40 Days of Praying - Day 22

New Members in LifeGroups: Ask God to help us connect all new members in a LifeGroup.

Acts 2:46-47 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 5:13-14 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

Acts 19:20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

I have been doing some thinking about our numbers for the last couple of months. Some of the things I have learned are not very good. For instance, only about 23% of new members find their way into a LifeGroup. (Have I written this before? I know I have shared it with several. If I repeat myself I am sorry. It just demonstrates that I think it is important.) We are improving with Kimmee Brandon's help, but it is still less than 30%. That means that when we introduce new members, no one is inviting them to LifeGroup. That means we are letting people slip through the cracks. It means that most new members stay strangers to our fellowship and never become a part of our life. It also means that they will probably fade away very quickly.

You might think that focusing on numbers makes people insignificant. I think just the opposite. I think if you don't know the numbers you don't know the people. I am more concerned about who the new members are now that I know what the percentages are.

One last number. At a conference we held here this weekend, the speaker suggested that healthy churches grow by about a 10% conversion growth rate. That means that for every 10 adult members we would see 1 baptism per year. If we just limited that to LifeGroups we would see 90 conversions this year. How in the world could that happen? I am not sure, but I have a new goal for us. For me. Let's ask God to make is so.

One last scripture: Colossians 2:19 ...the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. We can plant and fertilize and water but only God can make us grow.

O Lord, help us grow. Not for our glory or reputation, but for your sake and for the love of those who will come. Help us to love those who aren't among us yet. Help us to love our neighbors. Help us to declare boldly the riches of Jesus Christ. Help us to so live that our fellowship is precious and many demand to be a part. In Jesus' name, amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 21

LifeGroup Evangelism: Pray God will help every group see the opportunity to win someone to Jesus. Ask His blessing to make LifeGroups a major tool in reaching the lost.

Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity , let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Ephesians 5:15-18 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity , because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

LifeGroup evangelism. That might sound like an oxymoron. LifeGroups are for loving each other and taking care of each other and teaching each other, right? Well, not exactly. Each of those things happens in LifeGroup, but there can be and is so much more. We haven't had much experience or widespread success in LifeGroup evangelism, but the exceptions are spectacular and the possibilities are tremendous. LifeGroups are really just small churches. Everything that is supposed to happen in church can happen in LifeGroup.

Here are some interesting things to know about evangelism. Research shows that the average person who comes to come to faith in Jesus needs to know 5.3 Christians. That means my friends need to know me and they need to know my LifeGroup friends. When it comes to LifeGroup evangelism, fishing is a team sport

So pray that LifeGroup leaders and LifeGroup members begin to think more about how to reach their friends and family for Jesus. Pray for strategies for workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods. Mostly pray for hearts that wants to make Jesus known and love everywhere in the Permian Basin.

O God give us your heart for the lost. Help our LifeGroups work together to bring more people to Jesus. Make us prayerful. Make us sensitive, loving and bold. Make us fruitful. Make us true. For Jesus' sake, amen.

Grace.

By the way, did you notice that we flipped the card today?

40 Days of Praying - Day 20

Becoming a Chuch of Small Groups: Pray God's wisdom on us as we expand our LifeGroup ministry to reach every member of GCR.

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

1 Peter 1:22-24 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Yesterday we prayed for God to grow our numbers. Tonight we want to pray that God will grow us to love each other so deeply in our LifeGroups that others are drawn in.

Here's the truth about LifeGroups. We can preach and teach and encourage and even urge people to be in LifeGroup. We can call them, tell them they should and make them feel guilty if they don't. We can set good examples and "raise the bar" until cows come home. But if what is happening in our groups isn't fueled by the Spirit of God then we won't see multiplying growth. We can't organize, train and motivate our way to a healthy body of Christ. If God doesn't do something powerful we will only add something more for people to do that they will do when it is convenient and miss when they feel like it. Lives won't be changed unless God is in the middle of what we do.

Do we need LifeGroups? Absolutely. If we are to grow larger we need a church that gets smaller. In other words we all need to know and be known in order to live out what it means to followers of Jesus. Can LifeGroups help that? Yes. Yes. Yes. But if God doesn't help us, we will only add something for people to do. We won't really change anything or anyone. We will just change where they meet.

I have higher dreams than that. I pray for little platoons of dynamic Jesus-following, God exalting, each other loving, world serving, kingdom minded people. May it be so.

God make us a church of small groups. Not because it is a fad or the latest church growth technique, but because we want to know you and know each other. Help us become that beautiful body that draws men to Jesus. Help us love each other. For Jesus sake, Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 19

LifeGroups: Pray for our LifeGroups and for the ministry each will do this year. Pray for new groups and new leaders in this vital ministry.

Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

Acts 19:20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Today I want to focus on the growth of LifeGroups. There are many ways to think about growing--growing deeper, growing stronger, growing more committed, growing more knowledgeable--but one legitimate way to think about growing is growing the number of people who are connected with a LifeGroup. It's not the only important growth. It's not even the most important growth. (For instance, I think we need to grow and it's more important to grow in the ways listed above.) But it is an indicator of the health and vitality of the ministry. Healthy churches and movements grow. They just do. It is a part of the cycle of life that God designed into all living things--including the living body of Christ.

Right now we have 904 adults enrolled in a LifeGroup. Of those, approximately half attend their lifegroup on any given night. That number is more than half of our adult (out of high school) members. We are asking questions right now about why so many GCR members aren't in a LifeGroup and how we can help them get connected. (Go Kimmee and the matchmaking team!!!)

It might surprise you that when we started looking at this a couple of months ago only 23% of new members find their way into a LifeGroup within the first 90 days of membership. That number hurts me. If they don't find a way into a group within 90 days they usually find their way out the back door. We have improved to approximately 30%, but we have a long way to go here.

We need new groups for new people. Established groups can grow, but it is much easier for new people to join a new group when everybody is starting at the same point. So we need new groups and new leaders.

One thing has grown in my heart recently. We need more women helping us lead this ministry. We need women who are actively involved in helping shape where we go next. We need them as LifeGroup leaders and Coaches. I don't know how we will get there, but we need their valuable contribution.

So pray for the LifeGroup ministry today. Pray for growth--all kinds of growth. But don't leave out growing in numbers.

O God, you designed every living thing to grow. So we ask you to help us grow. Help us reach and include more precious people. Help us add groups and make ways for new members to come into our lives. Show us strategies and methods for helping people. Make us evangelistic and servant hearted. But mostly help us live so that our life together brings glory to you and honor to Jesus. Send your Spirit on us and make us grow. For Jesus' sake, Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 18

China: Ask God to bless the church in China as they serve under persecution. Ask God to lead us into what role we can play in helping the church in China.

Revelation 3:7-13 These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure , so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Philippians 1:18-22 ...and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I had a strange experience two Sundays ago. I sat behind Sara in during worhship. Sara is a beautiful, four foot nothing, precious believer from China. She was brought out of the country a couple of weeks ago because she is wanted by the government. It is not immediatly apparent why they don't like her. She seems quiet and shy. She doesn't say much. But she does smile an awful lot. At first glance she seems harmless to anybody. I had been told that she spent 6 years in prison for being a follower of Jesus with the underground house church. They said she had endured loneliness, deprivation, beatings and torture. It is really hard to imagine why someone would want to hurt her. She smiles alot.

So it was pretty powerful to me when Ronnie preached about the cost of discipleship. He talked about following Jesus no matter what. We even sang, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back." Sara sat in front of me the whole time. I got choked up.

Then Wednesday I heard her tell her story in Joe Coffman's living room. We were with a group of people planning to plant churches. We had asked a small group of chinese believers to tell their story. She went first.

I thought it would be difficult for her. I was afraid that we had put her on the spot. She was in a group of strangers. She had to use a translator. She was being asked to talk about something deeply personal and painful. But what happened next was transforming. There was a powerful, beautiful, peaceful presence that came over her. She was electric. She wanted badly to tell us her testimony, she said. She told us about how, as a hopeless 19 year old, she came to faith in Jesus through her mom's life and teaching. No one else in her family believes. She had been a christian less than a year when she went to prison for the first time. Because of her influence as an evangelist and church leader, since the mid 90's she has been in prison six years.

The hung her by her fingers for hours. She told us how they put her feet in shackles. The chains hurt so badly she asked God to take her away. But she remembered how they hurt Jesus' feet and she was able to endure. They took her hands and melted plastic bags on them and then electocuted her fingers. But she remembered how they hurt Jesus' hands and she held on. Then they stripped her naked. The only time she dropped her head and couldn't look us in the eye was when she talked about how ashamed it made her feel. Then she remembered that they had stripped Jesus and she was able to keep going.

The coolest part? Every time she said the name of Jesus she cried. Every time. She was overcome with emotion when she mentioned his name. When she pointed to the rug on the floor that looked like one she had made in prison she laughed about it. When she said the name of Jesus she cried. It was then I understood how the underground persecuted house church movement in China has grown from 800,000 believers to 100,000,000 in twenty five years. It is because God has called people like Sara.

What can we do physically to help? I don't know, but let's ask God to show us. In the meantime, let's pray for the thousands 0f Sara's who are faithfully serving and proclaiming Jesus in China. May God continue to cause explosive growth.

Dear Lord, have mercy on our brothers and sisters in China. Show yourself faithful to them. Perform miracles, signs and wonders for them. Add daily to the church. Sustain them in persecution and let your joy continue to fill them. We ask that you do whatever is necessary to stop the persecution of the church. And we ask you to show us what we can do and what we need to do. Give us willing hearts to do it. Let us join them as brothers in arms for the sake of the kingdom. Thank you for their example and witness. For Jesus, because he suffered and died for us. Amen.

