I usually try to make my blog accessible to anyone, the purpose being that any reader could find something valuable in the content. Today, we are going to have an exemption. I want to write specifically to our family at The Open Source Church.
I spent a few minutes talking to a pastor from North Carolina today, Bryan Roberts. Bryan and I went to college together and, despite completely dissimilar backgrounds, became good friends. A bit ago, Bryan started his own church called Church Relevant that shares a lot in common with OSC. Many of Bryan’s philosophies and his heart to reach people with the good news of Jesus echo my own. So we keep in touch, sharing our successes and failures as we attempt to follow what God has for us. So when I talked to him today, I was so excited to hear what is going on at CR! In the last five weeks, fifty four people have accepted the truth of Jesus Christ and are now living a new life in relationship with Him. FIFTY FOUR!!!! How awesome is that!?! In a society that doesn’t value church, people are still discovering the relevance of Jesus.
Does that soundfamiliar? I pretty sure that is the dream we have at OSC. I when I hear stories like Bryan’s, I am reminded that, despite the difficulties and challenges of what we do, God can and will accomplish great things in us as we pursue what He has called us to. I’ve been challenging our community to use the upcoming season as an opportunity to invite friends and family to visit. I think Bryan’s story demonstrates a valid reason why. Those folks who discovered Jesus were there because friends had brought them. There were no commercials, no ad campaigns, no passing out of the literature. Friends who experienced Jesus at CR brought people to experience the same. If God did it there, He will do it here. We just need to take up the challenge of inviting our peeps and trust God to do the rest.
So get bold! Get confident! God is going to do great things through the OSC and we get to be a part of it! Let’s fill our church with people that we love and give them a opportunity to meet Jesus. I can’t wait to see what God will do!
Hey Aaron, I asked a friend of mine if she would ever wish to come to the OSC but since we live in Summit Co, the drive to RR is a bit much but I was still able to have a chat with her the other night about God and His relationship with us. And feel like it was really by His grace. It made me realize how many people out there believe in God but still don't really know the basics. They don't know that accepting Jesus as the sacrifice for our separation from God is the only way to truly know him. They still think that sin SENDS them to hell, no matter if they have a relationship with Him or not. They look at God as the punisher or rewarder of bad and good deeds. So even if our friends can't actually come to the OSC, we still have so many opportunities to show His love, grace and forgiveness.
Posted by: Kimmer | March 10, 2011 at 01:28 PM
held tight to the world, but rejected.
If I had saved the effort, would the pain be less?
Posted by: Shox r4 | April 14, 2011 at 02:13 AM