#3 - Momentum Starts With You,
It Moves To Your Leaders,
Then It Lodges In The Hearts Of Your People.
Hi!
How is your heart these days?
Do you find yourself praying, “Lord, I don’t ask for much… just your heart for lost people…” more than once a day? Are you seeing people differently than you did two weeks ago?
David wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17) God is pleased when our hearts are broken for the things that break his heart. I hope you’re experiencing a broken heart for lost people, and I hope it never heals.
In my experience, a pastor who wants to reach their community for Christ has no chance if it’s just an academic exercise, or “the right thing to do.” If you want to fish for men, you’ve got to be brokenhearted about their condition. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people there were like sheep without a shepherd.
Momentum builds like this: it starts with the Holy Spirit and you, it moves to your leaders, then lodges in the hearts of your congregation.
Please take a minute to pray, asking God to give you an undistracted fifteen minute window to speak to you just now, as you read.
Lodging Love In The Hearts Of Your People
The pastor’s three greatest tools for equipping and growing his people all start with “P”:
1. Prayer.
2. Personal touch.
3. The Pulpit.
You’ve already begun to infect your people with love for their neighbors by the prayers you’ve been praying. If you want to expand your prayer, you might add this: “Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask you to give me your heart for lost people, and to infect my people with that heart as well.” Now you’re up to 30 words. Pray it out loud right now, and time yourself. You’ve probably added an extra three seconds to your prayer time – and an extra burst of momentum that will reveal itself over the next few months and years.
As you hang out with your people, share what God is doing in your heart. Share your dream for reaching your community, especially what it might feel like for them to see people they love come to Christ, and what it will feel like for the Lord as he sees people he loves coming into his family.
Your personal enthusiasm will be contagious. Maybe you can schedule a sermon series on capturing God’s heart. Couple contagion and preaching, and you’ve got a powerful combination!
Sermon notes
Here’s a passage I suggest you use in your series: 2 Kings 6:19-7:11. It’s a long passage, so you’ll want to summarize parts of it.
2 Kings 6 and 7 is about a time when the city of Samaria was surrounded by her enemies. Things got so bad that starvation was imminent. Cannibalism took place. The king was desperate. The people were in despair. Then, the Lord provided salvation.
God drove off Israel’s enemies, who left behind incredible amounts of food and booty. Four lepers, who had nothing to lose (2 Kgs. 7:3-11) discovered this unbelievable treasure trove and at first, kept it all for themselves. Then (like me), they came to their senses. “We’re not doing right.” They said. “This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves… Let’s go at once and report this…!”
During my 90 Days of Prayer, 2 Kings 7:9 struck me so deeply, I memorized it. Prepare and present a sermon on it and I’ll bet it will strike you and your people deeply as well. After you’ve exegeted the passage, tell them about the people who live in your neighborhoods. Describe what it’s like to be missing God in your life. Paint a picture of reality, then paint a picture of “what it could be like if God used us to love our neighbors and share the good news with them.”
Call it, “A Day of Good News,” or, “Keeping It to Ourselves,” or something like that.
The Momentum Plan
What I’m suggesting is that you infect your leaders by doing a God Questions study with them as soon as possible. Then, as soon as practical, do a Capturing God’s Heart series with your whole church to bring them into the vision as well. In my situation, “as soon as practical” would mean 3-4 months from now. So don’t feel rushed on this, but do feel urgent about it.
I’ll give you the third passage next week. Assuming this Heart series goes well, you’ll be dying to reach your community and your people will be up for it as well.
For this week…
Taking Action
Assignment 1 = Continue praying your 90 Day Prayer.
Assignment 2 = Set the date, recruit, remind, and/or prepare for a leaders study of The God Questions.
Assignment 3 = Look at your preaching calendar and schedule a 3-4 week series on “Capturing God’s Heart” for as soon as practical. – Ideally you’ll want to do the study with your leaders and begin your Heart series 4-6 weeks afterwards so you don’t lose momentum.
And… email me to let me know how you’re doing.
