March 2020
It happened so quietly last Sunday, I almost missed it. I had just finished the message at the 10:17 modern service and was headed out the door to the sanctuary to preach in the last service. With overlapping services, I knew I didn’t have much time. But before leaving the family life center, a teenage girl stood up to be baptized. In her pre-recorded video testimony, she described how her Mom nearly died of a cardiac arrest three years ago and how her family lost her 7-month old baby sister six years ago. These heartbreaking experiences eventually led her to search for something more and give her life to Christ.
The mostly young crowd sat transfixed by her story. But what I almost missed was the scene playing next to the screen. As the difficult parts of her story were told, her youth director, Amanda, reached out, enfolded this precious young woman in her arms and held her close through the entire video. Neither of them spoke any words. They didn’t need to. It was such a beautiful and tender expression of Christ’s love, it brought tears to my eyes. It does even now.
That scene struck a deep chord that’s been ringing for millennia. God loved us so much, God chose to come to us in flesh and blood, to be with us right where we lived. All this time later, we still need Jesus to come to us where we are, wrap his arms around us, and show us God’s love with skin on. That’s what I saw last Sunday. I hope to hold on to it.
Grateful for the way you are holding people in prayer,
Roger Ross
P.S. For encouragement, you can receive a weekly Prayer Text by texting KINGDOM to 573-227-6557.
Praying daily for the grace needed to start new places for new people
and transform existing churches across Missouri.
Feel free to pray for a different area each day. Thanks for your prayers!
- SUNDAY: Let’s pray together: Lord, multiply your Kingdom through us.
- MONDAY: THANK GOD for multiplication growth in our Prayer Team! We are SO grateful for 1,009 people praying daily & weekly (by text), representing over 350 churches! (More prayer releases more power.) Seek God for our Team to grow to 1,200 in 2020.
- TUESDAY: Sow in prayer the seeds for a Great Awakening in our churches, communities and nation. Pray for the 11 churches in Missouri in our new Multiplying Kingdom Impact (MKI) consultation process. Ask the Lord Jesus to reveal new insights and ways of being that transform each church. Ask the Holy Spirit to invite 15 churches to begin an MKI process in 2020.
- WEDNESDAY: Thank the Holy Spirit for the 22 laypersons and pastors in the 2020 Planting Academy and for an awesome kickoff retreat on Feb. 21-22! Invite the Holy Spirit to give inspiration, vision, and practical tools to the 30+ people from Missouri participating in the Exponential Conference in Orlando, March 3-5.
- THURSDAY: Hold before the Lord these churches that are starting something new in 2020: Eureka UMC 2nd site in the Fall of 2020. Good Shepherd UMC new worship site in the Fall of 2020. Church of the Shepherd UMC 2nd site in the Fall 2020. North Cross UMC 2nd site in the Fall of 2020.
- FRIDAY: Seek God’s will to reveal clear next steps for the United Methodist Church around the world and for our Missouri Conference. Pray: Lord, give us a kind spirit of cooperation to create a new future.
- SATURDAY: PRAISE GOD for our CE staff team of Geoff Posegate, Melanie Smollen, Tammy Calcote and Roger Ross. As we kick off the ‘20’s, please…
- Invite the Holy Spirit to move in each of the “How to Connect New People to Christ” workshops being offered in each of our 9 Districts. As of March 1st, 27 of at least 27 workshops have taken place.
- Ask God to spiritually prepare each of our 9 District Innovation Teams to lead these workshops, and for pastors and lay leaders to be inspired to engage in a 6-week study in their church on the book Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders.
