Most of the time, we pastor types don’t like looking at data, but I’ve got to say that this past week as we put the finishing touches on the 2011 Annual Report for The Gathering, I found myself reading, worshiping, reading some more, and thanking God over and over for the awesome opportunity that we’ve been given to serve our city and our county.
I’m not going to comment about the report here, because you can just go to the site and read it for yourself, but I do want to say that from the very first meeting with 20 of us in a warm den that had less than sufficient seating until the end of the year celebrating Christmas with a handful of young men giving their hearts to Jesus, I have been overwhelmed by the willingness of God to allow each of us to be a part of His great plan. It is a phrase that has been overused, but I have to say that as I read it and thought back over the last 6 months of 2011, I couldn’t stop whispering to no one in particular how much I LOVE MY CHURCH!
2012 is going to be (and has already been) a year full of trying and learning and giving ourselves over fully to God’s plan for a local body that will intentionally and unashamedly share the great news of Jesus with the hurting in our region. More than likely there will be a move, a launch, and an undeniable presence of grace that takes place in The Gathering, and our job now is to do all we can to make sure that we are ready for the uncontainable growth that God wants to entrust us with.
Don’t let that phrase throw you, either. Uncontainable growth is so much more than numbers and becoming the “next great thing” in a county full of great men and women who have been praying for years to see God move. Uncontainable growth is exactly what it sounds like: a catch of souls for Jesus that no one church can contain. I believe that God has found us faithful with a little, and according to Scripture, that means that He can make us faithful with a lot (Luke 16:10).
Now is the time for each of us to get on our servant clothes and make ourselves ready to serve the hurting whom God will send us to. We will not sit back. We will not wait for them. We will not market in a way that places the burden of moving on those who are least able to move. We will go, and we will start where we are. Join an iOS Team. Determine in your heart to begin now, not later, and let’s see what God can do through us when we are available for 12 months, not just 6.
You all amaze me, but you glorify Him, and that makes both of us smile!
