Mission

Have you considered what your life mission is?

I love the opening sentence in Pastor Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, “It’s not about you!” The truth is, it’s not! We spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves, but at the end of the day we have to remember, once we know Jesus, our mission as Christ followers is to make Him known. Matthew 28:19-20, otherwise known as “The Great Commission” tells us:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Making disciples begins in our homes and with our extended family, in our neighborhood and in our city. But what about beyond our immediate circle?

I remember a missionary coming to speak at our women’s group when we lived in Phoenix. She started her story by singing the song, “Lord, please don’t send me to Africa.” Yup, you guessed it! She was a missionary to Ghana, Africa! The authenticity about her fears and wanting to never leave U.S. soil really sparked in me a desire to open the door wide to wherever God led me!

As I’ve shared with you bits and pieces about some of our travels in previous devotionals, we’ve had the opportunity to make Jesus known not only in the United States, but in Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and South Africa. That doesn’t count the other countries we’ve vacationed in. I love to strike up a conversation with a server in a restaurant and, suddenly, they are my new best friend wanting to know more about Jesus. My traveling companions usually are slowly backing away from me or saying, “There she goes again!” I can’t help it! One of my Strengthsfinders is “Woo,” and I love to “woo” people to Jesus. (I may be using that strength out of context but it sounds good!)

As parents, we have to instill in our children the value of making Jesus known as well.

I love seeing so many of you with your children spreading mulch on our Serve Day. Our children did those types of activities in our city, but also started making monthly trips to Tijuana to work at an orphanage when they were in middle school. (I’m not sure, they may have been going for the chicolets and street tacos. Just kidding!) In later years, they joined in by building housing communities out of what had been garbage dumps.

Not only have our children served locally, but they’ve forged friendships throughout the world. Steve has traveled to Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya and Ghana, Africa. Brittany has traveled to Jamaica and Argentina. What I’ve seen happen to them as we’ve sought to remind them, “It’s not about you,” is that their hearts have grown larger for their neighbors right here at home!

Steve and Amanda live just a few blocks away from First Street in Livermore. Think of California back in the early days with families walking down Main Street, kids playing, families gathering at restaurants, and the beauty of generations past. The only problem is their home was built in the 1940’s, and a few of the homes around them have become known as drug houses. Because Steve loves his neighbors, he goes out in the middle of the night when women are screaming because an angry boyfriend is acting out. His goal is to keep that woman safe and let her know there is a God that loves her. Both he and Amanda have helped homeless students at a community college get housing and food, and yes, the students know they are helping because God loves them.

Friends, whether we are parents, grandparents, or adopted aunts and uncles, we have a role to play. To continue to help the next generation believe, “It’s not about you,” we must teach them what it means to be a good neighbor, both right here in our city and throughout the world!

Pastor Pam

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