Wednesday - "After Church"

Greetings Internet Campus Family,

Acts 2:42 (ESV): 42“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

I believe that some of the best time spent around church on the weekend is the time spent directly after the experience with the people that watched with you. What do you do with that time? If you are on the Internet Campus...do you simply close the lid of the laptop and move on? If you attend one of our live campuses...do you just go home? Why not use that time immediately after to do a few things?

1) Eat together - It is amazing what comes out over food, isn't it? Take the time directly after church and spend it "breaking bread" with someone you experienced it with... Some people that you invited to church may not want to go "spiritually deep" right away, but I've found that sitting over a plate of food makes people more comfortable and willing to share what they learned and felt during the worship and teaching.

2) Talk together - Try to make an effort to talk about the service right after it happens. Bring up points that were made, share opinions, have healthy disagreements, etc. Talking sincerely encourages future study in that area as well as personal growth.

3) Pray together - If someone is struggling in your post-church discussion/meal...take the time to not only pray with them, but encourage them by letting them know that you will continue to pray for them. Prayer changes things...when you experience a great teaching...pray that God will help you live out those values learned during the teaching as well as others who might have been challenged by it.

4) Grow together - All of these steps listed above will help all of you grow. When challenges come up, you will have the benefit of processing and internalizing the messages...the more you discuss them with others, the more practical they seem to become.

Take advantage of the "breaking bread" time at church. God has designed each one of us to fellowship and connect...why not enjoy a meal at the same time?

See you tomorrow,
Pastor Brian