EP. 94: Unity That Works with Cameron Tate

What if the biggest barrier to gospel impact isn’t a lack of programs—but a lack of unity? In this episode, Cameron Tate, founder of Bridging the Gap Outreach Ministries, shares a compelling vision for church collaboration in Jackson, Mississippi.

From building pastor relationships to launching neighborhood coalitions and serving local schools, Cameron shows how lasting impact comes through unity, not individual efforts. This conversation offers both a biblical framework and practical steps for overcoming division, resisting burnout, and living out the gospel together as one body.

Special thanks to our sponsors: 

Nissan, St. Dominic's Hospital, Atmos Energy, Regions Foundation, Mississippi College, Anderson United Methodist Church, Grace Temple Church, Mississippi State University, Real Christian Foundation, Brown Missionary Baptist Church, Christian Life Church, Ms. Doris Powell, Mr. Robert Ward, and Ms. Ann Winters.

Transcript

Welcome And Podcast Purpose

Sponsors And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:12

This is Living Reconciled, a podcast dedicated to giving our communities practical evidence of the gospel message by helping Christians learn how to live in the reconciliation that Jesus has already secured for us by living with grace across racial lines. Hey, thanks so much for joining us on this episode of Living Reconciled, episode 94. I am your host, Brian Crawford, and uh I have a very, very, very, very good friend that I'm looking forward to having a conversation with uh gentlemen that I have grown to appreciate and and love uh dearly, love his ministry, uh, love his passion uh for reconciliation, love his passion for the gospel. Can't wait to talk to him. That gentleman is named Cameron Tate. Uh, but before we introduce Cameron Tate to our listening audience, we want to give a special shout out to a couple of sponsors, uh, folks like Nissan, St. Dominic's Hospital, Atmos Energy, Regents Foundation, Mississippi College, and Bell Haven University, uh, Anderson United Methodist Church, Grace Temple Church, Mississippi State University, Real Christian Foundation, Brown Missionary Baptist Church, Christian Life Church, Miss Doris Powell, Mr. Robert Ward, Ms. Ann Winters, Pine Lake. Thank you guys so much for making this podcast possible. It's because of what you do, that we're able to do what we do. And what we do is talk about all things faith, life, vocation, reconciliation with people all over the state of Mississippi. Uh, oftentimes we lose sight of the reality that God is doing incredible work in our state. And uh so we love to hear incredible stories uh from incredible people about the incredible things that God is doing. And speaking of incredible people, that leads me uh to our guest on uh today's episode of Living Reconciled. Uh Cameron Tate is, along with his wife, Yvonne Tate, they are the founders of Bridging the Gap Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi. Uh Cameron has spent and dedicated uh a great deal of his life to the work of outreach, local outreach within the Christian context, helping churches uh develop a plan and a strategy for how they can reach their community. And Cameron took that talent and he has um expanded that talent and and the Lord by his grace has used Cameron in a mighty way to bring different ministries together, local churches uh and and nonprofits and organizations across the wider Jack, the greater Jackson area, to create a more cohesive and enlarging plan for how you reach uh your community. And so I can't wait for you to hear uh Cameron's story and how Cameron is going about gospel work in the city, in the community of Jackson. And so we are grateful, grateful again to have you, uh brother, join us. So welcome, Cameron Tate, to Living Rocket Reconcile Podcast. Thank you, Brian.

SPEAKER_03 3:05

I appreciate it. What a blessing. Uh love you, man, and love your heart. And see, Mr. Ned has jumped on and so uh love this ministry and just honored to be here today.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Amen, brother. Amen. Grateful to have our netty, uh, our our friend Nettie Winners jumping on. He's uh, you know, he he he he marches to the the beat of his own drum, Cameron. So he comes when he he comes when he wants to, he leaves when he wants to. So so we finally got him online. So it's good to see you, Nettie Winners.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

I am so excited to be on. I'm excited that I can come and go as I please. I'm just I'm excited to uh have my good friend Cameron with us. Uh what a good brother, what a great man of God. And I'm just I'm like you, man. I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

Cameron’s Call To Step Out

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah, man. Yeah. Speaking of which, Cameron, tell us a little bit, man, about about your story. How did you get to the place uh where you saw the Lord um spurring you forward to build an organization, to create an organization like Bridging the Gap Outreach Ministries?

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Yeah, thank you for that question. Um, you know, it's it's been almost eight years ago now. And you know what interesting thing, Brian and Nettie, y'all know this, is you just never know the journey God has for you. Um, you know, and so eight almost eight years ago now, be eight years in September, uh, I was serving on staff down at Daniel Memorial Baptist Church. And my heart has always been for the uh local church to be influential for Christ in their community. And uh so I was serving there at Daniel, and the Lord spoke to my spirit and said, it's time to leave Daniel, take a step of faith, and I didn't quite know what was next. And my wife and I were having the conversation, and the Lord just, I mean, he just birthed this ministry. And I mean, our hearts were um having as many churches as we had in the Jackson area, we thought, man, what would it look like to have these churches working together um to bring their ideas together, to bring their hearts and minds together? And what could we do for the gospel in this area that one church can't do alone? And that was really the heart behind why this ministry started. So it was just simply God, you know. I I mean, I had never done nonprofit work before. And so this was this was kind of a brand new feel for me. Uh, but it's just amazing how um, you know, the world will order your steps. And, you know, I was thinking about this last night. You you you never grow in comfort, and uh, and so God's always taken us, you know, outside of our comfort zone to really expose what he's put on the inside of us that we didn't even know that was there.

