A STEP OF FAITH THAT DOESN'T ADD UP

A couple years ago, Adam Taylor went on one of our annual mission trips to Ethiopia.  While he was there, he knew God was calling him to invest more than one week of his life.  God was calling him to go all in.  The defining moment was when a fifteen-year-old boy named Lilly popped out of a sewer manhole cover.  He didn't have any shoes on, so Adam spontaneously gave him his.  Lilly took Adam on a tour of the sewer where he found an entire community of orphans living under the streets.  In that moment, Adam knew [what he had to do].

The prospect of leaving a six-digit salary didn't add up, but Adam didn't care.  He moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, trusting that God would provide, and he started a ministry called Change Boys, which rescues street kids and gives them a home to live in.  In fact, twenty-two kids live with Adam in a house that God miraculously provided.  Adam signed the lease on the house, not knowing how God would provide.  Meanwhile, we released our annual Christmas catalog that raises money for a variety of mission projects.  Adam didn't know it, but Change Boys was one of those projects.  How appropriate that Adam's spiritual family, National Community Church, would cover the entire year's lease.  When Adam heard the news, he cried.  Then we cried.

Adam's story has inspired others within our church to step out in faith, too.  In fact his name has been turned into a verb.  "Pulling an Adam Taylor" has become synonymous with taking a step of faith that doesn't add up.

-- Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker


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