"So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a vast army." (Ezekiel 37:10)

 

We hear the sounds of a new movement coming! The sounds are not that of congregations that continue to "do church" as they have always done before. The sounds we hear are the marching of those who hear the beat of a different drum. They are the innovators, the risk-takers, the ones anxious for adventure.  

 

Many of them are new to the Church of the Nazarene. They know they are called, spiritually gifted and led by God. They include both clergy and lay leaders. They are a growing group of people within a global movement. They are a movement of servant leaders scattered in 30,000+ Nazarene churches throughout the world.  

 

The people in this movement are different from members of ordinary churches. They are mentally growing, changing, and becoming different. They are beginning to understand what is critical to the growth and long-term health of Christ's church. They believe every Nazarene church can become a healthy, multiplying church regardless of size. Like Jesus, they have a heart for outsiders. Some of them are developing a distinctive mix of spiritual gifts that God has uniquely given them, in order to multiply the entry points into Christ's Kingdom. They have a heart for evangelism, church planting, mentoring new leaders, multiplying new campuses, new churches, etc. Their thinking and actions help create the culture that fuels the Nazarene movement.  

 

Discontented with status quo and ordinary church routine, they feel the same urge as was felt in the heart of the apostle Paul. "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (Romans 15:20). They focus on those outside the Kingdom. They keep encouraging their church to focus on outsiders, people beyond the "four walls" (Matthew 18:10-14) who have not yet come to faith in Christ. 

 

The above paragraphs are part of a chapter entitled, "A Great Future Together." Thank you for your prayers as we write this summer. Pray that this will continue to be a fruitful time. Thanks to each of you for being Christ in Action. Great days are ahead - you are loved.