Why Leave a Successful Ministry to Start Something New?
Success is only found inside of God’s will, and I want to be in the middle of God’s will. I don’t want to run ahead, lag behind, or wander to the left or the right of His will. Acts 9:6 has been a frequent question of mine, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” In contemplating resigning a prominent position at one ministry and starting a new ministry, I want to know for sure that it is the Lord’s will. But sometimes it isn’t so easy to discern whether something is God’s will or not.
At Uchee Pines Institute, I had the opportunity of working with many wonderful lifestyle guests at our lifestyle center, traveling many places speaking about healthy lifestyles and natural remedies, teaching many eager students in our medical missionary training programs, inspiring healthcare providers with a better way to address the health needs of patients, and leading the institute as president and medical director. With so many opportunities and such a wonderful team of people to work with, why would anyone leave?
In 2014, Dr. Horst Müller came to Uchee Pines and presented a 20-part series entitled The Law of Life. As I sat through that series, I was challenged more than any other series I have ever heard. It turned my world upside down. I listened to the recordings from that series several times to try to wrap my mind around the concepts presented. And the more I reviewed the series, the more convinced I was that I needed to share these deep and vital concepts with our guests at the lifestyle center.
I put together a single presentation with a summary of what I had learned from Dr. Müller and shared it with our lifestyle guests. They were positively impacted and asked many questions. I realized I needed to expand what I presented so that I could answer their questions more thoroughly. And soon I had two presentations, then three, then six, etc. The lifestyle guests were very blessed by what they learned, but they wanted notes from the series. So, I put notes together in a Word document and printed it out for those who wanted it. I soon had over 25 pages, single spaced, and with narrow margins. We started printing the notes in a book form at Uchee’s printshop, and as the series expanded, so did the book. Finally, we decided we should officially publish the book (which you can find HERE).
Some of the lifestyle guests who heard the Law of Life series during their lifestyle session at Uchee Pines wanted their church family to hear it as well, so I began to receive invitations to travel and speak about the Law of Life. And as others learned about it, they invited me to speak about it in other places. Eventually, I was traveling across the US and around the world speaking about the Law of Life. And wherever I went, I saw the Holy Spirit moving marvelously upon those who listened, and I was privileged to see many lives changed. I realized that this message was meeting a need that so many people had, and the truth was setting them free from those things that bound them for so long.
I came to realize that, while Uchee Pines was doing a wonderful work in its sphere, while I had so many precious opportunities to teach and inspire others, and while I was loving the people and the roles the Lord allowed me to fill, there was a great need for the message of the Law of Life to expand and grow in exponential ways so that many others could be blessed and benefitted and set free. I realized that there needed to be more resources available to people so that they could access the truth and be set free. With this in mind, I decided to resign from Uchee Pines Institute and begin New Paradigm Ministries.
Besides offering consultations and counseling appointments (www.calendly.com/npmin/), my main objective is to write another book outlining the pathway to freedom. Then I will write a workbook to help individuals take the principles outlined in the book and apply them to their own lives/situations. Then we will develop an app that will take the outline of the book and digitize it with videos and illustrations and integrate the workbook in a digitized form to help individuals work through their personal and relationship issues in the privacy and safety of their own space. This app will also facilitate virtual support groups facing similar challenges and connect users with a network of LIFE coaches. Which means that we will then need to develop the LIFE Coach Course and start training LIFE Coaches to help others to freedom using these resources.
We are excited about what the future holds. There is much work to be done. And we invite you to pray with and for us that the ministry may fulfill all that the Lord desires—that many souls may be set free and live lives of meaning, purpose, and peace while helping others to be free as well. Thank you for praying with and for us.
Mark Sandoval, MD