It always amazes me when I meet someone that encourages and blesses me in the craziest, most unexpected places. Last week, 24 of us from @GPBCNJ were in Haiti. In Haiti, I met a man there from Minnesota. Minnesota. I met him in Haiti. See where I’m going with this?
Turns out this fellow attends a church plant in Minnesota that has been meeting in a school. Also turns out that this church is doing well. So well that they have purchased a new building and are moving into a permanent space in early 2016. Turns out that they will need to unload all of their stuff that they use to run their church in a school. Huh. Interesting. We will need all such stuff…in early 2016. Coincidence? Me thinks not.
Of course we have no way of knowing if this will actually come to fruition (I think it just might…), BUT it makes me think of two things:
- The Necessity of Prayer. Our God is the Creator of all things. He is limitless in his resources. Why? Because he creates all the resources. Getting sound and lighting gear to run a church service is no effort for him, yet he wants us to depend on him and acknowledge him as the sovereign Lord in prayer. The quote from one of the church planting books that sticks out is “We should never expect God to do anything that we haven’t asked him to.” #Ouch.
- The Church at Large. The church is God’s chosen vessel to proclaim freedom in Jesus to the world. The church isn’t perfect, but it is created by a perfect God and therefore he can do miraculous things through it. Again, meeting a man in Haiti that is from Minnesota who can help get us gear is no effort and God loves to demonstrate his power through his church. Paul instructs us:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” (1 Corinthians 12:3–6 ESV)
May God continue to empower us as we seek to establish Highlands Bible Church for his glory!
