Restore the Wonder: Pastor Chad Fisher on Rekindling Passion for God’s Presence
About this episode
Pastor Chad Fisher of Blue Springs Assembly in Blue Springs, Missouri joins Philip Cameron to unpack one of Scripture's most overlooked themes: the tears of Jesus and what they reveal about God's deepest priorities. Drawing from the Gospel of Luke, John 11, and Hebrews, Chad identifies three distinct moments when Jesus wept — over the tomb of Lazarus, over the city of Jerusalem, and as he approached Calvary — and argues that each reveals a different dimension of Christ's heart: his love for people, his love for a place, and his commitment to divine purpose. "Sorrow moved him, but it didn't just move him to emotion — it moved him to action," Chad explains. "He entered into the story and changed the situation." That insight forms the backbone of this conversation: tears are not merely emotional responses but invitations to purposeful, Spirit-led action rooted in Psalm 126 — "He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing." Chad also shares his personal journey as a childhood abuse survivor and how that brokenness led him to found Restore the Wonder, a nonprofit offering a week-long faith-based summer camp for foster-care children. One week of intentional gospel-centered community, he notes, equals a year's worth of counseling in a child's life. Learn more or volunteer at restorethewonder.org.
Part of our Jesus collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“I'll tell them, I learned that Jesus could forgive my sins really early on in life. But it was later in life I learned he could heal my broken heart.”
“He wept over the tomb of Lazarus, and it shows his heart for people. He wept over the city of Jerusalem, and it showed his heart for a place. And then he wept as he was approaching Calvary, which to me showed his deep care for the purpose that God had placed in his life for humanity.”
“The sorrow moved him, but it didn't just move him to emotion, it moved him to action. He entered into the story and changed the situation.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Chad Fisher of Blue Springs Assembly (Blue Springs, Missouri) teaches on the three moments Jesus wept in Scripture — at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11), over Jerusalem (Luke 19), and approaching Calvary (Hebrews 5) — arguing each reveals Christ's heart for people, place, and divine purpose. Chad contends that mature tears signal what we care about most, and that godly sorrow must move believers from emotion to action, citing Psalm 126 on sowing in tears. He also shares his story as a childhood abuse survivor and founder of Restore the Wonder, a nonprofit running week-long gospel-centered summer camps for foster-care children, where one week equals a year of counseling. More at restorethewonder.org.
- Chad Fisher's Calling and Restore the Wonder Ministry
- Faith-Based Camps for Foster Care Children
- Cost and Impact of Sponsoring a Child
- Three Times Jesus Wept in Scripture
- What Jesus' Tears Reveal About His Heart
- Tears That Move Us From Emotion to Action
- Sowing in Tears — Psalm 126 and Purposeful Grief
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, I just got a phone call a few minutes ago from my son Andrew, and he is in Eastern Europe. He just came home from Moldova. He's on his way home. And so he's on his way, and finally if someone's back, he would tell me which camera I should be looking at instead of looking in the wrong place all the time.
Philip:I'm so glad you joined us today. We got a very, I believe, a very special program today. Chad Fisher is with me. He pastors a church in Blue Springs, Missouri called Blue Springs Assembly. And I believe he's got a word for your situation.
Philip:Have you ever been stuck in a situation and you can't — it's almost like you're in a wordless world where you can't articulate what's happening to you and what you're going through? And I got news for you that Jesus is acquainted with your sorrow. Jesus knows where you are. He knows your circumstance, and he's able to do more in two seconds in your life than a thousand words can do. And all you've gotta do — there's an old song, I've opened up toward heaven all the windows of my soul. When you open up your heart towards him, he can come into your circumstance and turn your mourning into dancing.
Philip:And we're gonna be talking today — Chad's gonna be sharing with us and teaching on the tears that Jesus shed. I think it is mind blowing. He sent me some of the notes, a rundown of the stuff, and I've never seen it like he talked about today. And we're gonna share it with you. And I really believe that you need to hear what God's speaking.