Grace.

Dream Community or Real Community

I reread something from Bonhoeffer today that I think is deeply insightful. Sometimes we have such lofty ideals for what the church (or LifeGroup) should be that we end up not being able to live and engage in church life as it really is. Have you known anyone to abandon LifeGroup because it didn't live up to their expectations?

"Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God's grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and if we are fortunate, with ourselves.

By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world. He does not abandon us to those rapturous experiences and lofty moods that come over us like a dream. God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth. Only that fellowship which faces such dissillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both. A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community. Sooner or later it will collapse. Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even thought his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial." (Life Together, p.26-27)

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 17

Campaigns: Ask God to put in the hearts of all of us the desire to be part of a mission campaign.

3 John 6-8 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.

Colossians 4:3-6 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Mt 9:35-38 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Mt 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out

I think it's terrific that when we started talking about getting more people involved in mission trips that the opportunity to go and live the gospel before muslims in Thailand presented itself. It's not that the occasion is terrific, but by saying we need to go and be involved, not just send money, we were already preparing to go. This is what happened when Jesus told the apostles to pray for workers. The next thing you know they were going. May God grant us willing hearts and clear opportunities to send people into the mission fields of the world, in order that we might have a heart for the people of the world and a greater burdent for the great commission.

O Lord, send us. Send us all over the world. Let us help with works or mercy and words of truth. Help us love and serve. Help us not be bound by our little world, but to care and commit to the world you created and love. As Jesus went, send us. Amen.

Grace.

Helping a Shallow Group

From Smallgroup.com

Darryl's Dilemma

Darryl has been leading his small group for several months now. The group members have lots of knowledge about the Bible and many participate in the group discussions. However, most of the discussion, sharing and prayer requests are very superficial and always relate to "someone else". Little is shared about how God’s truth is changing the lives of group members at a personal level. What should Darryl do?

-Some responses from our readers:

It all begins with the leader. The depth of transparency of the group is in direct proportion to the depth of transparency of the leader. That's not to say that the leader is to barge into vulnerable territory the first meeting...but with compassion and sensitivity, set the tone with honesty and humility and in time, as the trust level rises, the group will follow. -Nancy

Don't ask a general question like, "Do you have any prayer requests?" Ask members how the group can be specifically praying for them personally. Ask group members how God has blessed them over the last week, month, or year. Also Darryl should remember that he is the leader and needs to lead by example. The more open he is with the group the more the group will be open. Or it could be that Darryl has a group the isn't very deep spiritually which is a great reason to be in small groups.-David

The way to make it personal is to break down the group's number. Let the group know that prayer is an important spiritual discipline and break down the group into sub-groups of 2 or 3. Ask that each sub-group pray for each other. Make sure the sub-groups are not 1 man and 1 women. If putting men and women together be sensitive to very personal issues. I usually keep it men with men and women with women. The breaking down to smaller groups allows for others to become personally involved with somebody else. -Bruce

Darryl should listen carefully to the person's non-personal prayer request and then ask the person another question, such as..."John, we definitely want to pray for your aunt's discovery of cancer. How can we pray for you specifically as it relates to her health issues?"

I have used this in groups and the person often states they need to resolve a conflict, feel prompted to share Jesus with their aunt, will be visiting soon and needs supernatural love for the person, etc. Another great way to get people to focus on themselves is to clearly ask if anyone has any prayer requests that are not related to another person. BUT, be careful of how often you are this direct. Some folks will begin to think you don't care about their friends and family, and that's probably not true!

-Randall

Taken from www.SmallGroups.com Darryl's Dilemma's archives.

40 Days of Praying - Day 16

Future Church Plants: Ask God to direct us in the coming years to the places and the people He wants us to reach.

Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

Acts 13:49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

Acts 19:17-20 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

My brother-in-law likes to think about and pray for the third generation. He wants to so infect his children with passion for Jesus that their children and the children that come through them are passionate for Jesus also. When we plant a church we will build in from the beginning the expectation that there will be daughter plants from them—for generations. Imagine how wonderful to see a 3^rd generation of churches worshipping God, following Jesus and helping people become disciples. May God bring it to pass.

O Lord, we pray for the churches unborn. We pray for a movement that sweeps through this region and that the name of Jesus may be held in high honor in every part of the Permian Basin, in Texas, in our nation and throughout the world. Raise up workers. Grant us vision and wisdom. Let us have a heart to sacrifice to see it happen. For Jesus’ sake, amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 15

Mountainview Community Christian Church: Give thanks to God for our financial partner in the Odessa church plant, Mountianview Community Christian Church. Ask God’s blessing on them and their ministry in the Denver area.

