Steve Hendrich: Practicing True Religion

Posted: 9 yrs 2 mths ago
March 6, 2016
Above Photo: Steve Hendrich, Chief Counsel Aetna Supplemental Insurance, Franklin, Tennessee
The following living sent application example comes from Steve Hendrich, Esquire, Chief Counsel, Aetna Supplemental Insurance, Franklin, Tennessee. Mr. Hendrich is a senior level executive in a public company. His living sent story is also one of external missions (outside the day-to-day operations of one's business) and is international in context.
Here are Mr. Hendrich’s own words:
James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” For several years leading up to a mission trip to work with orphans in Moldova, I prayed that God would provide the financial means so that I could take my wife and two teen age children to experience what it means to practice true religion. I knew from scripture that it’s not enough to be “hearers of the word” on Sundays, but that we needed to be “doers of the word” too, as James taught in his letter to the first century church.
In 2012, God answered my prayer and we started working with an organization called Justice and Mercy International (JMI). JMI helped us to prepare for our trip to Moldova to share the good news with orphans at a summer camp. We had no expectations other than going and being the hands and feet of Jesus and learning what it’s like to be fatherless, motherless, poor, and unloved as we observed and interacted with the orphans. As we would learn later, God had additional plans for sending us.
We arrived in Chisinau, Moldova, in July 2012. The first two or three days with the orphans were busy and hectic trying to keep the attention of kids ages 5 to 15 for 3 or 4 hours each day. It wasn’t until the third or fourth day of camp, that my wife noticed a girl sitting on a bench by herself not interacting with the other kids or participating in the activities. My wife grabbed a translator and went to speak with this girl. After a few minutes of small talk, she learned that the girl’s name was Maria. She was 14 and blind. Over the next two days of camp, Maria and my wife were inseparable. My wife made sure that Maria was participating in all of the activities and helped her make her way around camp. When it was time for us to leave, it would be an understatement to say it was hard to say goodbye to Maria. We weren’t sure that we would see Maria again, but we told her that we would not forget about her.
When we arrived backed in the U.S., we “sponsored” Maria through JMI. This gave us the opportunity to provide financial, spiritual, prayer, and emotional support to Maria even though we were no longer there with her in Moldova. Also, we knew we needed to make the effort to find someone who might be willing to help improve Maria’s eyesight. Fortunately, we were able to hook up with Dr. Ming Wang, a Christian eye doctor, who was very eager to see if he could help Maria with her eyesight. He agreed to help her if we could get her to the U.S. On October, 5, 2013, Maria arrived in the U.S. On November 7, Dr. Wang performed a difficult surgery on her right eye, which restored 40% of Maria’s vision. It changed her life. She could now see things again and was much less dependent on others to be her eyes.
It wasn’t long after having Maria live with us that we learned of the abuse and neglect that she experienced over her short 14 years of life. Her visa was going to expire in a year, which meant she would have to go back to Moldova for more of the same abuse and neglect, with a high probability of being lured into sex trafficking. We felt compelled to do something about extending her stay with us. We started working on her immigration process to keep her with us for as long as she wanted. Even though she is not adoptable, we told her that she is now part of the Hendrich family and could stay with us as long as she wanted.
Looking back on how God’s providential hand worked through my family and me, we are constantly reminded of the importance of living faith - the kind that sends us to places near and far to go and do for others less fortunate. Did it matter that a Christian lawyer desired to take his family on a mission trip? Did being living sent to a small obscure eastern European country to work with orphans for one week matter? Did it matter that my wife noticed a young girl sitting on a bench by herself and then took the opportunity to show God’s love to that orphan? Did it matter that we were the hands and feet of Jesus to Maria? Yes, yes, yes, and yes! We have watched Maria blossom into a beautiful young girl who loves God and others. She never wastes an opportunity to tell her friends what God has done for her by saving her in every way that matters, including giving her a family that loves her, and that Jesus will save them if they put their faith in him.
I believe living sent is about practicing true religion. It’s about being the salt of the earth. It’s about being a city on a hill. It’s about being doers of the Word because we’re never going to change the world by standing still. This is what it means to be living sent. (S. Hendrich, personal communication, December 21, 2015)
Did living sent in Chisinau, Moldova, make a kingdom-building difference for Maria and the Hendrich family? By being obedient to Christ’s call to experience life with orphans, numerous lives have changed. Maria, who was totally blind, can now see. Moreover, Maria is witnessing to others about her life-changing experience of accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord of her life. Dr. Ming Wang is even more motivated to help others like Maria. Steve and Lynn Hendrich and their children are forever changed by their trip to Moldova. The Hendrich family has a new member in Maria. Steve Hendrich wanted to practice true religion and not just sit still. In this story of living sent, the Hendrich family, including Maria, exhibits true religion, a faith in action.
