On Sunday, the last Sunday of 2019, I shared in the message something that God has been impressing on me in recent weeks. I've been praying about the work of Rock Church in 2020. Over and over, these three words keep coming to me. Pray. Invite. Repeat. Our mission is clear. Jesus said it is to “make disciples of all the world.” It is to share the good news with every person we possibly can, so all the world can know the hope that comes only through him.
But when it comes to how we do that work, I think we have sometimes made it unnecessarily complicated. What I have heard God say is to focus on these three steps. Pray. Invite. Repeat. Invitation is at the heart of this strategy. But we must not forget to begin with prayer. Pray for God's guidance, in terms of who he would have us reach out to today. Pray for God to open doors of opportunity. And pray that we would have the courage to speak when those opportunities come. Prayer must be the starting point of our 2020 vision. With God, all things are possible!
Invite. Personal invitation is far and away the most effective tool we have for sharing the gospel. Technology, marketing and media can all supplement and support the work. But personal invitation is at the heart. It is the key component, the linchpin, of our strategy. There is nothing we can do that will have a greater impact on fulfilling our mission than personal invitation. And as a church, we are going to do everything we can to resource you for the work of inviting in 2020.
Repeat. After we have prayed for our friends who do not yet know Christ, we invite them. In God's perfect time, many will accept the invitation. Perhaps they will join us for worship or some other special event. What then? Repeat. Pray for them more. Invite them again. This word “repeat” reminds us that it is a process. People often come to Christ one step at a time. We want to continue to support and guide them step by step.
Pray. Invite. Repeat. This will be our rallying cry for the new year. Our 2020 vision. And this Sunday is our first opportunity to put it into practice. We are launching a brand new series entitled “La Vida.” The Life. In this series we will discover what it really takes to experience the full and abundant life God desires for us. I believe every person will want to hear this. I can't think of a better time to reach out to that friend or neighbor with an invitation to join us at Rock Church.
I pray your new year is off to a great start. And I look forward to us all being together this Sunday to welcome the new year in worship.
God Bless,
Pastor Steve