What I Learned in Juarez: Part 1-The Local Church

Recently we spent 4 days in Juarez, Mexico building homes for two families.  Below is part one of a four part series describing just a few things I learned while our team was on mission.  

Missions has always been apart of our DNA at FBC Moberly.  Our brothers and sisters who served Christ at FBC before us have planted new churches in our community and across the world.  We have served on mission in Moberly, in multiple states around our country and in several continents around the earth.  Towards the end of 2016 we began to be burdened to do more.  We desperately wanted to see more people from our faith family move from being a missions minded church to becoming a more missions active church.  We didn’t know how this was going to happen, we just trusted that God was calling us to Go. And we knew that we had to say yes.

When God calls us to do something, our response should be immediate and complete obedience.  Those words are easy to type, but difficult to follow.  In the last 7 months, God has called our church to take two teams on international mission trips, something we hadn’t done for a few decades.  We were obedient and started making plans to go well before we knew how we would get there.  We just trusted that God would provide the way.  *Spoiler alert* He did.  He always does.  When He calls us to something, He’s going to provide the way.  When He calls, our only response should be “Yes!”

God Used Our Church To Go.

Three men from our church sacrificed time away from their family, they sacrificed through literal blood, sweat and nearly tear inducing sunburns.  They sacrificed their money, their backs and their vacation time.  They said “Yes” because God had called them to go.  It was one of the highlights of my trip to watch these men represent Jesus and represent FBC Moberly in Juarez.

God Used Our Church To Send.

The two international mission trips we’ve taken over the last seven months have been accomplished without adding money to the budget.  Our church has generously opened their wallets to support the cause of being on mission.  They have supported us through dinners, fundraisers and oftentimes just the random family or person who walks up to me with a few dollars in their hand and says, “Use this on your mission trip.”  A church that is #OnMission must be a generous and supportive church. There’s simply no way around it.  Thankfully, FBC Moberly is a church that sacrifices financially for the sake of the Gospel being spread around the world. Your sacrifice was the fuel that took us to Juarez.

God Used Our Church To Pray.

On Friday, May 25th we gathered together for prayer at 4:05pm.  I read a passage of scripture (From 1 Corinthians 4:05), we prayed together and then our van pulled away carrying our team to Juarez.  Each day members from our church family would set their phone alarms at 4:05pm to remind them to pray for us.  Each day I would get messages reminding me that we are being prayed for.  Our church prayed for us, they prayed for our entire team, they prayed for the Lara Family and most importantly they prayed that Jesus would be preached and the Kingdom would be advanced.  Your prayers were the fuel that kept us going in Juarez.

 

We Celebrated What God Accomplished Together.

After we arrived home, we were met with a decorated table and a Welcome Home sign.  Everyone we ran into on Sunday was genuinely curious to know the results of the trip, how the Gospel was preached and how the family was blessed.  We were able to share with our church family all that God had accomplished through the Church in Juarez.  Your excitement about what the Lord accomplished in Juarez was the fuel that got us home.

We were all on this mission together.  We went.  You sent us.  You prayed for us. And we all celebrated together.  TOGETHER WE ARE ON MISSION.

And now we are dreaming about what’s “next.”

Looking Ahead

To be a church #OnMission Here, There and Everywhere takes an entire church.  Missions (locally, nationally and internationally) are costly. They should be.  The greatest missionary on earth, Jesus, paid an extremely high price and made the greatest sacrifice to be on mission for us.  Missions are and should be costly.

If we are going to continue to be obedient to answer the call to missions we will need our entire church family to be on board financially and prayerfully.  It will take sacrifice, but when God calls and we respond in obedience, the sacrifice is always worth it. It will take commitment, but when God calls and we respond in obedience, the commitment is always worth it.  Our plan to accomplish what God is calling us to do for the rest of 2018, 2019 and into 2020 is intimidating to say the least.  The more we see the plan, the more the questions begin to emerge:

“How are we going to do that?”  “Is that even possible?”  “Who will go?”  “What if…”

It’s both exciting and intimidating when we look ahead to what God is calling us to do.  But, as the great missionary William Carey once said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” 

I’m ready to attempt the next great thing.  Are you ready to take that step with me?  Let’s keep walking, together as one body, the church.  For we are truly a CHURCH #OnMission.

One step at a time,

Brian