1,000 blessings,
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
#2 - Momentum Starts With You
#2 - Momentum Starts With You, Then Moves To Your Leaders.
Hi!
How is your prayer life going?
Last week we pressed the ignition switch on the momentum of your church (and, hopefully, your heart). We said that the Holy Spirit and you are the most powerful forces for generating momentum and fulfilling the Great Commission. I hope you and he have had some intimate conversations about where he wants to lead you and what he wants to do in your church and community. If so, you’ve started on a habit that will reap benefits all the way into eternity.
Pastor, the truth about you is, you are one of the most important people in your community – maybe the most important person. You are God’s messenger and direction-setter for the people of your church. And your church (along with others in your area) is the only hope for the peoples in your surrounding neighborhoods.
Your church will never be able to play its intended part in the Great Commission without having a heart for the lost, and you will never be able to lead them unless you have an oversized heart for the lost. If you want your people to bleed for the lost, you must hemorrhage for them. So this week I want to give you a tool for increasing your heart for the as-of-yet unsaved people around you, along with a passage to share with your congregation so they increase their burden for the people around them.
Please take a minute to pray, asking God to give you an undistracted ten minute window to speak to you just now, as you read.
Developing a Heart for the Unsaved
In 1989, a pastor I had never met before encouraged me to pray a prayer I’d never heard before. It was a simple prayer: Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask that you give me your heart for lost people.
Twenty words. Twenty-two syllables. Seventy letters. One request.
I prayed that prayer every day, slowly and fervently, for the next 90 days. It took me less than 30 seconds in total, each day.
At the end of the first week, I saw everyone around me differently. I saw the unsaved as objects of God’s affection and the saved as God’s means to reach them.
At the end of the first month, I broke down in a grocery store because it occurred to me that of the fifty people standing in lines around me, 30 to 35 of them were going to spend a Christless eternity if someone didn’t do something to communicate God’s love to them.
By the end of the second month I determined that I had to do something personally. I attended my first “Matthew party” (Luke 5:29) to rub shoulders with lost people and decided that I would learn to answer every question a pre-Christian might have before coming to Christ. To do this, I taught a Sunday School class called, “Answering Questions Pre-Christians Ask.” After doing a ton of research, I discovered there are eight questions which cover 95% of what pre-Christians ever ask before coming to faith.
By the end of the third month, I felt God leading me to plant a church in order to reach lost people. – So, beware! If you pray my prayer, you are in for a lot of changes in the next 90 days.
Assignment #1:
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to pray these 20 words every day for the next 90 days: Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask that you give me your heart for lost people.
Helping Your Church Develop a Heart for the Unsaved
My little Sunday School class had a dozen students in it. Before beginning Questions Pre-Christians Ask, I spent the first lesson walking them through Matthew 4:18-22. It’s the passage where Jesus calls four fishermen to follow him, with the promise that he will in turn make them fishers of men.
In Matt. 4:18, Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. It’s a tiny lake – eight miles wide, twelve miles long. The men he called were all professional fishermen. They’d grown up fishing that lake. They arose early every morning, thinking about fishing. On their way to the dock, they talked about fishing. On their way home, they talked about how they could catch more fish the next day.
Those men knew just about everything about that little lake, and just about everything about the fish in it. They knew the habits of each species, where and how they bit best. They knew the changes of the seasons and how those changes affected the catchability of each type of fish.
Most importantly, they knew the market-price of each fish. At the end of the day, they would sell most of their fish. The amount they received was what fed their families. These men fished as if their lives depended on it.
It was to these men that Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Not just recreational fishers-of-men, but professional fishers-of-men.
After I unpacked the lesson, our class started making applications: If these men knew everything there was to know about their lake, shouldn’t we? If they knew the best conditions to fish in, shouldn’t we? If they knew the best days of the year to catch the different types of fish, shouldn’t we? And if they knew the market-price of each fish, shouldn’t we as well?
I had just finished my 90 days of “Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask for your heart for lost people.” And I confess, as we were talking about what it might look like to work and pray like professional fishers-of-men, I broke down and wept. I gasped out one more question: “What’s the market-price of the fish God has called us to catch?”
