It's Finally Fall
When Stevie Wonder wakes up next to his wife, he probably tells her she’s “the sunshine of his life and the apple of his eye.” This morning when I woke up next to Brit, I said, “You are my fall and winter lawn.” She gave me a big smile, knowing that is about as good as it gets.
For Phoenicians, fall is a big deal. We have survived. We no longer are the butt of every weatherman’s jokes. We now get to laugh at everyone else’s weather. And for those who know the joy of winter perennial rye, this is a most exciting time of year.
It is an exciting time of year for Living Streams, as well. Everyone is back in town, we can do some outside meetings, and we can hang out in the courtyard after services. And with all the challenges of 2020, it is nice to know we survived, we are getting back together, and we are already seeing some new opportunities to be a healthier local church, creatively expanding God’s kingdom.
Every fall for the last four years we’ve gathered together to grow in one aspect of our faith. We had “Vision Nights” (Vision), “Fam Nights” (Community), “Urban Kinetic Nights” (Service), and “Church Around a Table Nights” (Spiritual Formation). Each one of these has served to deepen our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ, deepen our connections with each other, and motivate our faith into action.
This year we want to do the same thing. With the full force of pandemic disruption in our rearview mirrors, and with a fog of uncertainty outside our windshields, we want to call everyone in our church to come together for this year’s fall infusion. We are calling it “Fam Nights—with a Focus on Evangelism.”
Now, if you are like me, the word evangelism doesn’t really draw you in or conjure up pleasant thoughts. Actually, many people feel anxiety at the mention of the word. But that is all the more reason for us to focus on it. We want to demystify evangelism.
Our hope is that, after five weeks of enjoyable evenings of learning, being given clear and simple activities to practice during the week, and doing all this in community, our ideas about evangelism will change. We hope that, after five weeks, we won’t just think of evangelism as street corner preachers or big productions with stadiums full of people. Those are not bad things, but for most of us there are much smaller, simpler ways to do evangelism. Who knows—you might even discover you enjoy it!
Some reasons it is so important for us to focus on evangelism:
People’s eternities are hanging in the balance.
There is nothing Jesus enjoys more than when we tell others about Him.
You are not fully a follower of Christ until you are helping others follow Christ.
Many people will be looking for something solid and true in the wake of this year’s shaking—and there is nothing more solid and true than Jesus.
So, for five Wednesday nights from October 21 - November 18, we are calling the whole Living Streams family to gather together, eat together, learn together, and practice together—all with a focus on evangelism.
By His grace and for His glory,
David