It’s been asked:
If your church ceased to exist, would your community and the world miss it?
Well, I am convinced Mt. Pleasant would be missed. I don’t say that to be smug or in a form of braggadocio. I really believe that our church would be missed. I think I can make a case for this contention. I believe if you were to ask the good folks in the Progreso, Mexico and Weslaco, TX area last week, they would say that they appreciated us as much as we appreciated them. Check out the tile work in the church in Progreso, Mexico at El Laurel Baptist Church.
Ask the pastor of the church, Pastor Oscar Martinez…
He’s a great guy! He loves the Lord. He told me, “Our church can never say thank you enough to Mount Pleasant. We have no building, no home, no property without you.” We have been going down to Progreso and partnering with our brothers and sisters there since 2009. We are like the Apostle Paul. We continue to go back just like he did on his missionary journeys. He would visit many of the same churches over and over again to encourage the people in Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Antioch (of Asia Minor), etc. Why? Because he loved the people. That’s why we are not “once and done” with our mission efforts. We establish the connections with the church and help and support them and allow the local pastors/elders to do the work. We support them in their efforts. We love Oscar and Miriam (his wife) so much!
Here’s part of the wall we worked on last week around the perimeter of the property…
Let me tell you…we got nasty mixing the cement, water and gravel…just ask Caison Jones…
I think Caison threw that t-shirt away.
Take a look at the body of Christ…
That’s Mexicans and Americans…one body in Christ. Yes, I believe if you ask the good folks in Mexico if they love us and if they would miss MPBC if we ceased to exist, I believe they would say, “Yes!”
I believe if you were to ask the children in Weslaco, TX if we love them that they would say, “Yes…”
We prayed for the people there to come to Christ. One night the men got our faces and prayed for God to speak to hearts and save lives.
And we saw souls for the harvest. This is Enrique…
I have the privilege of talking to him about Jesus. Buddy…let me tell ya…he was ready! He wanted Jesus so badly in his heart.
He was so sweet. He told me he didn’t really know how to pray and so I helped him. But, I wanted him to pray to receive Christ on his own and so I told him he would need to “confess with his mouth” the Lord Jesus. He said, “Out loud?” I said, “Yes.” He said okay and he prayed three sentences and said, “Jesus make me saved.” Precious. Look at his face…+
We took a selfie together. He was so excited to be a Christian. I’ll never forget Enrique. He was at Pastor Jason’s church on Sunday in Weslaco beaming from ear to ear (said Pastor Jason).
By the way…all of this mission work is not really work…it’s flat out FUN!
We have the best time. It’s the closest to heaven that we’ll get on this earth. We’re living in the same house (just like one day we will in the Father’s house) and we’re eating at the same table (just like we will one day at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb). It’s wonderfully joyous!
We fit 24 of us in one van.
One of the highlights of the week was giving Daniel a walker. He can now walk and I mean…literally scoot on that tile floor in the church.
The church will literally become his rehab center. (He can’t use the walker much on the dirt roads and the uneven floor of his home.)
And oh the relationships and memories…
What a team!
Do you see this tall man in the middle? That’s my dad.
Pop is 66 years old today! Happy Birthday Dad! He led a devotion at Flag Football last Saturday. That’s another way MPBC is reaching out. Close to 400 people each Saturday has been coming out. We conclude this Saturday! Pray for us as we share the Gospel. It’s yet another way to reach into the community. And while all of this is going on we’re having VBS this week.
Whew! I’m tired! But, it’s a great tired!
God is blessing us beyond measure at MPBC and I believe I know why. We are seeking to save that which is lost. That’s why Jesus came. We are seeking to edify the believers and then go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in.
If your church ceased to exist, would your community miss it? It’s a question that drives me as an Elder/Pastor. I pray to God that our community, nay…even the world would ever say, “No.”