Why One Bridge?
After my last article regarding my new calling, One Bridge, I wanted to follow up with an explanation of both the heart behind it and more specifics on what we will be doing. In this article, I will focus on the first: the heart and motivation behind One Bridge.
Personal Story
I grew up in church but never truly understood or embraced the Gospel of Christ Jesus until college. This upended my world in all the best ways! Through this, I became convinced of a few core pillars in my life—pillars upon which I have tried to base all my major life decisions.
I believe the Bible is true. I believe Jesus is real. I believe that true life is found in Christ Jesus and His completed work of salvation on the cross.
There have been times in my life when I have lived out these realities well and times when I have struggled deeply. I have experienced times of Godly zeal as well as times of apathy and even active rebellion. I have walked through joy and through depression, through seasons of great faith and seasons of doubt and confusion. Yet through it all, I have done my best to hold fast to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The Story of One Bridge
With my personal story as a backdrop, I first began to dream of this ministry in 2009. Thankfully, we now have a team of individuals, families, and churches working together to form this network/organization called One Bridge. Additionally, several world-class mission agencies, both big and small, are partnering with us in building out this network.
At its core, One Bridge is an expression of both the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8-9) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) of Christ Jesus. As the Christian church, we are called to care about “every tongue, tribe, and nation.” At the same time, we are called to simply love Jesus and love our neighbor wherever God has placed us. With this in mind, One Bridge exists to address two critical problems in the global Christian church today: disconnected resources and disconnected relationships.
Disconnected Resources
One of the sad realities that has shaped my entire Christian life is that very limited resources are being directed toward the most unreached and difficult places in the world. Over 40% of the world’s people groups remain unreached (less than 2% Christian), yet less than 1% of church resources in America and the other “reached areas” are devoted to these areas and peoples. This should bother us and move us to action!
It was this reality that first inspired me to dream of an organization like One Bridge in 2009. That dream has only grown stronger over the years.
Simply stated, One Bridge longs to see Christians and the work of the Gospel flourish everywhere—especially in those places where believers are few in number and often persecuted. This is our heart: bridging the gap between resource-rich areas like America and unreached places where resources are scarce.
Disconnected Relationships
It is my joy and privilege to be close friends with some of the most faithful Christian leaders in some of the most unreached and persecuted areas of the world. What they may lack in “freedom” and physical resources, they more than make up for with extraordinary faith in Christ, belief in the veracity of the Bible, and an unwavering commitment to love those around them—even those who actively persecute them.
Personally, through the ups and downs of life, my faith has often been sustained by knowing and learning from these dear brothers and sisters in Christ in places like China, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. Over the years, I have lost close friends to death. I have seen the dismantling of my church family in Los Angeles. I have experienced broken relationships that I once thought would lead to marriage. I have watched friends walk away from faith (and/or from me). I have witnessed the deep suffering and struggles of some family members. I was forced to leave a country I had come to love. After that, I had to leave a city and community in America that had grown to love as well.
Through all of this, one of the greatest factors in sustaining my own faith—and in the lives of dear friends who have remained steadfast in Christ—is the meaningful connection we have with Christian brothers and sisters around the world. We have consistently witnessed faith lived out through the eyes of persecuted Chinese pastors. We have seen the joyful sacrifice and deep contentment of Central Asian and Middle Eastern sisters in Christ who continue to thrive in faith, hope, and love, even in the midst of hostile societies. We have been encouraged and inspired.
The American church is increasingly isolated from the global Christian community at a time when the global church is dynamically growing and producing extraordinary leaders. At One Bridge, we believe that one of the best ways for the American church to rekindle faith, hope, and love is by learning from our brothers and sisters around the world.
It is my hope that One Bridge will serve as an instrument to bridge the relational gap that exists between the global church and the U.S./Western church. We in America and the West have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters in places like China and the Middle East.
What Now?
In my next post, I’ll share more about how One Bridge plans to address these issues of disconnected resources and disconnected relationships. For now, I simply wanted to highlight the underlying issues and the heart behind our mission.
If you would like more details about the work of One Bridge, please fill out the form here. Because of security concerns, we have a separate email for those within the One Bridge network. It is not wise or safe to share specifics publicly.