What If?

I am a dreamer…and according to Ephesians 3:20 we SHOULD dream big!!! Christians are supposed to ask God for big things…He is capable of moving mountains!

God has put it inside of me to dream big; in fact, I think He has put that inside all of us. Take a look at this awesome world we live in…the beauty of a waterfall…the awe of an amazing sunset…the sound of the ocean…the amazing UT Lady Vols!! The fact is there are so many things that leave us blown away. God dreamed big when He created this planet.

And what about the church? Jesus said in Matthew 11:12 that the kingdom should forcefully advance, not through violence…but by people realizing that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to heaven…and the church is RESPONSIBLE for getting that message to the world.

Jesus followed it up by saying in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church…and in Matthew 28:18-20 He COMISSIONED us to go and make disciples. This did not mean to go and sit in a room with a handful of people–all of whom look, act and think like you–and discuss the finer points of theology and make predictions as to when Christ will return.

NO–the bottom line is this–WE CAN’T MAKE DISCIPLES WITHOUT FIRST SEEING PEOPLE CONVERTED TO CHRIST!!!

Jesus dreamed big…and we see the results of His dream come true in the book of Acts 2:41… 3,000 people in ONE DAY! In Acts 4:4 it grew to about 5,000. In Acts 5:14 Luke just stopped counting…we see in Acts 6:1 and Acts 6:7…as well as several verses following that the church didn’t just grow–it EXPLODED!

So much for those who claim numbers do not matter–if that is the case then why does Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, keep talking about how the church GREW all through the book?

Jesus dreamed big…and He still does today…and so should we…

So–UpRising Church–let’s dream BIG for Easter (this coming Sunday!)

We are putting in EXTRA time and effort to make sure this Sunday is going to be off the hook. We understand that people are so open to being at church this weekend…and we want them to see that church can be exciting…fun…relevant…and it can also be a place where they can encounter the LIVING GOD!

So let’s dream big…and here is where you come in…

WHAT IF… we made an effort this week to literally invite everyone that we know…AND everyone we see to come to UpRising Church this weekend. (Two identical services…. 8am and 10am)

WHAT IF we made just one more attempt to invite that person that always says no?

WHAT IF we were so passionate about this that by the time this week is over–every waiter or waitress, every person at the grocery store, every cashier at the mall, every person everywhere had received a personal invitation to come to the UC this weekend?

Folks…THAT CAN HAPPEN!!! But it is going to take all of us being intentional and going for it.

Did you realize that a large percentage of the unchurched population would come to church if someone would invite them to go along with them? And that is something EVERY ONE OF US CAN DO! In so doing, we are all partnering together with the God of the universe in reaching people for Christ!

Would you be willing to do that? Would you be willing to pray and ask the Lord whom He wants you to invite? Would you be willing to be open to issuing a personal invitation to every place of business you go to this week?

Like I said–this weekend is going to be one where God is going to ROCK some people’s worlds!!! We’re dreaming about having 500 attenders and ONE HUNDRED praying to receive Christ this Sunday!! And He is inviting you to be a part of this by inviting people to church. INVITE, INVITE, INVITE!!! Let’s dream big!!!

See you this Sunday!

(This post is inspired by a very similar blog post by one of my mentors…Perry Noble, who wrote something very similar to those who attend his church. But, I believe every Pastor in the country should be writing this same thing to their congregations!! Thanks, Perry for the inspiration!)

~ by Joe Case on April 3, 2007.