The Real Challenges Of Unity

SPEAKER_00 5:35

So yeah, yeah, man, yeah, man. Cameron, man, what kind of early challenges did you experience uh in this work? And maybe they're not early, maybe they're still, you know, maybe there's still challenges that you see as it relates to trying to bring all of these different churches with all these different philosophies together as it relates to outreach and how you reach your community. Um, share some of those, share some of those early challenges, and not only the early challenges, but how you some some best practices maybe that you've learned along the way, some some wisdom that the Lord has given you in terms of addressing some of those early challenges.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

Yeah, thank you for that, brother. I, you know, Brian, we're gonna always have a challenge, and the challenge will always be our adversary, right? And so what I'm what I'm learning is it's not people, it's not what we think it is in a natural, it's it's spiritual, right? And so uh you guys know there's a mission, Mississippi. There's a there's a real enemy that hates unity. Uh, because unity is a powerful tool. I think it's one of the most powerful tools that God gave his church. Uh, and we see in Psalm 133 where God even says he commands a blessing where there's unity, right? And Jesus praised for it in John 17 that his church will get the revelation uh that we're actually supposed to be together. And this is how the world will know us by our love for one another. Um, and so the challenge will always be uh the enemy to uh try his best to divide us with things like offense or misunderstanding of one another. And so, you know, early on, to be honest with you, the biggest challenge was Lord, how how can we do this, right? Um, because y'all know it is not easy bringing people together. It's much easier said than done. Because, you know, when you're dealing with people, let's be honest, you're dealing with flesh, you know, and we're all flesh to some degree, you know, and sometimes we are skeptical of one another and and and all these different things. And so it was it was a challenge of, but this is what I knew. I knew God, if it was gonna be done, it had to be by your spirit. And I've and you know, best practice, I've just learned that, man, if the Lord ain't in it, don't do it. I mean, that's just the honest thing I can say. If you have to be led by the Spirit of God, but here's another thing I've learned it takes a great deal of patience, right? Um, we we we learned that things are not done overnight. And if you're gonna do something long term, and if it's gonna be uh something that's sustained, uh it takes a great amount of patience. So for me, the the challenge was really just trying to convince pastors that this is something that needs to happen. Uh and then obviously you're competing against schedules and people being busy, and that's you know, that's that's all to it. But honestly, uh Brian, here's a sad reality. Uh unfortunately, I think that we have struggled uh with being divided for so long that sometimes it's much harder for us to come together. So it just takes, it takes a lot longer, you know, for people to understand that, hey, you know what, we actually have more in common than we do apart. And uh so, you know, God's just taught me, hey, be patient, stay in prayer. And but then here's the greatest thing that uh unity is something that God has to work on the hearts of people to do that. You know, we we can't convince them they need to be unified in the flesh. The spirit of God has to work in people's heart, and they have to be convicted themselves to go, you know what, I I realize that I'm just a small part of the puzzle, right? And I need these other members of the body. And so uh, you know, what I've learned is hey, keep plowing the ground, be patient, and let the Holy Spirit do his work.

Coalition Over Programs

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, man. Yeah, yeah. Cameron, man, I'm you know one of the one of the things that that typically stands out to me when we're when we're doing this kind of work of trying to bring it, bring people together, is I tell people that uh that the current of all relationships flows towards familiar. Yeah. Meaning that um you don't have to do much work to connect to people that look like you think like you act like you. That's a downstream flow. Um when you when you talk about connecting to people that don't look like you think like you act like you, but still love the same Lord you do, that's an upstream flow. And so and so that requires that requires a little bit more discomfort. That require that requires a few more strokes of the of the arms, right, in the pool to get to get upstream to swim against that current. Um, that requires a lot more intentionality, a lot, a lot more, uh, like you said, patience, longevity. There are gonna be some times in which you want to kind of revert back to those uh old patterns of man, let's just go back to hanging out with everybody that looks like us, thinks like us, acts like us. That's a lot easier. The flow, the flow is easier, we don't have to feel as uncomfortable. Um, and so it's easier to kind of ring the bell and say, we're done with this, but but your call to patience, man, is is is for me is top top billing in terms of the things that you need in order to embark on this work is that you have to have an incredible amount of patience. Yes, and you gotta have an incredible amount of intentionality. And and I hear that when we're talking about bridging the gap, outreach ministries. Um, talk to us a little bit, man, about you, you you mentioned um you know some of the things I've read and some of the things I've heard uh from you. You mentioned that we are not coalition-based, or we are not program-based, rather, we are coalition-based. When you say we're not program-based, we're coalition-based. Talk to us a little bit about what that means. What does what does that look like? Absolutely.

