Priority One - Follow Up

So what?

It is one of the best questions in the world.  It is short and to the point.  It should be asked of every sermon, every Bible study, every class and every Priority One conference.  So what?  What happened?  It is a question you can ask corporately and individually.  We were praying that God would raise up 4 people to consider international ministry.  We wanted every missionary and mission representative to be encouraged by the passion of one local church’s love for the world.  And we prayed for 1200 people to be encouraged in their willingness to say yes to God:  Anything, Anytime, Anywhere.  So what? 

1.    We met with one person who indicated she wanted to pray to receive Christ as her personal Savior.  She had actually asked Christ to forgive her a week earlier, but confirmed it P1 weekend.  We have celebrated her name being written in the lamb’s book of life and currently she is in a Bible study. 

 

2.    The GMT has two new members. 

 

3.    Four of the “global prayer team” responders came to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church prayer time.  There are five others who desire to participate in a global prayer team who were not at the IDOP meeting, but most of those are elderly members who may not be comfortable driving after dark, which it was when the meeting ended.

 

Now, we are looking for someone who would take ownership and leadership of an ongoing prayer time for the unreached people and the international church.

 

4.    Five people requested information on unreached people.  They have been contacted and directed to the World Missions Center for Unreached Prayer Cards, the touchscreen Unreached Info, and also to www.JoshuaProject.com.

 

5.    Six of the seven who desired more information on becoming a Home Team Partner with our missionaries are moving ahead with Rebecca Alvey on the link-up.  Rebecca is pursuing people personally to join the HTP and is speaking of a HTP dinner event following the holidays to draw us all into a focused group.

 

6.    A couple is following through with talks about entering more officially the International Student ministry.

 

7.    Six people have expressed an interest in short-term mission trips and we have given them information about trips planned for next year.

 

8.    50 people came to the first Dominican Republic short-term mission trip meeting.

 

9.    Multiple people signed up to be mentored.

 

I received this note from one of the participants.  She captures well the fruit of P1 2013.  “I really appreciated the weekend and the challenge to my thinking about the church and her mission - somehow in all my growing-up in a Christian ‘bubble’ I've never learned to think that way - either I missed it or it wasn't being taught.  Thank you to the leadership of the church for teaching this and making time for it, making it a priority.”

Now on to Priority One 2014.  Brace yourself, you will be changed. 

Pastor Mark, for the Priority One team