We thought it might be of value to create a space here to capture and to share and to be encouraged by a few of the Encounter stories. Some stories are profound others are simple, but all are worth sharing.
When an encounter with Jesus becomes a point in history, a past chapter, or only a memory, it has effectively ended. Jesus is God With Us not once, but continually. If nothing else, our Christmas Program, Encounter was intended to bring Jesus to life for those who have forgotten he lives, or have doubted he lives or never believed he lives. We hoped and prayed that Encounter would, through song, drama, media, and words bring Jesus center-stage so that ones might hear him, believe him, wonder about him, expect him, experience him, consider him…trust him as never before or trust him again.
Possibly the most inspired element included during the Encounter was to put scripture into everybody’s hand. The impact of that was surprisingly underestimated! Stories have virtually poured in as people absorbed and considered God’s unique and sometimes deeply meaningful word to them.
Come on, let’s record in some small way the powerful thing God did this past weekend! Write your story or the one you know here. Be descreet if necessary, and don’t feel as though it must be long.
Since I have heard so many wonderful stories about how one verse of scripture can impact so many lives in amazing ways, I have committed to texting my kids and my husband a verse from my daily quiet time, daily 🙂 It has really helped me to be consistent in order for me to find an amazing verse, and I am looking forward to hearing how it is helping them on a daily basis to “hear” a word from God.
I returned home from service today for the first time ever very mad. . .at myself that is. While asking the congregation to respond with their own personal Encounter experiences I couldn’t muster the courage to speak aloud and share my testimony. I guess it’s true what they say about public speaking being many people’s #1 fear — that and the probability of having to step down in directly in front of everyone due to the tethering of the mic issue kept me firmly planted in my seat. Funny, I used to speak professionally for a living. 30-40 people I can do. 500-600? Not so much.
Here’s what I wanted to share — and please forgive me Jen, for not honoring you and all that you do for our children in Cambodia by saying it aloud this morning.
As my family and I were leaving after an Encounter performance and the flow of the exiting audience bottlenecked I became privy to an animated conversation going on between several couples who had obviously been very moved by their experience. I soaked in all of their praise of Vista chalking it up to my church family’s amazing effort when, as foot traffic spilled into the foyer, I overheard one of the woman say to her group “where do they normally meet for service?” The one who’d evidentally rallied them all to the program said that she thought it was right here, at the high school on Sunday mornings adding that “they must be meeting here to save money to build a crystal chapel or something” to which they all got a good chuckle. No longer able to contain myself I had to tap the woman’s shoulder telling her that I was a member of the congregation and ask her if I could explain why we meet at the school. With great pride I shared that rather than embody a building and all of the overhead that comes with it Vista instead uses those funds to fully operate and support an orphanage in Camboida that houses more than 20 children who might otherwise be subject to the sex trade that’s predominant in their corner of the world — including a missionary woman who’s spent a couple of the past years of her life making sure in stays on track. They seemed genuinely interested in what I was sharing with them and asked if we, the church, were able to communicate with the kids. I said absolutely, and that we also send teams over regularly to let them know how loved they are and how much we are hoping for their futures. I then invited them all to come to a service on any Sunday morning at 10:30 and assured them they’d leave buoyed after attending one as I’ve never left without feeling touched by Pastor Mike’s contemporary, always relevant to me personally in some way message. And that leads me to the question I would have asked had I garnered the chutzpha to speak in front of everyone today — were they there with us?
My grandmother had a chance to attend the last service on Sunday night. She was going to come to the dress rehearsal, but the snow kept her away. She has MS, and in the last 3 or so years, she has gone from walking, driving, and being totally independent, to being confined to a scooter or wheelchair, and every movement being painful and laborious. She obviously could not walk down to get a scripture card, but asked my dad to get one for her. She specifically told him to get one from the ground in front of the cross. I asked her after the program what her card said. She told me that she hadn’t read it yet, but she handed it to me. She was already in tears about how much she loved the program – it was so refreshing to her as she cannot really get to church. Her card said:
“The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:28-31
I shared the service with six ladies from my previous church. Here are just a couple of the comments:
Dear Christine,
I just wanted to thank you for inviting us to the Christmas program last night and saving seats for us! It was an awesome program…what a fabulous chorus/choir. Everything about it was wonderful. I did enjoy it and am glad I went.
Christine,
Thanks so much for inviting us. The service was like a broadway production! The testimonies were the most meaningful to me. I can see why you are so proud of your new church. I’m sure many hearts were opened! Merry Christmas my friend!
I attended the Sunday morning service. The night before, I wrote in my journal (which I don’t do regularly) about how I was doubting God’s faithfulness and presence in my life. When I went to get a verse Sunday morning, I seriously doubted that whatever I picked would be relevant to my life. To my surprise, when I got back to my seat, my card read “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6.” First, I was actually angry! I thought “God, telling me to trust you isn’t going to make it any easier to trust you!” But as I let the words sink in, I realized that was exactly what I needed, and it proved to me that God really does care about me, and was listening to my rant the previous evening. The card also read “You are never alone.” This was exactly what I needed to hear, and the whole experience served as a reminder that God is present in my life, even when I don’t feel him, and he does have a plan for me!
