Mission Choir Tour 2015 is underway! This year our target destination is St. Louis, Missouri and a small church plant just across the river in Illinois. Our theme this year is Gateway. The beautiful Gateway Arch that dominates the St. Louis skyline is a wonderful monument to the westward expansion of the United States. It is truly the “Gateway to the West”. With this in mind I remembered the story of Jacob and his dream of the angels ascending and descending from heaven. When he woke from his dream he said “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17 NASB)
The gate of heaven, what an incredible picture. Then I began to think that we all have had that kind of experience in our lives at some point. The place where each of us found the Lord to be real for the first time, this is our Gateway. Whenever we think about this place, we remember that moment when God changed our path. Jacob built an altar and called it Beth-el, the House of God.
Where was it for you: Camp, Sunday School, Home, VBS? Each of us has a place that we remember with joy. It may not be like Paul on the Damascus road, or Jacob, or Mary, or Abraham and Sarah, but is is your story.
Our hope and prayer for Mission Choir Tour 2015 is that we can be used of the Holy Spirit to help create some Gateway moments for some who have never heard this great news.
We all gathered on Wednesday in the Great Hall at a time that most doubted really existed, and More than a few swore to never seen again. We got on the road and enjoyed the rain and construction of Texas and Oklahoma. It was a hard day of driving, but we made it to Tulsa where we went immediately to Eastland Heights Baptist Church. We were met by a pastor whose uncle served as a deacon at FBCSA more than a few years ago. The pastor began his church work south of SA, and was a colleague of Dr. Perry Webb! We sang our concert for this church, and they were exceedingly blessed by our youth. It was a joy to watch them shake off their road weariness and really minister through song. Already evidence that the Lord will be with us on this trip.
Chapel Singers at Eastland Heights BC, Tulsa