Why We Need The Whole Body

SPEAKER_03 11:30

Yeah, great question. So, you know, a coalition to me is is is so much stronger because it it really builds long-lasting relationships outside of something that we're just trying to make happen. You know, if if we're not careful, Brian, and we we have to be so careful that we're not trying to portray another program or another thing, right? We're talking about we want pastors to connect. One of the things I that that I'm honestly being stretched with right now is to make sure that outside of monthly meetings that we do, is how do we build such a relationship within the body of Christ that look, if this pastor in the same neighborhood, they can call each other on a personal level and say, hey, here's what I'm struggling with, right? And it and it's not just we show up and we do things together, but it's uh, you know what, man, from a pastor to another pastor, here's my struggle. Because the truth of the matter is, Brian, ministry is work, right? And there's some struggles with ministry. And so my idea of being in a coalition is simply saying, yeah, we want to be concerned about our community, but how do we show up and support one another? How do we be there for each other on a real personal level that's deeply rooted? That, hey, look, if this coalition is not going in 50 years from now, that we still have a relationship, that we don't, we don't stop just by doing an outreach together in the community. That no, we we build such a history and a chemistry and a relationship with one another that we can say, you know what, personally, man, we're going to one another's houses. We're sitting down with each other's spouses. That's that's the that's a healthy place for me. And then from there, ministry will happen, right? The more we get to know one another. Brian, that's how you and I met, man. I I love you, man, and the work you're doing. You're a dear brother to me. But it's not just because we've done programs together. It's because, guess what? Man, I know I call Brian, man. If I hear something from God, Brian calls me, I call Brian. It's the it's a supernatural thing that's deeper than ministry. It's to know Brian Crawford is my brother. Yes, I've known him through Mission, Mississippi, but I know him because he's just a dear brother and he's a good guy. And I want to see the body of Christ build that type of relationship one another. And I love how you said it. Typical with people that that don't look like you or that you're not familiar with. Um, because to me, and you and you use the word intentionality, that's exactly what it's gonna take. Because here's unity is not accidental, right? If it happens, it's because people are intentional about making it happen. You know, you're not just gonna slip into unity, it's gonna take a great deal of on purpose. Hey, you know what, I'm gonna make it my business. And look, we're we're all busy, but make it my business to say, you know what, I'm calling Brian today. Yeah, I know Brian's got a full schedule, I know Ned's got a full schedule, but guess what? Because these are guys that I love and trust, I can pick up the phone and call and say, hey man, I just want to check on you, see how you're doing today. And that's that's that's what I say about being in a coalition as opposed to being in a program. We can do programs all day and still be distanced, right? We can do programs all day and still not have relationships. And this is why people I think burn out in ministry, because even though we're doing great things together, and we may show up once a month or once a year, but we still don't know each other. We're not deeply connected. And I think some way we've got to cross that bridge to where, man, we we we're fellowshipping together, we're eating together, we're doing life together, it'll make our ministry so much better.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Yeah, yeah. Amen, brother.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Uh Cameron. Yes, sir. Man, if you get any more excited, man, our screen is gonna explode, man. I'm trying to this guy excited or what, man? It's like, my goodness, man. What you see, what you giving, Brian? I thought he just split him off.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Hey, man. I didn't give him anything, man. That the the Holy Spirit is at work. I'm like Jesus. Wind them up and turn them loose, man.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

That's right, man. I'm like Jesus. He said, Jesus said, I've never seen greater faith in this and all this. I've never seen greater excitement in all of the creation. Listen, listen. Earlier you said uh uh working together, you know, I need them. And then you talk about this coalition thing. You know, what is it that uh I don't I don't I don't have an answer to this now? I don't think I'm asking a question, I have an answer to this. But what is it in you that would cause you to think that I would leave what I'm doing and come and join you and make you successful? You know, I hear that when when people talk about working together, talking about having unity, getting to know each other, being in relationships. You know, I used to hear this from pastors all the time about why should I leave what I'm doing to come make you successful? And you talk about you know the culture of what we're working in, people doing their own thing, long range, whatever else. Now, understanding what you just said to Brian and Ned it makes sense. All right, got that? Yes, sir. But now the people that is not coming and join Bridging the Galph and joining Mission, Mississippi, being in unity, having that coalition, building that authentic relationship that don't see that as a part of what I'm called to do. Uh what do you how do you how do you say to them, what do you say to them to, I don't know whether convince them, persuade them, convert them? I know you get the God's got to get to heart and all of that, but yeah, but what is what is our message to people to help them at least begin to think about uh that this is not a call of selfishness on your part for me to leave what I'm doing to come help you be successful. That had anything to do with it. Talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

Yeah, great. Nettie, that's a great question. Yeah, and you know what? I just heard the Holy Spirit as I was sitting here, you said that. And I think when people say, Why would I leave what I'm doing to come help you be successful? That's the wrong question, right? The the question should be, how can I join you so all of us can be more successful in winning souls? And that's that's the thing. So we we gotta have a perspective shift. Again, it was never about, and and here's the reality, and I tell people this you know, you have to remember this. Even as great as your ministry is, or how smart you are, you are still just a part of the body. You are not the whole body itself, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

And say that again. Slow down, slow down. I know you're excited, but just slow down. Regardless of how important and how critical and how significant your ministry is, you you use the word only. Say it's only what?