2 Corinthians 8:23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.

Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:15-19 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

I hope you get the chance to meet and know Jim Phillips, senior pastor of the Mountainview Community Christian Church. He and a small team of about 40 people planted the church about 13 years ago that has grown to be just about 100 smaller than us. They have a huge heart for God and a passion for lost people. Their enthusiasm for the advancing Kingdom of God is infectious. We have been so blessed in their financial partnership—they gave $50,000 to the Odessa plant sight unseen—because they wanted to encourage us as a church of Christ to be in the business of planting churches. Not only do they want to help us start, they want to encourage us to keep on going. When I read these scriptures I am reminded of Jim and the church in Denver. Let’s pray that God will take what they have given to encourage us and multiply it a hundred times. What could God do in our fellowship to light a fire for his kingdom and for the lost?

O God bless our brothers and sisters in Denver. Bless their ministry. Make them fruitful. Multiply their efforts. Bring thousands to Jesus because of them. And fulfill their dreams of planting 100 churches in the next 12 years. Only you could do that. Thank you for blessing us through them. Take what they have given and multiply it back to them. For Jesus sake, amen.

Grace.

Stewardship Study?

How did the Kingdom Now study work last night? Any comments from leaders or participants? Click on the comment link below to give your opinion. Grace

40 Days of Praying - Day 14

Church Planter: Pray for God to help us identify the church planter who will lead the Odessa Chruch plant next fall.

1 Corinthians 3:10-12 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

When God begins a great work he calls a man. There will be others who are called to join in leading and working. There will be others who sense the leading of the Holy Spirit to throw themselves into the mission. But first, God calls a man. I believe I can say it without contradiction that when you see a great work of God, whether in the Bible or in history, you will find a man who has been called to launch it and lead it. This hasn't always been our understanding, but it has been our experience. If there is a great church to be built then God has been building a great man to lead it.

Pray for a man and his wife who love Jesus and love people. Pray for someone with a heart for the lost. Pray for someone who has a vision for what God wants to do and is willing to work for it. Pray for a someone who is a team builder. Pray for someone who will lead with greatness and will point that new church to Jesus. Remember, when God launches a great work he forms and calls a great man.

O God bring a leader for this great work. Make him powerful and wise. Fill him with the Holy Spirit. Use his life to reflect and point to Jesus. And may you gain glory for yourself through what you do in him. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 13

Odessa Church Plant: Ask God's blessing on our plant in Odessa. Ask Him to bless the people who will be part of that planting team for God to prepare the hearts of many in Odessa who will be reached.

Acts 18:9-11 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

1 Corinthians 2:2-5 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Read these scriptures carefully. They describe what it was like when Paul first arrived in the great city of Corinth. He was tired and discouraged. There was no church. It was only beginning. But even though Paul couldn't see it, God could. Notice what he told Paul--I have many people in this city. Even before the church existed, God was making plans for the beautiful people who would make up the church.

Today, before you pray, close your eyes and imagine the families that will be reached by a new church. Imagine the people who right now are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Imagine their spirits now crying for help. They may not even know they need it. May God plan for multitudes.

O Lord, bless this new church. Bring a great leader, full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Call all those who are needed to help with this task. Help us give all the support and prayer that is needed. For Jesus sake, Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 12

Church Plants: Ask God to help GCR be a church that plants churches. Ask Him to make church planting as natural to us as breathing.

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.

Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

I have been thinking about the dynamic benefits of church planting for years. When people think about church and growth, most think in terms of growing their church larger. They think of expanding the reach and ministry of the church where they are. And that is good. But it should not be to the exclusion of planting daughter churches around us. There are so many reasons why it glorifies God to plant a new church. I list a few:

1) New churches reach new people. There is something about the energy and clean focus of a new church that draws new people who wouldn't go anywhere else.

2) New churches allow people who are standing on the sidelines to get into the game in fresh and dynamic ways.

3) New churches invigorate and renew the churches they come from. It is almost weird how watching a daughter church grow can encourage the parent church to be more aggressive in ministry.

4) New churches can leave behind traditional hangups without hurting the people they come from.

I could go on. I spent this whole week with men from Stadia and couples who are looking to plant churches all over the country. It is so exciting to see what could happen. I am convinced that if God answers this prayer, we will see the population of heaven expanded. Pray for it.

O God of the harvest, raise up leaders who have a vision for church planting. Help us focus on the lost, not the cost. Raise up teams of people to go and help. Raise up leaders for the new church. And bring new people to Jesus Christ. Bring hundreds and hundreds. For Jesus' sake amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 11

LifeGroups: Ask God's blessing on our LifeGroup ministry and LifeGroup leaders. Pray for your LifeGroup leader and your group. If not in a group, ask God to lead you to a group where you can grow and serve.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I love LifeGroups. I do. I love them. I love how lives are changed. I love how people are accepted and loved and how they find their niche. I love how God puts a group together with different gifts and personalities. I love different kinds of groups: groups with kids, groups with seasoned veterans, groups that are service centered, groups that are prayer centered, groups that are study centered—if it’s a group I love it. Mostly I love how they experience Jesus together. I love how Jesus serves and loves and teaches in our groups through each one in the group.

