Stairway to Heaven

Tonight I stood in a stairwell packed full of college students pouring out praise to our good Father.

What a beautiful moment.

In less than 24 hours, 170+ GenSend missionaries hailing from across the country will be sent out to their respective cities for six weeks of sharing hope with those they meet.

How wonderful, terrifying, humbling, inspiring, empowering, strength-giving it is to know that a holy God uses His broken, sinful children to reach those His heart seeks to adopt?

I asked myself that question over and over as I listened to the talents of my peers fill that Phoenix stairway.

How beautiful, comforting, peace-bringing it is to be filled with the Spirit of God Himself as we move forward in taking true life and love to these communities?

I remind myself of this question when fear and doubt fight to take over my mind and heart.

May we always worship as loudly, as beautifully, as rawly as that group in the stairwell.

I so badly wish you could’ve been there.

So much so, I feel like I just have to share it.

It is my prayer that all the GenSend students, my team and myself keep ourselves in that mindset: how can we keep this beautiful, life-giving Truth to ourselves?

I pray that we find ourselves filled with the same boldness of Spirit that flowed through Peter and John in Acts 4, that the love we’ve been freely given through Christ is shared without expectation of reward.

This will look different in each student in each city, with each conversation and relationship built. Yet the same Spirit will lead us, the same love will drive us, the same truth will guide us.

Would you join me in praying for each of us working with GenSend? Pray that the rest of this summer will mirror that moment in the stairwell: different harmonies, melodies, songs and prayers meshing together into a large act of worship to the glory of our loving Creator.