We’re excited to share with you this week some of the results from the last few days. We have been seeing God work in the hearts of the people here in McKinney and the surrounding area, and as we near the official start date we are eagerly anticipating what He is going to continue doing.
This past Saturday turned out to be a cold, dreary, rainy day, but that didn’t stop Beth Haven Baptist Church and Lighthouse Baptist Church from sending down a group of about 25 people from the OKC area to help us pass out brochures. With the combined efforts we were able to get out nearly 1,500 brochures in about 2.5 hours. It was such a blessing having them here, and we appreciated their sweet spirits in light of the unfavorable weather.
On Sunday evening we held an unofficial service in our home. The couple that we had invited over the previous Thursday night was very excited about having a church they could be involved in again. When we asked if they would be interested in getting together Sunday evening in our home they enthusiastically replied, “Yes, absolutely!” Our family and the couple, along with the two Bible college guys (Will and Travis) made up a church of eight that night. We enjoyed a sweet time of singing, testimony, prayer, and preaching. We spent a good deal of time praying specifically for the needs of the church and the people who we are trying to reach in this area. God was listening and the next day we got to see His response to our requests.
About mid-morning on Monday, a dozen Bible college students and faculty members from Crown Southwest came up from Fort Worth to help knock doors for a few hours. Around 1,100 brochures were passed out, and they were able to talk to many people at their doors. Around noon they returned to our house for a meal. Not long after they arrived back we received a call from a man who had just discovered a brochure on his door. Now, many of you know that usually when you get a call from someone who found a brochure on their door it’s typically to complain about being solicited to or to say that they don’t want to received any more information from the church. Well, this call was the exact opposite. The man explained that when he found the brochure he began reading it and realized that “this is something I might be interested in.” He then went on to share his church background and to express that he felt like he had missed something along the way. He had come to the realization that it was a relationship with God not just the act of going to church that he needed. After we answered his questions and encouraged him that Crossway is a place where you can learn how to begin and deepen your relationship with God, he confirmed that he would definitely be at our grand opening service. It wasn’t 20 minutes later that we received another call. This time it was lady who had received a brochure on her door (actually the UPS driver handed her the brochure that fell out of her door when she answered his knock). She wanted to let us know that she also was very interested in coming to our church and that she had been looking for a place like this to attend.
It is an awesome thing to see God working in the hearts of people here, and to know that we get to have a part in God’s will for their lives. We have been told by several people already that they have been praying for a church like this and they feel like God answered their prayer by sending us to their door to tell them about Crossway. Now, I’m not sharing that with you to brag on us or toot our horn, but to humbly say what an honor and privilege it is to serve such an awesome God Who can burden the hearts of people from all over the place to come together to form His church. This should be just as exciting for you, because whether you have been supporting us financially or in prayer, you have just as much a part in the planting of this church as we do.
This coming Saturday will be our Open House from 2-4 p.m. We will be using this time to do a mock set up, and hopefully get the unforeseen wrinkles ironed out. Of course, we’re praying that many people will come by to meet us and get a little preview of what to expect.
There is a long list of little details that need to get done before the grand opening service of Crossway Baptist Church on October 20th. Would you please pray earnestly over the next several days for everything to be done according to God’s will, and especially for the people who we have met (and even those we haven’t) to have an open heart toward God’s leading? God bless. Until next week…