"With" - Hope For a Troubled World

“With” - Hope for a Troubled World
Written by: Go Department

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I have been thinking this month about the simple word, “with.” What a powerful preposition. One that we use everyday and yet, one that I don’t think we appreciate. What would life look like if “with” did not provide connection? We don’t have to look far.

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We live on a spinning disc full of people and nations who are running full tilt in the wrong direction. Chaos reigns. Should we be surprised? God created us to be with him. He came as a babe to provide a way to be with him. Immanuel, God with us. What happens when we refuse? We are living in a time when much of the world either has no access to truth or is rejecting God on philosophical grounds. Actually, the human race rejected God long ago. We are still reaping the results of sin. Prayercast created a poignant review of 2022. The video collage is a sobering reminder of the world we live in… and a God who reigns. The final statement is about our God who desires and promises to be “with.”

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God created us to be with him… and to be with each other. 

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What happens to a baby when it enters the world after birth? She cries in desperation. Separation just happened. Yet, a familiar voice, a father's voice calms her down. The need to be “with.”

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I was once lost in the Ituri Rainforest of Congo. Many Congolese have died when lost in that jungle. As a young boy, I certainly would not have survived. An Efe pygmy (referred to in the article) found me. Years later, a missionary friend and I happened to be with 15 other Nicaraguans in a boat when it sank. It was too far to swim to shore - a lone fisherman in a canoe happened upon us. Separation can kill. A necessity to be “with.”

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God has created us to have a longing for connection. We need him. We need each other. Westerners value independence. How ironic. We innately need connection and yet value separation. God’s Word is full of the concept of “dependence.” Israel’s long and turbulent history is saturated with the consequences of going it alone. God’s continual response was and is, “Be with me. Depend on me.”

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Gateway Church’s Go programs, at their core, are founded on the concept of “with”. In line with the mission at Gateway Church, we seek to connect people to Jesus Christ and to each other. Locally, nationally and internationally, we seek to partner with ministries that already exist. We endeavor to be a resource, an encouragement and an empowering force behind and alongside our partners. All of our events, mission trips, and funding is not about us, but about God and his people, to enable his work that he is doing through them. “With.”

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So, to finish this rambling and this year, we would like to remind you who we are partnered with. Our website lists our permanent partners, but we also support individuals, ministries and projects as God brings them to us. We met, encouraged and funded more than 40 people and ministries with over $70,000 of Go discretionary funds this year. We wish you could have met these people and heard what God is doing. Finally, we encourage you to remain connected with Jesus who came, who is here and will one day come. Be ‘with” all the people that he has brought into your life.