The Story of our First Meeting

The wind was screaming in white-out, blizzard conditions, and when I pulled up to Edison Middle School at 4pm yesterday, none of the driveways were plowed and the sidewalks had 2-foot drifts in front of the doors.  But the weather wasn't the story of the night.

People started filing in.  We had set up about 50 chairs, hoping to fill at least half of them.  With a blizzard, how many people would actually show up?  A lot.  We added row after row of chairs until we had the place filled with 117 people... a miracle from where we stood.  But the crowd wasn't the story of the night.

We started to worship, and I can hardly describe the sense of unity I felt between a bunch of relative strangers, united by their common call: to reach Janesville with the Gospel of Grace.  Hands were raised.  Hearts were poured out.  Prayers were called out.  But worship wasn't the story of the night.

We talked about vision.  We asked questions about specifics and details.  We admitted what we knew and what we didn't know.  We brainstormed ideas about what it would take to reach people in Janesville.  We questioned the feasibility of living as one church in two locations.  We talked about every conceivable plan we could.  But planning wasn't the story of the night.

The story of the night wasn't about something we did.  It wasn't about a song we sang or a plan we hatched.  The story of the night was that the Spirit of the Living God fell in our midst.  There was no denying the power of God at work in our hearts and minds.  There was no missing the call that God was placing on our lives. 

At one point, I looked over at my wife, and she had tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed by the grace of God, the love of the people around us, and the excitement over what God was birthing in that moment.  If you weren't there because of weather or other commitments, I'm really sorry, because it sure was something special.  But don't be too sad.  We're doing it again.  Every last Sunday of the month at 6pm, we'll be doing the same thing.  Don't miss our next one on February 23rd.

I can't believe how blessed I am to be a small part of what God is creating in Janesville, and I can't wait to take the next steps with all of you.

What were your impressions of last night?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.