“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (Exodus 17:10–13)
There is a lot that can be unpacked from this passage in Exodus 17. We see obedience in Joshua following Moses’ instructions, we see faith in Moses trusting in God for Israel’s victory, and we see deliverance in God providing that victory. And right in the middle we see true companionship between Moses, Aaron, and Hur. Read verse 12 again: “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Companionship is more than friendship, although it often entails that. The word companion, which shares the same Latin root as the word accompany, describes someone who comes alongside another either in everyday life or on a specific mission (think of Samwise not letting Frodo travel alone to Mordor). Aaron had already proved to be a true companion to Moses by going with him to Egypt to free the Israelites and speaking when he could not (Exodus 7:1–7). Here again we see Aaron helping Moses accomplish God’s mission by holding up Moses’ hands when he could not.
People on mission for God need companions like Aaron and Hur to come alongside them — to accompany them — in the task God has put before them. This is especially true for those called to lead churches. Jonny Damon recognized this need, and out of his desire to see churches thrive and its leaders remain “steady until sunset” the ministry Steady Hands was born.
Growing up, Jonny saw his grandparents serve as “missionaries to missionaries.” They had a heart for people who were alone on the mission field, and they came alongside them to help in any way they could. They prayed for their grandkids to one day continue ministering to those in ministry.
The Lord began to stir in Jonny a similar heart for those in ministry. At Charis Fellowship Conference in 2022, Scott Feather gave a message on the concept of “we” and being “for the one” which caused Jonny to begin thinking about what it could look like if we did more together. While on staff at Gateway Church in eastern Pennsylvania, Jonny started helping local churches, especially those with one or two person teams. He and his wife began to pray about a ministry to pastors, similar to his grandparents’ ministry to missionaries. He started showing up at churches and asking, “What do you need and how can we help?”
Oftentimes Steady Hands gets connected with a church or pastor through facility projects, and a personal relationship grows out of that. Jonny works to build relationships so that when a need arises, the leader trusts him enough to call for help.
Steady Hands has a volunteer pool and is financially supported by 50 donors and five churches. They offer all of their services at no cost to the person receiving it, in an effort to always be a blessing and not a burden. Sometimes their work looks like a counseling phone call with a pastor, a stage rebuild in an auditorium, a fresh coat of paint in the kids ministry area, a meal on a busy weeknight, preaching on a Sunday morning, or a vacation to step away and refresh. Their ultimate goal is to limit isolation and keep leaders healthy so they can continue to lead healthy churches which will continue to reach people with the Gospel.
The ministry, which is now a cooperating ministry of the Charis Fellowship, is based in eastern Pennsylvania and primarily works with churches and leaders in Lancaster and Chester counties. Jonny is working on building network connections in other areas as well to be able to connect people with resources and assistance local to them.
More information about Steady Hands can be found on their website here, and Jonny can be contacted through email here.