Philip:And if you love your pastor, give him a call right now and say, hey, tune in to Daily Faith. It's real simple. If he's got a phone and he can go online, it's just dailyfaith.tv. And you can do that right now, live at this moment, and you can be a part of it.
Philip:I hope you're praying for Israel. I hope you are praying for Israel. They're using these hypersonic ballistic missiles. They destroyed a tremendous amount in Tel Aviv last night. And I'm telling you now, listen to me, mark this, write this down somewhere. You don't mess with God's people. You don't. God says if you love Israel, I'll bless you.
Philip:If you hate Israel, I'm going to curse you. And I would not like to be living under the curse that these guys are about to witness. So I just hope — I'm spending hours watching. There's a guy in England called 2CTV — T-O-U-S-I, 2CTV. And he is the most — he is an Iranian living in London. His father is captured by the Iranian Islamic Guard, so he can't leave. And this young man, he is in his thirties, maybe early thirties, but he is the most watched program on Iran in the world. He just crossed a million viewers last night.
Philip:And he's an Iranian Christian who lives in London in exile — 2CTV. And I urge you to go and find him. He is hours ahead of the mainstream news. You get videos. Now it's much rougher because it's just like a guy doing it all by himself. But he is showing stuff hours ahead of the main news. I've been watching stuff that took four hours, five hours for Fox News to disseminate.
Philip:And so I'm praying for Israel, and I pray that this thing will be resolved, if Iran can be defied, if these mullahs, these nutcases can leave. And the Iranian people are not our enemy. Believe me, the Persian is an ancient empire that had a good relationship with Israel and the Jews for years and years. And they've just been — over 40 odd years ago, the Ayatollah Khomeini, thanks to President Carter, they were given control of Iran, and the Shah was removed.
Philip:And so pray, pray, pray, pray for Israel as they are attacking God's country. I would — man, every time I see one of these missiles hit and explode and destroy another part of Tel Aviv, I'm thinking, boy, there is hell to pay for what you're doing. And so pray for Israel, pray for the peace of Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that God will give Iran liberty to become what it was before.
Philip:Only about 30% of Iran is Muslim. Did you know that? We've only seen them through the eyes of the last 40 odd years. That's not the case. And so 2CTV has a word to the wise. Listen, we're delighted to have you with us. You are gonna love Chad Fisher. He's gonna bless you today and speak life into your world. I'm delighted you're here. Welcome to Daily Faith.
Philip:Welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am so pleased you could join us today. I believe that God has a word for you today — that the tears you are shedding have value in heaven. And my guest today is Chad Fisher. He pastors a church, Blue Springs Assembly, in Blue Springs, Missouri. He's on the outskirts of Kansas City. If anyone's in that area, I've got a church for you to go and be a part of. I believe God's doing great things there. And he's gonna be talking to you today, I believe, with a word from the Lord for your heart.
Philip:My son Andrew, as I mentioned in the prequel of the show, has just spent time in Moldova and Odessa, Ukraine, where we have homes. For those that don't know, we've got a village of homes called Vara Village. It's a beautiful place. We bought these homes. They were originally built for rich folk on what is the largest lake in Moldova. And there's Vara Village, and it was built, and they poisoned the lake with chlorine to kill algae, believe it or not.
Philip:And they killed the whole lake, and this project died as well. And we bought the project and rebuilt the homes. They never finished building them, they never lived in them. But we finished the homes up and had to do a whole bunch of reconstruction on them. And we take young kids in that are at risk of being trafficked. I mean, the traffickers in Moldova — there's a great business in trafficking. And these girls who've just come of age are worth $300,000 a year to the trafficker.
Philip:And I've got two daughters and granddaughters who are actually still in Moldova. My son Andrew left my two oldest grandkids, Ally and Kara. And this morning, since their uncle Andrew left to come back here, they've been out visiting villages, feeding the poor, and praying over people. I was sent pictures today from some of our house parents of our kids praying in the garden with a family that they just brought food for. And that's my passion.
