This Sunday we started sharing the vision for the NEXT five years of actionchurch…or as we have called it…”the POWERDOWN initiative”. If you missed it, the podcast is here. I spoke longer than I normally like to, but still managed to only barely outline the “why” of what we will strive to do in the future. This coming Sunday, as we celebrate our fifth birthday, I’ll share more.
Here’s one part of Sunday’s talk that I hope you’ll consider this week with me. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus asked his disciples to pray for something WITH him:
37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
As I said Sunday, I’m pretty sure all of the disciples gladly joined in that group prayer. I’m sure they all agreed that there should be MORE of the amazing things Jesus was doing. MORE people healed. MORE people fed. MORE people taught about living an eternal life instead of a self-destructive temporary existence. I’m sure they also agreed that in order for that to happen they were going to need MORE help.
I’m not sure exactly WHO the disciples expected to come help them…to answer their prayers. Maybe they expected angels…or visiting experts. Maybe they were praying for some of the people who were healed and helped by Jesus to jump in and serve others. Whatever they expected, Jesus answered their prayers as recorded in Matthew Chapter 10, by sending THEM first. THEY turned out to be the answer to their prayers for more help! :-)
If you’ve been blessed, helped or changed in any way by the last 5 years of actionchurch, I hope you will pray with us for MORE. MORE people served. MORE lives changed. MORE people experiencing the love and community in a church in a way they NEVER thought they could! I hope you’ll join us in praying for more workers…not just on Sunday mornings…but more importantly every day of the week. Please pray for help.
But be warned…You just might be the answer to your prayers!