Camping + Mission Trips = FBCTC By: Worship Pastor, John Talley

​My family used to camp ALL THE TIME! For our vacations we would pack the camper and “head to Little Red,” our home away from home was The Little Red River in North Central Arkansas. Besides the vacations, we’d head back to “Little Red” once a month. We’d be packed and ready when dad got home from work. Dinner was a sandwich, chips and favorite soda in the truck on the way and we hoped that our favorite camp site was available when we arrived. We’d leave around dark on Saturday night and head back home to be at church on Sunday. If you’ve ever camped, you know that the journey, the experience and adapting to the circumstances was all part of the fun. The challenges and questions included if you would get an actual camp site or use the “overflow” area, the weather, the raccoons, squirrels and other animals that might show up, would the fish bite, was the swimming area crowded, would the neighboring campers be quiet or loud, and the list goes on. We seemed to always adapt, have a blast and couldn’t wait till the next time.
James Dobson wrote several years ago that a survey revealed families that described themselves as being close had one thing in common – they camped. His conclusion was the shared adventure and adversities of camping built a bond of closeness. I can affirm the conclusion!
Have you been on a mission trip? Much like camping, you plan, communicate, raise money, have an idea of the goals for the trip, take off to the destination and then you often arrive to find little of what you had anticipated. You move through plans B, C, etc. The mission changes while all along you pray, adapt, trust, participate, grow, bond with the team and discover that God was always there!
October 14 appears to be our final Sunday at 3210 Gulf Freeway. Much work has been done and way more will be done AFTER we move to The Mall of the Mainland. October 21 is still the plan for our first Sunday there. It’s going to be like camping and mission trips combined! The journey is where we find God and His joy! I hope you’re praying, looking forward to the adventure and the challenges. Together we are laying a foundation for the spiritual future of our community!