Saturday, January 23, 2010

the sending process

Every time we send out a team of church planters and supporters, we go through a celebration process, and then a painful adjustment period. It's maybe something like the celebration when a much wanted pregnancy is announced (yea-a-a!), and then the less pleasant birthing experience happens. There are periods of happiness, and periods of hoping for better times ahead.

I'd say we are in the adjustment time right now. Heroes willing to serve kids are in short supply, as we sent a lot of faithful and excellent people to Tulsa. Finances have been surprisingly good, but we ave not yet seen the increase and multiplication that we have boldly been asking God for. And attendance hasn't soared yet quite to where we hope and believe that it will.

So this is crunch time. There is always a season where a vision is tested and it feels like "maybe it not going to work this time."

It's testing time.

But here is what I believe and ask God for: I am asking God for 10 good replacements for every person that we sent to Tulsa. That will be 320 new people added to Freedom Valley sites who sowed into that church plant! I believe they are coming and that we will see many this weekend!

I am also believing God for a major swelling of our finances where we are sowing seed. We have sowed several thousand a week into Tulsa alone. I am asking God for a return of not less than $20,000 a week in our tithes, and additional $10,000 a week into our Hope Initiative building fund.

So this is my notice, Devil, and my statement of request to God: Let there be huge increase so that we can sow and send, and give like never before. There is much to be done, and we are going to do it.

This will be a year unlike any other, and increase will happen all over the place as we Chase the Wild Goose. At least four new plants or sites will open this September after a season of hard work and adjustment. These four are all now being sown into, and we are expecting an unbelievable harvest. This is the period of time others will not see so much, the 'overnight' that they refer to when they say "it grew overnight".

I believe the Wild Goose knows where the harvest is, and is leading us there, right to it!

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