One:Eight

As mentioned in a previous post, our church has been going through a one:eight study centered around Acts 1:8...the Great Commission. I wish I could describe to you how the atmosphere of our church has changed. It's amazing! You can just sense the hearts of Christ-followers being swept up into the wave of missions...this has truly become the vision and defining characteristic of our church for the future. The need for the love of Christ and truth of the Gospel to be shared around the world is so great, and I'm so excited to be a part of sharing the Good News to the lost, broken, empty, and lonely that surround us here and abroad. Our church is becoming a missions hub for the area with language classes, organizing trips, and putting together medical, educational, and "work" teams to go into areas where the Gospel is prohibited...you will even be able to get "sworn in" for your passport in our new One:Eight center.
Our small groups have also been studying missions and how we can effectively begin to reach those around us. For starters, every small group has adopted an unreached people group to pray for daily. Our small group has adopted the Saharawi people (population around 220,000) that live in the country of Morocco. Many consider themselves to be Sunni Muslims and have never even heard the name of Jesus. We are praying for this group daily that the doors will become open to missionaries and that the Lord will begin to reveal himself to the people now in dreams and visions so that hearts will be prepared when they hear the Good News. We are also praying for Bibles to be translated into their Hassaniya language and for their everyday needs.
This whole experience has been life changing for Michael and I. We've always prayed for missionaries in general, given money to support missions, and even gone on mission trips...but it was always quickly forgotten. Not anymore...it's like we finally "get" what missions is all about and we can't wait to see where the Lord will lead us and our church.