Are we where we should be? Not even close. Too many groups are still not experiencing what they could be in each other. Too many groups are not committed enough to the group—group members treat their participation as optional instead of necessary and important. We need groups that want to grow. We need more leaders who raise up more leaders. We need new leaders with a hunger to reach new people. We groups to be deeper and we need more people to join them.

But I really love LifeGroups.

O God, bless our LifeGroups. Bless them with love for you, love for Jesus and love for each other. Help us to grow. Help us to grow larger. Help us to grow deeper. Help us to worship harder. Help us to be more generous with each other. Help us to be more committed. And help us love our groups like you live the church. For Jesus’ body sake. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 10

Targeted Outreach: Pray for us to be more intentional and targeted on the people we need to reach. Pray for effective ways of targeting specific groups and reaching them for Jesus.

Mark 1:36-38 Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else — to the nearby villages — so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Jesus had a strategy. I remember the first time I heard someone say that. Jesus didn't wander aimlessly hoping that something might happen that would contribute to God's purpose. He had a mission. He also had a strategy. He understood it clearly and he pursued it intentionally. When the disciples thought that they saw a good opportunity for more ministry in Mark 1, they insisted that Jesus leave his place of prayer and come back to it. But Jesus had a strategic plan. He understood it well enough to know when to say no and when to say yes.

We need the Lord to show us a plan for connecting with people who haven't determined to follow Jesus. We need a plan for connecting with people who are like us and who are not like us. We need a plan for finding them, speaking to their lives and helping them become disciples. So let's pray for it.

Lord, show us your strategic plan. We know that there is so much that could be done but we need to know who and how and when. So show us. Teach us how to reach people. Teach us how to help them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We pray in His name, Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 9

Evangelism Training - Pray God will bring more of our church family to be equipped to share our faith in the Permian Basin.

Luke 10:1-2 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

It's never been for lack of harvest. Never. Everywhere we look around the world or across the street God is able and willing to call people out of darkness. What is lacking is workers--passionate, willing, obedient, trained workers. That's why we are taught to pray for workers. We don't pray for harvest today, we pray for workers. If men and women will offer themselves to be equipped, God will bring a harvest.

O God send workers. Send workers for the oilfields, the classrooms, the board rooms, the neighborhoods, and any other place we go. Don't make them just ministry professionals. Send them out from every walk of life into every walk of life. Stir them with an unquenchable desire to learn how to tell people about Jesus in a way they can understand from someone they can trust. For Jesus' sake we pray. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 8

ChurchWAVE - Pray for a large group from GCR to enlist in the intensive evangelistic training that ChurchWAVE offers.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me ," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Luke 6:40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

For several years students have come from around the country to equip themselves as witnesses at an event called YouthWAVE. It has mushroomed as kids have come away with passion for Jesus and a deep commitment to their personal mission. Over the years, literally hundreds of kids can trace their coming to Jesus back to their friend's attendance at YouthWave.

Most come thinking they will be taught what to say to their unbelieving friends. They are taught that. But more importantly, they learn how to love, serve, listen and share. They actually put what they learn into immediate practice on the streets of Austin and the beaches of Malibu and the gathering places in LA. It's incredible what God does.

One of the most profoundly touched groups are the adults who come along. They don't just watch they do. So now there is an adult track called ChurchWAVE. We want to take a group of adults to Austin, June 19-22 to experience what so many have said was a eternally important moment. Here they will learn how to love and listen. They will practice engaging people in spiritually relevant conversations. They will learn how to trust God and rely on the Holy Spirit to lead them into someone's life. It's awesome.

O Lord, you said to pray for workers for the harvest. We pray that you will place a yearning in the heart of many here at GCR to be a part of ChurchWAVE. And we pray that they will be changed and that they will change the rest of us. We pray for willing workers and fruitful harvest. For the sake of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Some thoughts on "Small Talk"

The Power of Relational "Small Talk"

I haven't talked to a small group leader yet who hasn't experienced the issue of time pressure during small group gatherings. There so much to get done (food, fellowship, prayer, study, curriculum, service, planning, outreach, etc.) and so little time. And, if we're only working with an hour or two each week (or every other week!), there's precious little time for what we at our church call "hanging out." Part of the power of Biblical community comes as we have relationships with one another and small talk, even if it is superficial, is part of that. I was reminded of this from an unusual source recently. I was reading a transcript of the "Meet the Press" TV news show recently and here is a quote from one of the guests that caught my attention:

