As a pastor, sometimes I wonder if all of the time and effort I put into prayer, study, message prep, and message delivery are effective. How do I gauge my effectiveness?
One word: application.
I love seeing people not just listening, but doing. Applying what they’ve heard and what’s been revealed to them by the Holy Spirit is the greatest compliment a congregation could give a pastor.
So I am absolutely thrilled to see the incredible folks from Calvary Assembly of God so quickly applying what we’ve been discussing!
My inaugural series was called “I ♥ My Church.” We looked at the practical ways the Acts 2 Church turned dechurched people—those who knew about God but didn’t have a personal relationship with Him—into those who ♥’d their church. How exciting it is to see such immediate application in our community.
Just a couple of examples:
- The message board in the lobby immediately sported the message “You are the church.”
- Stephanie helped Sophie get into the act with her new t-shirt.
- A group of our Impact! students volunteered their afternoon yesterday packing more food boxes than they could count for the needy.
- Last week we cleaned the house of a woman recovering from hip surgery.
- Tomorrow we’re helping a family move into their new house.
Wow, am I a proud pastor! I can’t wait to see how God is going to continue to use this group of committed people to change the world!
Craig T. Owens 