That's how I'd call today's Church-- Sunday at Greenhills Christian Fellowship!
Beginning at 7 this morning to the 7:30 tonight, all of our five worship services are characterized by excitement! Just to highlight a few things that happened today...
A lady and a girl in tears. I've seen her more than a dozen times with her all-female cell group under another church's auspices at a coffee shop at the mall on Friday nights. I figured that she's transfered to that other church evidenced by her faithful attendance in that small group. At the 9AM service, as I stood to lead the song "Hosanna" (Paul Baloche), I noticed that lady standing on one side of the congregation. We started singing the second stanza:
"Hear the sound of hearts returning to You. We turn to You."
She bursts in tears, and never stopped crying until after the third song, not to mention that there was a 7-minute baptism in between the first song and second songs. In short, she cried a whole lot! She stood in between two pastors' wives who began ministering to her. Immediately, I felt an impression as to why she was crying, she had just returned home. Although she never really strayed from the faith, she probably felt she never saw that other church as her home.
Her teen-age daughter who practically grew up in GCF came with her and attended Sunday school. The Sunday school teacher mentioned to me how the girl came up to her and cried on her shoulder saying, "I'm so glad to be home."
A group that intercedes. Over lunch at the cafeteria with Joy, a lady came by our table and asked if she could sit with us. She had been meaning to talk to me for a number of weeks now. I wondered what she was wanting to tell that would make her want to look for me for the last three weeks. All she wanted to say was that she's blessed with the worship life of the church and how the services are planned and executed. She mentioned how the Holy Spirit has become more discernible in the last couple of months. Anyone can tell that this lady has a strong sense and high view of God, thus her heart for prayer, worship and missions. She goes on to say that she and a group of women her age have started gathering together a couple of times within the week to specifically pray for me and the Worship ministry. It was perhaps one of the most moving comments I received in days!
A moved preacher. The international board of the Wycliffe Bible Translators is in Manila for a week-long series of meetings hosted by GCF. The chairman of the board is the Rev. Roger Welch, pastor of the Merland Rise Church in Surrey. He spoke today on the Feeding of the Five Thousands, relating it with the missional nature of God in Jesus Christ! I was so moved by the message I had to hear it twice! At the final service tonight, he mentioned from the pulpit how he appreciates the exciting time of congregational praise and worship-- a little to contemporary for him, but he loved how the worship is a fusion of a variety of church expressions and traditions! He felt moved by the sheer volume of people of various backgrounds lifting high the name of Jesus! He is excited to take hat same spirit of worship to his home church in Surrey!
A boy from Camp. I spoke with a college boy named Eric after the final service. Eric had just returned from college camp and shared with me how exciting it was to be a part of the camp. I asked whether he would be willing to take on the challenge of taking over his school for Christ knowing that he can do everything through Christ who gives him strength. "More than excited" he answers, "More than that."
A drummer boy leaving. One of our main drummers has been offered a job to be a resident musician in a hotel in Singapore. He flies out tomorrow and won't be back 'til after six months. We will miss the dude.
A girl finally gets baptized. Part of the Baptist tradition to which I belong is believer's baptism where a person who has come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ professes her faith in Him publicly by being immersed in water as a symbol of indentifying with the Lord Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. One of the candidates baptized today was Elyse. She was meant to be immersed last month but due to an illness, she'd been moved. Today, she professed her faith in Christ in baptism despite family opposition.
A dinner with old friends. Koko and Faye, two of my classmates back in Bible college came to church tonight and I invited them for dinner. I love seeing how the Lord has been beautifully at work in their lives as women ministers. They are among the most excited workers I know.
The Missional Movement has also influenced simple church. Missional thinking grew from the lessons learned from foreign missionaries and as a reaction to the Church growth Movement. In this line of thought, the Church's purpose and theology come out of the Missio Dei -- God's Mission in the World. This means that everything relating to church life and Christian practice should be directly derived from a theology of mission. This means the Body of Christ should be primarily identifying with humanity, reaching to lost, ushering in the Reign of God, and working towards the peace (Shalom) the Kingdom of God brings.
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