Someone said, “It’s priceless.”
I asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because God set the price himself. It was the life of his one and only Son.”
No one in the class was ever the same again. We learned the answers to the questions pre-Christians asked. Every class member prayed my 90 day pray. We started living like fishers of men. Today, more than 7,000 people have come to Christ as a result of that prayer and that passage.
Answering Questions
Fifteen years after teaching the “Questions…” class, I wrote a book on them. It’s called, The God Questions. If you are going to build a heart for the unsaved into the DNA of your church, you’ve got to start with the leaders. That’s how momentum works. It starts with the leader, moves to the leadership, then to the church members, and finally to the community around them.
Assignment #2:
So here’s your second assignment: Make a list of the top leaders and staff in your church and ask them to join you for a six week Bible study so you can share your heart with them.
(I know, they’re busy people. But this is something special they get to do with you. So if they can make it, they will. Get this group study onto your calendar as soon as possible. Try to start within the next four weeks, if you can.)
By the way, you are on a course to change your heart, the hearts of your leaders, your church, and the eternities of a lot of people in your community. Expect some opposition. Overcome it with love, faith, and prayer.
Taking Action
#1 = Pray The 90 Day Prayer. Write it out on a 3 x 5 card and pray it now!
#2 = Invite your leaders to a six week God Questions Bible study as soon as practical. They’ll probably need 3-4 weeks advanced notice, so look at your calendar and figure out a good time to start. – Make it soon, because you’re building momentum in your own heart and you don’t want that to wear off. But don’t be panicked about it. Schedule it for as soon as practical.
# 3 = post your comments and thoughts to let me know that you’re still listening to God in prayer, that you’re beginning your 90 Day Prayer today, and the date you hope to begin your God Questions leaders study.
God bless you,
Hi!
How is your prayer life going?
Last week we pressed the ignition switch on the momentum of your church (and, hopefully, your heart). We said that the Holy Spirit and you are the most powerful forces for generating momentum and fulfilling the Great Commission. I hope you and he have had some intimate conversations about where he wants to lead you and what he wants to do in your church and community. If so, you’ve started on a habit that will reap benefits all the way into eternity.
Pastor, the truth about you is, you are one of the most important people in your community – maybe the most important person. You are God’s messenger and direction-setter for the people of your church. And your church (along with others in your area) is the only hope for the peoples in your surrounding neighborhoods.
Your church will never be able to play its intended part in the Great Commission without having a heart for the lost, and you will never be able to lead them unless you have an oversized heart for the lost. If you want your people to bleed for the lost, you must hemorrhage for them. So this week I want to give you a tool for increasing your heart for the as-of-yet unsaved people around you, along with a passage to share with your congregation so they increase their burden for the people around them.
Please take a minute to pray, asking God to give you an undistracted ten minute window to speak to you just now, as you read.
Developing a Heart for the Unsaved
In 1989, a pastor I had never met before encouraged me to pray a prayer I’d never heard before. It was a simple prayer: Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask that you give me your heart for lost people.
Twenty words. Twenty-two syllables. Seventy letters. One request.
I prayed that prayer every day, slowly and fervently, for the next 90 days. It took me less than 30 seconds in total, each day.
At the end of the first week, I saw everyone around me differently. I saw the unsaved as objects of God’s affection and the saved as God’s means to reach them.
At the end of the first month, I broke down in a grocery store because it occurred to me that of the fifty people standing in lines around me, 30 to 35 of them were going to spend a Christless eternity if someone didn’t do something to communicate God’s love to them.
By the end of the second month I determined that I had to do something personally. I attended my first “Matthew party” (Luke 5:29) to rub shoulders with lost people and decided that I would learn to answer every question a pre-Christian might have before coming to Christ. To do this, I taught a Sunday School class called, “Answering Questions Pre-Christians Ask.” After doing a ton of research, I discovered there are eight questions which cover 95% of what pre-Christians ever ask before coming to faith.