I have a long history of thinking that I have little to offer and that people would rather if I remain quiet or leave. My card was from Matt 5. “Let your light shine before men…don’t hide it…put it on the lampstand so that it can give light to the house.”
My family and I attended Sunday morning’s Encounter. the music was great but I was so struck by the testimonies. I had attended the service with anticipation and I was not disappointed. We have been visitors for the last 6 months and so, as we sat in the second to last row we had a long wait to get to the cross. Each verse that our family received met a present or future need. Truthfully, my wife an I did not get verses that we wanted but got verses that we needed. After hearing the testimonies that were so deeply experienced and knowing some of the challenges we have been through I wanted a message of encouragement and received a “suck it up” scripture verse. Sometimes God just needs to make sure we understand that He is here and we need to keep moving forward in our walk, no matter what the cost. Thank you for keeping our faith gritty and real. Encounter was just that for many of us, just as intended.
#1 Two of my coworkers attended – I did not know how they’d respond to the invitation to obtain a scripture card. They both selected a card, talked about it, and the service formed a dialogue about Christian churches, faith, music, and contemporary worship. #2 – My daughter’s friend’s mom and daughters (Catholic worshipers)attended the Sat. program and were in awe of the music and uplifting spirit. Fabulous – what a gift! Thanks, Vista!!!!!!
I have a couple!
1) On Tuesday night we were at our life group and were sharing about our years. One of my life group friends was sharing about how she lost both of her parents this year – within 6 months of each other. It has been incredibly hard on her for obvious reasons. As she was heading up to pick up her card, she noticed a couple that had pink thumb prints on it and so she planned to get a pink thumb print card since pink is her favorite color. At the last minute she chose a different card. When he got back to her seat it read, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
2) I invited my father and step mother again this year. They came last year and for me, I really couldn’t have been more happy, until this year when they said they were very excited to come. My dad left the church over 10 years ago after experiencing a very hurtful group of people who made him feel offer for his and my mom’s divorce. As for my step-mom I truly don’t believe she’s ever been to church. So they came Saturday night and completely expected them to not go up and get a verse…but they did…they wouldn’t tell me what they got, but they both said they liked their own and that it would be hung on their fridge. Of course I don’t know that that actually happened…but still…it makes my heart happy.
3) So as I was writing my huge pile of cards I got to a point where I felt like a broken record writing the same verses. I decided to google encouraging verses in hope that maybe I would find something new. I cam across one in Nahum (which I can say honestly that I have never looked at) and really liked it so I wrote it down. I had planned to write down the reference because it was definitely a verse I needed to hear, but just in the busyness forget. So friday I headed up to the cross and grabbed a card. I got back to my place on stage, looked at it – it was my writing, my tiny little thumbprint and on it was that verse – “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, he know those who take refuge in him.” Nahum 1:7 – I could not be more thankful that God wanted me to have that card!
Friday evening’s Encounter program was full of technical difficulties. As the guy sitting behind the computer, I went home that evening feeling defeated and broken. I awoke the next morning feeling much the same, so I decided to open my bible for some guidance. The very first words I read were “O Lord, truly I am your servant” (Psalm 116:16). I immediately felt God’s healing presence and was encouraged to press forward. However, throughout the weekend, I continued to feel frustrated and down, and found myself yelling at other drivers on the road. Where was all this coming from? After Sunday night’s program, I was cleaning up in the auditorium and picked up a scripture card that someone had left behind. I read a verse I hadn’t heard before: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Talk about hitting the nail on the head! It became so clear that I was (and am) under attack. So much clarity from a 3×5 card on the floor… I will not be devoured!! I am certain that God wants me to know that.
I invited my neighbor, and elderly lady who left the church in her 20’s due to some hurtful comments and situations, to come to encounter and she agreed. On Sunday morning I knocked on her door to see if she would like to ride with me and she said she would not be able to make it after all. That evening as I was pulling out of my parking spot she ran out of her door to tell me that she had gone to the morning program afterall and that it was amazing beautiful and that she had left encouraged and refreshed. God is good. 🙂 Now I will be praying for her to come to church with me more often.
I’ll share two:
1) A text I received from a friend who has had a rough year – even contemplated suicide at one point. She text me and said, “I went down and got a card and I can’t tell you how many times I have needed to read it and it gives me hope and peace.”
2) My neighbor, not a Christian – believes only in a “higher power.” He was at the program and said to me, “that’s the best thing I have been to in a long time.”
I can’t stop praising the Lord for all He has done and is doing through that beautiful program.