The Bad News:Friday night at 5pm we received a call from the school district telling us that there was a problem and our permit to meet at the middle school was temporarily revoked. We could not meet at the school for any reason. Yet, Sunday we were expecting a big crowd for worship at the middle school. What were we going to do?After getting over my initial shock, I remembered Romans 8:28: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
So, how could we cooperate with God in seeing this turned to good?
We began to rack our brain trying to think of places we could meet on such short notice and the idea hit me – meet at the park. January in Vegas is usually fairly present and we really had no other option.
We just happened to have a prayer meeting already scheduled, so we prayed and put together a simple plan to contact people, get necessary supplies, set up the park for worship, and hold a block party afterward. There was only one problem, it was very overcast and rain was predicted for all day Saturday and possibly on Sunday AM. So we prayed about the weather.
Saturday, the next day, it was raining steadily when a handful of us met and the park to scout it out and to pray.
By faith we gathered under a pavilion to thank God that He would stop the rain, move the clouds, give us sun and send some wind to dry it all off.
The Good News:
By the time we finished praying, the rain stopped and way off in the distance a tiny piece of blue sky appeared. It rained off and on through-out the night but on Sunday morning the rain had stopped, the clouds moved, the sun was shining, and the wind was gusting. Yeah God!!!
By 10:35am, 175 people had gathered for “CHURCH IN THE PARK!” More importantly, the Lord was very present. Several people gave their lives to Christ and many others were prayed for regarding God turning their bad situations in to good. Almost everyone stayed around in order to enjoy hamburgers, hotdogs, and hanging out. It was great! People loved it and asked when we could do it again.
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deb 31 Jan 2013
I was praying here in Newark,OHIO… I am so glad God is faithful to us sinners. God is good all the time! LOVE IN CHRIST DEB