What would be different about our churches if we didn’t measure weekly attendance in our services, but weekly evangelism in our cities? What if our strategies revolved more around our sending capacity, instead of our seating capacity?  

We should all rejoice when someone comes with a friend to worship the Lord, but even more importantly is what all believers are doing to proclaim Christ daily in the marketplace, on campuses, and in their communities.  We love seeing the church gathered, but this should not be at the expense of the church scattering throughout the city. So much of our planning is yet another way to get people to our campuses and not how to train and equip our people to be the light of Christ in the culture. 

As shepherds we must walk with them in the marketplace and in their communities and demonstrate how to disciple, lead small group bible studies and pray.  The enemy loves restricting the influence of the church to a couple days a week on a fraction of the real-estate that is owned by our Father.

     This past week we had the joy of sending a team from our inner city ministry to evangelize, teach, and lead prayer sessions among the poorest people in Europe.  The team was led by our volunteer International Director, BJ Woods.  One of our men who use to be a drug dealer is teaching young men in Romania and supporting our pastor in Romania.  My assistant who just got out of the hospital went and led prayer sessions in our young church of Gypsies.  It humbles me that our small inner city ministry is already advancing the gospel to the nations. 

What joy it brings to each of us when we realize we have been gathered to grow and to GO. What a tragedy to be prepared and never sent. Who will you go share the good news of Christ with today? Someone, somewhere is waiting for you to go! It could be across the street, across the office, or across the world. Pray, Obey, and See the glory of God’s Kingdom expanding.

This last Saturday we celebrated the first graduation of students from our Omni Hotel training class. One of the students named John, is an amazing man of faith who just found out he has been hired for a position at the new downtown Omni. We are grateful for the Omni and this amazing partnership but most of all we give God the praise. We are reminded that even when we are facing difficult circumstances in life we can rest in the fact that, Jesus is still “The Way”. I want to share with you John’s letter of thanks that he wrote to the ministry.

Dear H.I.S. BridgeBuilders

I would like to thank you and the staff for your time. You made my life worth living, I really thought I was at a Dead End until the door opened for me to come and be a part of the first Omni Class. Each and every person has played a part in the outcome of this class, you all have put together a great team. I truly feel a part of something very special, and I know it is not my doing, but God’s. I asked him to meet me there and he did just that. I know that me on my own, I would have never gotten passed the 5,000 people interviewing for the Omni jobs, but with God and this team he has put together, it can be done, I really feel it is done.

Thank you again,

John

We are blessed in our ministry to be a bridge of Hope for many who have lost their way. Jesus knows our needs and is blessing us daily, the same way he blessed John. Prayerfully we will stop and thank God just as John did. How many dead ends has Jesus plowed through for you? It’s time to give Him praise!

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”

Omni training class graduation ceremony

Today, provision from God is still a miracle just like it was for the nation of Israel in the wilderness thousands of years ago. However, many times we are not satisfied that God meets our needs instead of our wants. I love the scripture that says, “Godliness with Contentment is Great gain.” This is where we enter the place of rest in His presence and His provision.

Throughout the 17 years of serving HIS BridgeBuilders we seem to live on the miracle of God’s manna. Several weeks ago while I was in Chattanooga my wife, who processes our checks to pay the bills, prayed for the Lord’s provision to pay our bills. She did not ask for our dependence upon God to be removed, for such is the Kingdom of God. Her prayer was simply for our needs.

This beautiful prayer before the Lord was answered this week when we received a check from an anonymous donor from a Boston foundation for $90,000. We rejoice that in man’s eyes it was anonymous, but in our eyes it was straight from God. Never resent the days of Manna, for they teach us to trust and depend on God.

Thank Him that you can learn to live on so much less. Praise Him that you will have eyes to see the needs of others when they are living day to day. We give God the praise for this season of complete dependence on Him because He is completely dependable.