SPEAKER_03 17:54

You are only a part of the body, right? So, so God designed his body in such a way. Let's just take our natural bodies for a moment, right? It it it doesn't it doesn't matter how effective I can communicate. If my legs wouldn't let me get here today to be on this podcast with y'all, my voice may be great, but my legs have to work in conjunction in order for this thing to be what it needs to be. So just think about your physical body. You need all the parts of the body to do what it's called to do, because if not, guess what? I'm limited. Man, I've had a toothache before, and I'm gonna tell you something. That's the worst pain of my life. And so what we're trying to tell people is this is to say that listen, you know, even though you think you got it going on, and I'm not I'm not downplaying the anointing, the call that's on your life at all, but I do want you to understand that you cannot be as effective as you're called to be without the other parts of the body. Why? That's not a message of Cameron Tate. That's the way God designed the body. And you we see this in 1 Corinthians 12, we see it in Romans 12, we see it all over the New Testament, where Paul is like this urgent, urging us to say, hey, listen, Mission Mississippi, bridging the gap, X, Y, Z, A, B, C ministries, y'all all apart. But guess what? If we get people to understand that one, is you you you've only got so many resources, you need other resources part of the body. So we're trying to get people to see that, hey, listen, even though you're great by yourself, and we're not taking away from that, and we're not downplaying the call that's on your life. What we are simply saying, though, is guess what? You will always be limited until you realize that I actually need somebody else in their part because it makes me stronger, right? And so, and so we see that. So that's that's what we're trying to tell people, and we're also trying to convince people that listen, I'm not telling you this because I need you to come over here and help me do something. I'm telling you this because this is the way God has set things up. He set things up in such a way that he has not given all of his glory to one person, one church, one ministry, one organization, one man. He's just not gonna do that. Why? Because he's not gonna have one man take all of his credit. So I love that God has fit us in such a way that he says, you actually need one another. And look, until we realize that the truth of the matter is, um, we're not gonna be as effective. The world can't even be reached. Because here's the truth, guys. Let's be real honest. If one ministry, one church, one organization could reach the whole world, it would have been done by now, right? So it's not possible, right? Bridging the gap can't reach the whole city, and we know that. And we're not, and we're not, we're not sitting here trying to be the superheroes. So here's the truth. I think we got to get out of our pride, and sometimes we have to be honest enough to call it for what it is, in love. And just say, truth of the matter is you might actually be walking in pride. And so it takes the spirit of God to help people realize that and to stop being territorial. And because here's the truth, man. We're we're we all should be fighting for the same thing, and that's so. I'm not trying to compete with the minister down the street. Uh that's not my call. My call is to work alongside them, figure out how God has uniquely ordained them and giving them the DNA. And then guess what? I link up with them, and then guess what? Bridging the gap is better because this minister's got something we don't. And I think that has to be a mess to the church. And I think the church has to realize every other entity in the world is divided. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ has to be that set apart, right, living entity that God has ordained to show something different. Because here's the truth, y'all. It's gonna make ministry much harder if we don't, because the world's already looking at us and going, why would I want to join their team if they can't even get along? They don't even agree with each other. And you're calling me into this family of God, but they're not even convinced of the same God that they serve. So I would say, Nettie, we have to tell them it's detrimental that we're not in unity. Our our witness is on the line. When we're divided, what's on the line? Our witness, our effectiveness. And we've got to help people turn that corner and go, man, there's something so much bigger than the world you live in, and you're not gonna see it till you unify with other believers.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Yeah, you know, Cameron, excellent. Say it. And I'm not a cynical uh by no means. I'm I'm I'm enthusiastic. I am very positive about all the great work. What I what I'm trying to demonstrate here, and and and and maybe Mr. Bryan will probably shift me up, he might mute my mic, but what I'm trying to demonstrate here is that that the people that we're speaking to, I want them to hear this, say it out loud. Yes, you know what I'm talking about? And not only say it out loud, but also hear it. That this is not being critical of what you are doing or what you're not doing. That's right. That there are gaps in the body. There are holes in the armor, if I can say that. And Satan is using those to further dividers, further uh argument, us standing our silos. And so I just want to hear most people don't hear themselves think out loud. And this is helping it, helping us think out loud about how Jesus designed us. I love the analogy you use with the body. In other words, what we've caught ourselves doing, we can operate without both legs, but boy, the show would be easier if I had both legs moving. I can operate without an arm, but you man, what would happen if I had both arms and both eyes and both ears and all the body fully uh as my mechanics said, hitting on all cylinders, man? What would that do? You know, and and I don't want to let you move on, Brian. It took 19 people that believed so much in what they believed in to put America on their knees. 19 men brought us to our knees on 9-11. Just think about the thousands of members of Christian dorm, or somebody say 2.7 million. Uh just think about a few thousand of those. Taking seriously what we're saying here about I want to be that gap filler, I'm gonna be that person that steps in and provide. Uh, first of all, you know, get soul saved and make disciples of them. Yeah, that's really what we're talking about. Because disciples cannot not deal with all of this stuff. That's what Jesus said. Make disciples and and and and you not your worries won't be taken care of, but boy, it sure makes work a lot easier, and it won't be so much burnout. I was right. This celebrity ministry thing that we have built around personalities and celebrity thing. We're finding that a lot of those that think they got it together and got the numbers and those and niggas are man, they're crashing and burning every day. Absolutely. And I don't understand why we don't see that crash and burning and say, I don't want to go down that lane. But anyway, that's just that's Nettie Winter's 25 cent worth for today.