Written Testimonies

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Pastor Phil Skei: Like Nehemiah, Empower People to Build Your City
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Steve Hendrich: Practicing True Religion
March 6, 2016
Above Photo: Steve Hendrich, Chief Counsel Aetna Supplemental Insurance, Franklin, Tennessee The following living sent application example comes from Steve Hendrich, Esquire, Chief Counsel, Aetna Supplemental Insurance, Franklin, Tennessee. Mr. Hendrich is a senior level executive in a public company. His living sent ...
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Bill Lee on Changing a Life One Person at a Time
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President/CEO, Aegis Sciences Corporation
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Why Implementing Living Sent Ministries Is Important I believe that incorporating ones Christian Faith into the daily job/workplace may be the most overlooked and less emphasized area of the Christian Life. I know that I have struggled more with problems and stressors AT WORK than anywhere else. I even met with our Pastor one time and pleaded with ...
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Dr. Bryan Bondurant
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Read MoreWritten Testimonies Index
- From Broken CEO to Living Sent Ministries
- Pastor Phil Skei: Like Nehemiah, Empower People to Build Your City
- Dr. David Black: The Christ Call to Compassion and Fairness
- Bryan Feil: Making Coffee as an Amazing Spiritual Work
- Elmer Richerson: In the Hopes of Changing a Life
- Joe Perricone: Developing Special Needs Employees at Our Place Cafe'
- Dr. Oladotun Reju: Commissioning African Leaders to Honor God at Work
- Steve Hendrich: Practicing True Religion
- Bill Lee on Changing a Life One Person at a Time
- David L. Black, Ph.D., D-ABFT, FAIC
- Dr. Ming Wang, MD, PhD
- Joe Marion
- Wayne Russell
- Dr. Bryan Bondurant
- Dr. Ray Cleek
- Dr. Ming Wang: The Power of Prayer at Work
- William Slater, Past Board Chair & Chair Advisory Council / Board of Directors
- Ms. Geri Forkum / Board Officers
- Roger Sindle, Esquire, Board Chair / Board Officers
- Dr. Dan Boone / Advisory Council
- Governor Bill Lee / Advisory Council
- Rev. Jerry L. Moll, Founder/President/CEO Living Sent Ministries / Board Officers
- John McDearman / Advisory Council
- Bob Williams / Board of Directors
- Eddie Poole / Board of Directors
- Mr. Peter Demos / Board of Directors
- LivingSent_May19 Dan(1) / Video / Video Testimonies
- LivingSent_May19 Tiffany(1) / Video / Video Testimonies
Get Inspired - Testimonies
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How to Live Sent
According to Dr. Amy Sherman, there are at least 4 ways to Live Sent:
1. Bloom where you are planted.
Care to help build the Kingdom right where God has you assigned in the marketplace?
2. Start something new.
Do you have a passion for addressing an unmet community need? Consider forming either a for profit or nonprofit company and start something new.
3. Give your skills (vocational) away to a community ministry.
Is there a community ministry that could benefit from your vocational skills and talents?
4. A Church Big Vision for the City.
Does your church have a Big Vision for the City? Do you have one and want to encourage your church to consider helping you to develop it?
Living Sent Ministries Growth Track
1. Attraction: Become inspired to live out your Christian faith at work
Register and attend one of our monthly inspirational meetings and events.
2. Incarnation: Learn how to serve and lead like the greatest leader to ever walk the earth
Contact us about serving in a Christian Executives Group (CEG) and/or a church "Men or Women at Work" teaching and equipping class.
3. Mission: Do one more thing vocationally to advance the cause of Christ
Contact us for information on how to prepare and implement a Ministry Action Plan (MAP).
4. Transformation: Transform your heart, the organization you serve, and the community around you
Let us know if you wish to learn more about spiritual transformation.
Jerry's Message
The purpose of Living Sent Ministries is to inspire and equip business and professional leaders to live out their Christian faith. It is about "Connecting Sunday to Monday". A core principle of Living Sent Ministries is that God gave you your business or job (vocation) to build the Kingdom.