By Kari Bristol
I was 37 years old when I went on my first mission trip. I has seen other people’s pictures and heard their stories and thought I knew about global poverty, but I had no idea. To look at a picture or video of people living in poverty is not even close to the experience of getting to know them and hearing about how God is working. It changed the trajectory of my life. It changed the way I spent the money, time, and talents God had given to me.
I went to the Global Leadership Summit a few years after my first mission trip and heard Pastor Bill Hybels speak about how the local church is the hope of the world. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.”
Seeing the Potential of the Church
There is nothing like the local church when it is working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and opens its arms to the forgotten, the helpless, and the disappointed. It breaks the chains of addiction, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the ignored of this world. The potential of the local church is more than I can understand.
I took this job at Thirst Missions because they work through the local church in Belize and in the US. I agree with Hybels that the local church is the hope of the world. Jesus says in Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these.”
A Life Well Spent
You could spend your time on this earth doing many things. Fixing cars, being a tour guide, selling houses, teaching science, building a company, cutting hair, etc. In all of these jobs you can love God and your neighbor. However, I believe there is no better use of your time here on earth than pouring yourself out to build God’s church. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing with the power to transform lives and overcome the darkness and evil in this world.
So those of you leading trips this summer, thank you. Thank you for choosing to pour yourself out on behalf of the gospel. Lives in the US and in Belize will be transformed and futures changed. God will be glorified and the chains of oppression from the evil one will be broken.
In Romans 15:13 it says “Our hope comes from God. May he fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
For more information on serving alongside a local church in Belize, send us an email here.
Kari Bristol is a missions consultant at Thirst Missions. When not working here she’s a devoted mom and distance runner.
