Over the years I have tried to do many things myself like dieting, exercising, mothering, and even ministry. What I have learned is that while I might be capable as an individual, I am limited and not as effective as when I have surrounded myself with others. The energy, encouragement, accountability, inspiration, wisdom, and resources from others make all the difference. Basically, it takes a community to accomplish anything significant.
In Acts 2 we see the launching of the most powerful movement in history with the gathering of a community of ordinary people. God chose the day of Pentecost (something familiar), he chose to empower the believers (ordinary by the world’s standards), and he infused them with his Holy Spirit (the unexplainable).
The Challenge
How do you create a movement that will be sustainable, explosive, radical, relational, and life changing? By letting God transform the familiar and the ordinary in unexplainable ways. God is looking for people who are watching and waiting to join him in “only God” moments and ministry.
Can you imagine being a believer that day in the upper room when the Holy Spirit blew in like the wind, and the next thing you know you were seeing his presence through tongues of fire? When we come under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we join the wind of God as he moves in our lives and in the world. Once filled with the Spirit, we are to move out and change the world, not just as individuals but as empowered communities.
The Difference
When the Spirit of God comes into our lives we are expected to go with confidence, knowing that God is with us. We have the Spirit and power of the resurrected Christ. He has given us the electricity we need to light up the world and change hearts and lives for the kingdom. Plug in and watch God do the unexplainable! |L
Lisa Jernigan is Cofounder of Girlfriends Unlimited, a network for Women’s Ministry. She is married to Cal Jernigan, Senior Minister of Central Christian Church of the East Valley in Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona. They have two children.
