A good friend of mine has been praying for her husband to come to Church (Rocky River Church) for a while now. He doesn’t believe in God and has no use for church. He has told her that he will come tomorrow – but only once. She posted this on her Facebook page earlier this evening and I’ve hardly thought of anything else since reading it. It’s a reminder to me that the stakes are SO high at Rocky River Church. It reminds me that church is not some kind of a game. Okay, sure it is for some people. Sure, there are plenty of people who just come and put in their time and that’s about it. But it’s not for my Facebook friend whose husband is giving her church and her God one chance tomorrow. ONE CHANCE!

So, here’s what she’s praying will happen tomorrow (by the time you read this it will probably already be Sunday). She’s praying that there will be a place for them to park when they show up so her husband won’t circle the lot a couple times, get frustrated and take the family to IHOP instead. She’s praying that the right people will greet them at the door – the friendly lady who makes people feel welcome but not so over the top that he will feel uncomfortable. My friend is praying that the people who take care of her son in the children’s ministry (the ones he likes) will be on duty so he won’t cry when she drops him off at the nursery. She’s praying that the music will be great – that the band will be thinking more about her husband than about themselves so God can honor the music and that it will connect with him. She’s praying that I’ve had plenty of time this week to pray, plan and prepare for my message this week so that it will be as though God is speaking straight to her husband. She’s praying that God will use all of us to create a place of transformation where her husband will be changed by the message of Christ. She’s desperate!

Do you see how high the stakes are? Do you see how important that parking team, greeter team, kids ministry teams, the setup/tear down teams, the worship team and the teaching teams are? The stakes are high…! For my friend, her husband’s eternity is at stake.

I plan to have on my game face at Rocky River Church tomorrow. I hope you will too... And even though you don’t know my friend, will you be praying for her husband?

Thanks…
Jimmy