Philip:And so our kids — one of the things we do, they come to us from the orphanage or from horrendous poverty situations, and we put them back in school and tell them, if you're born, God has a plan. And these kids are turning into missionaries. I've never seen anything like this before. They run camps all through the summertime that my granddaughters will be part of. And they run these camps themselves. I mean, they set out the program, do the skits — the whole thing they do themselves. And I've never seen anything like it.
Philip:And so one of the things we've been praying for over the years is the younger kids. A young person we put in the orphanage anywhere from birth to 16, and we haven't had the ability to reach those kids because our Vara Village is between the age of 16 and 22. And so God's given us an opportunity to open up a brand new place. And my son Andrew and my two granddaughters were visiting there the other day and they sent me this video. Watch what we're doing right now.
Andrew:Hey, this is Andrew from the Orphan's Hands. Right now I am standing in our newest project that we're believing God for — Promise House. And Promise House will help kids ages four to 16. And our hope is that we can save all kids that don't have a place to go, a place of safety. And also when they come here, they'll learn about the love of Jesus through family. Our kids from Vara will be able to come on weekends and pour into them and hang out with them and basically become big brothers and big sisters to these younger kids as well.
Andrew:We walked around the property and looked at the area that we're gonna make a camp. And so our kids from Vara will host summer camps and impact kids all throughout this region. We learned recently — Naty just had a meeting with Child Protection Services and there's over 70 villages tied to this city that need help. They don't have a great assistance program for young children. And so Promise House will become a key part and an impact point to help kids. So we ask you to pray for us. It's a big challenge, something that we've prayed about.
Andrew:God led us to this property. There's two homes that are gonna help over 50 kids. We're asking you to pray for what we're doing here in Ungheni. And hopefully, you know, one day you'll be able to stand here and see the kids and the lives that what you're giving has impacted. So we thank you very much for what you're doing on a continual basis and supporting this ministry. God bless you.
Philip:That was Andrew just a couple of days ago in Ungheni, right on the Romanian border. And one of the houses — it's the most horrendous paint scheme I've ever seen in my life. I don't know how it is — it's brown and pink. Go figure. Only a Moldovan can figure that out. So we're gonna paint the one house, but it's ready to be occupied right now. Every one of the rooms in this house has got its own bathroom and shower and area, which is unheard of. Houses that we build, we build them like that. But this house already has that.
Philip:And so we'll be able — we're already looking for couples to be house parents there. This place is ready to stand up. It takes — every house that we have costs about the equivalent of 300 people giving a dollar a day. Everything we do — all that you see, all the Vara Village, the house in Ukraine, all the transportation, all the outreaches that we have. In fact, my wife is in our warehouse about 50 feet away from me right now. We were just given a U-Haul trailer load and a van load of clothes from Target — brand new clothes with the labels on. And they're sorting and going through, putting all the different age-appropriate boxes to be given out in our youth camps, in our village ministries.
Philip:So everything we do has been based on someone like you giving $1 a day. A dollar a day, a gift of $1 a day for you — $30 a month. It's like, if I could say to you, Vara Village, Odessa, the vans, the outreaches, this new ministry to reach 50 kids between the age of four and 16 — we can do all of that stuff for a dollar a day.
Philip:Wouldn't you wanna be a part of that? If I can get 300 people to give a dollar a day, I can open the first house in Ungheni. You can change a little boy or girl's life. They'll be in Ungheni until they're 16, and then when they're 16, they'll come to Vara and they'll go to university and they'll be leaders. They're gonna change our nation. We've been doing this for 37 years. 37 years. So we have longevity. We know the long game.
Philip:We know this is not a two-minute job that we're doing. This is a commitment for life to transform these lives. And my sons and my daughter Melody are now taking over from me as far as the going part and the dealing with all the stuff that's going on. And I just need to be the contact person with you. You can say, Philip, I can give. If you say, well, I don't wanna give a monthly gift, but I can give a one-time gift — we are looking for the second house. It's been sheet-rocked, but that's all. We're gonna finish all the finish part of it, and we need someone to step up and say, Philip, let's go finish that house. I'll send you a gift to make that happen.