"If you don't talk to your children about the things that don't matter, they'll never talk to you about the things that do. You've got to talk to them about what somebody wore to school today and this silly movie or this sitcom or just what might be going on in their day that's not of any particular gravity but you're opening the channel, you're opening it for flow. And then when it comes time that they really need to talk to you about something, they don't feel awkward about it because you talk with them all the time." -NBC News MEET THE PRESS, Sunday, December 26, 2004

The quote was about parent child relationships. But it is just as true about relationships in general. The deep things rarely come out if you don't start in shallower water first (which, by the way, is why you should always start your small group gatherings with an ice breaker question that everyone should have the chance to answer). Obviously, some of this small talk can happen during group time, but that time is limited at best. So, beyond group time, when do you just "hang out?" Here's some ideas:

-have all or some of your group members over to eat with you before group starts; that extra 30-60 mins. is a great time to have conversation,
-be intentional about talking to your group members at a weekly worship service; if your congregation has multiple services, try to go to the service most of your group members attend,
-plan get-togethers and conversations with group members in-between small group gatherings, or
-be spontaneous: send an occasional email, make an excuse to go to their house and borrow something from them, invite them to go with you to the store or coffee shop, or just show up at their doorstep sometime to say hi.

Taken from the SmallGroups.com "Director's Blog" by Dan Lentz. January 10, 2005.

40 Days of Praying - Day 7

Singles Ministry - Pray for our singles and for the people they will reach this year. Pray for new opportunities to reach young professional singles in our community.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' - Jesus

1 Corinthians 7 An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs — how he can please the Lord. ...An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.

As we pray for the singles minsitry two thoughts come to mind. First, regardless of how it happens, there are few experiences more painful than divorce. No one pledges a lifelong commitment expecting to end up in a divorce court. To arrive there requires betrayal and disappointment. Wedding rings are hard to take off your hand. You can't do it without breaking your heart. And then there are children. They suffer innocently and painfully. There is a line in the musical 'Les Miserables' that I think of when I think of the children of divorce. "There's a grief that can't be spoken, there's a pain goes on and on."

So what does a Christian community do? We do what Christian communities have always done for the broken hearted and the disoriented. We extend compassion, healing and good news. God can take what is dead and make it alive again. God can restore joy and hope and life. The way of Jesus is a way of healing. It is a path of life. I am so grateful that GCR has been offering compassion, hope and healing for years. How many people do you know who found life and Christ in the single's ministry? Let's pray for God to continue to use that ministry and bless Burke Brack and the other leaders to be Jesus to those hurting from divorce.

But what about the never married? What about the young career singles? Paul's perspective was that they represented an opportunity to boldly follow Jesus. They could live for the kingdom without the concerns and demands of family. It's not easy. They need loving church family to help them battle loneliness, but what a powerful group they can be. History is marked with extraordinary lives who changed the world as single people. Amy Carmicheal, Hudson Taylor, Mother Theresa and hundreds of others all traded devotion to family for devotion to the mission of the kingdom. It's what Paul said would happen and it's how we should think about it. Right now we aren't doing much to reach and release this group. Let's pray for God to launch something. Let's pray for an explosion of young, kingdom more than career minded singles in our family.

O Father of compassion and mercy who defends the cause of the widow and is father to the fatherless, bless our ministry to single adults. Grant us hearts of compassion not judgment. Give us hands of hope and healing. Let us help those who are sick at heart find wholeness in Jesus. And protect the souls of the little ones.

Lord, bring us workers for the kingdom who are young and single. Let them be filled with zeal for your work. Let them loose. Help us find them. Help them find Jesus. We ask for workers for the harvest from the harvest. For Jesus' sake we pray. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 6

40 Days of Praying - Day 6

Youth Ministry - Pray for God to continue ot use our teenagers to reach their friends for Christ, and ask his protection over them from the evil one.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Today many of our kids are in Dallas at Winterfest--a youth spiritual renewal conference. Others were playing basketball. Others are participating in debate tournaments and music competitions. Some are studying with friends or just hanging out. Wherever they go they represent Jesus. They are the most effective evangelists we have. They love and engage their friends. They aren't afraid of speaking about their faith. As we said yesterday, the most likely time for someone begin following Jesus is in their teen years. Our youth group is a great example of how to follow Jesus so attractively that others want to join in.

But it's also a dangerous time. We all know kids who turned their back on all they were taught and walk away from the Lord. It is a time of great temptation. Satan throws cultural sewage at them with so much that encourages disrespect, sensuality, and debauchery (an old fashioned but very precise and powerful word).

So let's pray for them. Pray that they will continue to grow in their passion for evangelism. Pray that they will resist the temptations they face from the world and from their own sin natures. Pray that they won't wait until sometime in the future to follow Christ and change the world.