By the end of the third month, I felt God leading me to plant a church in order to reach lost people. – So, beware! If you pray my prayer, you are in for a lot of changes in the next 90 days.
Assignment #1:
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to pray these 20 words every day for the next 90 days: Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask that you give me your heart for lost people.
Helping Your Church Develop a Heart for the Unsaved
My little Sunday School class had a dozen students in it. Before beginning Questions Pre-Christians Ask, I spent the first lesson walking them through Matthew 4:18-22. It’s the passage where Jesus calls four fishermen to follow him, with the promise that he will in turn make them fishers of men.
In Matt. 4:18, Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. It’s a tiny lake – eight miles wide, twelve miles long. The men he called were all professional fishermen. They’d grown up fishing that lake. They arose early every morning, thinking about fishing. On their way to the dock, they talked about fishing. On their way home, they talked about how they could catch more fish the next day.
Those men knew just about everything about that little lake, and just about everything about the fish in it. They knew the habits of each species, where and how they bit best. They knew the changes of the seasons and how those changes affected the catchability of each type of fish.
Most importantly, they knew the market-price of each fish. At the end of the day, they would sell most of their fish. The amount they received was what fed their families. These men fished as if their lives depended on it.
It was to these men that Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Not just recreational fishers-of-men, but professional fishers-of-men.
After I unpacked the lesson, our class started making applications: If these men knew everything there was to know about their lake, shouldn’t we? If they knew the best conditions to fish in, shouldn’t we? If they knew the best days of the year to catch the different types of fish, shouldn’t we? And if they knew the market-price of each fish, shouldn’t we as well?
I had just finished my 90 days of “Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask for your heart for lost people.” And I confess, as we were talking about what it might look like to work and pray like professional fishers-of-men, I broke down and wept. I gasped out one more question: “What’s the market-price of the fish God has called us to catch?”
Someone said, “It’s priceless.”
I asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because God set the price himself. It was the life of his one and only Son.”
No one in the class was ever the same again. We learned the answers to the questions pre-Christians asked. Every class member prayed my 90 day pray. We started living like fishers of men. Today, more than 7,000 people have come to Christ as a result of that prayer and that passage.
Answering Questions
Fifteen years after teaching the “Questions…” class, I wrote a book on them. It’s called, The God Questions. If you are going to build a heart for the unsaved into the DNA of your church, you’ve got to start with the leaders. That’s how momentum works. It starts with the leader, moves to the leadership, then to the church members, and finally to the community around them.
Assignment #2:
So here’s your second assignment: Make a list of the top leaders and staff in your church and ask them to join you for a six week Bible study so you can share your heart with them.
(I know, they’re busy people. But this is something special they get to do with you. So if they can make it, they will. Get this group study onto your calendar as soon as possible. Try to start within the next four weeks, if you can.)
By the way, you are on a course to change your heart, the hearts of your leaders, your church, and the eternities of a lot of people in your community. Expect some opposition. Overcome it with love, faith, and prayer.
Taking Action
#1 = Pray The 90 Day Prayer. Write it out on a 3 x 5 card and pray it now!
#2 = Invite your leaders to a six week God Questions Bible study as soon as practical. They’ll probably need 3-4 weeks advanced notice, so look at your calendar and figure out a good time to start. – Make it soon, because you’re building momentum in your own heart and you don’t want that to wear off. But don’t be panicked about it. Schedule it for as soon as practical.
# 3 = post your comments and thoughts to let me know that you’re still listening to God in prayer, that you’re beginning your 90 Day Prayer today, and the date you hope to begin your God Questions leaders study.
God bless you,
Friday, September 9, 2011
Lesson #1 - It Starts With You
Lesson #1 - It Starts With You
Hi Pastoral team,
Thanks for your desire to build Jesus’ church. Nothing on earth is half as important.
Years ago I committed to do whatever I can to fulfill the Great Commission and to help as many people as possible do same. I suspect you have too. I’m looking forward to partnering with you over the next eight weeks.
Let me tell you a little of my story:
My wife and I founded New Song Community Church in 1992.