Philip:And also the barn — there's a great big barn. It used to be a farm, and this huge barn needs to be transformed into dormitories. And I'm looking — if you know someone that has a recreational play park kind of thing with slides and all the different things, like McDonald's has that size and even bigger, I'm looking for one of those. If you know of one, I'd really appreciate it.
Philip:So be a part with me. It's really simple. You can contact us. PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. Simple — PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. If you call 833-DAILY-FAITH on your phone, there's a live person that will take your call right now, and you can say, hey, I want to sign up for a dollar. I want to open a new place for these little kids.
Philip:Don't sit and curse the darkness. Don't get so caught up in the darkness, in the evil of the world that you can't see an answer. You are the answer to the darkness. You and I are the answer. God's put us here. We are the salt and light of this world. And if you can understand that, if you can see that wherever you are sitting in your house right now in the world, you can say, I will not curse the darkness. I'm gonna light a candle.
Philip:And these little kids that have no hope, no hope whatsoever, are dependent on you saying, I'll make a place at the table of hope for them. I'm counting on you to do that today, if you will. And I really appreciate it. Thank you so very much.
Philip:Chad Fisher is a friend of mine and pastor at a great church in Blue Springs, which is on the outskirts of Kansas City. I believe it's called Blue Springs Assembly. And he is with me today. God bless you, Chad. Thank you for coming on Daily Faith today, my brother.
Chad Fisher's Calling and Restore the Wonder Ministry
Chad Fisher:Philip, it's always an honor and I'm grateful to be even considered to be here. And very grateful for the work that you and Andrew and your team are doing, have been doing for a long time. It's incredible to hear the stories and see it playing out. So thank you for letting me be here.
Philip:Well, the good thing is when you've known us for a few years, you'll have heard me talk about the challenges we face in the past, and then you see them established and growing, and then we almost take them for granted. And then we keep on going to the next thing and the next thing. And these two new houses in Ungheni — I'm just, my hair's on fire with it. I can't wait to see what God is gonna do there for little kids.
Philip:Yeah. If we can take the hurt and harm out of a little child's life between the age of four and 16 — and I know you've been through this personally in your life, and you have a ministry called Restore the Wonder. In fact, let's share about that first, because it does tie into what we're doing in Moldova. Tell us your situation and what God's called you to do through restorethewonder.org.
Chad Fisher:Yes, sir. Well, and I think that's where our hearts are so connected to what you do with the Orphan's Hands. It's in different parts of the world, but the stories overlap. I'm a survivor of childhood abuse, and didn't tell anybody that for many years. But when the Lord started to — and I'll say this to kids in the summer when we run our camps — I'll tell them, I learned that Jesus could forgive my sins really early on in life. But it was later in life I learned he could heal my broken heart.
Chad Fisher:And from that place of brokenness, the Lord stirred us to start this nonprofit. And we spend a week in the summer offering a faith-based camp for kids who are in foster care. And it's the best week of their life. And we throw birthday parties and we celebrate them. We make it the funnest week, but also very strategic in intersecting the gospel into their life and letting them know that Jesus can heal the broken parts of their story. And so something my wife and I are very passionate about.
Faith-Based Camps for Foster Care Children
Philip:So if someone would like to help you, they can get in contact with you at restorethewonder.org. Is that correct?
Chad Fisher:Yes, sir. Yeah. Restorethewonder.org will give you all the details and show you in real-life videos what that week looks like and the things that we do throughout the year. Obviously, the way we say things — probably similar to the way you do — the number one thing we need is prayer, someone who's always covering, because when you're doing a ministry like this, spiritual warfare is real. And so prayer is a major need.
Chad Fisher:Also, it takes an army of volunteers. So if we're taking 70 kids this summer, I'll need about 140 volunteers. So we have trusted partners from different parts of the state and different parts of the country, and so there's always a volunteer opportunity. And then like anything, we don't charge the kids a dime.
Philip:How much does it cost to sponsor a child?
