Mission Minded People

The main thrust of Sunday's sermon was that Jesus is the Living Water in whom we can have our souls refreshed. That it is in Him alone that we find satisfaction and fulfillment for our deepest longings. And that He will provide for us a cool deep drink of the blessing of His Holy Spirit whenever we come seeking Him. And sometimes, when we are too weary to go looking, we find Him there, sitting beside the cracked empty well of our life, waiting to restore us, refresh us, and lead us in finding rest for our souls.

But I'd like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the amazing people at Torch Community Church for the effort they put into filling other people's cups as the Living Water overflows out of their lives.

Yesterday, in a church of around 50 people, we collected 13 Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for the Samaritan's Purse ministry. That's incredible. Many churches of 150 won't collect that many. And we're just getting started.

Also, December 2nd-8th, we are planning a trip to assist in the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in the name of Christ. We already have 4 people committed to going, and about a half-dozen more still working to figure out the logistics with work schedules and family responsibilities in order to be able to go. Most church of 500 people will do nothing more than take a collection.

I'm so proud of the great Christians we have as a part of Torch Community Church. We are doing much more than most churches twice our size in the area of missions. Jesus could have taken up a collection in Jerusalem, and sent it to Samaria to support the Woman at the Well. But that's too impersonal, too easy. We have a personal God. He steps into the very thick of our lives. And He meets us at our well. I'm excited to say that I'm a part of a church that looks a lot more like Jesus than any other church I've ever served.

Thank you Torch,
BJ Sanders

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.