School of Missions Week 1: Radical Commands, Radical Obedience

*Calvary School of Missions staff and students 2020!*

This first week at the Calvary School of Missions has been a fantastic one. Between engaging class sessions on the purpose of the church and the biblical model for missions, personal study/reading time, outreaches at various church plants, and making new friendships among the other students here, every moment has been amazing. I’m so thankful I came and so confident I’m supposed to be here.

One of the highlights for me this first week was the required reading for week one. We read the book entitled Radical by David Platt, and in it the author shares his observation of the radical commands that Jesus has given us in the Bible, and how easily we forget or ignore what the radical life of the Christian is supposed to look like. The author’s main purpose in the book is this: to challenge Christians to live a radically obedient life to the instructions of Jesus found in the Bible. Jesus proclaims some really crazy things in there. This got me thinking – if I do what Jesus tells me to do with my life is this really radical or is it just simple obedience to the One who saved my soul? I’d love to hear your response and your thoughts on the matter. I highly encourage every believer to read this book!

The content in the book has very strangely lined up with what has been taught in the class sessions in the past week (which nobody planned – we were originally supposed to read the book next week). So, if you want to get a taste of what this school has been like so far, go read the book!

Besides class time and personal study/reading time, we’ve gone on a couple outreach trips around the Rosarito and Tijuana areas in the last week. In these outreaches we’ve seen the hand of God moving. I’ve now been in Mexico for 7 days, and in those 7 days we’ve seen 7 adults and at least 15 children ask forgiveness for their sin and put their faith in Jesus for salvation! God’s hand is moving and working in the missions field because the harvest is plentiful!

Visiting families whose homes and material possessions burnt down in a community in Tijuana. I was able to encourage Juan, the young man in the brown and white stripped shirt, with a message from Psalm 139 that God sees him, knows him, thinks about him, and that God allowed him and his family to survive the fire so that they still have a chance to know God and have a relationship with Him. Through our group’s encouragement and the message of the Gospel, the young man decided to pray to receive Christ into his heart and was connected with the local pastor in that area!

Gospel outreach in a huge housing project community called HomeX, just down the road from the Rosarito dump. This is the moment 3 adults and the 15 or so children opened their hearts to Jesus! The pastor was so overjoyed to have us and for the fruit of the outreach. What we did was so simple. We made ourselves available to be used by God, loved the people, fed them food, and fed them the Word of God. Through our simple actions God does so much.

Street witnessing in a park next to Rosarito beach. This man, named Martin, was reading a newspaper so we approached him offering him a Gospel of John booklet to read. It turns out he believes in Jesus but hasn’t been to church in 8 years. He asked us a peculiar question while talking to us – “Does Satan ever attack you guys?” We all answered yes. I shared with him a picture that entered my mind as we were talking: I saw two opposing armies, one good and one evil, then I saw one of the good soldiers separate himself from his army, and standing alone the enemy came to attack him. I asked Martin which is the better place to be – in the midst of the army fighting together or standing alone? He knew the answer right away. He said he would see us at Calvary Chapel Rosarito on Sunday!

This has been a fantastic week, and one of the best parts is to be surrounded with other students and leaders who are seeking God with their whole heart. It’s not an easy thing to surrender to God. I’m not gonna lie, it’s not all rainbows and flowers here, my heart is being challenged and like I said in my last newsletter fear rises up in my heart. Fear to step out, fear to speak up, fear to put myself in a place that requires FAITH. But I have to fight against it. God has been and is continuing to use others in my life to stir me up and encourage me to live in radical obedience to His radical commands. It’s far from the easiest life, but what other life is worth living?

Thank you all for sending me and praying for me. God is showing me His goodness through you. Please continue praying for God’s leading and direction in all the students’ lives, for the humbling of our hearts and for absolute surrender to God’s will for us. This has only been week one. God has so much more.

With much love,

Spencer