story magazine - fall 2013

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FALL 2013 LIVING SENT WITH GOSPEL INTENT pg. 6 A LOOK BACK AT ELEVATE pg. 7 NO OTHER NAME pg. 8

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Page 1: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

FALL 2013

LIVING SENT WITH GOSPEL INTENT pg. 6

A LO OK BACK AT E LEVATE pg. 7

NO OTHER NAMEpg. 8

Page 2: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

1

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Leveraged for Something

GREATER

His s tory was beaut i fu l ly captured in the movie Schindler 's L is t . I f you aren' t fami l iar wi th the story, the f i lm is set in WWII Naz i Germany. Oskar Schindler i s a bus inessman who converted h is facto-r ies to make weapons for Germany. The movie deta i l s how Oskar Schindler t ransforms f rom a man looking to get r ich off of the war into a man wi th a v is ion to save people. The people he has a v is ion to save are the Jews who are being k i l led by the Naz i party. He ar ranges to buy these people out of concentrat ion camps to put them to work in h is factor ies , but h is rea l goal i s to f ree them f rom certa in death.

For Oskar Schindler, what s tar ts as a bus iness ar rangement ends up as a pass ion. As t ime goes on, the va lue of every possess ion is seen by i ts abi l i ty to save a l i fe . Th is pass ion becomes so acute that h is bus iness decis ions don't make much sense to those around h im. Schindler leverages everyth ing he has to save l ives even at great cost to h is bus iness and h imsel f . At the end of the movie , he rea l i zes that he d idn’t even fu l ly understand the fu l l impact of h is act ions . As the rea l i ty of what he was accompl ish ing begins to s ink in , he star ts looking at a l l the mater ia l th ings around h im and rea l i zes that even more could have been leveraged for some-th ing greater.

I f you st r ip down a l l o f what Resonate Church does, at the core you wi l l f ind a re lent less dr ive to reveal the t ruth of the Gospel in a way that changes l ives . The core bel ie f dr iv ing a l l that we do is that Jesus rescues people. Every year we st r ive to point everyth ing we do at th is core bel ie f . For Resonate Church, br inging the Gospel to as many people as poss ib le means that we must sh i f t f rom focus ing on growth to focus ing on mult ip l icat ion. The do-whatev-er- i t - takes mult ip l icat ion at t i tude has led us to two rea l i t ies .

Our goal i s to establ ish a new church on a Northwest col lege campus every 12 to 24 months . For Resonate Church, a l l o f th is innovat ion is centered on the foundat ional idea that people des-perate ly need Jesus and, l ike Oskar Schindler, we should leverage everyth ing we have to be used to save l ives .

We must explore the use of v ideo to rapid ly deploy churches on col lege campuses across the Northwest . Even though i t i s unorth-odox, we bel ieve that establ ish ing v ideo venues wi l l a l low us to deploy churches onto col lege campuses at a faster rate . Th is year we establ ished a v ideo venue s i te on the UI campus and i t has gathered people at a faster rate than our l i ve preaching venue.

We have to s tar t s i tes that are pr imar i ly used to t ra in church planters . This fa l l we launched a new mult ip l icat ion st rategy that created two church-planter developmenta l s i tes . These two s i tes on the WSU and UI campuses were created to help church plant teams not only form, but a lso be t ra ined before they are sent out to other col lege campuses across the Northwest .

by Keith Wieser

The story of Oskar Schindler

has impacted my life s ign if icantly .

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Page 3: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

Disciple-Makers Needed

O O O O O O O OO O O O O O O OO O O O O O O OO O O O O O O O

NOWO O

O O O O

There is also a familiar phrase that Jesus once said: “Go and make disciples.” As Resonate continues to grow in size, we also continue to grow in our need for discipleship and leadership. We have lots of people who are asking to be led and plenty of people wanting to be discipled. The overwhelming need for leaders and disciple- makers has shown us we need a better way of accomplishing this task.In the past, we have relied heavily on meeting one-on-one --one disciple-maker with one person eager to grow in their relationship with God. We would meet in coffee shops and common areas on campus and around town. These meetings often produced fruit in the lives of the individual being discipled, but too many times the amount of influence a discipler had was based on the amount of experience they carried with them into the discipleship relationship. This was great for some of our pastors who have been doing this kind of stuff for years, but was a little challeng-ing for the college junior who

has only been walking with Jesus for a year. The overwhelming reality was that our one-on-one discipleship meetings were inefficient in meeting the needs of our church.So, this summer we began to pray and plan for some changes in our discipleship process as a church that allows our leaders, both staff and volunteers, to engage more people in ongoing discipleship relation-ships. This fall we’ve started implementing a new strategy. Much of this strategy has come from an organization we have become familiar with, called 3DM, that has had significant influence in the “post-Christian“ cultures of Western Europe. Step one was to move from one-on-one meetings to small groups of 4 to 8 people for intentional discipleship. We call these small groups “Huddles.” Obviously, this involves more people in discipleship relationships. In an hour and a half, a leader can meet with four guys instead of just one. The biggest bonus is the group learning that

