In January we started a new format at Convergence: services one week and praying the next. Here's a little insight as to what's going through our heads.

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In case you haven’t noticed…

THE BOOK: Acts

THE STORY: a church who is just starting, a clean slate, no preconceived ideas. Journeying together with a real, live, tangible faith.

THE TREND: always praying first.

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What does this mean to us?
With Acts as our guide, we hope that the characteristics of the early church start to rub off on us. One thing is for sure -- this isn't about #'s. While we want as many people experiencing life in Christ to the fullest, we have to do it His way...

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Check out this story from Chuck Colson's book, The Body.

This story is told by Brian, pastor of a small church in Southern California...
“We’ve kind of been through it. In fact, we’ve cut our membership a bit. To be precise, we’ve cut our congregation in half. We had 220 members, but nothing was happening. I mean, the place was dead, and no matter what I preached nothing changed. So one day the deacons and I prayed. We said, ‘Lord, bring only Your people here. We want those who are ready to repent and really give themselves wholly to You. Only bring those folks here.’ We even stood at the door of the church silently praying this as people filed in. An amazing thing happened. God answered the prayer. People began dropping out, one by one. We went from 220 to about 100. Then the place began to change. We almost went broke, but people got serious with God, they got involved -– and now membership is creeping back up. I think we may be going to have a revival.”

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Here are some of the characteristics that are evident as we walk through Acts, characteristics that we hope will begin to shape our community...

This is the story of a small group of people turning into an international movement…the people who pioneered what we’re living today. The church is stepping beyond the age, race, and gender bias that is so prevalent in their culture. The people are ordinary (think: just like you & me) who do extraordinary things (think: what we would like to do). How? Through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. They aren’t talking about a religion…they’re telling a story. Even though this story is potentially offensive, thousands of people were coming to believe! The message wasn’t watered down at all.

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If this is something you want to get on board with, here it is...

THE INVITATION: come and join us! January 26th will be our second evening of 'Converging in Prayer' and we'd love to see you there.