Earlier this month, a small team from LifePoint had the opportunity to travel to the Middle East on a short-term mission trip. Our team was made up of Tina Rhodes, Kelly Hanson, Samuel Spray and Ryan Smith and me. Each of us had an opportunity to use our gifts and abilities in a unique way to strengthen and encourage the people we visited. I have always heard that these trips have more of an impact on the people going than on the people who are visited. I think we would all agree that we had no idea how much God would use this trip and the people we met to strengthen and encourage us as well.
One of the highlights of the trip was meeting both the American workers and their national partners in ministry. Whether it be the Americans who have moved across the world or the nationals who have lost family, friends and work opportunities because of their faith, these are faithful followers of Christ who have truly laid down their own lives for the sake of the gospel. It was a great blessing and incredibly encouraging to spend ten days alongside men and women who have committed their lives to the Great Commission, no matter the cost.
During our time there, we were able to work alongside the team as they went about their normal week of ministry. Due to the political, cultural and religious restrictions in the Middle East, the team is forced to get creative as they look for ways to engage the community. Soccer clubs for kids, art classes for women, and leadership development for men are just a few ways God has opened doors in a region that is hostile to the good news of Jesus Christ. The team also spends a lot of time visiting with Syrian refugees in their “homes.” We were able to spend two days participating in this ministry as they provided for physical needs, shared the gospel, discipled new believers, and comforted refugees who have fled war-torn countries. We heard stories of families being split apart as they fled from ISIS, young children dying due to a lack of medical resources, and parents who are unable to provide for the basic needs of their families due to the lack of work. However, even in the midst of these heartbreaking accounts, we also heard stories of many transformed lives as God opened eyes to the reality of the gospel.
We also had the opportunity to worship with some local believers in two different house churches. These small groups of ten to fifteen believers sang songs of worship together, encouraged one another with what God had been doing in their lives, prayed together, and shared about friends and family members with whom they had been sharing the gospel. In a world where converting from Islam to Christianity could cost you your family, your friends, and even your life, the passion and commitment to living out their faith together was both encouraging and convicting.
Seeing what God is doing in the Middle East was a great opportunity that I hope to have again in the future. My eyes were opened to many areas of my own life that I take for granted and how narrow my perspective tends to be. God is at work around the world and the power of the gospel is saving lost men and women who are living in darkness. God’s mercy and love are stronger than any power of this world and no matter how hopeless it may seem, the gospel has and will continue to prevail. That reality became all the more clear to me during our trip and is reason for us all to rejoice.
I encourage you all, just as our team was encouraged, to remember believers from around the world in our prayers, to think about how we might be more and more involved in missions, even as we consider the many refugees living in our communities, and to look forward to the day that we will meet brothers and sisters from every nation, tribe, people, and language in Heaven as we worship our great God.
Pastor Chris