Chad Fisher:So one child for the week, for everything, it's about $750.
Philip:Okay. So someone can say, I will make this young child who's been abused and living in a foster situation — I can make a miracle happen in their life for $750.
Chad Fisher:Yes, sir. And that investment — one of the statistics that we've been told, and not even by religious psychologists, just by a psychologist, is a week at a camp like ours is equivalent to a year's worth of counseling in one of these children's lives. And so just the expedited journey of healing from that intentionality — it's incredible to see what happens in the kid's life in those four or five days. And the investment goes further than we could ever imagine.
Philip:Well, I pray today someone watching is gonna say, Philip, I will give. In fact, I'm gonna give — from Orphan's Hands, I'm going to — we need a miracle. We need such a crazy miracle. We're gonna find $150,000 by July. And I don't have the money, but I've got seed. And Orphan's Hands will sow $750 into your camp and sponsor one of your kids. So one of your kids will be there because of Orphan's Hands. And by doing so, we'll be able to say we've cast our bread upon the waters and we're looking for the return in our new work in Moldova. So count me in. I'm one of your 70.
Chad Fisher:Well, that's so gracious of you, Philip, and greatly appreciate you believing in the dream. And I encourage — if you're a pastor watching just now, why don't you get your church to give one child $750? And let's know that the heartache and abandonment that a child in foster care feels — one week at a camp is equal to how long?
Philip:One year's counseling.
Cost and Impact of Sponsoring a Child
Chad Fisher:One year's counseling. So that's why we have camps.
Philip:We go to villages that have no streetlights, no roads, no indoor plumbing, and bring a — we've got a popcorn machine and a candy floss machine and a bouncy trampoline and all kinds of things. We set up a tent and bond and transform a gray, dull, broken, forgotten village into a place to be for a whole week. And I know exactly the power of what you are doing, and I commend you for it.
Philip:You also want to talk today about something that, frankly, I never connected. Jesus wept. And a lot of times we equate tears with frustration or sorrow. But the tears that Jesus wept were tears of purpose.
Chad Fisher:Right. And that's what we've got to get involved in — the tears of purpose for these kids, for the kids in Moldova and in Ukraine.
Three Times Jesus Wept in Scripture
Philip:Tell us what the Lord showed you on that.
Chad Fisher:Yeah. So I was flying to Uganda last fall, getting trained with pastors, and I'm preparing and reading some scripture along the way. And I read a scripture that I've read many times out of the Gospel of Luke, where it says Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. And I started to think about the emotion. Truthfully, Philip, I have three daughters — a 9-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a 3-year-old. And so tears are not uncommon in my house. We cry a lot.
Chad Fisher:And I started to think about the emotion of tears. And I knew that Jesus had wept there. I was familiar with Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. And I started to think, is there any other place in the scriptures where Jesus has wept? And there's a reference in Hebrews to the Savior weeping as he gets ready to go to Calvary. And I started to think through that, because tears, outside of emotion and sorrow — really, the older you get, the less you cry. My daughters, the emotions come and tears come a little easier, but with age and maturity, the things we cry about are usually deeper and they reveal what we care about the most.
Chad Fisher:And so I started to think about the tears of Jesus and what he cared about the most. And really, to me, it boils down to three things. He wept over the tomb of Lazarus, and it shows his heart for people. He wept over the city of Jerusalem, and it showed his heart for a place. And then he wept as he was approaching Calvary, which to me showed his deep care for the purpose that God had placed in his life for humanity. And how that translates into all of our lives as followers of Jesus and people on mission — that we should have deep care about those same three things.
What Jesus' Tears Reveal About His Heart
Philip:A lot of folk come to Moldova and weep when they see what we're doing, but most of it is tears of sadness. But tears of purpose — when I walked into the orphanage in Chisinau with my dad, I walked in behind him into this room, Salon Number Five. And there were 30 odd kids screaming and rocking in their cribs because they'd never been cuddled. So they all rocked to comfort themselves. And I saw this little face, flood-lit — I mean, like a spotlight. I began to weep, but I didn't stop there. I rearranged my life from that point to get caught up in the purpose of God. And all the stuff that we do now was the result of the tears that I shed 30, 35, 37 years ago. And that's the difference. We can shed tears of purpose.
