Time Well Spent

It's amazing how things come together. Yesterday, we focused on praying for how the church engages its community. Today, we pray over church effectiveness and efficiency. And in the few hours prior to writing this post, I heard the story of a young man who attended Saturday night's church service. The church actually has two Saturday services,(in addition to three more on Sunday morning) but they were late for the first one. The young man ended up talking with the young adult pastor for the remainder of the first service, then proceeded to stay for the entirety of the second.

Those involved in the conversation were excited for the young man's enthusiasm regarding the service, as he has been in a difficult place of late. But in hearing the story, I was excited for the investment the pastor took in reaching out to someone in need. Granted, that's part of the job description, but in the middle of the service, I'm sure there's other things needing attention.

The fact that this pastor recognized "leaving behind the 99, to look after the 1" means much to me and hopefully even more to the young man in a difficult place.

As we pray for church effectiveness, these are the stories we need to hear more often. As that effectiveness continues, we'll hear more like this young man's response..."that was the best service I've been a part of in a long time." Now, I have no idea how long "a long time" has been, but God certainly used this opportunity to make an impact, and I hope you will agree with me in prayer, it will be positive and long-lasting for eternity. And may there be many more moments for many more "1's" such as was this case, just a few hours ago.

-PNC

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