Archive for September, 2013
This Week at Cross Church: Reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the World through Prayer, Planting, and Giving
Pray for us Monday and Tuesday
On Monday evening and Tuesday morning, I will be meeting with 177 other pastors from 26 states for the purpose of serious prayer and intercession, asking God for revival and awakening in the lives of pastors, churches, and our nation. It is a tremendous blessing, but an enormous challenge to lead and facilitate this gathering. Cross Church Family, will you pray for me? I must be able to listen to God and move our gathering to where He desires us to go. I would also ask you to pray for our gathering. I listed seven ways you can pray for us here.
Don’t Miss Sunday
This Sunday, we will continue our “Praying With Power” series. You do not want to miss it. Along with our new Cross Church Circle ministry kicking off next week, I am expecting God to do great things in the prayer life of Cross Church.
Send North America and Church Planting
Jeana and I hosted the North American Mission Board’s Send North America Church Planting Conference this week in Boston, MA. What an amazing city! Pastors and their wives from 24 churches listened as we shared the vision. It is apparent the Lord is working, as we saw several Pastors commit to become partner churches. We started the Send North America movement in the fall of 2012, targeting 32 key cities. Can you believe, we started the conference this week with commitments to 26 cities and ended the week with commitments to 30 cities, all within a year! Isn’t God good? Continue to pray for this tremendous vision.
We also had an opportunity to visit Aaron and Kathy Werner, our church planters in Portland, Maine. We were able to tour the city with them and see possible site options for Cross Church Scarborough, Maine. They shared their vision for reaching the Portland area for Christ. It is incredible to see how this young couple has already entrenched themselves into this community in the very short time they have been there. Everywhere they go and everyone they meet, they see an opportunity to share.
New Ministry Budget Launches October 1
We saw God do great things in the life of Cross Church this past year. It was made possible by your obedience and generosity. At our Annual Business Meeting a few weeks ago, Cross Church approved our God-sized budget for 2013-14 with a goal of $16,780,000. We all need to help meet this challenge, and as we do, we will see what God can do at Cross Church over the next year. Each time you give, you are helping further our mission of reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the World for Jesus Christ.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
How You Can Pray for: A Call To Pray for Revival and Awakening, A Gathering For Senior Pastors
From September 30 at 6:30 p.m. through October 1 at 12:00 p.m., 178 Senior Pastors from 25 states across our country will be gathering for serious prayer and intercession relating to revival and awakening in the lives of pastors, churches, and our nation. We believe God is calling Pastors to stand in the gap for His people about revival and awakening. We are praying that if God so wills, this gathering could become the catalyst for the next great move of God in our land.
Interest continues to grow
The interest continues to grow for this prayer gathering. If airline costs were more reasonable, there is no telling how many people would be able to attend. Our rooms are sold out, but there is still space for a few more to participate in the prayer gathering, even though you may have to stay in another hotel. You can register to participate in this prayer gathering here.
How you can pray for this gathering
This is a gathering for Senior Pastors of Southern Baptist churches. By no means is exclusivity our goal, but we really felt we needed to begin with Senior Pastors of local churches with the commonality of pastoring Southern Baptist churches.
I have been asked how laypeople and other pastors can pray for us. Some churches are organizing to pray for our gathering. They realize the significance of pastors from across the nation coming together for the purpose of praying for revival and awakening. Therefore, let me offer a few suggestions:
- Pray for God to give us a vision for spiritual revival and awakening.
- Pray for God to give us a burden for spiritual revival and awakening.
- Pray for God to reveal sin and the need for personal repentance.
- Pray for God to lead us to the filling of His Spirit and all the fullness He brings.
- Pray for the Lord to revive His pastors, His church, and awaken America.
- Pray for God to use our prayer gathering to speak to us and use us in any capacity as a catalyst for national revival and awakening.
- Pray for God to empower our pastors to pray for and move towards the ultimate fulfillment of the Great Commission: presenting the gospel to the entire world and making disciples of all the nations.
Dear friends, use this as a few thoughts to pray, but overall, pray as God directs you. We mainly need you to pray, and pray more for this gathering. We want to see God do a great work among and through us.
Finally
Pray for me. I have a real blessing, but an enormous challenge before me in leading and facilitating this gathering. Will you pray for me? I must be able to listen to God and move our gathering to where He desires us to go. We will be Word-based and Christ-centered, but we also want to be Spirit-led. I want us to follow God. These 178 pastors from 25 states are not coming to Southlake, Texas (DFW Region) for a preaching conference, but for a real, live-action prayer gathering. We are gathering to pray. Therefore, I confess humbly: I really need you to pray for me. Thanks for joining us in this prayer journey.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.