Six Coalitions Serving City Needs

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Nettie, I think um you're spot on. And and and even to to your your your point, Cam, you know, when we're in the field, man, doing coaching, we there's two things that you said that really aligns with our heart. Number one, we tell people that community transformation is only possible where deep relationships can be cultivated across divided lines. And what we tell what we tell people is that, man, you don't even realize what's possible in your community until you're able to cross lines and bring and bring all the folks together. You don't even know what's possible. You haven't you haven't even tapped into what's possible yet. You even even in a successful community, you still don't know the full potential of that community until all those different lines of demarcation, as Nettie says, are crossed and people are able to come together, relate with one another, serve together, work together, grow together, then you actually begin to embark upon that that you know that space that has yet to be untapped. And so we tell people all the time that that's one piece to this in terms of why do you need to do this? But here's you know, the other piece you mentioned, Cameron, we tell people all the time that John 17, if John 17 is a defense of the faith according to Jesus, he says the world will know that you love me, um, that that my father loved me, uh, loved them as he loved me, and that my father sent me, that they'll know this by their oneness. And so when that when the world looks in to figure out, okay, what is this Jesus all about, they'll see oneness and they'll say, Oh, okay, we get it. We get it. But if that's true, then the other thing you talked about, our witnesses on the line, we say all the time in the field that if that's true, that oneness is an apologetic and a defense of the faith, then division is an indictment on our faith. Yeah, wow. Yeah. It's an indictment on our faith. And so when people look in on the faith and they see a divided people bickering, nipping at each other's heels, always, you know, always bristling at one another, then people say, okay, well, wait a second, there must not be anything to this Jesus thing. Right. Because they can't get it together. They don't seem to enjoy one another, they don't seem to come together around uh uh around Jesus. And so if they can't come together around Jesus, why why would I want to be a part of that? I can do that out on the streets. I can do that, you know, I can do that at home, I can do that without without faith. Right. You know, and so why would I do that? And so I think I think your case for why this matters, like you said, to the to the to the to the skeptic who's saying, why would I come on board and join what you got going on? And why would I why do I need to join this church and that church and what they got going on? Is because we are trying to make a this a statement, a definitive statement to the watching world that our God is real. Absolutely real. And that we have yet to tap into the full potential of our community until we do so. Love it. Talk to me a little bit, Cameron, about your the the nature of the outreach that you guys do. Uh, because because you guys, you know, you know, I know I know you've kind of carved up the city into like these different districts, if you will. And if you don't mind, talk to us a little bit about that, and then talk to us about the kind of outreach that you guys are doing as you have carved up this city into these districts uh to try to tackle as a group.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

Absolutely. Great, Brian. Yeah, I love that. So yeah, I'm I mean, we're blessed with these uh six coalitions that cover every part of the city. So, you know, our our really approach is is what are the most um needs that are at hand and we tackle that. Um so for instance, you know, right now in South Jackson, we've been supporting um the schools of South Jackson because we heard that the schools that needed the most support was in South Jackson. And the Lord bless us, Brian and Nettie. I mean, we God's been so good to us. We uh helped the school, we helped three schools get washing and dryers. Um, we're helping one school set up a school uniform closet. And and so that may seem small, but you know, when when you've got students who are coming to school that don't have proper attire, man, that's a part of the gospel, right? Is is meeting needs. And it opens up the door uh, you know, to to praying for teachers and all these different things. And so, um, and just the gratitude that comes with that. So that's that's part of what we're doing. We've had, you know, toiletry drive in the neighborhood, prayer walks, um, you know, revive uh we've had um revivals at apartment complexes. I mean, just all sorts of things. But our our heart really is to say, okay, you know, what what are the most pressing issues of our community? And I and I love how you said it, uh Brian, about what we don't even see the possibilities till we get together. And a part of why all of this has come up is because of, you know, the unity of the body. I remember we got into Forest Hill High School because of Vince Gordon, because Vince Gordon had a connection with the the assistant principal at Forest Hill, and he got us a connection with them, and we're able to get in that school and help with their uh debate program. And so again, uh, you know, that's that's what I love is we get these open doors through the unity because somebody has a connection somewhere or they have information that we don't know. We got into the schools because of Miss Thea Faulkner. Ms. Steel Faulkner said the schools need the most support. So we said, okay, so again, that's the picture of the body working together so we can even have the possibility to the greater impact that we can make. So I love you you use that word. So I enjoy seeing every part of this city reach, every coalition looks different, every neighborhood has different needs. But I love being able to take neighborhood by neighborhood and say, hey, you know, what is God doing in this area? What's the gaps here? How can we meet those needs? And I'm just I'm I'm truly excited. And Ned talked about me being excited, man. Listen, if Jesus Christ and being passionate about his work don't excite you, I don't know what can. I mean, and and and listen, I and I understand this, y'all. Like, my, you know, I'm so wired in such a way. And I tell you, I I I finally understood when Paul said I'm compelled to preach the gospel, right? There was a drive in him because you have to be convinced that the gospel is real. And once you're convinced of it, it it ought to drive you. So, you know, I again I love going to, I was just driving with a pastor yesterday. We're in the sub two area. Man, Brian Nettie, he took me to every church in sub two. We drove the whole neighborhood. He was telling me the dynamics, so you know, just getting out learning.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Yes, sir. Help us understand sub two. You know, some of us is not from that part of the world. So, what are you talking about, sub two? You're talking about a subway station?

