You just never know!!!

Well, in about 36 hours there will be LOTS of folks that come to the corner of Brawley School Road and Williamson's Road to celebrate getting ready to go "Back to School" at the first annual area Back to School Bash! It's been so cool to watch the community come together . . . all denominations, area businesses, and people to offer things for students that will make a difference. It really did start as a "little" idea and just grew, grew, and grew but the most amazing thing (the God thing) was that as it grew, the volunteers grew and at some point the leadership team has wondered . . . will we have more volunteers than we will kids??? I don't think so - but we did wonder!

Wednesday I was talking with Mike Faircloth, a gentleman at WC that has been a part of a church that does events like this a lot. They are called "Bridge" events . . . events that bridge the gap between the church and the community.

He told me about an event they had when they opened the church many years ago. They had inflatables, games, etc. and the traffic was backed up in the town of Mountain View all the way to Hwy. 321 (over 3 miles). He said it was a logistical nightmare because so many people came and they NEVER anticipated that many! (As he talked my stomach started to churn more and more and more)

He then shared an amazing testimony that came out of the event . . .

There was a lady that was driving by (stuck in the traffic) with her little boy. He saw the inflatables and immediately started begging to stop. She told him no, they had somewhere they had to be. He was relentless in his asking . . . in fact, in her words, he began to beg. He wanted to stop and jump for just a few minutes. He promised he would be ready to go as soon as she said it was time if only they could stop for awhile.

She decided to stop so she pulled into the church parking lot and was immediately greeted by a gentleman that helped her and her son find their way to the registration area. She responded later that she was greeted so warmly, she felt immediately welcome. They ended up staying for a long time and when she got ready to go she went back to the gentleman and some others that were around and asked them to follow her to her house.

That's an odd request . . . . someone you have never met before asking you to follow her home!!! But . . . even though it was odd, they did.

When they arrived at her home she handed them a note she had written. The content was explaining the reason she felt she had nothing to live for.

When she and her son were in the car, she was on the way to her mother's house because she was going to drop off her son so she could then return home to end her life.

Yet, once she encountered some folks that were happy and had joy something "switched" in her and made her change her mind. She shared that with those folks in her home on that Saturday and I believe that encounter changed all their lives. They gained a new perspective of what an encounter with someone you don't even know can mean and she became a committed part of the church and now is one of the key leaders in ministry.

Saturday is a big day for us as a community of believers. Although we won't be taking a poll, "Do you know Jesus" . . . hundreds of thousands (yes, thousands) of people will know that "church" is not a noun, not a place, but a verb . . . it is people loving and serving in the name of something bigger than themselves. . . God. Snow cones, hot dogs, shoes, pencils (about 18,000), paper, books, etc. will share a message of hope with a community that needs to know there is hope in despair, light in darkness, and we are ALL in it together!

Let's join in praying together that God will continue to be "all over this" and remember that it is not about us . . . it is only about Him. May he use it to warm hearts and share love. Thank you for being part of this dream!

Philippians 2:17:
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."


This is what you are living . . . wow . . . way to "BE" the church!