We had the privilege of hearing yesterday from three different speakers – the Lee family, Ada, and Rodney – as they shared about some of the things that they’ve been involved in as part of the LifeSpring family. The Lee family shared about their mission trip to Thailand and the seven places they travelled, where they visited pastors, missionaries, children, and churches. Ada shared about prophetic ministry at LifeSpring and the growth that they’ve seen over the last several months. Rodney shared about being a part of a potluck last weekend with refugees and several of the churches and families that have sponsored them to come to the GTA.
I was so encouraged by all the sharing and stories I heard. They reminded me of a verse from John 4:14. Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well, and tells her that everyone who drinks water from that well will be thirsty again, but
“whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
When Arthur and Leona shared about their time in Chiang Klang, they showed a picture of three water sources for the missionaries. When compared to our water here in Toronto, the sources were so dirty. But Arthur and Leona were able to use funds that they had raised for their trip to provide huge containers that could properly store water. This would not only help to provide cleaner water for the people, but would also allow the organization to host visiting nursing students.
In 2005, our church officially changed its name to Toronto Life-Spring Christian Fellowship. At the time, I don’t think we imagined how much our ministry as a church would involve providing water for others. Along with seven water wells in Benin, we have helped to install a well in Thailand, a water catchment system in Uganda, and now helped to provide a cleaner source of water in Chiang Klang.
In Ada’s sharing, she mentioned that over the past year there has been an increase in the amount of people seeking prophetic ministry through our church. Of all the requests that came in this year, most of the inquiries were from people outside of LifeSpring, with a big percentage being people from outside Ontario. One person even found us because they felt led by God to look for a church with the name “spring” in it, or with water.
Rodney shared about a large potluck that we had an opportunity to be a part of this past weekend hosted by Remember Ministries. Remember Ministries is a charitable organization that facilitates refugee sponsorship, and made our refugee sponsorship possible. At the event were about a hundred people, some who were refugees while others were people from churches who have sponsored them. At Family Weekend in August, we’ll have an opportunity to hear from Soroush, a pastor in Turkiye who was himself a refugee years ago.
All of these stories remind me of John 4:14 and the idea that in us is a fountain of water, springing up to eternal life. I think all of these stories are signs of that water springing up. Whether it’s providing physical water through wells, or spiritual water through encouraging, sharing, and praying, these are all signs of life.
Yet, I’m also reminded that it is the water that Jesus gives us that will be the fountain that springs up to eternal life. It’s not LifeSpring that will do great works. It’s the work of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in us and through us, that will spring up like a fountain of life for others. So may we always be vessels available to God, people who are prepared in every way to spring forth by the Holy Spirit to reach other people.