Excited About the Future

I just got off the phone with a good friend of mine. I've thought for a long time that God would like to use him to possibly start a special ministry here at the church. Yesterday, someone talked to him and now he is in an 8 month training to start this type of ministry right here at Oakwood. That's awesome! I pray all of the time for the future of the church and that God would supernaturally provide what we need to do ministry here and He answers time and time again.

I'm excited about the future of our church. We have so many good people here serving and joining the church family. It really blessed me to see that family join yesterday with the 5 kids. They are a great example of servanthood and commitment to Christ and His mission, and they weren't even members yet! Amazing!

This morning at our men's group we had true koinonia, sweet fellowship. If you want to know more about koinonia, check out yesterday's sermon on the teaching page of the church's website. We had a man share a burden with us today. He's been diagnosed with cancer. We prayed for him and shed tears together because that's what true Christian brothers do. After men's group I had one of our men tell me that he feels closer to the guys in our men's group than he does to most people that he's been going to Sunday School with for 20 years. I asked why and he shared, "Because we do life together. We pray for each other, learn from each other, share one another's views and thoughts and ideas, all while desiring to grow deeper in the Lord together."

That's right. And that's why I'm excited about the future of our church. This is God's wonderful family of people called Oakwood. True deep and sweet fellowship are taking place and it's changing people's lives and outlooks. Praise be to God for the work he is doing among us (and is spite of us, sometimes). I'm just going to keep praying and asking God to keep pouring it into all of us and we'll see where He's taking us over the next several weeks and months. Count the joy and thank the Lord for all the life we get to experience through Him. Keep praying for His blessing and His hand of provision for the church. Every member being committed to the great commission and the great commandment is what God's desire is. I'm excited about the future because I'm excited that our church is BEING the church!