As New Life Ministries moves from location to location, I believe God is sifting us as a congregation to remove those who are not committed or ready, and as individuals to get our own attitudes in line with His. We are not just starting a new church; we are truly missionaries to the downtown citizens. We must have born-again believers who are ready to get involved with the people downtown, not just people who are excited about attending a new, laid-back church in an unusual venue. Of course, it is not our job to sort that out, God can take care of it quite nicely. 
However, I believe He will do it so that He can do His work through us effectively.
To be effective in God’s work downtown, members of NLM must be willing to commit themselves to disciple new believers and persevere in that endeavor even when the results are not what we would have liked. This will mean giving extensive amounts of time to one person; this could be in Bible study with the person, prayer for the person, or just plain spending time together. Sometimes, new believers simply need to see how a believer lives out his “normal” life.
Lastly, fervent and prolonged prayer will be needed for every step that we take. Only God can break down the long-established strongholds of Satan that we are facing. Only He can give victory in lives that have been shattered by sin. We can love the people in need, but only God can bring them to salvation.
In this great endeavor, will you be a spectator or a participant?
April 2, 2008 at 1:32 am
Wow Penny this is profound….I hope every New Lifer will have the opportunity to read and accept the challenge/calling.