“Pastor, thank you for coming and listening to our story. It means so much to us that you would care about what God is doing here.”
Maybe an expression of gratitude like that doesn’t catch you off guard, but because of who said it to me and when, I was amazed that he was thanking me!
In June, a team of four of us from Infinity Church in Fountain Inn, SC took a vision trip with Jon Freeman and his son to the north coast of Colombia. For 5 days, we met with church leaders in 3 different cities to get a glimpse of what God is doing there, and to see how we could both learn from these leaders and support their work. Over and over again, meal after meal, coffee after coffee, our team kept saying, “These people are passionate about the Gospel, and passionate about their ministry!” We felt so humbled and blessed to meet dynamic, loving, generous Christians in a part of the world we had never visited before. It was truly an honor for us.
On top of that, we didn’t come to “do” any ministry. We weren’t leading a workshop, painting a wall, or training leaders. We were just listening and learning. Everywhere we went, we were thanking the leaders for their gracious hospitality and their generosity with their time. They hosted us with no expectations. They gave of their time to share what God was doing to a group from hundreds of miles away whom they had never met before.
Which is why when Pastor Freddy thanked us for listening to him, I almost wept. Pastor Freddy is working to run a coffee shop and plant a church in Santa Marta in Northern Colombia. As we left his coffee shop, he was beaming with joy at the opportunity to share his shop and his story with us. I thought our opportunity to bless him would come when we have the chance to go back (which we pray is soon!), and help support his ministry in greater ways. But for Pastor Freddy, he was blessed that we showed up and listened.
And he wasn’t the only one who told us that. In Cartagena and Barranquilla, over and over, leaders expressed their gratitude that we came and that we listened. I’m eager to GO and DO. Sometimes it is hard for me to just listen. I had never taken a trip like this before. But by God’s grace and wise leadership from SAM through people like Jon, we got a better taste of what God’s doing.
God is planting churches all across these cities. God is developing Gospel Ecosystems where leaders are working together. God is raising up leaders and multiplying the fruit. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” God is at work.
One of our last meals on the trip was with church leaders in Barranquilla—a city of over 2 million that is growing by the tens of thousands every year. One pastor pointed to another pastor on the other end of the table, and then to another pastor on the other side and said, “We are in different churches, different denominations, but WE are the church of Barranquilla.” God is at work, uniting Gospel workers together for the sake of His glory. And I for one, am so grateful that I had this opportunity to hear a little more about it.
Philip Long is the lead Pastor at Infinity Church in Fountain Inn, SC. He is originally from Mobile, Alabama. He and his wife, Amber, got married right after graduating from Wofford College together in 2011. They have four wonderful children – Lois (2014), Micah (2016), Lydia (2019) and Knowledge (2022).
Philip received an M.Div from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Amber serves as a Spanish and Education teacher at Fountain Inn High School. Philip enjoys coaching the kids’ sports teams, going to the gym, and traveling.
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