Broken Arrow Bible Ranch Mission's Trip - April 2018
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For over 30 years, Hephzibah has had the joy and privilege of supporting Ruth Douglass. She has served faithfully at Broken Arrow Bible Ranch in Vanderwagon, New Mexico.
It was our great joy to send a missions team to the camp in April of 2018 to do some work and help the camp prepare for the summer ministry ahead of them. It was an incredible week of ministry and serving as we sought to glorify God and build up the body of Christ. On this page, you will find information about that trip and how God worked in and through the team members that went. We pray is a blessing to you. |
Promotional Trailer |
Video of Week |
Update Service |
Pastor Mike's Reflections Upon the Week
The missions trip to New Mexico is deeply ingrained on my heart and mind. I believe the mission’s trip depicts well the heart and vision of what we ought to be striving for here at Hephzibah.
On the surface, it may seem to some that it was a waste of time to raise so much money and travel so far to complete such simple and seemingly insignificant tasks. And yet, the value of this missions trip and the tasks we were able to complete reach far beyond the simple every day meaningless tasks.
It is true, we painted….alot…and that may seem like a task that anyone could complete. Why spend all the time and money to go the distance just to do things that others, closer, could have accomplished. And the answer is simple really….because God burdened our hearts to be His hands of grace and mercy to our brothers and sisters in Christ half way across the country.
The value of being the visible and physical expression of God’s love to people immersed deeply in the heart of gospel ripe country cannot be overstated. Being in their presence, seeing their ministry, hearing their hearts, participating in their ministry gives one a deep and incredible perspective of the need, the burden, and the urgency to share the gospel with a people group steeped in spirit worship and idolatry. Being in the midst of their presence both enables us to be better prayer warriors, more faithful supporters, and it deeply encourages them to keep going even when discouragement may tempt them to abort the mission.
It may seem excessive to go so far to do so little (and trust us, when you see the amount of work that still is left to be done, it seems like so little), but the value of what was accomplished for eternity is anything but little. The weight of this trip is weighed, not by the physical tasks that we completed, but by the relationships forged, the fellowship deepened, the encouragement shared, and the unity of the body of Christ that was achieved. The value is weighed by the hearts of the humble servants of God who freely submitting to His leading and chose to serve for His glory and the building up of the body.
In addition to this, there is SOOOO much great joy at worshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ from a different culture and a different language. Perhaps, for me, the highlight of the entire week, as well as the most uncomfortable moments, came with the body of Christ at Sanders Bible Church. As one of our brothers stated, “God is as good in Pennsylvania as He is in Arizona!” There is no culture, no ethnic, no language barriers that separates the body of Christ from worshipping Jesus together! We may not have understood the Navajo that they were speaking in, but we definitely understood their heart and passion for God and their desire to share that love with others around them! Their joy in the Lord was real and vibrant; so real and so vibrant that no language barrier could mask their passion.
Their relaxed manner made it uncomfortable for those of us used to an order of service and a structure but their relaxed style also was so very refreshing because it was not concerned about the petty and small things. They simply wanted to fellowship, to learn, to share, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh that we would learn from their example and be drawn back into the simplicity of relationship with God. We are often too easily upset by the insignificant things. We are often too easily offended by things that ought not to offend us. We are often too busy with the wrong things and we have lost our focus on being busy doing the most eternally weighty things. The great joy of our worship together in Arizona was the simple joy and pleasure of being together as one, of our love for the word of God and hunger for it, and our deep desire to see our lost friends and loved ones in the world hear and accept the great gift of Jesus Christ.
That, loved ones, is the joy and thrill of this mission’s trip. The tasks we completed were never the point. The glory of God, the body of Christ, and the eternal impact of the gifts given to Jesus…..that was the point.
It is my prayer for us as a church as we move forward together that we would grasp this heart and vision and that we would bind ourselves together in unity as we commit ourselves to growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.
On the surface, it may seem to some that it was a waste of time to raise so much money and travel so far to complete such simple and seemingly insignificant tasks. And yet, the value of this missions trip and the tasks we were able to complete reach far beyond the simple every day meaningless tasks.
It is true, we painted….alot…and that may seem like a task that anyone could complete. Why spend all the time and money to go the distance just to do things that others, closer, could have accomplished. And the answer is simple really….because God burdened our hearts to be His hands of grace and mercy to our brothers and sisters in Christ half way across the country.
The value of being the visible and physical expression of God’s love to people immersed deeply in the heart of gospel ripe country cannot be overstated. Being in their presence, seeing their ministry, hearing their hearts, participating in their ministry gives one a deep and incredible perspective of the need, the burden, and the urgency to share the gospel with a people group steeped in spirit worship and idolatry. Being in the midst of their presence both enables us to be better prayer warriors, more faithful supporters, and it deeply encourages them to keep going even when discouragement may tempt them to abort the mission.
It may seem excessive to go so far to do so little (and trust us, when you see the amount of work that still is left to be done, it seems like so little), but the value of what was accomplished for eternity is anything but little. The weight of this trip is weighed, not by the physical tasks that we completed, but by the relationships forged, the fellowship deepened, the encouragement shared, and the unity of the body of Christ that was achieved. The value is weighed by the hearts of the humble servants of God who freely submitting to His leading and chose to serve for His glory and the building up of the body.
In addition to this, there is SOOOO much great joy at worshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ from a different culture and a different language. Perhaps, for me, the highlight of the entire week, as well as the most uncomfortable moments, came with the body of Christ at Sanders Bible Church. As one of our brothers stated, “God is as good in Pennsylvania as He is in Arizona!” There is no culture, no ethnic, no language barriers that separates the body of Christ from worshipping Jesus together! We may not have understood the Navajo that they were speaking in, but we definitely understood their heart and passion for God and their desire to share that love with others around them! Their joy in the Lord was real and vibrant; so real and so vibrant that no language barrier could mask their passion.
Their relaxed manner made it uncomfortable for those of us used to an order of service and a structure but their relaxed style also was so very refreshing because it was not concerned about the petty and small things. They simply wanted to fellowship, to learn, to share, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh that we would learn from their example and be drawn back into the simplicity of relationship with God. We are often too easily upset by the insignificant things. We are often too easily offended by things that ought not to offend us. We are often too busy with the wrong things and we have lost our focus on being busy doing the most eternally weighty things. The great joy of our worship together in Arizona was the simple joy and pleasure of being together as one, of our love for the word of God and hunger for it, and our deep desire to see our lost friends and loved ones in the world hear and accept the great gift of Jesus Christ.
That, loved ones, is the joy and thrill of this mission’s trip. The tasks we completed were never the point. The glory of God, the body of Christ, and the eternal impact of the gifts given to Jesus…..that was the point.
It is my prayer for us as a church as we move forward together that we would grasp this heart and vision and that we would bind ourselves together in unity as we commit ourselves to growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.