In 1996 I was reading Acts 2:47, where Luke reported that in the church in Jerusalem, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” I remarked more than prayed, “Lord, someday I’d like to be part of a church like that.”
He said to me, “Then why don’t you ask me for that?”
So I did. I said, “Lord, would you enable the church I pastor to someday see a person a day come to Christ.”
The previous year, New Song had led 53 people to Christ – one every seven days. That year I asked him to enable us to lead 61 to Christ – one every six days. The following year it was one every five days. Then every four days, then three, then two, then one.
As of 2010, we are seeing four people a day come to Christ. Sometimes I still can’t believe what’s happening here. God has been so good.
I can’t promise this will happen for you. I can almost promise it won’t. The Lord seems to like to do something unique in every work of his hands. What I can do is help you and your church move towards greater effectiveness in seeing newcomers come to Christ and veterans grow in Christlikeness.
If this is the desire of your heart, please take a minute to ask the Lord to lead us together in further effectiveness for the cause of Christ. “Lord, I want to see you use me and my church to reach and grow as many as possible in Christ. Please grow me as a leader, and entrust our church with more and greater fruitfulness for you. I recommit myself to your Great Commission.”
Amen!
Your Three Most Powerful Forces
I asked you to pray because the Holy Spirit is the most important entity in increasing the effectiveness of your church. We can do nothing without him (John 15:6,7).
You might be surprised at how much I’m going to ask you to pray over the next few weeks, and how important increasing prayer is in your church. More on that later.
Next to the Holy Spirit, the most powerful force for enabling your church to reach its community is momentum.
With momentum, everything is easier. Without momentum, everything is harder. Your leadership is perceived as stronger, better and more dynamic when momentum is on your side. Life is more fun, ministry is more fun, and sometimes even your family life is more fun with the wind momentum at your back.
The really good news is, momentum is usually built one simple step at a time.
A Definition
No doubt you’ve read stories about churches growing by hundreds and thousands a year. That’s a great kind of momentum, but it’s not the kind of momentum I’m aiming for. To be clear, for our purposes, when I say momentum, I mean:
1. Seeing newcomers coming to Christ and
2. Seeing your members growing in Christ.
If we can develop this kind of momentum in your church, you just might see a large numerical increase. But if all you see is a numerical increase without new people coming to Christ and older ones growing spiritually, I won’t be satisfied - and I hope you won’t either. If most of your attendance increase comes from transferring Christians from one church to another that will do nothing to fulfill the Great Commission.
Next to the Holy Spirit and momentum, the third most powerful force in your church is you. If you are the lead pastor or one of the key leaders in the church, you have been called by God to lead and inspire a group of people to build Christ’s church. It starts with you. You (and the Holy Spirit) are the key to momentum. Your church will never outpace your vision, your enthusiasm or your sense of faith in where God is leading and what he can do.
Gaining and Sustaining Momentum
Great movements are built by implementing one simple step at a time. So, for the next ten weeks, I’m going to ask you to take several simple steps forward every week.
This first week’s actions may seem too slow for you. Trust me. When a rocket fires its engines, it doesn’t move very far in the first few seconds. Momentum is a force that builds, then moves, then accelerates - and keeps accelerating - over time. Three weeks from now you will have plenty to do, and be excited about doing it all. Ten weeks from now, you’ll have at least a year’s worth of implementations that will set your church on a new trajectory.
The first step I’d like you to take is to gain momentum by putting more of the Holy Spirit in you through prayer. Eph. 1:18 -20 tells us that the power that raised Christ from the dead is available to you. Begin building momentum by tapping into that power!
Taking Action
Here’s what I’d like you to do this week:
1. Pray.
Spend time in Acts 2:42-47 looking at what God did in the first church. As you read and pray, ask him to reveal to you what he is doing and wants to do in your community. As you gain clarity on his vision and activity, pray with increasing fervor that he will find favor with your church and allow you to join him in his work.
Prayer is a mixture of asking and listening.
The region where I pastor was formed by a river which carved a valley to the sea. Every morning I ask, “Lord, give me this valley.” I also pray, “And Lord, if you want to bring revival to this area, like Isaiah, I am raising my hand. If you’re looking for someone to lead, or use in any way, choose me.”
