davidpayne

622. a number. meaningless alone. without context pointless. here’s the context: 425 are at church at Lifesong normally so nearly 50% more were at church this weekend than are otherwise – that’s a lot of people hearing the deep truth of Jesus sacrifice and glorification. 622. not 11,000. 622. if churches average 73 people then that’s 5.9 times normal each weekend and 8.7 times normal on Easter. more context. NO MARKETING. We’re a big believer in the reality that your message or product can change nobody that isn’t there to hear it (that whole faith comes by hearing thing….) so we BETTER work HARD at getting people through the doors; but we didn’t as an organism, just organically.  We usually do. We didn’t. 622. Lifesong regulars took very naked responsibility and ownership to intercede for, invest in, and invite their loved ones – friends and families – to church. Radical idea. intercede, invest & invite (thanks Northpoint Church for the springboard idea). context. personal compassion for the lost. personal ownership for their soul.

22. another number. seemingly a typo – where’s the 6? nope. hell is less populated now. why? 22. new birth, resurrection, redemption. 22 people came home to Christ, bowed their knee, found new life in New England where you CAN’T DO CHURCH. I know people say all the time it’s dead and frozen and liberal.  22. that’s more than 40 people coming to Jesus JUST THROUGH LIFESONG this year so far.  I have pastor friends all over NE that had similar experiences – hundreds at church and hundreds come home. 22. home run for Jesus. strike our for satan.

Resurrection Sunday really was incredibly, but I felt like I needed to be raised from the dead after the weekend – the Holy Hangover as they call it – was heavier than normal!  Why you ask?  Well how about the reality that Easter weekend is the single largest attended weekend of the year for churches, so more lives hang in the balance than any other weekend, so more preparation and prayer and perspiration go into that weekend than any other – plus your so worked up about the gospel that you don’t sleep for 3 days prior!  Ok, so I don’t want your pity or concern, just trust me when I say that it was a brutal Holy Hangover; and it was only accentuated by the incredible weekend experiences – 8:30 & 10:00 – that we had.

The aftermath is this…. the systems of the church have to be set up to move people from where they are to where they should be (if they’re not there already).  That means that followup phonecalls, baptism plans and packets, sponsorships, relational intentionality, prayer covering, and so much more have to be ratcheted up after a weekend like Easter.  Twenty-two people effectively said ‘help me learn how to know the Jesus you shared with me about on Easter because I love the Jesus you presented, but don’t know how to get to know Him like you seem to know Him.’  WOW is that a huge statement they’re making.  What are we going to do with that?  Are we just gonna celebrate big numbers and pat each other on the back or are we going to do the hard work of training the spiritual infants just born into new life how to eat, drink, rest, crawl, walk, and LIVE?  So I’m realizing that our systems were prepared to ratchet up, but are they refined to produce movement?  Are yours?  Are YOU?

Tell me how YOU are thinking, acting, owning souls moving from infant to adult with intentionality in the Easter Aftermath…. GO….