Every morning, the software team gathers for a stand-up to discuss the day’s to-do’s and deadlines. At the end of each stand-up, they have a time of prayer, accepting any prayer requests before bowing their heads. Justin Aguilar, Betenbough Companies software development manager, found his faith in Christ during these times in prayer with his team. When he started at Betenbough Companies, he was, as he described, “agnostic at best.”
Read Justin’s 2021 Impact Story
Now, he was leading this prayer time for his team and learning what it looked like to surrender his leadership to the Lord. He felt led by the Spirit to push the boundaries of their time in prayer. He began to ask, not only what or who they could pray for, but what they could do for the people they were praying for.
He began to ask, not only what or who they could pray for, but what they could do for the people they were praying for.
The first thing the team chose to do was for the sister-in-law of Dock Carriker, Betenbough Companies software implementation specialist. She was suffering from cancer so the team decided to send her flowers and write her letters – a small gesture that the Lord used to carry a large and unexpected impact.
“My sister-in-law called me one day, which was unusual, especially during work. I answered and she was just in tears. She was so overjoyed by these letters, specifically Justin’s. He called out the exact things she was dealing with internally that no one knew about,” said Dock, nearly in tears as he recounted the story. “That’s stuff you can’t make up – stuff you can’t put together – that only God can.”
Justin, along with his team, asked the Lord what more they could do. One morning, Dock had it on his heart to share about a local boy, Corbin, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in November 2021.
The Lord led Justin’s focus to Corbin. His goal was simply to let the Holy Spirit lead the way as he reached out to Marc, Corbin’s father, to introduce himself and get to know more about Corbin.
The Lord, revealing His care for even the smallest of details – led Marc to share that Corbin was interested in computers and gaming. Needless to say, this was exactly something the software team could help with, so they got to work.
Six months and a myriad of delays, adjustments, and donations later, the software team, with the help of the IT team, had a computer built and gaming equipment organized for Corbin. The teams invited Corbin and his family to a Friday lunch where they surprised him with this long-awaited gift. The true gift though, as it so often is, was for the givers – an impact the teams didn’t see coming.
Justin and his team gained a whole new perspective on the Lord’s timing and the way He leads.
“We learned a lot about listening to the Lord – not trying to force anything, listening to opportunities, and just seeing where He leads us,” said Justin. The experience taught us to be obedient and let God’s timing do its work. As a team, we got to see that in action.”
Dock believes the team has since become more vulnerable and open during their time together in prayer. “I feel like, through that whole process, our team has grown trust that there is genuine care there and it’s not limited to just direct family,” he said.
Dock credits Justin’s intentionality to lead in deed and not just words, as the catalyst for this experience and the way the team approaches their time in prayer today.
“It’s about going beyond just prayer and beyond just words, putting our prayers into action. Justin and the team had to be tenacious to find something to bless Corbin with. The Lord showed us how to be intentional about finding a way to physically bless someone.”
“The Lord showed us how to be intentional about finding a way to physically bless someone.”
Justin says the experience has shown him the fruit of prayer, empowering him to take action in what the Lord has called him to do.
“Even when we didn’t have the answer right away, we just continued to pray. When the Lord did answer, the timing always felt just right.”
However, the greatest lesson was in humbly recognizing that action is not synonymous with control and that the Lord’s timing is always perfect.
“In leadership and what we do, I can honestly say that I struggle to hold on tightly to things. Whether you call it control or accountability, I have room to grow. This experience taught me to bring this into my leadership, and it probably exposed one of my biggest growth areas,” Justin continued. “There’s a large amount of freedom in understanding that our needs and wants are out of our control. This has fortified my trust in the Lord and his timing.”