Be Caring, Bold & Wise
My friend, Rob,* was studying Revelation in a Bible study last October, when he was awestruck by Revelation 7:9-10:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This word picture - a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages - just blew him away. Rob works in a big, diverse international company, but the only Christians he knew in his workplace looked a lot like him. He knew he had to change that. But he also knew he had to be sensitive to the company’s policies.
Rob started by sharing his heart with two Christian co-workers and asking them to pray daily - asking God how they might reach others in the name of Jesus while respecting company policies. Two weeks later, they compiled a list of 12 church-going co-workers, and asked if they could have their personal email addresses to relay their hopes and share ideas.
Then they challenged each person to invite one other Christian co-worker to share their personal email and join their email conversations (sent during non-working hours), and extended the challenge to invite someone new to each new participant. As they grew, they shifted from email to Slack to accommodate the volume of interactions. Within six weeks, they had over 200 believing co-workers communicating with one another.
A small team began collecting prayer concerns and compiling a weekly list on Slack. They quickly realized they were praying for family members, friends, co-workers, and customers in over 20 countries. Rob’s vision was becoming a reality.
Then the stories of answered prayers started rolling in. They found an available building near their company, set up a makeshift stage, borrowed some sound equipment and began inviting all participants to join them once a month for an open-mic opportunity to share and hear these incredible stories of answered prayers.
While they maintained their respect for company policies, they began seeing the old divisions within the company start fading away with a new level of openness and trust emerging in their meetings and professional conversations. Next, participants began asking if they could invite their unbelieving co-workers to hear some of the answered prayers. No one, but God, foreknew what would follow.
Last week, just over eight months after Revelation 7:9-10 had such a profound impact on Rob, they had over 100 prayer concerns on their list, over 300 people connected through Slack, and over 200 in their monthly meeting. 11 people took the microphone to share what God had done through their prayers; and they have led 9 people to the Lord. All co-workers. All before work.
I dare say they are well on their way to a revival.
Why is this so rare?
Could it be more our reluctance than God’s?
It’s not the size that should impress us.
It’s the initiative.
Image the stories you and your co-workers or friends could be sharing.
If not you, then who?
* “Rob” is not his real name. I am withholding his name and the company name to honor his request.
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