We had a couple of firsts this weekend at our Prairie Lakes Church campuses:
- We didn't have a Saturday night service at Cedar Falls - not because we were doing an outdoor service, but because we wanted people to participate in their community.
- We went live in Waterloo.
- We called an audible after the end of last weekend, deciding to split the topic of one weekend into two weekends. As it turns out, God has a lot to say about His Spirit, who He is, and what He does.
Again, we used Dave Koob's story for message support. Pastor John did such an amazing job weaving back and forth through story, scripture, and message content - incredibly powerful and clear truths.
The moment that stood out to me in the services was the part of Dave's story where John highlighted this truth about of the Holy Spirit: that He uses teams to accomplish his purposes. Dave's brother, John, was invited by Dave and encouraged by his mother to go on a mission trip in Atlanta with Samaritan's Purse. Long story short, John comes to Christ via a conversation with a Samaritan's Purse staffer. Amazing how many people and events and conversations God will weave together just to get one person into his family.
Jon Lloyd has another incredible story from Waterloo. Jon, Jeremy, and the rest of our P&P Teams there rearranged the last song, Chris Tomlin's "Our God," based on a gut feeling. When they performed the song during the service, a first-time guest later shared that he accepted Christ - right in the middle of the song! The Holy Spirit is certainly powerful and present among us.
I had a chance to overhear a conversation that Pastor John was having with another first time guest after our 9:00 a.m. service in Cedar Falls. The man was brought by his brother, who came to Christ this past Easter, who had since invited his father, who came to Christ not too long ago, and now these two are working on their son/brother. Basically, the gentleman related to Pastor John, in front of his newly converted brother and father: "I don't have a problem with what you believe. I believe in some of it. But I don't believe in all of it. And I don't feel like I have to."
As I listened to how John navigated through that conversation, my heart was warmed: I can't think of another place that I'd want a guy like this to be. It's perfect for him. He feels the space to be authentic, and yet is hearing the gospel proclaimed clearly and relevantly every single weekend. Nothing about our services embarrassed me as I thought about him sitting there in a seat. And I know that it's only a matter of time until God reaches him and he becomes a part of the family... just like his dad and brother.
We are blessed to be able to do what we do, where we do it, with the people we serve alongside every weekend. And God is using it.
See you next weekend!
Awesome stuff.
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