Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the pleasure and privilege of giving a tour. There were 8 ministers from our area that loaded up in a van and drove 6 hours to El Paso on Monday morning. We went so that churches in our area could get to know a minister in Clint, just east of El Paso, and hear his vision for their church and the surrounding area.
That was the focus of the trip.
But yesterday morning, on our way out of town, we decided to stop by another ministry just a little further east in Fabens, Texas. A church has a dormitory there where mission groups can stay at ridiculously affordable rates when they go to the are to do mission work. We wanted these leaders to see where they might stay if their churches were to decide to take a group back to the area to work.
But another thing this church in Fabens sponsors is a ministry called Crossing Borders. This is a ministry that provides food staples to pastors who live their lives ministering just across the border in Mexico.
For 11 years, this ministry has been dedicated to serving those pastors. But over time it has expanded to not only providing food for the pastors and their families, but also giving enough food to them that they can go back and give food to people in their congregations as well.
Every Tuesday morning, a team of volunteers gather in the church fellowship area and begin bagging rice and beans as well as other groceries. Then, throughout the morning, pastors make the trek across the border to pick up their allotment. At 10:00 am, one of the pastors will lead a Bible study for the workers and any one else from the community who would like to attend.
This goes on every week. As we watched this process happening and listened to the two saintly ladies who serve as domestic missionaries in this ministry, it became clear to me.
So often, we in our churches, talk about doing ministry. We pray about it. We organize it. And occasionally we may actually do something – an event or an emphasis. But as I watched the work going on right in front of me and realized the number of lives this ministry would touch, what kept running through my mind was “they are actually doing it.” One of the gentlemen on the trip, as we climbed back in the van to come home said it best, “They are getting it done.”
It wasn’t flashy. There weren’t any media personnel there taking pictures or doing interviews. This is just a simple ministry that gathers every Tuesday morning – and has for 11 years – to meet the needs of people.
God has called us all to do our part – regardless of how simple or menial it may seem.
Stay faithful to that calling today!
(If you want to learn more about Crossing Borders Ministries, you can check them out here.)
Clay in the Hands 