O righteous God, thank you for our kids and those who lead and minister to them. Thank you for their enthusiasm and pure hearts. Thank you for their willingness to serve and love their friends. Help them Lord. Help them be faithful witnesses. Help them avoid the snares of sin and satan. Help them love you, love your word and love the Kingdom more than anything. Keep them safe. Protect their lives and their souls. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 5

40 Days of Praying - Day 5

Childrens Ministry: Ask God's richest blessings on our children and on those who teach and lead them. Pray for new and effective ways of reaching kids for Christ.

Mt 18:2-4 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children , you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Lk 18:16-17 But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

A little longer than usual. Skip to the bottom and pray if you want. I got a little windy today.

Today we pray for children. I have been thinking all day about the kingdom and children. Why would we put such an emphasis on children and children's ministry? I can think of three reasons, one intrinsic and two strategic.

The first self-evident reason is that Jesus teaches us that there is an inherant value in children. Children matter to God. Children are important. This one may be an adult world, but the world to come gives preference to them. So it should be normal and accepted that we spend time and energy and resources training and encouraging and inspiring children--just because Jesus said we should.

If that weren't enough there are at least two more strategic reasons. First is the issue of fruitfulness. If you want to make a disciple, you are far more likely to see it happen in a child than an adult. Study after study has shown that the likelihood of someone coming to faith in Jesus decreases dramatically every year after 18 and is virtually non-existent after 22. The heart of a child is very nearly a heart of faith. When we teach them to obey Jesus, we are far more likely to make a disciple than if we targeted a middle-aged man. If you want to be fruitful plant in fertile ground.

The second strategic reason is that modern families are child centered. Like it or not, from sports to school most families are focused on their kids. People determine where they will live according to the quality of the school system. It stands to reason that if we want to reach the parents and have an opportunity to connect them to Jesus we have to do a great job with kids. Every single church I know that is effective at proclaiming the gospel in a way people can understand so that they become Christ-followers is also extremely effective at children and youth ministry. It is hard to have one without the other.

One final thought--maybe you have asked the question about whether we can really do any good with 30-45 minutes of Bible teaching on Sunday morning against all the messages and influences of a godless culture. It just so happens that I was reading a sermon by John Piper (I wasn't looking for it, I stumbled on it. He is one of my favorites.) where he addresses this very issue. I love what he said. He looks back over his own life and notices that the moments that made a difference in his life. He says we are wrong to compare the few moments in a Bible class or children's worship with the massively greater number of moments with the television because that would diminish the value of the "holy moment." He recalls lines in a book or sentences in a conversation that changed his outlook on life. You have those too don't you? Don't you have experiences or passing comments from a teacher or parent or friend that you never forgot? That you live by still? This is the power of the holy moment. A lot of us can recall something that a teacher or youth minister said that totally connected with our heart and shaped the direction of our lives. For me it was when my Aunt Francis put both hands on my face and said, "Someday you are going to be great preacher." I don't know whether I will fulfill that or not, but I've never forgotten it. As far as I know it determined my college major and most of my career choices. I guess it was for me a holy moment.

Read this last paragraph in his sermon as an encouragment to teachers. I think it gives us a way to pray.

"Do not think that your thirty-minute lesson on Sunday morning is nothing in relation to twenty hours of T.V. Prepare with all your heart, as if the truth you teach is astonishing and revolutionary. Pray with all your heart for those you teach and for yourself. And you will create - perhaps unbeknown to you—you will create "immeasurable moments" for your students. Never underestimate the power of truth spoken in a single sentence."

God help us reach the children. Help us plan and prepare for our kids. Help us invest all that you want us to in their eternal destiny. Help us teach them and help us learn from them. O Lord, I ask that you reveal to us ways to reach children who are not ours and through them their parents. Make the gospel come alive here. Make Jesus a wonderful name for thousands of kids and let the kingdom advance with the little children. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 4

40 Days of Prayer - Day 4

Evangelism: Pray for God to give us even greater passion for the lost and broken of our world and our community. Ask Him to help you lead one to Him this year.

Romans 9:2-3, 10:1
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race...Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

Most of the teaching and encouragement I have had (and probably given) about evangelism has centered on technique. Giftedness would run a pretty close second. But the example we get from the New Testament speaks more to passion than method. We see men and women who won't give up until the people they love know the Jesus they adore.

That's why I love this prayer. It's a prayer for passion, not a glum-faced duty. It asks God to change my heart. It calls on the Holy Spirit to shape my desires. It doesn't make an excuse that I am not gifted or trained. It doesn't ask for someone else. It calls on God to fill me with a passionate desire to make him known and loved.

Here is something I know. I know that what I am deeply passionate about I figure out how to do. I need to care. I need to cry for my friends and family. I need to feel their desperate, hopeless condition. I need to care enough that I stop thinking about myself and my needs and I start looking for ways to serve and love and give a verbal witness to the supremacy of Jesus Christ. I need passion. God help me.