The Forgotten Power

The story in Acts chapter 12 about the early church praying for Peter’s release from prison, is one of wonder and amazement. The church is praying and God is answering, but few are expecting the miracle. When an angel of the Lord releases Peter from his chains, he immediately goes to visit the house of Mary and knocks on the door of the gateway. A servant girl recognizes Peter’s voice and in her joy she does not open the door but runs in and reports that Peter is standing at the gateway outside. The response from the people of the church inside the house was classic disbelief, not expecting that their prayer could be answered. It amazes me how often we forget or simply choose not to pray. Even when we do come to the Lord, much of our prayer is in unbelief.

This last weekend 19 men gathered at our ministry house in the inner city, to pray and seek God’s face. About 1:00am someone suggested we speak out loud the names of people we are asking God to call to his Kingdom. The Lord led one of the men to pray asking God to awaken these individuals whose names had been spoken and to hear this call from the Lord. Two hours passed and sometime around 3:00am, there was a banging on the door. Our first thought was, this must be another brother from our staff coming late to the prayer gathering. But to our amazement, it was a man from the community, a man we all love and whose name had been spoken out loud in prayer just 2 hours before. This man came inside the house, sat down and told us that he was having a dream and suddenly woke up compelled to walk 9 blocks in Bonton to come see what was happening at the ministry house. He said, “I had to come and see”. We all just began to rejoice at the power God had given to us through collective prayer.

The Same Power that set Peter free is available to us today, if we will gather together in fervent believing prayer. The Lord is the same yesterday today and forever, but is the Church? Begin today by gathering with your wife, family and fellow believers to truly seek the Lord. Gather several families in your neighborhood and pray for the captives to be set free. Prayer is the forgotten power of the church in this generation. God is Able and Willing…are we?

In Him,
Mike Fechner
Founder & President
H.I.S. BridgeBuilders
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”

What a thought, even now Jesus is at the throne of God as our advocate. If you were having a bad day you should now be abundantly blessed by God’s love for you. As I walk in the hearts of cities and see the fatherless children and the abandoned families I am humbled by those who have been given much and use their God given gifts to be an advocate for the least. These advocates first have a keen understanding that they are simply stewards of God’s blessings of Power, Position, and Possessions. Because of these gifts they have access to others who can radically impact our communities for good. They have been given inside views and must decide if it is simply for their own advancement or the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

This week we had the joy of taking a team from BridgeBuilders to Chattanooga exploring how we could help serve their urban poor. The key man God used is a man named Albert, who grew up in Chattanooga and is now very blessed by God. His heart for the least in Dallas connected us several years ago. Each time I am with him, I am blessed by His intentional desire to serve the least. He has become a fantastic advocate and is always seeking ways to serve us, and our ministry. I am humbled that he is not only an advocate but also a friend to many who are in the streets. The sincerity of his love for the least clearly shows the love of Christ. He has stood with us in difficult circumstances and never waivered. He is a brother that is born for adversity. Clearly The Lord is using him greatly because he is surrendering his will, for God’s will. Thank you Albert for using your life to be an advocate for the least and the lost. A true advocate stands when no one else will and is willing to take the hit for you. Jesus did this for us and so each of us should do for the less fortunate in our communities.

I challenge you to Pray and ask God to show you one area of injustice that you can stand against for the advancement of the Love Christ teaches and the blessing of the least.

Please take a few minutes and watch the video below.

“I am a Bridge Builder” come join this movement of God.

Too many times I read the Bible about the sacrificial love of Christ and pass by this amazing gift from God. This love that is willing to die so that we might live forever. It is only God’s love, in us that could enable us to love like this. This past week BridgeBuilders had back to school events in Bonton and San Antonio. These events hosted over a thousand people and 82 of those accepted Christ as their savior that day.

I am thankful for the hundreds of Christians that gave school supplies to over 1200 students. It cost these volunteers time and about $60.00 per back pack, these dedicated believers showed an expression of love and were wonderful examples of God’s free gift of eternal life.