When you’re stopped at a stoplight, pray for every person in every car you can see. Ask God to bring them to Christ, and, if he’s willing, to use you and your church to bring them to Christ.
When you’re at the gym, look around and silently pray that God would use you and your church to reach each person you see. Don’t just pray this generally, pray it specifically for every face you see. “Lord, if that man doesn’t know you, please use me and our church to lead him to you.”
When you’re picking up your kids at school, when you’re in the grocery story, when you’re walking into the theater, pray for the people of your city.
If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. … If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. (John 15:5, 7)
More importantly, on the listening side, I want to hear whatever the Lord wants to say to me and do whatever he wants me to do. So, with the vision he has so far revealed to me, I pray, “Lord, what are your marching orders? How do you want me to join you in your work today? Is there anything else you want to say to me? Anything else you what me to know or be aware of today? My greatest desire is not to make my own plans and ask you to bless them, but to follow you and be used by you however you want to use me.”
Listen for God’s voice (John 10:27). Ask him specifically,
- “Lord, how do you want me to play a part in the Great Commission?”
- “What is your vision and desire for my church?”
- “For my city/town/village/region?”
- “Based on the type of person you made me to be, and the background, size, personalities and resources you’ve given our church, how do you want to love the world through us?”
The most important pieces of information you are seeking are, what is God’s desire for your life, your ministry, your church, your area? You may have to ask your questions a few times to hear and/or confirm what you’re hearing. And you may need to ask them in several different ways. Each time you pray, begin by asking the Lord to speak to you. Tell him you want to hear nothing but his voice - not your voice or any other voice, only his voice. Then listen and write down what you hear.
There is no action you can take that is more powerful than hearing from God and discerning his desires. Begin praying more frequently, fervently and faithfully, and never cease (1 Thess. 5:17).
2. Fast. (If your health will allow.)
Sometime this week,(for us we have choosen Monday) skip food and spend extra time in prayer. If you’re not in the habit of fasting (especially if your body is used to caffeine and sugar), fast until noon, devoting that time to prayer. If you’re up for a bigger challenge, try fasting from sun up to sundown. If you’re able, fast for 24 hours.
Fasting will refine you, and reveal what owns you (Mt. 4:4).
Remember what the Lord said in 2 Chronicles 16:7? “The eyes the Lord range throughout the earth to strength those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
You are committed to the Lord, or you wouldn’t be purposing to improve your leadership like this. Fasting will increase your commitment to him, and rivet his eyes on you.
You were hoping to start doing something earthshaking with this first letter. Believe me, you are. (See Acts 4:31 and 16:25-26.) This first week is like pressing the ignition switch. Your momentum rocket won’t get off the launching pad, but it will be building up power for an incredible ride!
3. Post your comments / Email me.
For accountability’s sake, post your comments and thoughts on this blog. if you have something sensitive to say email it to me me at robnigro@sbcglobal.net . Your note and comment doesn’t have to be long or detailed. Just spend 60 seconds letting all of us know you’ve begun and you’ll be praying and fasting.
I will ask you to post/email me after every letter I send. It’s not because I’m lonely or need more to read. It’s because your success will multiply by the accountability. Taking 60 seconds to post/email will be one of your most important actions in moving your church forward. Every time you hit “send,” you’ll know that we're all with you and cheering you on!
Next Week
Expect your second letter a week from today. Each letter will include several assignments to help you build momentum. As you complete these assignments, I believe the Lord’s eyes will be on you and he’ll be strengthening you for the building of his church.
Next week I will teach you a technique for deepening your burden for the people in your area. And, I’ll give you the first of three scriptural lessons you can use to help your church develop a burden for your area. After that, we’ll be hitting the ground rolling!
God bless
you,
Hi Pastoral team,
Thanks for your desire to build Jesus’ church. Nothing on earth is half as important.
Years ago I committed to do whatever I can to fulfill the Great Commission and to help as many people as possible do same. I suspect you have too. I’m looking forward to partnering with you over the next eight weeks.
