A new start in a mission reset

Farmington, New Mexico? What could possibly lead a pastor to move from a congregation where we had served for 18 years to a home mission church that’s kickstarting outreach efforts again? From the first phone call with the congregation’s chairman I kept telling my wife, Kay, “It just feels like God is saying, ‘Go!’” He made it even more clear when I preached on Isaiah 6 at the end of May: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV).

And so we went. We moved over 1,300 miles and left behind a wonderful church family with many friends and lots of ministry memories. We have joined a wonderful new family—our fellow believers at Christ the Rock. We have a new home in a beautiful parsonage. We live in a friendly community where just about everyone will stop and share a little bit about themselves.

Christ the Rock is in a unique place. Farmington is positioned in the high desert northwest corner of New Mexico. The Navajo Nation spreads out from the western edge of Farmington into Arizona. The Dinè have a long history here—it is their ancestral homeland. So on Sunday mornings, Tully, Jones, and Grandma Marian will say in their flowing Navajo, “Yá’át’ééh abíní!” “Good morning!” and I have learned to greet them in the same way.

Christ the Rock is also unique because the faces that sit in the chairs every weekend grew up in different places, even different countries! Every one of us come with different experiences, hurts, and challenges. We bond in the same way every church family bonds. We eat food together—chili seasoned with roasted Hatch green chilis; fry bread, Navajo tacos, mutton, steam corn, grits, spinach salad, spaghetti—all our favorites! We share our weekly experiences. We laugh together, offer advice, and sometimes even cry together.

The thing that binds us together is the same thing that holds every church family together—the incredible news that we have a Savior, Jesus, who loves us and will never stop loving us! Thankfully we see each other in person for Sunday morning Bible study and worship every week. In the three months we have been at Christ the Rock I have had the privilege of sharing Psalm 23 as comfort for a family grieving the loss of a sister/aunt/friend. Last Sunday I had my first baptism— baby Luminous. His birth is a ray of Jesus’ light for a family that has experienced more heartbreak and loss than seems bearable. His baptism is a special blessing that guarantees Jesus has illuminated his heart with the light of peace and forgiveness. Jesus is our connection. It doesn’t matter where we’re living or serving—whether in the heart of the Midwest or in the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Jesus gives us a great reason to “Go!” Please pray for us here at Christ the Rock as we “Go!” to the people in our community who are looking for Jesus and don’t know it yet. Pray that Jesus will be the answer for them too!

Written by Rev. Jon Brohn, home missionary at Christ the Rock in Farmington, N. M.

 

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