Some of the community members being served waited for over an hour in the extreme heat just to pick up backpacks for their children. I have never been in this kind of need before. The greatest example of God’s love came through our community Pastor, Von Minor. He shared how a man who had knowingly stolen from him came to sign his kids up for the “I Got Your Back” event. Von’s response to the thief was an example of love and forgiveness, he told the man even though I know you have stolen from me, BridgeBuilders is still going to let your children come and receive school supplies, because they need to know Jesus and see His love through our ministry. Von shared that he didn’t want anything to hinder the Gospel from being proclaimed to this man and His Children. This is the love of God that Costs! God so loved that He gave and so should we!

Thankful for all of you who did just that through I Got Your Back!

Take 3 minutes and watch some highlights from “I Got Your Back” in Bonton.

This week we went back to our oncologist to do a six month scan following our surgery in LA. I took Rodrick one of my Sons in the Faith from the city with me. No matter how much you believe God for the victory I never like to go into this mental battle alone. Rodrick and I had a great time talking about God’s plans for BonTon and next steps for the spiritual development of our ministry.

I marveled as we sat at Baylor hospital what others must have thought seeing us together. He was from the streets of illegal drugs and me from the streets of materialism and manipulation. Now, years later, we are together, through God’s mercy, as brothers in Christ seeking the transformation of urban communities for the glory of God.

Rodrick is a mercy gift from God to me and the ministry. He is a great encouragement to me. In my time of need for encouragement he was willing to go to the cancer hospital, even though he doesn’t like hospitals. We had the joy of praying for a lady who was all alone.

The next day Laura and I went to get our results from the scan and our nurse looked at my chart and said I was the only patient she had ever seen with only one medication. She then said you are very blessed. Our doctor was very encouraged by the scan as my lungs are stable and there is no new evidence of disease. We rejoice at this great news of God’s continued Mercy and Grace.

On our way out of the hospital we passed a young mother in a wheel chair on oxygen with her young son, Angel. The Lord was very clear that I should stop and pray for her. She was blessed by the prayer and asked where our church was so that she could come worship with us. She is battling the same cancer I am but I am walking out of the hospital while she is in a wheel chair and on oxygen. God’s mercies are new every morning.

I am humbled by your prayers and my brother Rodrick that not only walks the streets of the city with me, but also walks with me in my time of need. Every day is a gift from God and we should rejoice at God’s unmerited favor and blessings. We love you and thank you for your prayers.

Friday I had the joy of participating in a time of prayer and licensing for Kyle Pierson to the ministry. It was such a joy to see he and his wife, Amy, getting ready to leave for New York City and their new ministry. I met Kyle several years ago through Prestonwood. He was a part of one of our evening discipleship times at our home. It has been my joy to watch Kyle daily seek God in the Word and through prayer. It became evident early on that God had something very special for his life.

Shortly after our discipleship began he met this amazing godly young lady named Amy. She was called to the ministry and was actually in seminary at the time. Kyle was building his career in commercial real estate. He and several other young singles from Prestonwood actually began our ministry in BonTon on Saturday mornings. They would do prayer walks, witness and serve the community.

Today, Saturday mornings are the core of our community Bible studies and cell group meetings, all because this man of God heard God’s voice and was faithful to obey. I had the joy of being a part of Kyle and Amy’s wedding and knew then that God had put them together to advance the gospel here and around the world. These past several years Kyle has led my son Jonathan in the student ministry as his table group leader while Amy served on the youth staff over the girls ministry. Kyle has continued his passion to make disciples in the real estate industry through weekly marketplace bible studies.

Recently through a Perspectives class at Prestonwood, Kyle heard a clear call to the nations and the ministry. These years if obedience have prepared Kyle to hear and obey God’s heart for his life and future. He and Amy are selling many of their possessions and are leaving their home to move to a 600 square feet apartment in Harlem to be trained in church planting while ministering to international students at Columbia University. They humble me by their obedience to the call of God. They are seeking prayer partners and financial support for their expenses. They have raised everything they need except for $20,000. BridgeBuilders is giving to their ministry monthly out of our tithe. We are thrilled by what God is doing through them and I wanted to ask those of you who read my blog to pray about supporting their ministry.

Please affirm this young couple’s faith as they have invested so much in our ministry and family. You can join their team by clicking on http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx, Their account is Kyle & Amy Pierson # (111610). Thanks for giving honor to whom honor is due. Kyle and Amy are two of my faith heroes who have heard God’s call and answered saying “here am I send me.” Please join me in praying and supporting these urban missionaries.

