Exciting Times Lay Ahead For 2014

If you were to ask Paul, or any of my friends for that matter if I were an excitable guy, they would probably laugh.  When I met my wife she said that I reminded her of the Winnie the Pooh character, Eore.  I guess that stems from being dissapointed too much growing up.  I don't get excited about anything really.  Few have seen it to tell the tale.  So when I say that there are exciting times laid ahead for the coming year...it has to be big. 

My pastor whom I respect, has been the head of our church for over 6 years now.  During that time God has been grooming him, and equipping him for ministry.  He recently came back from the Calvary Chapel Pastors conference where the Lord really spoke to his heart through His word, and the teachings of different men.  He basically laid on his heart that it was time to ramp things up.  That my pastor was accountable for the people at Calvary Chapel Des Moines as thier shepherd.  We do some things really good, and others we pretty much stink.  One of those areas that we stink is in evangelism.  After a lengthy conversation, and an apology from him to me as not supporting me along the way (I've been feeling really discouraged for the past 10 years being the "Han Solo" at my church when it comes to evangelism) that he said things are going to change.  I can't get into the specifics of how that is going to look, but I will tell you this.  Every person that attends Calvary Chapel Des Moines will be involved in all 5 pillars of the church (Fellowship, Discipleship, Service, God's Word, and Evangelism/Outreach) on a quarterly basis.  I will be the head of the Evangelism/Outreach part of it, with an elder overseeing me.  Accountability will be key. 

This is huge being that I should be having regular teams (from my church) go with me to events, and sharing the gospel out on the streets.  Of course this will stir the pot at first, but we despritely need a healthy church and it's the only way to do it.  I will be scheduling outreach events and evangelism outings throughout the year, along with training sessions to equip and guide those who need it.  For years I prayed that the leadership would be more involved, and that my brothers and sisters in my fellowship would join me.  Praise God my prayers are getting answered.