SPEAKER_03 31:39

Sub two is right off the Wiggins Road area, right off of Highway 80. And so uh it's a whole neighborhood uh back off in there, and I actually don't live far from there myself. And uh, but I just had an opportunity to drive through with another brother in Christ, and he's working with some other pastor in that area, and so it was it's just neat to get out and just see, meet people, um, ride around, and you know, and and that's that's the greatest way to meet needs, and you can just put a face on it, put eyes on it, and then listen to the Holy Spirit and see what he's telling you and what difference you can make. So that's what we get to do with bridging the gap. Come on, man.

Serving Schools And Open Doors

SPEAKER_01 32:13

You you know, uh I'm excited that you're talking about sub two. For those that don't know, he's talking about subdivision uh number two in terms of uh old neighborhood. You know, uh Cameron, people will hear you talk about your connection with Vince and with Thea and others. You know, I'm I'm very familiar with with all of that. But you there are people still that live in this city of Jackson, that live in uh suburban areas or and even across the state, that still think that the kind of work you're talking about going into school doing, they they think that's against the law, man, and you can't do that. Uh enlightened folks that have a desire to do that, but thinking that's out of order as it relates to being able to do that because of laws or restrictions or whatever else.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Yes, sir. Well, I I can I can answer that in two ways. Uh one is the Spirit of God is the one that crossed restriction lines, right? Uh, and so, you know, man, when God goes before you, I mean, and and I'll say this too: there's there's a hunger. People need that help. And and I would just say, reach out. You know, sometimes we have these preconceived ideas in our mind that, man, I'm crossing the line or we can't mention Christ in the schools. Let me tell you what happened. I'm gonna share a powerful testimony. We dropped Austin Sanitary Products at uh Shirley Elementary School, and it was powerful. Like we went there for that to help with their closet and just to meet needs the students there. Well, while we were there, the Spirit of the Lord told me, put in my spirit, he said, I want you to. I just had preached the night before the church, and they made me a cross. And the Lord said, You take that cross at Shelly Elementary School. So I took it there to the principal. I said, Miss Tate, the Lord told me, just to give y'all this cost, man, she lit up. I'm what I tell y'all, I mean, she even said, Now we're covered. I mean, it was such a blessing for her. But listen, the the power part about that was I said, Miss Tate, before we leave, let us pray for you. Man, she took us in her office, closed the door. I thought we were in the upper room. I forgot we were in a public elementary school. Let me tell you something. We pray so loud. I'm shocked they didn't hear us on the other side of the school. But here, but here's what here's what I'm saying. I I'm just simply saying when you show up in genuineness, right? And your heart is to serve. We're not showing up for show. We ain't doing this for our name. You know, we don't, most of we don't even broadcast because that's not the point. The point is if we just show up, there are needs that can be met. So I want to say to anybody out there that goes, can we do that? Is that even possible? Is that legal? I want to tell you it is. Now, you know, you you you you have to have a level of wisdom, but at the same time, man, you trust God. And people are hungry, they need to help. And I'm gonna tell you, God is the God of open doors. And I just believe He opens up doors, you know, uh that no man can shut. He opens up doors in the natural people say, you shouldn't be taking the gospel there, you know. But again, and and let me tell you, where we are in the world today, y'all, and you know this, we're in such a place of desperation, we need the gospel. And people are realizing that, people are understanding that we need something bigger than ourselves. So much is happening. We're in the middle of war right now, and there's a lot going on. So I think people have this understanding that if we don't have some type of hope in this world, and we know that hope, that hope is found in a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. And if we if we're not looking to the heels who has come with our help, we're we're at such a place of desperation that we're gonna miss it if we don't. And I think people are realizing that. So um I think this is the greatest opportunity for the church right now uh to just be in all kinds of spaces, whether it's government or space, whatever. I think we got a great opportunity. So these these are not just days of doom and gloom, right? These are days of hope. I believe that the gospel is gonna spread faster than ever have because people are realizing, man, I can't trust money, I can't trust in my things, because everything we know is fleeting and fading, and we've got to have something greater than ourselves. And I think that's why we see God giving his church influence right now.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Yeah, yeah, Cameron, man, I I wholeheartedly agree. Uh and and really, I feel like ultimately, if you if you allow yourself to, if you let love lead the way, God will open all sorts of doors. You know, oftentimes we we're looking for those quick wins, like, hey, can we pass out, can we pass our tracks at the school? Oh, okay, well, we can't pass our tracks at the school, we're not gonna go. It's like, no, I mean if you just simply let love lead the way, God is gonna. I I one of the things we say, we say at our church, Camera, is that if you leave gospel breadcrumbs, if you leave gospel breadcrumbs, you will help people find their way home. And so so sometimes, sometimes I, you know, I might not be able to drop a track in your backpack, but sometimes I can just be present and just loving. And that's gonna, and that's gonna even open doors and create opportunities for questions. Man, where why do you love us so much? Why have you invested so much in this school? What's the angle? What's the transaction? You know, what what do we what do we have to give you in exchange for what you've offered us? And it's in those opportunities you can say, man, I I've already received what I need, you know, that Christ has given me all that I need. And it and it's because of what he's given me that I'm giving you what I have, you know. And so there are so many opportunities if we just allow love to lead the way, as you mentioned, God is a God of open doors and he will create space and opportunity for the gospel to be pronounced in boldness and in love, but we have to open those doors with love. We have to open those doors with love. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

