Happy birthday, Farrington Mission. One year ago today, 6.21.10, NEHBC launched our physical needs mission in Houston's 5th Ward. We named the mission after Farrington Baptist Church who owned the property for 66 years before giving it to us, so that we could honor their long and rich legacy.
During our first year, we gave 1,455 families a weeks worth of food, clothed 1,091 families, taught ESL to 84 students, played basketball with 1,007 men, and met with 231 clients at the Pregnancy Medical Clinic. We fed hundreds of people a hot, Thanksgiving dinner and knocked on 100s of doors in the surrounding neighborhoods to share the gospel and publicize the mission. We also spent $150,000 and thousands of man hours improving the buildings and property. What an incredible first year...praise the Lord. All of this was done by volunteers--men and women of God living on mission. Glory to God.
When I think of our mission, I think of the second greatest commandment--that we love our neighbor like we love ourselves. That is, that we are as committed to our neighbor's well being as we are our own. That is almost as difficult to do as the first commandment. It requires practice and time to get to where we are able to love everyone we see like we love ourselves. With that in mind, I really believe the mission was given to us by God as much for NEHBC as the people of 5th Ward—to teach us how to love. The mission is our school of love. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus and our classroom, the mission. The degree program is not easy—it challenges all who enter it by forcing us to do things we don’t want to do, to see things we don’t want to see, to feel things we don’t want to feel. Feelings of helplessness, passing thoughts of hopelessness, and anger toward those who don’t have the passion you will develop in the program are common. It forces us to take a hard look at our own lives. It repeatedly asks the question of whether we truly love people until we get to the point that we know that we do. Those who graduate from this school of love will be able to go anywhere in the world and live in obedience to Jesus Christ by loving people like we love ourselves. Enroll in school.
During our first year, we gave 1,455 families a weeks worth of food, clothed 1,091 families, taught ESL to 84 students, played basketball with 1,007 men, and met with 231 clients at the Pregnancy Medical Clinic. We fed hundreds of people a hot, Thanksgiving dinner and knocked on 100s of doors in the surrounding neighborhoods to share the gospel and publicize the mission. We also spent $150,000 and thousands of man hours improving the buildings and property. What an incredible first year...praise the Lord. All of this was done by volunteers--men and women of God living on mission. Glory to God.
When I think of our mission, I think of the second greatest commandment--that we love our neighbor like we love ourselves. That is, that we are as committed to our neighbor's well being as we are our own. That is almost as difficult to do as the first commandment. It requires practice and time to get to where we are able to love everyone we see like we love ourselves. With that in mind, I really believe the mission was given to us by God as much for NEHBC as the people of 5th Ward—to teach us how to love. The mission is our school of love. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus and our classroom, the mission. The degree program is not easy—it challenges all who enter it by forcing us to do things we don’t want to do, to see things we don’t want to see, to feel things we don’t want to feel. Feelings of helplessness, passing thoughts of hopelessness, and anger toward those who don’t have the passion you will develop in the program are common. It forces us to take a hard look at our own lives. It repeatedly asks the question of whether we truly love people until we get to the point that we know that we do. Those who graduate from this school of love will be able to go anywhere in the world and live in obedience to Jesus Christ by loving people like we love ourselves. Enroll in school.
Posts
