Recounting the past 24 hours is going to be hard because much of it was a blur, and most of it felt like a dream. It is absolutely amazing what Jesus is doing through Arise Community Church (He IS alive, you know)!
I am so grateful for the team I have and for the newcomers who jumped right in to help! It was most certainly a team effort to pull off a great first Preview Service, and without that teamwork there would have been no service.
From the parking lot, to the entrance, to the children's space, to the cafe area, to the seats and stage, all the way to the backyard for the Easter Egg Hunt, and back to the parking lot, it looked AMAZING! God showed up. He moved people's hearts and forever we are changed.
I am still in awe - trying still to grasp on to this day. I am still trying to breathe it in, let it marinate, and kinda bask in what I know is about to be a wild ride!
I know 2 things:
1) Satan does not want this church to do what it is about to do.
2) God is with us - so we win!
I preached a sermon called "Come Home" on the Lost Son (aka the Prodigal Son). It was awesome because God took over. The Good News was preached to the poor, blind, sick, and lost - and to the found, saved, and alive (it's always good to be brought back to why we believe what we believe). Next week we talk about the second son - so don't miss it! Here is a graphic of the sermon (thanks to Joe):
I have been asked multiple times about this and here is the answer: Yes there is audio and video of the message and some of the service. The quality is not very good because we were having difficulties with other things at the time. And it is going to need to be edited. So be patient with us and we will deliver! I'll let you know when it is on the website!
Finally, we come to "stats". As a church, there are only a few ways to measure growth and effectiveness. One of these ways is attendance. I was hoping for at least 30-40 people to show up. We had 77 (67 adults, 10 kids). THAT IS INSANE! If you were to tell me we would have 77 at our LAUNCH, I would have been STOKED! But at our first Preview? God is amazing! Jesus is alive!
Seriously, in church plant world, this is NUTS! And we have to celebrate the HECK out of this!
We also had 10 people respond to the invitation to "Come Home" to Jesus and receive His grace! That is 10 people who were off the path but are now on the path to Jesus! 10 people who were lost, but now found! 10 people who were dead, but now alive! 10 people who came home today!
And I know with a good amount of certainty that at least 3 of these people prayed to meet Jesus for the first time in their lives! I will be confirming that when I talk to the rest, but let's celebrate this: AT LEAST 3 SOULS WERE SAVED (what we call salvation) TODAY THROUGH ARISE COMMUNITY CHURCH! AND 10 CAME HOME TO JESUS! HALLELUJAH! PRAISE GOD! AMEN!
I am so overwhelmed right now. It is late and I cannot sleep. I am still PUMPED! Next week is our second Preview Service before we take a 7-week break to regroup and plan. Keep us and the lost in the community in your prayers. And as always, Live Brave.
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