When People Resist Help

SPEAKER_01 37:39

Brother, there's one other point I want you to uh elaborate on uh from my perspective, is that we're talking to the greater body of the greater community to come join and you know, be together, cooperate, we're better together, the whole litio cliches and things about doing better. But you know, Cameron, everybody that you're reaching out to that you want to serve and that you want to provide help, that needs your help, is not welcoming you with open arms. You know, Moses learned that that everybody that left Egypt with him wasn't excited about leaving Egypt. So some of the people that you're trying to reach ain't really excited about you reaching. So talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 38:23

Yeah, you you you know what? I I've learned this, Nettie, that I am not the Holy Spirit and I'm not assigned to do his job, right? And so, you know, there's even a scripture where Jesus talks about they don't receive you, dust the dust off your feet and keep on moving, you know. And I I realized this. Now there is a level of, yeah, you have to pray and go back and try to talk. But at the same time, you know, you you walk through the open doors, and I've learned that. You know, if the door's not open yet, don't kick it open. You know, I I you know, Samuel Bowling told me something one time, and it stuck to me. You know, he's so wise. He said, you know, he said, every church that we see, you know, God, God's doing something in their heart. Sometimes they're not even ready because God's approving them. And uh, so you know, you you just have to understand that, first of all, don't take it personal, right? It's it's not necessarily against you. People have their own processes, and God is sanctifying all of us. So that's where it goes back to that being patient, right? And realizing that, okay, you know what, if this is not the season, or maybe you're in rebellion or disobedience. Well, it's not my job to try to get you out of that. My job is to love you and give you an opportunity, right? They always say the old stand, you can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make them drink it. It's true. You can offer people help, you can offer people opportunities, but what you what you can't do is force anybody to do anything. And so I've learned to sit back and go, okay, Holy Spirit, I'm gonna do my job, call, reach out, connect, but I I can only do so much. And so it's uh it's a trust in God, right? And and and let's remember this. You know, Jesus talks about four types of soil in scripture, right? And and think about this, y'all. Let's put this in perspective. I'm I'm on this, I'm on this podcast with Bible scholars, so y'all know a lot. So, so let's put this in perspective. Three types of soil wasn't necessarily good. It was only one that was. So let's let's do this in ratio now. Come on, Pastor Brian, Pastor Nettie, y'all know this. Three types of soil to getting us to the soil that's actually ready. So think about this. When we're dealing with people, we're dealing with circumstances, we're dealing with soil, right? And we got some soil that's thorny, we got some soil that ain't ready, we got some soil. As soon as you put some in the ground, they enemy come snatch it. We're dealing with all of that. So we we gotta understand this. And this is why I go back to this, y'all. Ministry, and and Nettie, you said this, the celebrity thing. Man, look, ministry is not lavish, it's not, it's not what we portray it out to be. It's not commercialized. If you're really gonna do real ministry, man, it's dirty work. Takes a long time. Take it's you have to be in it for longevity, right? So what you start for the king, it takes a while. Even looking at bridging the gap, we're we're we're almost eight years in, and I feel like we're just now making traction in some areas, you know. But it takes a long time of sowing and seeding. Think about the the reason why the Bible used the uh analogy of the farmer, because he's got the plan and cultivate. But guess what? There's one thing you can't control. You can't control what happens with that seed in the ground. Your job is to cultivate it, but it's God's job to make that seed grow in a big increase. And that's where I am in my life. I'm going, okay, Lord, I have to trust you with the souls of people's heart. Even if I don't understand it. Because here's the thing: you can't get frustrated with people, you can't get frustrated with the process. You gotta be patient and realize, okay, I'm dealing with all types of things, and it's not flesh, it's principalities of wickedness in high places. And until we understand that, we fight the battle the right way. And we go back to prayer and we go, okay, Father, you know, for some reason it's not clicking to people, but God, you helped them. You owe who was that scripture? Open up their eyes that they might see, right? And and so if if that was a prayer in scripture, it's got to be a prayer for us. You know, think about the blind man. He said, Jesus, what do you see? He said, I see men like trees walking. It touches eyes again, say, okay, I see everything clearly. So, what are we what are we talking about here? We're talking about a long time of people seeing God at work. Not everybody can see it in the beginning, right? Uh, it it because it really does listen, it takes the spirit of God to see a move of God. I feel like I need to say that again. It takes the spirit of God to see a move of God. Even how we worship Jesus, Jesus said those who worship must worship in spirit and in truth, right? So there has to be a thing of people have to see it through eyes of faith. They have to look beyond the man that's talking to them and see the God in the man to say, okay, you know what? I recognize this ain't about Camera Tate. I'm I'm being invited into something greater than myself. But it takes the spirit of God to see that. What we have to pray for is God, you have to be the one to open up people's eyes. Nothing that I can say, and and you said it with personality or charisma, that's not enough to convince people. People have to be convinced by the Spirit of God. It's the reason why Paul said, I just read the other day in scripture and it touched me. Paul said, I convinced people with the scriptures. My God, he come, he had to convince them, right? So it's no easy word, but we keep putting it out there and we trust that God is gonna do his work in his time.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Man, come on. Man, come on, man. Let's go. Let's go, Letty.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

