About TANDEM Ministry
This is the “About Us” story of the ministry that my wife and I began back in 2010. We call it TANDEM Ministry.
The Start of TANDEM
In 2010, after leaving the US Army, my family and I moved to San Antonio, Texas (from Newport News, Virginia). We felt God had called us there.
At the time, we knew no one in the area (other than a guy I had worked with a year or two before), and we had no jobs lined up, or a permanent place to stay.
Nonetheless, we moved.
While there, we were able to rent an apartment. Because of my injuries, from the Army, I couldn’t find work (other than physical labor). The only income we had was from my VA disability.
Three years prior, in 2007, I was at Fort Benning, Georgia for Officer Candidate School (OCS). While there, I learned how to make survivor bracelets.
One afternoon, while in the apartment in San Antonio, I was in the middle of making a bracelet when I felt God had given me a vision. A preview of how the bracelet should look. It would be a way to use them to help point others to Him.
After messing around with the bracelet for a bit, I was able to figure out the new way they were to be made.
What Is TANDEM?
Now that we had the design, we had to figure out what it meant. Sure, it had a cool and unique design, but it also had to honor God.
We had to figure out what to call this bracelet. Because of my military service, I suggested that we call it a tandem bracelet. Because tandem means two. And we knew that we needed Jesus to get to God. In other words, we are in tandem with Jesus.
Next, because my wife loves acronyms, we decided to turn the word tandem into an acronym. Using scripture, we came up with words to represent each letter in the word tandem.
Then, we decided which scriptures would be the overarching ones to be representative of the message behind the TANDEM bracelet.
And finally, we wanted to create a logo. Because the thought came from a tandem jump, we knew that a skydiver and a parachute had to be involved.
More on that later.
Transformed
The first letter in TANDEM is the letter “T.” In Christ, we have been transformed.
In Romans, Paul tells us to not conform to this world, but to be transformed into a new person (through the renewal of our minds).
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2 – ESV)
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2 – NLT)
Adopted
By accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have been adopted into the family of God. And therefore, we are also heirs with Him as children of the God Most High.
“He [Jesus] came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:11-12)
“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:15-17)
New Creation
When we accepted Christ into our lives, in Him, we are now a new creation. He made us new so that we could be reconciled to Him. Otherwise, because of our sinful nature, we would not be acceptable in His sight.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
Delivered
After receiving the free gift that God has given us, salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:16), we‘ve also been delivered from our old ways.
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So, use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” (Romans 6:12-14)
Does that mean that we will no longer have sinful desires? Absolutely not! Which is even more reason to rely upon God for His strength.
Empowered
We are now empowered to model the way Jesus taught and lived. I don’t mean being a nomad, but loving, teaching, and helping others.
“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” (Titus 2:11-14)
As a husband, for instance, I’m empowered to love and honor my wife as Christ honored and gave Himself up for the church.
“For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of His body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” (Ephesians 5:23-26)
Messengers
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He gave His last command to take His Word throughout the world, making disciples of all nations. And to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this same passage, He reminded the disciples that He will always with be with them. In the same way, He is always with us (those who believe in Him).
“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Meaning of the Bracelet
When we choose to follow Jesus, life doesn’t get easier. The exact opposite may very well be true. Jesus told us, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
And according to Ephesians 6:12, we don’t battle against flesh and blood. Therefore, Paul suggests that we put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18).
The bracelet is therefore a tangible reminder, that no matter what we go through in life, we will never have to go through it alone. And that God gives us His strength to deal with things that are more than we can handle.
There are six aspects to a TANDEM bracelet.
- The circles.
- A circle never ends. Just like God’s never-ending love.
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
- The two lines.
- The two lines in the middle of the circles represent the good times in life. That’s when we’re walking with God and life is good.
- The knots.
- These represent the struggles we face in life. With the knots, it’s difficult to tell one from the other. That’s like the “footprints in the sand.” Where God is carrying us because we can’t stand on our own.
- The chord itself.
- Each TANDEM bracelet is made with a parachute cord (also known as 550 cord). It’s referred to as 550-cord because a single strand can withstand 550 pounds of pressure. That’s very strong. Just like God’s love is very strong for us.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
- The cross.
- There’s a cross on each bracelet because we know there’s only ONE way to God. That’s through His son Jesus Christ.
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6)
- The fact there are three circles.
- The three circles on the TANDEM bracelets can be viewed in one of two ways.
- First, you can see them as the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
- Second, you can view them as your personal testimony.
- First loop = what was your life like before you met Jesus?
- Second loop = what was happening in your life when you met Him and gave your life to Him?
- Third loop = what’s your life been like since you prayed to receive the free gift He freely gave?
- The three circles on the TANDEM bracelets can be viewed in one of two ways.
In life, we WILL have struggles. There will be times when we think it’s just too hard. And that’s when we need to rely on God to get us through those times.
James, in his epistle, tells us that we should consider it “great joy” when our faith is tested. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” (James 1:2-3)
Think of it like this (which is also represented in the TANDEM logo), God is your parachute. Jesus is connected to you as your tandem partner who’s in turn connected to God. Together, they will bring you down to safety.
No matter what you go through in life, as He was with Moses, God will be with you. He will never fail or abandon you (Joshua 1:5). God never promised a smooth life with Him, but He did promise that you would never have to go through it alone.
Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
The scripture references in this post are from BibleGateway.com.
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