Katie and I spent May and June of 2014 in Tullahoma, TN, working and worshiping with the Cedar Lane church. We were in extroverted overdrive for two months, trying to get to know as many people as possible in this narrow window of time, before we would move to Little Rock and then to Peru. One of the many things we loved about Cedar Lane was Steven Hovater's preaching. We're diving into some more of it.
“The Mission is God's”
Yours truly back in September, in my first ever article for the Team Arequipa Newsletter:
Because of Jesus, reconciliation overcomes brokenness. Hope overtakes despair. Wrongs are righted. And it’s the church that carries on the mission. Christians are to be conduits of God’s presence. Jesus is still the one sustaining everything, and it’s still God’s mission, but Spirit-led people are called to live out the New Creation in the midst of an old one.
And so Katie and I—after 5 years of married life and preparation and 5 months of dedicated time with two sending churches—are moving to a city in southern Peru at the end of the month.
Why? Because of God’s mission.
The bigger story we believe we're a part of is God's. We know the beginning, have a glimpse of the end, and have a humble role to play in the meantime. We believe it's a story for everyone, everywhere. It's what makes every follower of Jesus a "missionary." And it's what gives our life meaning and purpose, whether we're in Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Zambia, Mississippi, Italy, or—now—Arequipa, Peru.
