Bigger than Big!

Have you ever done something and you had no idea what God was going to do with it?
That is where I was with the Big Serve. I knew that people were kind of excited and that some were not. Regardless, I felt God's leading and had determined to follow through.

I am so glad that I did! The fruit is already being harvested in so many ways.
I will copy a few testimonies from an email that I just sent out:

Another couple realized that they still had food left over after feeding the firefighters for the Big Serve, so they found another firehouse to take food to on Monday. When they were delivering the food in their Big Serve shirts, one of the guys recognized the shirt and asked if they had delivered food to another house on Sunday. She explained that she was not, but that our Church had ministered all over Hampton Roads.

A student was in his Philosophy class at TCC (Tidewater Community College)on Tuesday morning when the Professor asked the class if they saw the article in the Pilot newspaper http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/congregation-goes-out-practice-what-they-preach. The response was very good and the class was impressed by the ministry of our Church.

One member had an encounter with a neighbor in Suffolk while walking her dog. The neighbor was in tears describing the gift that her Mother had received at an extended care facility. The greatest surprise came when the neighbor shared that her Mother was in a specific residence in Chesapeake which was where that member had just served for the Big Serve!

Another member shared about how the Big Serve inspired her Bible Study Class to establish care groups and do more to foster inreach and outreach in their class.

A member who also serves on our support staff shared about how her husband read of our Big Serve project in the newspaper and cried as he was so deeply touched. He is not involved in our Church, but wants to serve when we have this opportunity again.

Our Hispanic Pastor, Vernig Suarez, shared with me that many in his congregation work 6 days per week and have not been able to assist with their VBS efforts or other missions work until the Big Serve. This opportunity to serve with their Church in Pembroke gave them a new excitement for missions and the ministry of their Church.

It just goes on and on. New ministries are being birthed. Ministries to the homeless, ministries to our public servants, and ministry being done by other individuals who just can't stop serving!

A fairly popular preacher is known for saying that he is about God's fame and that is what we are seeing in Hampton Roads. God is famous among the people of our community because His Church did the unexpected and loved people like Jesus. It may be controversial, but the fruit is undeniable as God's fame spreads and His glory shines in our region!

Keep praying that we can be a Church that washes feet like Jesus did. Not just one another's feet, but those of the lost, our enemies, the drug addicted, the mentally disturbed, and the list goes on.