Let me tell you a little of my story:
My wife and I founded New Song Community Church in 1992.
In 1996 I was reading Acts 2:47, where Luke reported that in the church in Jerusalem, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” I remarked more than prayed, “Lord, someday I’d like to be part of a church like that.”
He said to me, “Then why don’t you ask me for that?”
So I did. I said, “Lord, would you enable the church I pastor to someday see a person a day come to Christ.”
The previous year, New Song had led 53 people to Christ – one every seven days. That year I asked him to enable us to lead 61 to Christ – one every six days. The following year it was one every five days. Then every four days, then three, then two, then one.
As of 2010, we are seeing four people a day come to Christ. Sometimes I still can’t believe what’s happening here. God has been so good.
I can’t promise this will happen for you. I can almost promise it won’t. The Lord seems to like to do something unique in every work of his hands. What I can do is help you and your church move towards greater effectiveness in seeing newcomers come to Christ and veterans grow in Christlikeness.
If this is the desire of your heart, please take a minute to ask the Lord to lead us together in further effectiveness for the cause of Christ. “Lord, I want to see you use me and my church to reach and grow as many as possible in Christ. Please grow me as a leader, and entrust our church with more and greater fruitfulness for you. I recommit myself to your Great Commission.”
Amen!
Your Three Most Powerful Forces
I asked you to pray because the Holy Spirit is the most important entity in increasing the effectiveness of your church. We can do nothing without him (John 15:6,7).
You might be surprised at how much I’m going to ask you to pray over the next few weeks, and how important increasing prayer is in your church. More on that later.
Next to the Holy Spirit, the most powerful force for enabling your church to reach its community is momentum.
With momentum, everything is easier. Without momentum, everything is harder. Your leadership is perceived as stronger, better and more dynamic when momentum is on your side. Life is more fun, ministry is more fun, and sometimes even your family life is more fun with the wind momentum at your back.
The really good news is, momentum is usually built one simple step at a time.
A Definition
No doubt you’ve read stories about churches growing by hundreds and thousands a year. That’s a great kind of momentum, but it’s not the kind of momentum I’m aiming for. To be clear, for our purposes, when I say momentum, I mean:
1. Seeing newcomers coming to Christ and
2. Seeing your members growing in Christ.
If we can develop this kind of momentum in your church, you just might see a large numerical increase. But if all you see is a numerical increase without new people coming to Christ and older ones growing spiritually, I won’t be satisfied - and I hope you won’t either. If most of your attendance increase comes from transferring Christians from one church to another that will do nothing to fulfill the Great Commission.
Next to the Holy Spirit and momentum, the third most powerful force in your church is you. If you are the lead pastor or one of the key leaders in the church, you have been called by God to lead and inspire a group of people to build Christ’s church. It starts with you. You (and the Holy Spirit) are the key to momentum. Your church will never outpace your vision, your enthusiasm or your sense of faith in where God is leading and what he can do.
Gaining and Sustaining Momentum
Great movements are built by implementing one simple step at a time. So, for the next ten weeks, I’m going to ask you to take several simple steps forward every week.
This first week’s actions may seem too slow for you. Trust me. When a rocket fires its engines, it doesn’t move very far in the first few seconds. Momentum is a force that builds, then moves, then accelerates - and keeps accelerating - over time. Three weeks from now you will have plenty to do, and be excited about doing it all. Ten weeks from now, you’ll have at least a year’s worth of implementations that will set your church on a new trajectory.
The first step I’d like you to take is to gain momentum by putting more of the Holy Spirit in you through prayer. Eph. 1:18 -20 tells us that the power that raised Christ from the dead is available to you. Begin building momentum by tapping into that power!
Taking Action
Here’s what I’d like you to do this week:
1. Pray.
Spend time in Acts 2:42-47 looking at what God did in the first church. As you read and pray, ask him to reveal to you what he is doing and wants to do in your community. As you gain clarity on his vision and activity, pray with increasing fervor that he will find favor with your church and allow you to join him in his work.