occurs. When one member of the group shares something significant from a principle that is being discussed, then other members get to glean from their learning as well. The learning potential is multiplied by however many people you have in the group. Discipling in a group is a system we see Jesus utilize with His disciples, so of course we think it is a pretty good idea.In addition to the intentional weekly meeting, disciples have an all-access pass to their Huddle leader’s life. This means they don’t just meet and talk about the Bible, but they hang out throughout the week and talk about life. Growth happens when disciples are able to see the principles they’ve talked about lived out in real life.What we want to be clear about in every one of the discipleship groups is Resonate’s expecta-tion for disciples to make disciples. If you are participat-ing in a Huddle, you will one day be leading another Huddle. Discipleship that ends

with you is not discipleship; it’s a dead end.Another part of the strategy is simplifying the materials we present into easily transfer-able principles, making the transmission of ideas from one disciple to the next more realistic. Specifically, every major discipleship principle has a shape or picture that works as a teaching tool to help communicate a point. Whether you have years of experience discipling others or you are just a few steps ahead of those you are leading, the principles and the shapes are the same.With this new strategy we are hoping and planning for exponential growth of leaders in Resonate Church, as groups of individuals learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and then turn around to disciple groups of their peers in the same way. We are eager to see God continue to transform our church into a multiplying discipleship culture.

DISCIPLING IN A GROUP IS A SYSTEM WE SEE 

JESUS UTILIZE WITH HIS disciples, so of 

course we think it is a pretty good idea. 

There is a phrase that gets used in our 

church often    Everything rises and 

falls on leadership.” 

by Ma�hew Young

“..

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Page 4: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

It’s been a hectic couple of months learning what it means to be a site pastor of a multi-site collegiate church.

If that title or role sounds strange to you, it does to us as well. Though we’ve only added one new site this year (UI On Campus), it has demanded a tremendous increase in Resonate’s need for clear communication, focus, and execution. We are developing a system of multiplication for collegiate churches that is, in many ways, a brand new thing. It's not surprising to experi-ence some challenges. As a site pastor, one foot is always in the door of the On-Campus team and the other foot is in the Gathering team. Half

our time is spent developing the Sunday gather-ing while the other half of our time is spent leading our teams and serving alongside them as we seek to be missionaries aimed at the heart of our campuses.

We are masters of nothing, generalists in every-thing. We are the voice that calls us back to the essentials, to the building blocks of the church. No matter what we're doing, we’ve had to learn that the amount of tasks completed does not

RESONATECHURCHnecessarily equal authority, leader-ship, or influence. True leadership looks like empowering others, taking initiative to push the church forward, and humbly serving our teams. We are the front line of prayer as we ask God to work in the lives of students and staff serving with us.

Our On-Campus sites (WSU and UI) are comprised mostly of freshmen and Greeks (fraternity and sorority students). Naturally, this requires the implementation of very young men and women in service and ministry leadership positions. What we’ve seen is pretty incredible: while there are some mistakes and miscommunications (as to be expected in all organizations), college students are rising to the challenge and vision given to them. They are beginning to understand the weight and scope of what God can do through them. This has been incredibly encouraging for us as site pastors, as we develop the future generation of men and women that will continue to build the church after us.

Multiplication, not addition, is the DNA of Resonate Church. Multiply-ing missional leaders is what we aim for. It affects all that we do, includ-ing how we as site pastors approach our leadership. There is a critical mission to accomplish; we must

hand off responsibility to the next generation, not just because we can’t do it on our own, but because if we don’t, we are robbing young believers of catalyzing leadership opportunities.

One of the biggest challenges we have faced as we seek to lead our sites is what we've nicknamed the "Timothy Syndrome." As young men in their twenties, who have known Jesus for fewer than ten years, it's easy to feel under-quali-fied for the shoes we've been asked to fill. To be the front line of pastoral care, the executor of vision, and the voice of clarity for a church of over one hundred people with over forty Sunday volunteers and eighteen small group leaders is no easy task. God has stretched us to come face to face with Jesus as He has refined our vision of what it means to make disciples who make disciples. What He has called us to as site pastors is a significant weight. God has caused us to weep, pray, and beg Him to reach the thousands of students on our campuses who still don't know Jesus. At the same time, the enemy has whispered lies in our ears to tell us we can't do it - that we're too young, too inexperi-enced. How could we have what it takes to lead and make disciples on such a grand scale?

But, oh the faithfulness of Christ to

reveal His character, His love, His grace, and His mission. He reminds us that He has qualified us, and if Christ has qualified us, we shouldn't believe for a second that we’re incapable. He has qualified us to make disciples who make disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Paul reminded Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but one of power through Christ Jesus. If God's whole goal this year was to prepare us for the future, we would agree He's doing just that.

As the year progresses, we constantly ask ourselves, “What would my job look like if we weren’t in Pullman or Moscow? What would we do in Ellensburg or Missoula or some other Northwest college-town?" While there is still time to prepare, we feel the Lord and our leaders pressing on us to really develop both our leadership and leadership ability in others. Our hope is that over the next year, we would be able to develop teams, a strategy, and a timeline for multiply-ing our church to more campuses across the Northwest. We are so blessed to be part of a process to train and develop the next genera-tion of disciples who make disciples to the glory of God on college campuses.

