Several years ago, God planted a dream inside of Jennifer and myself to one day plant a church that would focus on empowering Christ-followers to reach the unchurched. It was a dream to do church in a way that would connect with those people who had been turned off by religion, hurt by the church, or maybe looking towards God for the first time. It was a dream, but that was about it.
About one year ago, God turned this dream into a vision. He began to give Jennifer and myself specific direction for planting this new church. Through His word, specifically John chapter 4, He birthed a vision in our hearts for starting a church that would overflow God's love. It was a vision that would help people to have positive and life-changing "Christ-experiences" so that they would in return overflow those same experiences with others. Our dream had become a vision, but that was about it.
Then, in April of last year, we meet with about 12 other people who were interested in learning more about this vision. So I began to share the vision that God had laid on my heart. It was a vision that saw beyond a specific location or a certain day of the week. It was a vision that would one day lead to a movement of people leading others towards Christ with overflowing love!
Over the next several months, God both added and took away from our team, but all the while, He was positioning us exactly where He wanted us to be. He provided for every expense that we had, and He even redirected our plans to better match His. He's opened many doors and partnerships which have all left me in complete awe of His sovereignty.
As result of all of this, yesterday I stood in front of our launch team, and we celebrated. We celebrated the 31 people who are firmly committed to starting this movement. We acknowledged how God has brought people from various locations all across Knoxville and the surrounding areas to start this church. The Overflow truly is a church that's everywhere. We gave God the glory for the people we've already seen surrender their lives to Christ and follow Him in baptism. However, we also looked ahead and realized the work is just beginning. We've seen a dream become a vision, and now, our excitement is growing as the vision is becoming reality!
So God... We are Yours. We are Your people wanting to be used for Your glory. We pray for thousands to be lead to You with overflowing love. We submit to following Your timing and direction. You are our inspiration and motivation, and when our time comes to an end, I pray that You will find our church to be faithful to what matters most... Leading people towards Christ with overflowing love!
No comments:
Post a Comment