God Sparked a Fire

I don’t wanna go through the motions,
I don’t wanna go one more day; Without
your all-consuming passion inside of me.
(“Motions” by Matthew West)

Before this summer, Molly Bottenberg was a Christian, but was simply “going through the motions.” After growing up with an alcoholic father, Molly was caught in the middle of an awful divorce between her parents three years ago and she had essentially ceased all communication with her father. She then began attending a Pathway high school small group last September. She claimed God was her number one priority, but, inside, she knew that wasn’t true.

Thanks to some convincing from her small group, Molly decided to go to the MOVE conference this summer. There, she found herself captivated by a video featuring the rescue of abused children by the International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization that rescues victims of violence in nearly 20 communities in Africa, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia.

“God sparked a fire in my life,” Molly said. “I always loved working with children, and I knew God wanted me to make an impact.”

Since returning from MOVE, Molly has become an IJM volunteer and global partner, designing and selling T-shirts and raising money for awareness. She also actively volunteers in the Pathway children’s ministry. And once she graduates from high school in 2017, Molly plans to pursue a nursing degree so that she can utilize the medical field to help children.

MOVE also served as a catalyst for a dramatic change in Molly’s relationship with her father. Throughout the conference, Molly heard the message that accepting people for who they are and forgiveness are key elements of being a Christian. Molly knew she had to reconcile with her father, so she called him, told him she forgave him and even recently spent a day with him for the first time in years.

“It felt like it was impossible to talk to him,” Molly recalled. “The past is still there and I know he’ll do it again. But God was testing me. I could not have goneon without forgiving him.”

Molly’s life certainly changed once she decided to MOVE toward God’s plan for her life. But she can still relate to Christians who are simply going through the motions: “Don’t give up. God has a bright future for you and His plan for you is bigger than yours ever will be.”

By Ross Fitch