Our service the other night was not very successful the way we would normally measure success. We’ve been going out in the community around Noe’s home (where church is held outside) before each service, talking with people and inviting them to come. In this culture, it is polite to always say “yes,” but not to necessarily follow through. Most people have seemed interested, but never show up. Before this last service, a few girls and I were frustrated and spent time praying instead of passing out more fliers (since they do not seem to be working). No one showed up for the service except our teams and Noe’s family. James was preaching and did an amazing job of putting his heart into the message. Afterward we just began to worship with singing. I had felt bad for Noe and prayed that he would not be discouraged; it was humbling to have him get up and encourage us. The Lord had laid on his heart the parable of the great banquet (Luke 14) when the master invited all his friends and family to this beautiful feast that he had prepared, but each person had some sort of excuse for why they didn’t come. So the master invited the poor, lame and blind to come instead. The invitation to come is open to everyone, but sometimes it’s the ones we least expect who will come and receive the treasure of Jesus Christ! As we began to worship, people started gathering around in the streets- drawn by the Holy Spirit and the music. We went out to welcome them in and one man accepted Christ! The Lord really impressed on me the analogy of the night…that we can’t be doing this in our own way and power. It is the Holy Spirit who does the work, and we need to be strongly grounded in prayer. If we are just doing our own ideas of evangelism, but not basing it in prayer, then all the work we do is in vain. God is teaching us a lot about obedience (He is pleased with our hearts of obedience; the results are up to Him).
