When I was 16 my dad took me to Greece on a mission trip called Operation Joshua through Hellenic Ministries. On this trip we lived in Sparti [Sparta], Greece and drove all across the Peloponnese dropping Bibles off at every house in every village on the peninsula. The Bibles were in Modern Greek because most Greeks don’t have access to Bibles in a language they can read.
This trip was wonderful! We woke up with the sun, drove around on Greek roads most of the day, spent the rest of it walking up and down mountain hills delivering Bibles, and went to bed around 2 am each day. Oh … and we did all of this while learning to function on Greek time! Yes, this trip really was amazing! I loved every waking minute of it… and I was awake A LOT!! In fact, Johnathan Macris (the leader of HM and the trip) told us on send off the first morning that “if you get too tired to drive just do what I do- Pull over somewhere and sleep!” At that moment I thought that was a joke. How wrong I was!
Spending time with my dad was fun. Reaching out to the Greek community who was hungry for the gospel was also eye opening. But most of my learning and growth on this trip came from the people who were working alongside me. Johnathan Macris taught me about the power of prayer, Pastor Tom taught me about living out your faith, and the Pastor who had an accent that was a weird mix between Scottish and Southern (seriously) taught me about trusting God. And my dad, accidentally, taught me about being Bold.
After the trip we spent 2 days exploring Athens. We decided to walk up to the Parthenon, but took a pit stop at Mars Hill.
WARNING: Entering my Imagination
Begin Scene; cerca 50AD, Mars Hill, Athens, Greece
Mars Hill is the place to be in Athens. So on a hot summer day, the fat, old scholars and philosophers climb to the top of a slippery rock hill in Chitons in their leather sandals to have academic discussions. One day a skinny, young, raggedy, foreigner named Paul has the audacity to join them and to discuss his God with them. Paul proceeded to tell these men about how ridiculous their religion was because they are ignorant to it. He tells them they have so many gods to worship that they even worship an “unknown god” just in case they forgot one. Paul is bold enough to say that his one God is the God they have forgotten to worship. That his God is the One and Only true God and they must convert to Christianity. The eyes of these men widen, their jaws drop, and the gears in their heads begin to ponder this.
Paul exits. End scene.
As I was standing on Mars Hill visualizing this, I began to realize the full weight of what Paul’s words and action meant. Paul was Audacious enough to climb Mars Hill and Bold enough to speak truth directly into his audience’s lives.
I have the ability to be Bold and Audacious, but until that moment it was a gift that I rejected to use in the context of faith and reaching people. It was in that moment that I decided to have Bold faith because I wanted to leave nothing on the table and be as bold as Paul.
Being Bold and audacious in my faith is something I still work on. It isn’t easy and is more often than not scary or dangerous, but it is the way God called us to live. A life of audacious faith reaps great rewards. Stretching your comfort zone can be like lying with your head in a guillotine, paralyzed from fear. But seeing the fruit of your labors is as exciting as being a five year old in the middle of Santa’s workshop.
God has called all of us to be bold and audacious in our faith. He has asked us all to reach the lost. He has called me to do this on the World Race and go to the ends of the earth for the glory of his name. Where is he calling YOU?
If God is calling you to Support my trip, click the Support Me! button on the left side of your screen. God has taught me and blessed me through my service and He will teach and bless you for your generosity. What is God calling YOU to do?
To learn more about Hellenic Minsitries visit www.hellenicministries.com
