WHY I JOINED NRP
Pastor Raymond Mas
The Bridge Church, Florida
At Band of Brothers this past October, I made it official that The Bridge Church was joining NRP. My wife, Rose, and I had been in much prayer for some time about this possibility. Why make that decision now? After all, we’ve known Pastor Keith and Penny for many years. There are some familiar faces from the past and some brand new ones. God’s timing also weighed heavily within us. There are many good things in life, but they aren’t always for every season. So, again, why now? Well, I was promised that I would get an omelette station and Cuban coffee at future conferences! That sealed the deal for me.
Seriously though, it wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly. I inspect things carefully. A pastor and church need to look for the right fit, right heart, right caliber, and the right spirit of any “religious” organization. That is critical because I’d be submitting myself to godly authority. And godly is the operative word for me. Accountability must never be a forced issue. Otherwise, it will erode over time. It must come through the blessing of covenantal relationship. I believe that there are a lot of “wackos” operating in God’s Kingdom. You might know some of them. Rose and I desire to meet new people and hopefully develop meaningful relationships along the way. Often, pastors and their wives can relate fully only with others who are in the same fight, facing similar issues, tackling “giants” in the land, albeit in different locations.
But, as one of the Lord’s undershepherds, this could never be about just me or just about my wife and me. It must be a good connection for The Bridge overall. I want to see our people blessed by this connection. We wish to be exposed to other gifted people as we build relationships with them. But we desire to also be a blessing and expose our giftings to others as well. True covenant relies upon true cooperation. This allows us to serve and do things together with NRP that we might not be able to do alone. For example, this would not only include attending our various conferences, but also doing missions work together, whether overseas or in our own urban areas or backyards. We at TBC are looking forward to seeing how the Lord can use us together for His Glory!
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