From the Mountain to the Valley - Pastor Jimmy Dorrell

Sermon Abstract:

The church is one of God’s primary agents of change in the culture and should be on the forefront of pointing people to Christ through the many cultural, social, and political issues we face, whether it’s racial division, poverty, or any of the myriad of hurts and pains we see take effect around us. That said, our perfect church attendance and seminary degrees mean nothing if they don’t lead us to be an agent of change. As Christians, the crux of our spiritual growth and transformation happen not during the spiritual highs of our “mountain top” experiences, but rather when we’re down in the valley. It’s our experiences of pain, suffering, and rejection that often lead to growth, and thus lead to our desire to impact the world around us towards Christ.

Pastor Jimmy shared his testimony of how God led him and his wife through many experiences that helped them to understand not only their spiritual state, but their lack of awareness of the people and their needs around them. They realized that just as the lepers lacked the sense to perceive physical things happening to their bodies, in the same way, Pastor Jimmy lacked the sense to perceive the spiritual things happening in the communities around him… being spiritually dead and numb in a way. His sheltered church upbringing and middle class life gave him a faulty impression of what the world needed vs. getting into the valley and truly experiencing and learning about these needs first hand. As the Lord led him to deal directly with the people in Waco, TX that He would have him to minister to, Pastor Jimmy’s eyes began to open to the reality of their pain, hurt, and suffering. Soon after he and his wife began Mission Waco, and eventually founded The Church Under the Bridge. They have now been ministering to the homeless and marginalized people of Waco for the past 40 years.