Yeah, I'm ready to sign up. Where's the paper, man? What is it? Come on, man. Let's go, man. I'm ready, man.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

It's time it's time to go hit the streets and hit the blocks, Betty.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Right now, I am thoroughly convinced that this guy sprang out of the bed each morning with a powerful spring of power of God. Man, I'm trying to you ask him that question, man. He gave it the answer, man. He springs up out of that chair. Do you notice his his actions like something is uh he's ready, he's ready to float off, man.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

He's ready to float off. The Lord's finna carry him up like Enoch, man. Come on.

How To Connect And Closing

SPEAKER_01 44:01

You know, I just you know, I need to sign up somewhere. Where's the sign up list? Where's the volunteer list? Where's something? I gotta go, man. This guy's this is a passion, man. Wow. Is this everyday? I love it. You know, most people get up every morning to take something to get them going and get excited. What do you take to calm down?

SPEAKER_03 44:21

I hadn't found anything to calm me down yet. But but I realized if I did find something, I wouldn't take it anyway.

SPEAKER_00 44:31

Man, Cameron, brother, this has been uh so encouraging and so um so stirring to our souls, and I know it's been stirring to the soul. Of those that are listening, thank you for your work. Thank you for Bridging the Gap Outreach Ministries. Thank you for what it means to the greater Jackson area. We are praying that God continue to add wind to the cell by his spirit. And brother, you know you got a friend and a partner in Mission, Mississippi, man. And so thank you for this, man. How can people keep up with Bridging the Gap Outreach Ministries, man?

SPEAKER_03 45:01

Thank you, brother. First of all, it's been an honor to be on here. I appreciate you guys and what y'all do, and it's an honor to serve with you. If you want to keep up with the ministry, you can go to www.btgo-m.org. That's www.btg-o-m.org. We've got a um sign-up list on there if you want to learn more about where a coalition is and how you can come be a part. Man, we'd love to have you. We have seven, six in Jackson, one in Brandon, and we're growing. And so we'd love to have you be a part no matter what part of this mentor area you're in. Or you might say, listen, I I've I've been stirred in my spirit. I want to start one. Uh, then you can just let us know on website. You can email me at bridgethapms at gmail.com. That's bridgethapms at gmail.com. Happy to be here to be a resource any way I can.

SPEAKER_00 45:51

Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, brother Cam, man, it's been a blessing again to join you and to hear what the Lord is stirring in your in your heart, man, and in the ministry, bridging the gap. Um, we are incredibly privileged to be in partnership with you, brother. Incredibly privileged privileged to be in partnership with you, man. And for those of all, those of y'all who are listening, please please feel free uh to like, share, and subscribe. Uh, not just this episode, but uh the podcast in general. You can do so by visiting uh any podcast app, searching on Living Reconcile. That's Apple, that's uh YouTube, that's um um uh uh Podbean and all the others. Search on Living Reconcile and you will find us Living Reconciled by Mission Mississippi. Um, if you find too many Living Reconciles, but we would love for you to stay connected to this podcast and also to this organization and this ministry. You can stay uh connected to the Ministry of Mission Mississippi by visiting missionmississippi.org or contacting us at the office 601-353-6477. This has been an incredible podcast with our friend Cameron Tate on behalf of my friend Nettie Winters, who comes and goes as he pleases. I'm your host, Brian Crawford, signing off saying God bless. God bless. Thanks for joining Living Reconciled. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of the ongoing work of helping Christians learn how to live in the reconciliation that Jesus has already secured, please visit us online at missionmississippi.org or call us at six oh one three five three six four seven seven. Thanks again for listening.