It was a great year for Iowa City Church of Christ. Financially, we finished the year over budget, something that has never happened before. Our church gave over $21,000 in missions. We averaged 147 in our Sunday morning worship attendance for 2009. Seven people were baptized into Christ, the most since I’ve been here. And God has been working on the hearts of people all year as many decisions were made regarding leadership, ministry, giving, and spiritual growth. God continues to do amazing work in our church.
Now, these results shouldn’t necessarily surprise us. These are the kind of things that Jesus said would happen as we trust him and do what he says. When Jesus came to earth to unleash his kingdom, listen to what he said it would look like.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ~ Luke 4:18,19 (Jesus reading Isaiah 61:1,2)
So, because we are Christ’s church we are a part of that kingdom, involved in that kind of work. It’s truly an adventure, exciting and fun. But it’s also messy, difficult, and extremely hard. One can’t share good news with the poor without sharing in their pain. One cannot proclaim freedom to prisoners without going into prisons. One cannot release the oppressed without experiencing their brokenness. To share in the Lord’s great work requires much of his people.
There’s one other truth I need to mention as well. Jesus said this about our enemy Satan.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ~ John 10:10
So not only can kingdom work present a certain set of challenges, it also puts us in direct opposition to the Enemy who wants to thwart the work of Christ and his kingdom by killing, stealing and destroying.
So what does this all mean? Well, it means that if you are a part of IC Church of Christ and you believe in our mission then there are three things that I need you to do every week this year.
1) Pray. God is powering and leading everything that is happening in our church. We need to continue to consult Him for guidance, provision and protection. So here is what I want you to do. Every week pray for the mission of IC Church of Christ to be accomplished (Make disciples). Pray for wisdom for the leadership of the church. Pray for spiritual protection over our church. Lastly, pray for people that you know who don’t know Jesus.
2) Take The Next Step. The disciple journey is not a sprint…it’s a marathon. To become a faithful growing follower of Jesus requires that we do the next thing that he is leading us to do. I don’t know what the next step is for you, but Jesus does and I’m guessing that he has been encouraging you to take that step. It may be joining an Adult Bible Fellowship class or small group. It may be finally uniting with Christ through baptism. It may be joining a ministry and using your ability to advance the kingdom of Christ. Please take a moment and consider what the next step is for you, then make a decision to do it.
3) Give. This isn’t just referring to money, but it may. Let me back up and remind you that if you want to grow to be a better disciple you need to grow as a giver. God is a giver (His Son). Jesus is a giver (His life). If you want to grow you need to give. Maybe this is the year that you take it up a notch in your giving. Maybe you have never tried the tithe (giving 10%) and this is the year you step up and take the challenge. It may be that it’s not money you need to give but instead time. In many ways time is more valuable than money. It may be that you need to give more time in ministry at church. Or it could be that you need to invest more time in relationships…maybe with a neighbor or friend. My personal challenge to you is to commit to giving one hour a week in some type of ministry.
If you would commit to doing these three things this year I know that God will bless you and continue to bless our church as we make disciples for Jesus here in Iowa City.
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