It wasn’t until recently that I got to experience a God-sized spiritual tsunami. I can’t help but feel completely humbled by those few experiences. And they’re all directly related to my church. I’ve written about witnessing God touch the lives of villagers in sub-Saharan Africa through the love and sacrifice of His people here in New Jersey. I’ve also told you about the smiles I saw on the hundreds of people seeking relief from last summer’s soaring gas prices as they received an unprecedented discount from the pockets of His followers in Morristown.
But this past weekend, I was part of something so overwhelming, it can only be described as a God thing. No amount of man’s effort could have moved so powerfully or stirred the Church in such an incredible way. History was made. Not just in the life of Liquid Church, but in the life of the Church as a whole.
On January 11, over 2000 people experienced the gospel of Christ in a whole new way. And not just in Morristown, NJ, but also in New Brunswick and across the world via Liquid’s brand new iCampus.
Church can be a frightening thing for someone who’s never been to one or hasn’t set foot in one for many years. Why? What reason do people have to be afraid?
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? Have you ever wondered why your friends, family, and co-workers are so apprehensive about visiting church?
May I submit that they’re afraid because they’ve seen how church-goers act? They’ve seen the bigotry, the hatred, the infighting, and the backbiting. They know that Christians are more judgmental and condemning than almost any other group of people.
Who, in his/her right mind, would willingly go to a place filled with people like that? Besides, “I can’t go to church dressed like this. And I have to get my life cleaned up before I go anyway.”
One Sunday several years ago, a girl was getting ready to go to church. As she was stressing about what to wear, her younger brother, who was not a believer at the time, asked her, “Does God care about what you wear to church?”
She replied, “No, but they do.”
I’ve seen the faces, and I’ve heard the stories. And it makes me sick to think that churches are so self-absorbed that they miss out on the people who really need them to show love.
But in New Brunswick, NJ, over 450 people experienced church for the first time, and they walked away with smiles on their faces. They experienced God’s love because almost 200 people who knew about church decided that it was time to show them what true love is like. The love was so overwhelming that 10 of the 2100 people who experienced Liquid this week decided it was time to take the first big step in their journeys of faith: believing Jesus’ words, death, and new life.
So, thanks to a family of Christ followers in Morristown, New Brunswick, and Melbourne, the love of Jesus is entering places it might never have reached were it not for the BHAG of Liquid Church—”Take Church to the People.”
(click the pic!)