For way too long I have tried to do things on my own. I have tried countless times to try and fundraise on my own. I have tried to “do church” on my own as well. Meaning I was basically just practicing religion instead of living a relationship with Jesus and instead of living in community I isolated myself from others. The Lord keeps reminding me though that we are meant to live in community with one another; with fellow believers. I know this will be a countless reminder throughout my life, as I tend to somehow drift from others. As I am preparing for the World Race the Lord keeps bringing this up of living in community. In preparation for the World Race I am having to rely more on the Church; but ultimately I am relying more on God.
The Church is the body of Christ, those who have come to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior over their life.The body of Christ is made up of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. There is a reason we take communion together, there is a reason why we are called to edify one another and not tear each other down. We are also called to love like Christ loves the Church (John 13:34-35). As the Church each member of the Body has their own gifts, talents, and callings on their life that God has placed upon their life. These gifts, talents, and callings are then used to glorify God and used to be a light to others (1 Corinthians 12). For the Lord does no desire for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
I believe the early church in Acts 4 got it right; for they were all of one heart, one soul, having everything in common. This is what the Lord has been teaching me; that I can not do it on my own and that I need to continuously be in community with believers who confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior. The Lord has brought about a great community in my life. I have great roommates who keep encouraging me to get in shape (for the body is a temple for the Holy Spirit- 1 Corinthians 6:15-20).
Thus, I am thankful that the Lord has given me this opportunity to go and share the Gospel to 11 different countries. Which is what He commissioned us to do (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20). In these 11 countries I will be in a community of believers who also have a strong passion to share the Gospel, and a passion for others to be saved. I fully believe that if we are in Christ and Christ is in us then we should all be people who have a desire where no one shall perish. My team are all from different parts of the world, with all of us in a different walk in life; but on this trip there will be lots of edifying one another, lots of prayer, and all of us loving on one another and loving on those who do not know who Christ is.
I honestly, can not wait to see what the Lord does; it will be rough honestly, living out of a backpack for a year sharing the Gospel. We will be pouring into the lives of those in other countries, and others will be pouring into our lives. This is why though that we are going as a community, because it is best to go out and do ministry together. Paul took Luke, Timothy, Barnabas, Silas, and so many others with him along on his journeys because I believe he realized this.
So as I am preparing on this adventure I ask that you please partner with me in prayer as the body of Christ, as the Church for finances and for safety for my entire team. I also ask that if you want to donate, I encourage you and ask that you please do. The Lord has called me on this mission trip, and my team on this mission for a reason. Each of us are all apart of the body of Christ and each of us have different gifts that the Lord will be using us for, so that He may be glorified.
Below is just a few pictures displaying what the body of Christ looks like.
