As October 2009 comes to an end, I am in amazement of the team of people who orchestrate the outreach at Guts Church we affectionately call, The Nightmare. Hundreds of people - three times a week - the entire month of October, ascend onto the Guts property and do their jobs.
Not only are they on the team winning hundreds, sometimes over 1,000, people to the Lord three times a week, but many are also in church twice a week (some three times). Then, there's a couple hundred more who are in ministry training an additional night a week.
I spend my life trying to gather people to church, but this is such an outlying phenomenon that hundreds of people are not only gathering but connecting to the core of the cause of why we gather. Which brings me to the essence of the key to the Kingdom of God. The key is to commit to the cause.
My job now is to effectively communicate to everyone involved, the connection between serving in a tedious capacity of an outreach to thousands (10,052 so far this month) of people coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
After 17 years of pioneering and pastoring this local church that I love dearly, it really boils down to loving God and valuing people. Gathering and connecting.
Raising my coffee mug, here's to the most incredible team on the planet!
Stay strong,
Pastor Bill