For about three years we got to see God work in and through our family and a few others with a labor we nicknamed Jesus’ Missionary Communities. As Covid19 hit and so much pulling back for so many, we encouraged folks to go back to their traditional church contexts as the LORD directed since many of us / most of us were housed in traditional churches prior to planting the house church network effort. For my wife and me, it has been another three years now and our oldest son often asks if we will get back to doing house church. I’ve begun working with my wife and our oldest son and seeking God with them as well as our daughter, asking God to lead us as we labor as domestic missionaries in our little town where we live. We also believe we are called through business to do missions more broadly than our little country town. As we labor, I believe God is re-birthing the original calling with JMC but now in a deeper, more unseen way in many respects. God has been showing me how He is on the move in far more powerful ways than I could articulate with starting and leading an official organization.

Even though we were not an official 501C3, we still in many respects were working in that direction with some branding and vision casting through this blog and a few other efforts. Many of our members seemed to want in a sense for us to be peers to the other local churches in almost a competitive way, and this discouraged me at times. People ended up leaving what had begun to grow before we ever disbanded it, and the reason they would share is that we were not organized enough. Scripture calls the local church to decent and orderly activities. Being scattered has long been an observation of me by wise observers who are kind enough to speak the truth to me in love. The irony is that building a house church network is by nature something less organized and something more evidently of the Spirit, seeing God on the move in ways the world just can’t explain.

So, I trust that God is still very much on the move to multiply His believers even here in our region and not just where it more obviously happens in parts of Africa and India and China. God cares about the hurting, broken, poor, needy, lonely, sick, abused, and so many more. It’s obvious to me as I pray and labor at a more private and disciplined following of Jesus that this is the path most of us are called to, simple following of Jesus and sharing the hope of Jesus with the lost and found. This breaking of the bread of life, sharing Jesus from one to the other, is the truest and happiest of fellowship we could engage in, right?! As we sang our hearts out this morning, driving into school for the kids, I looked back and saw my son Jackson with his eyes closed genuinely worshiping Jesus with his soul and spirit. His very core was tied into praising God and trusting God, casting his cares upon the LORD.

This is what we should labor and rest in, wrestling with God but also trusting God, leaning into His embrace, trusting Him, giving up all of our analysis of God and simply enjoying Him as our Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end for us, the start and finish, the all-in-all, our truly satisfying God of gods and LORD of lords.

Much love, friends!

Let’s go be Jesus’ missionaries and enjoy the community of other missionaries as we labor and rest in the Holy Spirit’s will and work in and through us!

– Torrey