went around the table giving everyone an opportunity to speak about the importance of the work. When all had shared Kelle simply put down her pen and sat up straight and said with great confidence, “I have been asking God for two years to give me an opportunity to bring Him glory though the creative gift that He has given me. I will meet with you next week with a proposal and we will go from there.”

I must say I was a bit shocked. We had not scared her off nor had she backed down when we explained the complexity of the project. And the truth is we were all impressed with her heart for God and her desire for His glory alone.

The next week she arrived right on time with five copies of the proposal in hand. Of the two other proposals we had received, this one was the most comprehensive, every detail spelled out in a clear, understandable way. And once again she expressed her deep desire to honor God, and she prayed it would be through this project.

Her grace, good cheer, kind heart, and humble attitude sealed the deal. At that point neither she nor we knew just what she could do, but we were willing to take a chance because we trusted the God who worked through her…and in the end she did not disappoint!

We started by hiring her as a part time worker. She kept her job at the local church for about a month, but as things started heating up and the work growing daily, she finally quit her job and was now on our payroll. That all sounds great but we never knew if there would even be a payroll as all of the funding came through prayer. Everything depended on God’s provision.

It was about this time that I needed to explain the “rules” to Kelle. If the money was not available, then we did not move forward. At any moment she could be out of a job. We would always pay her for the work she did but could never guarantee work for the next week or even the next day. Her reply was perfect. “I will trust God for my provision as you trust Him for yours!” And so the partnership, and eventually dear friendship, was formed.

About two months later it was clear that Kelle needed help. The best person for the job was her husband Shane who also was a gifted videographer, film editor and musician who had been working as an appraiser. So Shane quit his job and also was now on the “payroll”! Shortly after, Kelle’s cousin Lana would join the team as the producer and Joel Musch, at the age of seventeen, would come on as the animator/graphics coordinator.

Every one of these young people understood the “rules” and all agreed that they too would live day to day trusting God to provide. We would work closely as a team for the next five years, and all of us were taking a road we had never journeyed before -full of high elevations and low valleys- yet following hard after the God who drew us to Himself, guiding, providing and encouraging. We knew we were the least likely for the job. But He had chosen us and we would give Him our best.

End note: Over the next five years of production, God never once failed to provide for the salaries of these four people through gifts to Big Dream Ministries. In 2002 and again in 2005 they were the winners of the coveted Telly award given for outstanding videography. Today Soteria Productions is an outstanding production company that works for some of the largest ministries in the business.

For nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:37