Sunday morning the Kokenzies were with us for their first service since returning from furlough. We had a good group. Other than the Kokenzies, we had a normal Sunday morning crowd and a visitor.
Sunday evening, however, was a different story. We arrived early as usual and were preparing things for the service. We planned a little fellowship after church, so we had a little more to set up than normal. Amanda left to pick up someone, and by the time she returned we still did not have anyone show up other than the Kokenzies and the lady we picked up.
Just about five minutes before starting, a few young men drove up and parked across the street. They said the were invited to the services and we welcomed them. Just after that another young man drove up on a motorcycle. Since nothing else was open around us, we assumed that he was coming to church also. As we entered the building to get the service going, two more people walked in. We prayed and a few more walked in. Then we sang a song and more people walked in. This kept on going until I was ready to preach. I announced the text and the last two couples walked in.
The building was packed! We had 30 chairs and 40 people. Amanda took a few of the younger kids to the back and others sat on their parent’s lap. There was not one empty seat. I was still expecting a few more of our regulars to be there, but they did not show up. God knew exactly what we could handle and sent them all our way.
With 23 first time visitors, we did not even have enough visitor’s cards to get everyone’s information. We did take a picture though and did get their names so we can probably locate them all and make contact in the near future.
Our fellowship after church was very good. I tried to get around and speak to everyone before they left. It was not an easy task, but I think I almost made it. One couple was sitting in the very back and stayed there for a while without getting up. When I spoke to them, she was in tears. Her husband said, “We are not sitting here waiting for cake. We just enjoyed the service so much that we wanted to savor the moment.” He went on to say that his wife had dreamed the night before that the Lord would speak to them through the service that night.
The young man who invited most of our visitors was surprised himself to see some of them come. As a matter of fact, a few of his relatives came to the service (including his sister). He told me he had not even invited her, but someone else asked her to come.
It is easy to get excited about an event like that. Yet, it has caused me to reflect on what really happened. God brought a good number of people to us so that we could share with them the good news of salvation. Others also were there to hear the preaching and be encouraged to follow the Lord. I am confident that God met with some of them and spoke to their hearts. Please help us pray as we follow up and try to help these people wherever they are spiritually.
