Bringing others to Jesus
Four Guys ... four faithful friends experienced something that they wanted their buddy to experience. Though there was a bit of a physical challenge to get him there, that didn’t stop them from loading up their friend who could not walk and taking him to Jesus. Not near Jesus, but TO Jesus. They lowered their friend through a roof and got him right in front of Him. And people are STILL talking about it today.
This is Andrew McAllister's favorite account in the Bible (Mark 2:3-11). Because he is living it.
By the faith and unconventional thinking of Andrew's family, he experienced T Bar M as a young camper. His adventure started with zipping down the zip line and water skiing with Cole at Camp Travis, and then serving as a Day Camp Coach. Just as the paralyzed man’s friends did, Andrew had a dream where he picked up the mat and carried other kids to Jesus. He dreamed and planned how he could bring those with limitations closer to Jesus in ways the world might think to be unconventional. After a conversation between Johnny and Andrew, Camp Hope and the Believe it Foundation were created, and we are still watching the stories unfold today! He claims, "Without T Bar M, I would not be where I am in my confidence or profession."
Recently, another faithful friend of Andrew's, Ross Ormand, posed the idea of running a marathon together as a duo team. Sitting in the hotel lobby, before their first race in Chicago, the next unconventional idea came to mind: Let's do the SIX World Marathon Majors. They set off on their adventure. Five of the six marathons are done, with Boston being the most recent. Unconventional? You bet! Bringing others to Jesus and great experiences? Absolutely!
You see, Andrew believes this: Through experiences and life change at T Bar M, alongside the impact of his local church, St. Andrews in San Antonio, the love of Christ shines in his life, and he knows he needs to share his experiences with others.
Andrew, Ross, and so many others are linking arms to pick up the mats so others can be brought to Jesus. Kids zipping at Camp, Duo Teams in marathons, talking about Jesus in a broken world. All unconventional ways of this world. And all ways, we will be talking about through eternity!