This is the second workshop from General Conference that I’m going to highlight. I’m not presenting them in the order that we attended them necessarily… pretty much just a random order. My eyes landed on the notes for this one… and it’s a good one!
Rev. Eli Lopez
The first thing you need to know about this particular session is that it was pretty much standing room only! We met someone we knew outside the room and when we asked them if they were just arriving or leaving, they answered that they were just arriving and wanted to enter, but that people were lining the walls. We walked in anyway and a family with a couple of small children got them to move so that Liz & I could have a seat. YES… First victory! (although, you’ll note that I was unable to get a decent photo of the speaker… we were further back than my iPhone could handle)
The second thing that you need to know is who the facilitator was… Bro. Eli Lopez, Director of Ministries and Senior Associate Pastor at Stockton California’s Christian Life Center. He’s got an impressive C.V. and has a great deal of responsibility in this incredible church for such a young man. Definitely Kudos!
Now for some of the highlights:
3 Battles of a Soulwinner
- Complacency: It takes effort to overcome complacency, for it is much easier to do what we’ve always done rather than trying something new. …to stay with those we know rather than get to know someone new. Yet the gospel is not just for us: “Jesus is the propitiation for our sins… and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2.2
- Selfishness: Things will really begin to change and growth will be visible when we get to the point of thinking about others more than we think about ourselves. It’s not about our comfort, but about their eternal life…
- Weariness: Remember… “We will reap, if we faint not!” Galatians 6.9
.
3 Things to overcome those Battles
- The Power of Purpose: Truly understanding our purpose will help us overcome complacency, selfishness and weariness… “The motivation that took Jesus to the cross will take us to the lost.” Jesus didn’t consider the harvest a future event, but rather a present and a pressing need!
- The Power of Prayer: Matthew 9.35 relates a prayer request that Jesus made to his disciples: “Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest sends our workers into the harvest.” If Jesus’ identity, as the Lord of the Harvest, was wrapped up in the harvest, then shouldn’t we, as his followers be likewise? As they began to pray about the harvest, they began to take on responsibility for it… after that, Jesus sent them out into the same harvest that they’d been praying for! Who better to go but them that have taken on responsibility in prayer?
- The Power of the Personal: Statistics vary in different parts of the country, but there’s no disputing that a significant factor in people coming to church remains that of personal contact. We can be active (going toward them) or passive (waiting for them to come to us)… intuitively we all know which one is better. We are commanded to “GO and make disciples…” Give them a compelling reason why they should want to come to church!
“Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you…
and ye shall be witnesses unto me…”
Acts 1.8
Thank you Bro. Lopez! Really a great seminar!
Upcoming Posts…
- Saturday – An info-graph showing the growth our relationship with, and the call to, western France.
- Next Wednesday – Highlights from General Conference Workshop #3
Prayer
- Pray that God helps us, through his power, to grow as soulwinners while in France.
- We’ve begun the process of applying for our visa from France… (Passport renewal done this week) and we’ll have to visit the French Consulate in Montreal in the coming weeks. Pray that each step in the process goes smoothly and that we find favour among men & women.
Here’s to #Revival_inFrance
AIM Long 