Day 42 - Worship Nashville TN

The thought of making a 10:30 a.m. service was slipping away. The Ellis Family Seven gets moving slowly.

So, without any prior contact with a church in the north Nashville area, we literally got in our truck this morning and started driving.

We had seen the Hendersonville area just south of our campground last night when we visited Rivergate Center - yea, a shopping mall. I had almost forgotten what that was all about, and learned that I don't really miss it.

This very busy suburb of the Music City reminded us of the New Tampa area of northeast Hillsborough County. And, I remembered thinking how much I was looking forward to visiting a church that represents these folks.

And there it was, you couldn't miss it, a huge white steeple. And the sign out front made me chuckle, Community Church of Hendersonville, Worship 10:45 a.m.

Perfect.

Today's message for the congregation of what I estimated to be 1,000, was called "Undercover Missionaries." Seemed fitting for us as we slipped in the side door content to be just visiting, observing.

The undercover missionaries they were talking about were a husband and wife team who had moved with their six children to Laos, a communist, Buddhist nation between Thailand and Viet Nam.

They shared a story of what it looks like to cross the river into Laos and face a dictatorial government that could not only imprison them for sharing the Gospel, but even scarier for this family, threatens to imprison the disciples they have trained up to carry the Word to the Laos people.

It was compelling to listen to their story, and it made us appreciate all the more our opportunity to share the Gospel openly here in the U.S. and in the free nations abroad.

If they're willing to risk what they're risking over there, why are so many of us unwilling to walk across the street?

God has woven a common spirit of missions into the seven consecutive Sundays that we've spent traveling this land. We want to thank the body of believers God has placed together in Hendersonville for blessing us today.

Pastor Doug Varnado shared a vision this morning of partnership with a number of different organizations that are not just making a difference around the world, but right in their own community too.

Please take a minute to visit the Community Church of Hendersonville on the Web, and if you're ever in the Nashville area, it's Exit 96 off I-65. Don't be late.

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