Prayer is a mixture of asking and listening.
The region where I pastor was formed by a river which carved a valley to the sea. Every morning I ask, “Lord, give me this valley.” I also pray, “And Lord, if you want to bring revival to this area, like Isaiah, I am raising my hand. If you’re looking for someone to lead, or use in any way, choose me.”
When you’re stopped at a stoplight, pray for every person in every car you can see. Ask God to bring them to Christ, and, if he’s willing, to use you and your church to bring them to Christ.
When you’re at the gym, look around and silently pray that God would use you and your church to reach each person you see. Don’t just pray this generally, pray it specifically for every face you see. “Lord, if that man doesn’t know you, please use me and our church to lead him to you.”
When you’re picking up your kids at school, when you’re in the grocery story, when you’re walking into the theater, pray for the people of your city.
If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. … If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. (John 15:5, 7)
More importantly, on the listening side, I want to hear whatever the Lord wants to say to me and do whatever he wants me to do. So, with the vision he has so far revealed to me, I pray, “Lord, what are your marching orders? How do you want me to join you in your work today? Is there anything else you want to say to me? Anything else you what me to know or be aware of today? My greatest desire is not to make my own plans and ask you to bless them, but to follow you and be used by you however you want to use me.”
Listen for God’s voice (John 10:27). Ask him specifically,
- “Lord, how do you want me to play a part in the Great Commission?”
- “What is your vision and desire for my church?”
- “For my city/town/village/region?”
- “Based on the type of person you made me to be, and the background, size, personalities and resources you’ve given our church, how do you want to love the world through us?”
The most important pieces of information you are seeking are, what is God’s desire for your life, your ministry, your church, your area? You may have to ask your questions a few times to hear and/or confirm what you’re hearing. And you may need to ask them in several different ways. Each time you pray, begin by asking the Lord to speak to you. Tell him you want to hear nothing but his voice - not your voice or any other voice, only his voice. Then listen and write down what you hear.
There is no action you can take that is more powerful than hearing from God and discerning his desires. Begin praying more frequently, fervently and faithfully, and never cease (1 Thess. 5:17).
2. Fast. (If your health will allow.)
Sometime this week,(for us we have choosen Monday) skip food and spend extra time in prayer. If you’re not in the habit of fasting (especially if your body is used to caffeine and sugar), fast until noon, devoting that time to prayer. If you’re up for a bigger challenge, try fasting from sun up to sundown. If you’re able, fast for 24 hours.
Fasting will refine you, and reveal what owns you (Mt. 4:4).
Remember what the Lord said in 2 Chronicles 16:7? “The eyes the Lord range throughout the earth to strength those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
You are committed to the Lord, or you wouldn’t be purposing to improve your leadership like this. Fasting will increase your commitment to him, and rivet his eyes on you.
You were hoping to start doing something earthshaking with this first letter. Believe me, you are. (See Acts 4:31 and 16:25-26.) This first week is like pressing the ignition switch. Your momentum rocket won’t get off the launching pad, but it will be building up power for an incredible ride!
3. Post your comments / Email me.
For accountability’s sake, post your comments and thoughts on this blog. if you have something sensitive to say email it to me me at robnigro@sbcglobal.net . Your note and comment doesn’t have to be long or detailed. Just spend 60 seconds letting all of us know you’ve begun and you’ll be praying and fasting.
I will ask you to post/email me after every letter I send. It’s not because I’m lonely or need more to read. It’s because your success will multiply by the accountability. Taking 60 seconds to post/email will be one of your most important actions in moving your church forward. Every time you hit “send,” you’ll know that we're all with you and cheering you on!
Next Week
Expect your second letter a week from today. Each letter will include several assignments to help you build momentum. As you complete these assignments, I believe the Lord’s eyes will be on you and he’ll be strengthening you for the building of his church.
Next week I will teach you a technique for deepening your burden for the people in your area. And, I’ll give you the first of three scriptural lessons you can use to help your church develop a burden for your area. After that, we’ll be hitting the ground rolling!
God bless
you,
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