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Why am I going on this mission trip to Bolivia? It’s just selfishness really. Oh, it doesn’t look like selfishness, in fact by all appearances it’s just the opposite. When someone finds out you’re going to Bolivia for ten days they applaud your sacrifice with a comment like, “It’s so great that you are giving back.”  The appropriate reply is always, “I actually get much more out of it than I give,” but no one thinks you mean that, it’s just the right thing to say.  The truth is, it’s the truth.

I can’t say I go to Bolivia to give anything; I go because I need to go, I have to go.  Going to Bolivia recalibrates me, like taking your car in to get the brakes adjusted and I’m in consistent need of adjustment.  Otherwise, first world problems loom so large, and God shrinks so small. 

You see, many of my heroes live there.  The Food for the Hungry team who tirelessly spend long hours, sometimes through tears, loving the most vulnerable; they are my heroes. The young people like Mayra and Juan Javier and Paola who grew up with FH and now work tirelessly themselves to lift Christ up there; they are my heroes.  Ericka and her family who show so much hospitality when we invade their home and just hang out; they are my heroes. Sabasta, who we sponsored for years and has now graduated out of the program, has a family of her own now but still calls me on WhatsAp now and again just to remind me that she’s thinking of me; she’s my hero.  She has taught me that even if you are only 15 and you love your family by simply taking care of them, it’s enough. They are true faith heroes who inspire me and recalibrate me to be on this mission with Him.   

I have to go because for 10 days I won’t have control, I won’t make decisions, I’ll submit to someone else’s agenda and I’ll see God work.

If everything goes as planned sometime around midnight on March 29 I’ll drag my bag off the carousel in Albuquerque and someone will be impressed that I sacrificed for the people in Bolivia.

Truth is, I’ll be filled up with all they gave me and God will be bigger again. 

Click here for more information about MCC's Bolivian Missions.

What’s in a Logo?  What’s in a Website?

Honestly, in and of themselves, not that much.

But, used the right way, they can be powerful tools for the Kingdom.  The changes you’ve seen around MCC lately are all intended for a very specific purpose, and that purpose is tied directly to our vision. The idea is that we want to see God do great works of transformation in our midst, and we want to see Him get the glory for it. 

So, what does this transformation look like? It takes on several forms, but specific to our new look and our new way of communicating there are at least two very specific ways we see all of this working together.

First, we see the new look and website being part of making MCC a bigger light in the East Mountains and beyond.  Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 5? He says that we are, “The light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Can an easily find-able and navigable website be part of MCC being a bigger light? Absolutely. The way we communicate outside the church has potential to bring more people who need the Gospel through our doors, and that’s core to our mission as a church.

Second, we see the new look, website, social media, and communication strategy as being a key part of drawing us, who are part of MCC, closer together. When we communicate the great things God is doing in our midst, make it easier to find ways for people to plug in and engage, we are drawn closer together. We can pray for each other more easily, and we can more completely “live life together”. There is a great example of this in Acts 14. When Paul returned from his missionary journey, it says in Acts 14:27 that, “When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”  We can gather together in this way and celebrate through the technology of 2017, and personally in the same way they did then.

In the end, it’s our hope that God will use these efforts to change us, change our community, and in all of it that He would get the glory.  Thanks for being part of this body!

Lastly, a special shout out to Jodi Kenney and Elizabeth Allen, who have spent countless hours the last few months to bring all of this to life. You guys are our heroes!