O God, have mercy on me. Let me see your glory so clearly and love it so deeply that I want the people I love to see it. And help me love the people I know and meet. Give me passion for advancing the Kingdom. Give me me a heart for the world and for my neighbor. O Holy Spirit, fall on me and make me a witness to the majesty of Jesus. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 3

Pray for the integration of the new vision.

Pray that every ministry and every member will begin to view thier ministry as another opportunity to make or mature disciples of Jesus.

Eph 4:16
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

It is a powerful thought that together we individually gifted, individually called people are the body of Christ. Somehow, in spite of what we can see, God doesn't view us as many parts or many ministries but as a coherent whole with each part responding to Jesus and aware and functioning with each other.

Today I was working on how to help encourage GCR members to be a part of the Dynamic Marriage class. It is a great ministry all by itself. Couples are finding help and affirmation in their marriages. Marriages are made more healthy, couples are growing together. It is so important that the last two times we have advertized the course on the radio, dozens of people have called to sign up.

Now the hard part is finding GCR members to take the class with people who aren't a part of the church. We want to work within the LifeGroup ministry so that they can invite and integrate these outside families into a LifeGroup and into the life of the church. But how do we do that? It's not as easy as you might think. Not everyone views Dynamic Marriage and LifeGroup and Evangelism and Ministry as being connected and important to each other. It is more common for each individual ministry to do its own thing with its own goals and it own methods.

There are lots of good things that we can do individually. But it is important to God that we function together. Today we are asking God to help pull together each of the different ministries at GCR so that together we are helping people find their way to Jesus and find their way in Jesus. The church isn't a bunch of people led by a committee, it is a body led by a lord.

O God, help us. Help us get on the same page as a church. Help us all care about making and maturing disciples. Show us ways to connect what we are doing or want to do with the mission of the church to make disciples. Let us live and work together, don't let us die seperately. For the sake of Jesus we beg you. Amen.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 2

Day 2- The New Vision Statement: GCR exists to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ

Pray for your personal part in making and maturing disciples.

Wow. I am stunned at how quickly and easily I am sidetracked from a commitment I made. In addition to praying, I want to post something every day of the 40 days of prayer about the prayer topic for that day. But today is almost gone. So many different (mostly good) things were competing for my attention. Is that Satan or just life? Or both?

And now we change subjects completely and think about my personal involvement in the mission to make disciples. Or do we? Maybe thinking about how we get distracted has a lot to do with my personal part in making and maturing disciples. It is so easy to get sidetracked from engaging with the people around me to encourage and help them become or grow as disciples of Jesus. It's not as though the things that keep me from it are all bad. They are not. A lot of them are good. Although, if I am honest about it, they do tend to be selfish. Or at least self-satisfying.

To have a heart for people beyond my little group takes focused energy and constant reminding. If I am not careful, I leave the disciplemaking up to others. (I also leave the obedience, blessing and reward to them also,) Lord, help us.

O Lord, give me a heart for disciplemaking. Help me know what my part is. Help me be obedient and faithful. Help me be fruitful. Forgive me when I leave this task completely to others. I want to help. Show me how.

Grace.

40 Days of Praying - Day 1

Day 1 - The Great Commission
Pray for our church family to become even more a "Great Commission" church. Pray God will lead us to more people make and mature disciples of Jesus.

Today we begin praying in a very specific way for the Golf Course Road church. There are so many places where we could focus our energy. One of the challenges is focusing at all. But we believe that God would have us be church that goes. We believe that we have to be a church that thinks about, plans for and acts for the priceless people who are not now followers of Jesus. We want to grow here. We want to be more missional, more active, less selfish and less passive. We want to be followers and make followers--wherever and however we need to.

God, help us recognize that you are Lord of all the earth. Help us know deep in our hearts that there is nothing you can't do, no one you can't reach. Help us know that you go with us. Help us leave what we know and go where you call us. Help us be men and women who do what Jesus commanded. And help us lead others to the same living water we have drunk deeply from.

Grace.

LifeGroup Training

I wanted to have you put a very important date on your calendar. We have scheduled a LifeGroup retreat for April 8-10 with John White from Denver, Colorado. John is a nationally known house church planter and small group network leader. I have spent some time with him and I am absolutely thrilled that he has agreed to be here to help train us in leading holistic small groups. He was a great blessing in my life and in my understanding of how God works in small church groups. John is currently working with DAWN (Disciple A Whole Nation) North America planting evangelistic house church networks. You can find out more about him at:

www.dawnministries.org/regions/nam/index.html

Click on John’s name and you can read several articles he has written.

I don’t know for sure what the schedule will be or where we will go, but since we haven’t had a LifeGroup leader retreat in a couple of years I want to make this one a very high priority. I will get more information to you as soon as I know it, but please go ahead and reserve that weekend for us. Grace.