It is amazing how much we all need to take time to rest. It is very revealing what we focus on when we get away and get out of our ordinary surroundings. Do we choose God and the pursuit of His kingdom while we are on vacation or do we escalate our desires for the world and all that it has to offer? I remember what a very wise pastor told me when he was on my ordination counsel 17 years ago, “your greatest temptations will be when you have too much free time and money.” This past week, some dear friends provided us a place to vacation in an area near Destin, Florida on a road called 30a. Interestingly, it took no time at all for me to fit right in with the world and the desire for more. Shopping, even at discount stores, can still be the sin of discontentment. There is a sense of entitlement to this over indulgence because we work hard and serve others during the rest of the year.

Amazingly our friends who hosted us told us about a church that meets on the beach at 8:00am Sunday mornings. First test was to sleep in after a long drive and not keep the Lord’s Day holy. Thankfully the Lord woke me up early and we enjoyed a wonderful time of worship on the beach. The real blessing came when we had each of our children lead devotions each night. Instead of wanting more of the world we made a choice to use this time to seek more of God after realizing how quickly we can move away from God in an environment of great abundance. The Lord spoke clearly to me that what you do on vacation is a real reflection of your love for Him. Do we use our time off to rest, to pray, journal, and seek God together? Each night as our kids led devotions I was convicted by their godliness and the word the Lord spoke through them to me.

I was blessed to meet some leaders of a great ministry that takes families with children battling cancer to the beach and ministers to the entire family. They were meeting in the commons area of our resort. We had the joy of seeing these families worship, rest, and be ministered to in an amazing way. We were led to go and pray for their leaders and are going to be getting involved with this amazing ministry in the days ahead. Watching the talent show, I wept when I saw a dad dancing with his little girl who is battling cancer. It just reinforced how blessed we are and how much we have been given; every day is a gift from God. My prayer is that even in our rest we should seek opportunities to know God more intimately and minister to those along the way. We are thankful for the amazing family that hosted us so that we might be refreshed in our relationship with God and each other. Only God could have orchestrated a ministry to families battling cancer in our front yard all week as a way to be reminded what really matters, loving God and loving others more than ourselves!

Several months ago a good friend of mine introduced me to a man named Daron Babcock. He is a wonderful brother in Christ that was seeking to be obedient to the Lord in some rather unconventional ways in today’s Christian culture.

He shared with me that the Lord was leading him to live where he ministered and that he didn’t want to simply transact with the people he was called to serve. He is a national sales rep and currently lives in a wonderful home in Frisco. I encouraged him to come to Bonton to see if this was the neighborhood and the ministry God was leading him to serve. He came to the community and saw what the Lord was doing and then asked God if Bonton was where he was to serve.

Shortly after, he heard from God that he was to sell his house and not just serve in Bonton, but he was to LIVE in Bonton. From that time he has been in the community weekly and has built great relationships with the men as he prepares to begin building his new home in the community. As he was praying about the transition, he was led by the Lord to invite the men from Bonton to his home in Frisco. He wanted it to be a special day where they knew that because of their faith in Christ they were righteous sons of the King. He rented two Hummer limos and picked the guys up from Bonton and hosted them in his home for lunch, which was catered by Babes! He had a young Christian rapper lead in worship and then he shared the Word of God with them.

It was awesome as he shared with them their identity in Christ and that no sin or anything of this world should bind them since they had been set free through Jesus Christ. He then shared with the men that his house in Frisco had bound him from being obedient to Christ to come and live with them and serve with them to take their community for the Lord. We all sensed God’s amazing grace and presence in this time together as joint heirs of Jesus.

When your identity is in Christ and Christ alone it’s amazing what we are able to lay down so that we can be free to do our God given ministry to bring greater glory to God and advance the Gospel. What are you holding on to that is hindering you from believing Christ for who He says you are so that you can do what He is calling you to do? Remember there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Bonton to Frisco from Daron babcock on Vimeo.