The Backstory to ESPN's Super bowl Ring

Just yesterday this ESPN article hit the airways and I have a backstory to it...

I have had the incredible privilege of spending time in South East Asia with some precious rescued orphan children. In 2007 our Church, Grace Community Church made a monumental commitment to build two orphan homes in Cambodia and Thailand. We made this pledge on a cold Sunday morning in February after I had asked our church to rescue orphans.

People wrote checks and made pledges in the two services that Sunday that blew me away. I had originally hoped that enough money would be collected to sponsor one home, but our generous church pledged enough for two homes. It truly was a God-moment.

My family and I, along with a team from our Church, made the first trip to visit our children that Summer. We fell in love with these precious kids right away. In my mind, this is still the best thing that Grace Community Church has ever invested in. 

So as this article above hit the press yesterday, all the emotions from this night, when Jerod Cherry was moved by the LORD to give, came fresh to the surface. 

That night will go down as my top 5 ever God-moments ...

I was asked to speak at the Momentum Youth Conference in 2008 at Cedarville College. Ed Lewis the National Director of CE National has a heart to reach the underprivileged in the world. He asked me to deliver a message that would give the teens a heart for orphans in our world. As I was prepping this message my heart was very tender to Asia's Hope and the work they were doing for orphan care in our world. 

After some guidance and prayer we decided to give the teens an opportunity to give financially at the end up my message, to this cause. Our hope was that it would be a catalyst to get another home built and started in Thailand. Needless to say, I was pretty passionate  about this opportunity. 

CE National decided to place a running tab on the large screen in the front of the room, as teens gave, to track the giving. In other words, we would know exactly where the amount was as people gave.

I got to the end of my message and what God did next, was simply unimaginable.... Teens ran to the front in tears and emptied their pockets. Teens ran back to their dorm rooms and brought all their cash back and gave. Teens took debit cards and emptied their bank accounts, all the while the tab on the number began to increase. I stepped back to the back of the stage and watched God blow us away. This went on for what seemed like an hour, as teens flooded the altar and gave and  the music kept playing. I truly have never seen anything like it.

As I was standing on the stage, someone introduced me to Jerod Cherry, I never knew him before this night, but I soon found out that he was deeply moved to give to this project, and was considering donating a super bowl ring to this cause. I remember praying and asking the Lord to have his way.

After the night finally ended, 90 thousand dollars was donated towards rescuing orphans. Yes, these teens and workers gave 90 thousand dollars in one hour. I was so overwhelmed that I had to spend much of my time on my knees in tears.

Some teens gave all their money and had zero left for their long trips back home. In the months following, Jerod put his ring up for auction and the Lord blessed in a tremendous way. I connected with his wife, Samua on a couple of occasions afterwards. 

All that to say this, never underestimate what God can do when his people are moved by the Holy Spirit to give. 

I have seen the kids that are rescued and they are flourishing because of people like Jerod and Samua Cherry,  John McCullom the National Director of Asia's Hope, Ed Lewis the National Director of CE National, the Teens of Momentum Youth Conference, and the people of Grace Community Church, Goshen Indiana.

We serve a mighty God and yes we still have many more orphans to reach!