A health scare prompts a man to make changes in his life, resulting in new ministry opportunities to share Jesus’ love.

Coach Lance Meyer is a walking billboard for the love of Jesus. Whether he’s introducing young men from Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School, Milwaukee, Wis., to the game of golf, painting commissioned watercolor portraits for Mother’s Day, or sharing wisdom from years of ministry experience, no one in Lance’s circle questions for whom he’s doing it all. His heart beats for his Savior.

Lance has walked down a long and difficult road to where he is today. In 2020, a personal health crisis moved Lance to take a big step back and have an honest look at his life. He ended up dropping everything to start his own youth ministry program. These days, you might find him recording podcasts, leading devotions at schools around Milwaukee, or teaching kids how to paint. But how did Lance get there?

A nonstop ministry

Lance’s passion for youth ministry began in the classroom. “I did not think I would last even one year as a teacher,” he says, “but by God’s grace, I made it 25!” Basketball is what led Lance to Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC), Milwaukee, Wis., where he studied education. After receiving his diploma, he hit the ground running, receiving a call as the new principal at Immanuel, Waukegan, Ill. The years flew by in a shower of challenges, opportunities, and blessings. Lance taught in a number of different settings and served as the coach for several sports teams. Like every other facet of his life, he devoted every last bit of himself to each call God gave him. Every kid, every troubled background, even every behavioral issue in the classroom were opportunities to show young people who they were and whose they were.

“We need to train our kids to walk through the fire,” he says, choking back tears. “Sorry, this matters so much. . . . Their ability to weather the storms of this life while leaning on the people around them and staying connected to Jesus is everything. We as Christian adults play a huge role in building that endurance.”

A health scare

Lance is no stranger to what it’s like to walk through the fire. In 2020, his nonstop lifestyle and persistent work ethic finally caught up to him, and nothing would ever be the same.

“I knew something was wrong while I was playing golf on a trip to Arizona,” he remembers. “It’s not crazy for me to miss a few putts, but I was really missing. Not too long after that I was in the airport, and I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I didn’t want to be near any people, and that’s not me.” At the time, Lance didn’t see any of this as cause for too much concern. He returned home, hoping he would start to feel like himself again soon.

The next morning, he collapsed after basketball practice. He was unconscious all day long.

“I could hear things, but I couldn’t respond,” Lance says. “I was just floating. . . . Later they told me that that type of coma is like having ten concussions at once.” Twelve hours later, a different Lance woke up. That day in January 2020 was the beginning of a frustrating quest for information, marked by lots of questions no one could seem to answer. Over the next few months, Lance experienced two more comas, each one longer than the last.

It was during his third coma, which lasted 36 hours, that Lance had the breakthrough he had been waiting for—just not in the way he expected.

“It’s weird to say, but life was good in that coma. I was able to take a break from everything for the first time in a while. I could even listen to recordings of the Psalms,” he said. “As I lay there on my back and existed in that weird in-between space, I had time to reflect on a hard truth—my pride was pushing me to work myself to death. I needed to stop putting so much value on my to-do list and start finding my worth in things that truly matter.”

A turning point

Lance had his personal breakthrough that day, and he got some medical answers as well. He was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s encephalopathy, which had been causing his thyroid to be overproductive, sending him into his bouts of unconsciousness and extended comas. His treatment plan would begin immediately, and so would his new, intentionally slowed-down lifestyle.

“I needed to trade arrogance and insecurity for humility and confidence,” Lance says. “On my good days, that’s who I am now. On my bad days, that’s what I’m working toward.”

The weeks that followed Lance’s third coma marked a turning point in his life. No longer could he move nonstop without regard for his energy levels, routine, or the way his body was feeling. He needed to make some important changes—to seek a different pace that allowed him to live a functional, balanced life. He took a leave of absence from his ministry work. He took a break from coaching basketball. He traded a life of hustling for a life of intentional rest.

One thing Lance didn’t do was give up.

“I was shocked at the number of people that reached out from all different seasons of my life,” he says. “That’s something I want everyone to take from my story: Never doubt what God’s doing. He showed me then that he was working through me . . . not just through one part of my ministry, but through the years gone by and whatever would come next too. Your work will outlast you, and someday someone is going to be touched by it. That has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the One who created you.”

A new passion

Lance had always been at least casually interested in art, but his leave of absence and the global pandemic provided him a chance to lean into those gifts for the first time. What started as a hobby to relax and focus his mind turned into a passion. Lance entered his first art competition and then founded an organization called GRAS Ministries (Green Room Art Studio). It is a partner ministry with A City for God, a WELS-affiliated ministry that seeks to share the gospel in urban communities and schools in the Milwaukee area.

In the same way art has become a form of therapy for Lance, he is using it as a bridge to share the message of Christ’s love with young people and their families. In its first four years, GRAS Ministries has opened doors that Lance never imagined. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to build a ‘big ministry,’ ” he says. “I try not to focus on that. I’d rather reach people and give them the community and access to the Word they need to find true meaning in life.”

It’s inspiring to see Lance’s drive to make an impact in the lives of those around him. His life is a testament to the fact that our God is the master painter—capable of using our brightest and darkest moments to create a beautiful picture of his grace.

Learn more about GRAS Ministries.

Author: Cameron Schroeder
Volume 111, Number 08
Issue: August 2024

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