We're Talking About Practice!

"We're talking about practice"
Allen Iverson

WOW! Congratulations to the Downriver Christian Community Church Mexico Mission Team for a job well done! Sunday's service was a result of the many long hours of practice and preparation that the team put into preparing for our mission trip to Tepic, Mexico next week. From all church members that I talked to after the service, as well as visitors in the congregation, a resounding "outstanding" was the overall evaluation of your ministry!

There is an old saying that we have all heard many times: "Practice makes perfect." That saying is very misleading and incorrect! Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect! Regardless of what Allen Iverson says about practice, a performance in any endeavor will at most times turn out like the effort given in practice and preparation. If effort in practices is sub par, the final performance will be sub par. If the effort in practices is diligent and if close attention paid to details is stressed and evaluated, the final performance, in most cases, will be successful!

The DCCC Mexico Mission Team has been meeting two times a month since January, planning, practicing and preparing themselves to minister on behalf of Jesus Christ in a foreign country. In their service to and for their King, slothfulness, negligence, and carelessness were not options they worked toward or would settle for. Dedicating themselves to the upcoming mission with countless hours of prayer, practice, frustration, criticism, and encouragement, every member was subjected to evaluations on everything they did. From personal testimonies, music practice, skit preparation, puppet ministry, and dance ministry to punctuality, dress, hygiene, and personal conduct while on the trip, all bases were covered with a fine tooth comb over and over. No stone was left unturned or unexamined because of the importance of the accomplishment of the final goal.

Last Sunday's service was a very small taste and example of what awaits the people of Tepic, Mexico next week. It has been my pleasure to help oversee, train, and lead this team, along with Carol Russell, as we look forward to the start of the trip. I would like to personally thank everyone who assisted with the preparations, practices, financial support, and evaluations behind the scenes over the past six months. Your contributions to the formation, direction, and development of this team are greatly appreciated and acknowledged. Even though many of you will not be going on the trip itself, all of your contributions were invaluable to me, and for this I greatly appreciate and love all of you!

The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:21-27:

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

As we embark on this trip, we continue to covet your prayers. Pray that God will lead us in every step, that His protection will be over us and the loved ones we leave behind, and that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be established and expanded through the ministry of the Downriver Christian Community Church Mexico Mission Team - because next time, it wont be practice!

Muchas Gracias,

Pastor Don