Last weekend, we got the opportunity to be a part of a tremendous ministry called Conexion Extreme Service. Conexion is operated by a Columbian man named Jherson and his wife Amanda along with a slew of family and friends. This ministry operates out of San Jose, Costa Rica but consistently travels to other cities and countries for opportunities to spread the love of God in a tangible way. This particular weekend, we traveled with them to a Costa Rican beach city called Puntarenas. Without any prior communication or relationship, Jherson had heard from a pastor in the city that requested them to come for the weekend to put on one of their signature clinics.
Every other weekend, they travel to another city or country and set up a makeshift clinic. The clinic is complete with general doctors, PTs, massage therapists, eye doctors, dentists, nutritionists, a barber, and an all day Bible study (one for children and one theological study for adults). A few of the more severe surgeries or cases and dental care are at a vastly reduced price and all other services are free of charge. They run these clinics on Saturday and Sunday and follow the days with a message and worship session with their band. Never have I ever experienced such an incredible community that truly functions as one unified body. The weekend was filled with tons of different activities and hundreds of moving parts to make it operate smoothly, but this group made it look like a piece of cake. The setup, managing hundreds of patients, and take-down were all handled so professionally. No doubt they have been doing this for years, but there was something far more special about their unified work and the relationships they culminated through a short weekend with a church and community they had never previously worked with. Until I spoke with Jherson and others in our group, I had thought these people were their family simply by how quickly a connection was established. It was like they had known this church and community their entire lives. Simply excited and overjoyed to serve and share the Word of God in organic relational conversation rather than an overzealous forceful assertion of the Gospel. I have seen both approaches play out favorably, but there was something particularly special about how this ministry worked.
I’ve come to sum it up as simply as this: it’s a relationship. In Genesis, it is made very clear that God desires a relationship with his creation, His children, by walking in the garden and spending time with Adam and Eve. The same way that Jesus lived in community with his disciples and simply did life with them. It was the relationship He culminated in them that created such a large church as we see today. Sure, the miracles helped sway their faith, but the genuine kindness and love that they saw in Jesus’ heart in my opinion are where their faith in Him reached new peaks. The invitation of relationship persists to this day and will until the end of days as Revelations 3:20 puts it, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” It might specify him, but salvation is open to all the same way this invitation is open to all. It requires a relationship, nonetheless.
That is what Jherson and his ministry is cultivating here. A relationship that demonstrates and visually illustrates the genuineness in the betterment of man that Jesus showed during His life. A relationship that says you are willing to trudge the muck and mire. One that directly addresses the problem and offers assistance rather than avoiding or wishing the best. As Christians, we are called to live by the example of Jesus, “…the author and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2). One enormous way of doing this would be the genuine love in relationship that Jesus set before us.
“[Jesus] stand at the door…” God desires a relationship with us. Jesus desires a meal and community with us. All we must do is let Him in. All we must do is accept Him and desire to eat and live in community with Him as well. You can’t just open the door and lock Him in another room away from you and your family. You must let Him eat with you, sleep in your home, watch TV with you, just live out life with you in all things. That is true acceptance. That is true community. And, that is the desire that Jesus has for us all.