Tears That Move Us From Emotion to Action
Chad Fisher:Yeah. You know, Philip, I honestly thought about you and Andrew as I was thinking through the conversation today. Because if you think even at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus weeps and he knows the outcome — like he knows he is gonna change the situation. And I think that was what moved me, is the sorrow moved him, but it didn't just move him to emotion, it moved him to action. He entered into the story and changed the situation. And I even think that's why I love the Orphan's Hands and what you've been doing for the last 37 years, because you just weren't emotional in a moment. It moved you to a place of action.
Chad Fisher:And seeing the story of Andrew and the story of all of the children that you have absolutely affected and ministered to over the years — it's because, just like you said, those tears weren't just an emotional response to something you saw in the moment. It was the stirring of the Holy Spirit to say, hey, I'm showing you more for your life and how I want to use you to affect so many other people's lives. So that really stuck out to me.
Sowing in Tears — Psalm 126 and Purposeful Grief
Philip:I totally — I mean, I can't express enough how it — we were known as singers. We were on platforms as singers. Everything — I've been preaching on household salvation, and it sold one of my books that sold 300,000 copies. I have it on my shelf. So all of that stuff, and I'm standing in this smelly place in Romania, making deals with God to totally stop. I stopped singing. Our income from a record stopped right away. In one second.
Philip:I believe that God wants us not just to have tears of pity for ourselves or tears of love for our family, but the tears of purpose in your life. The Bible says, he that goes forth weeping, bearing precious seed, will doubtless come again. And that is a reference to the fact that it's a farmer and they're in lack. They don't have enough food themselves. And they go and they literally take the seeds of their life and they're weeping, but they're sowing the seeds into the world, into the harvest, knowing that the seeds they're sowing is gonna bring them a harvest.
Philip:And I just want you today — and I think we've lost Chad right now, but I want you to understand something, that the tears that you shed are for a purpose. And I feel that the word that Chad's brought you today — you've joined us again, Chad. This is great stuff. Tears of purpose.
Common questions
What are the three moments Jesus wept, and what do they mean?
Chad identified three times Jesus wept: at the tomb of Lazarus (showing his heart for people), over the city of Jerusalem (showing his heart for a place), and as he approached Calvary (showing his deep care for the purpose God placed in his life for humanity). He says those same three priorities — people, place, and purpose — should shape the lives of everyone who follows Jesus and is on mission.
What is the difference between tears of emotion and tears of purpose?
Chad points out that at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept even though he already knew the outcome — the sorrow moved him not just to emotion but to action. He entered the story and changed the situation. Chad argues that real, Spirit-led tears aren't just an emotional response in the moment; they're a stirring from the Holy Spirit calling you toward a greater purpose and action in other people's lives.
What is Restore the Wonder and who does it serve?
Restore the Wonder is a nonprofit Chad and his wife run that offers a week-long, faith-based summer camp for kids in foster care — completely free to the children. The camp combines fun activities like birthday parties with intentional gospel ministry, and Chad says a psychologist told him one week at a camp like theirs is equivalent to a full year of counseling in a child's life.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child at Restore the Wonder's camp?
It costs $750 to fully sponsor one child for the entire week, covering everything. Chad also notes that the camp relies on roughly two volunteers for every child — so for 70 kids, he needs about 140 volunteers — and that prayer is the number-one need because spiritual warfare is very real in a ministry like this.
How did Chad's own childhood shape his ministry?
Chad is a survivor of childhood abuse and kept it secret for many years. He says he learned early in life that Jesus could forgive sins, but it was only later that he discovered Jesus could also heal a broken heart. That personal experience of healing is what stirred him and his wife to launch Restore the Wonder for kids in foster care.
Topics
chad fishertears of purposejesus weptfoster care ministryrestore the wonderblue springs assemblyhealing