“For my wife, Claudia, and I, a heart for missions is not something a person can put on and take off,” said Eric, Bellevue member and founder of Red Door Urban Missions, one of Bellevue’s Serve Out Pathway Partners. “A heart for missions is given to us by God, and everyone who has a heart for Jesus is given a heart for serving others, too. It is our hope that our heart to serve is evident in the way we live our lives–on mission every day.”
Eric and Claudia are passionate about serving the people of Memphis and have been serving in urban missions for more than 25 years. Currently, in their ministry with Red Door Urban Missions, Eric and Claudia work to serve those who “have been marginalized, neglected, and ignored by meeting their unmet needs in love with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, showing that God can use anyone–all ages, all people groups, all socioeconomic statuses–for His plan and purposes.” They express how “the more we serve, the more we want to serve.”
“We believe the best way to strengthen your desire to serve on the mission field is by first serving in your own community–your Jerusalem–which, for us, is our beloved city of Memphis,” Eric explained.
“The desire to serve others is not a switch that can be turned on when you arrive on the mission field and turned off when you want to focus on your own life,” Eric said. “We are constantly on mission. If we are not loving the lost in our own families, then it will be disingenuous to try and love our neighbors. Life on mission must be lived out each and every day with undying authenticity to put others before yourself because Jesus put us before Himself.”
Missions is not a once-a-year event or a weekly commitment. Missions is about constantly living out the Missionary Task every day. Not only is it something that needs to be lived out, but it is also something we get to live out– something Eric and Claudia say they are honored God has called them to do.
“We should all be thankful for the privilege to serve the impoverished, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the homeless, and everyone else in our city,” Eric shared. “We should serve because we want to show the love and grace of Christ with the lost. We cannot manufacture love, and we cannot invent or conjure up a love that is not there. God gave us His best, His Son Jesus, so we need to give our best, the Gospel, to others.”
As a husband, Eric encourages and leads his family to engage in the Missionary Task every day. No matter the role you hold in your family, think about how your family can be influenced by you faithfully living out the Missionary Task.
How You Can Engage
Serve Out Pathways are a great way for you to build intentional, Gospel-centered relationships with your neighbors. These Pathways include tutoring students, leading women’s Bible studies, being a conversation partner to individuals learning English, and many other opportunities. Visit bellevue.org/pathways for ways you can engage in the Missionary Task through Serve Out Pathways.