NLC Connect - Nov. 11, 2026

When we think about missions, our minds often go to faraway places, different cultures, and people who have answered God's call to serve across the world. Recently, we had the opportunity to welcome the Ramos family to New Life Community and hear about their ministry in Thailand. What a beautiful reminder of the people who are willing to step away from what's familiar to share the love of Jesus with others!
Sometimes, without even realizing it, we've made missions something that happens somewhere else, something that someone else is called to do.
The truth is, the call to make Jesus known belongs to all of us. Some are called to travel across oceans, like the Ramos family, while others are called to be faithful in the everyday places God has already planted them. Both are important, and both are opportunities to share the hope we have in Jesus.
That's what I love about pairing these two songs.
The old hymn The Light of the World Is Jesus, written by Philip P. Bliss in 1875, is a beautiful invitation to come out of darkness and into the light of Christ. Throughout the hymn, we're reminded that Jesus is the source of light, hope, and salvation. It's not about finding our own way through the darkness, but about turning toward the One who can lead us through it.
Then there's Britt Nicole's The Lost Get Found, released in 2009. This song approaches that same message from another direction. It's about having the courage to live out our faith, even when it's uncomfortable, because we never know who might be watching, listening, or searching for hope. It reminds us that the way we live and the choices we make can have an impact on someone else's journey toward Jesus.
One song invites us to find the light. The other challenges us to share it.
A couple of months ago, I had a conversation with a family in the Fresno Community who was looking for some encouragement on their autism journey. Their daughter was six, and mine was sixteen. The dad had so many questions, and I was happy to share what I've learned over the years. We were having a really great conversation when he suddenly stopped and asked me something I wasn't expecting.
"Are you a person of faith?"
Now, up until that point, I hadn't mentioned my role at church or that I had grown up knowing Jesus. I wasn't wearing a Jesus-y shirt (I was saving my SOAR shirt for SOAR Sunday!), and I certainly wasn't holding a sign announcing that I was a Christian.
I simply told him, "Yes, I'm a Christian and a follower of Jesus."
He got quiet.
For a moment, I wondered if I had just brought our conversation to an end.
Then he asked me something that has stuck with me ever since.
"How do you do it? How do you believe in a God that is supposed to love you and your child while going through something this hard?"
I shared with him from my heart. Not a perfectly rehearsed answer or a Bible lesson, but my own experience of walking through difficult seasons and learning to lean on Jesus through them.
When I finished, he said, "You've given me something to think about. I've never thought about it that way before."
I don't know what happened after we walked away from each other. I don't know if he went home and prayed, opened a Bible, or continued asking questions about God.
But I do know that for a few minutes, I had the opportunity to share a little bit of the hope that has carried me through some of my hardest days.
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others so they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
And maybe that's what I love most about these two songs together.
Jesus is the light of the world. We simply have the privilege of reflecting His light.
Sometimes we think sharing our faith requires the right words, the right setting, or some big, extraordinary moment. But sometimes it happens in an ordinary conversation between two parents trying to navigate something hard.
And I think that's where The Lost Get Found becomes especially meaningful to me. We don't always get to see what God does with the conversations we have or the seeds we plant. We might only be present for one small moment in someone's much bigger story.
I don't know where that dad is in his faith journey today. But I pray that something from our conversation stayed with him.
Because sometimes, before the lost get found, they first need to know that there is hope.