Mulitplication, not addition, is theDNA of Resonate Church.

But, oh the faithfulness of Christ to reveal His character, His love, His grace, and His mission.

by Jacob Dahl & Craig Lovelace

Craig Lovelace Jacob Dahl

43

Page 5: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

It’s been a hectic couple of months learning what it means to be a site pastor of a multi-site collegiate church.

If that title or role sounds strange to you, it does to us as well. Though we’ve only added one new site this year (UI On Campus), it has demanded a tremendous increase in Resonate’s need for clear communication, focus, and execution. We are developing a system of multiplication for collegiate churches that is, in many ways, a brand new thing. It's not surprising to experi-ence some challenges. As a site pastor, one foot is always in the door of the On-Campus team and the other foot is in the Gathering team. Half

our time is spent developing the Sunday gather-ing while the other half of our time is spent leading our teams and serving alongside them as we seek to be missionaries aimed at the heart of our campuses.

We are masters of nothing, generalists in every-thing. We are the voice that calls us back to the essentials, to the building blocks of the church. No matter what we're doing, we’ve had to learn that the amount of tasks completed does not

RESONATECHURCHnecessarily equal authority, leader-ship, or influence. True leadership looks like empowering others, taking initiative to push the church forward, and humbly serving our teams. We are the front line of prayer as we ask God to work in the lives of students and staff serving with us.

Our On-Campus sites (WSU and UI) are comprised mostly of freshmen and Greeks (fraternity and sorority students). Naturally, this requires the implementation of very young men and women in service and ministry leadership positions. What we’ve seen is pretty incredible: while there are some mistakes and miscommunications (as to be expected in all organizations), college students are rising to the challenge and vision given to them. They are beginning to understand the weight and scope of what God can do through them. This has been incredibly encouraging for us as site pastors, as we develop the future generation of men and women that will continue to build the church after us.

Multiplication, not addition, is the DNA of Resonate Church. Multiply-ing missional leaders is what we aim for. It affects all that we do, includ-ing how we as site pastors approach our leadership. There is a critical mission to accomplish; we must

hand off responsibility to the next generation, not just because we can’t do it on our own, but because if we don’t, we are robbing young believers of catalyzing leadership opportunities.

One of the biggest challenges we have faced as we seek to lead our sites is what we've nicknamed the "Timothy Syndrome." As young men in their twenties, who have known Jesus for fewer than ten years, it's easy to feel under-quali-fied for the shoes we've been asked to fill. To be the front line of pastoral care, the executor of vision, and the voice of clarity for a church of over one hundred people with over forty Sunday volunteers and eighteen small group leaders is no easy task. God has stretched us to come face to face with Jesus as He has refined our vision of what it means to make disciples who make disciples. What He has called us to as site pastors is a significant weight. God has caused us to weep, pray, and beg Him to reach the thousands of students on our campuses who still don't know Jesus. At the same time, the enemy has whispered lies in our ears to tell us we can't do it - that we're too young, too inexperi-enced. How could we have what it takes to lead and make disciples on such a grand scale?

But, oh the faithfulness of Christ to

reveal His character, His love, His grace, and His mission. He reminds us that He has qualified us, and if Christ has qualified us, we shouldn't believe for a second that we’re incapable. He has qualified us to make disciples who make disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Paul reminded Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but one of power through Christ Jesus. If God's whole goal this year was to prepare us for the future, we would agree He's doing just that.

As the year progresses, we constantly ask ourselves, “What would my job look like if we weren’t in Pullman or Moscow? What would we do in Ellensburg or Missoula or some other Northwest college-town?" While there is still time to prepare, we feel the Lord and our leaders pressing on us to really develop both our leadership and leadership ability in others. Our hope is that over the next year, we would be able to develop teams, a strategy, and a timeline for multiply-ing our church to more campuses across the Northwest. We are so blessed to be part of a process to train and develop the next genera-tion of disciples who make disciples to the glory of God on college campuses.

Mulitplication, not addition, is theDNA of Resonate Church.

But, oh the faithfulness of Christ to reveal His character, His love, His grace, and His mission.

by Jacob Dahl & Craig Lovelace

Craig Lovelace Jacob Dahl

43

Page 6: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

STORYSHELL’S

Keith was making announce-ments, and started talking about his excitement for what Resonate was planning to do. ‘We’re going to plant churches in other cities,’ he said. I thought that was really exciting. He mentioned Missoula first, but as soon as he said Ellensburg, my stomach knotted with excitement and anticipation. At the same time this feeling came over me - ‘someday you’re going to be there.’”

All Shell knew was that Resonate was going to plant more churches someday, but she didn’t know what to do with the intense feeling that she would be a part of it. It didn’t become clear to her until she went on the Spring Break Regional Church-planting trip, and their first stop was Ellensburg, Washington - the home of Central Washington University.

“Our hearts were broken there. We could feel the deadness on the campus, and that reminded me: God has told me about Ellensburg before, and now I see why. I just kept on thinking about it.”

On the drive to their second stop of Missoula, Montana , Shell found herself starting to look at the majors and classes at CWU on her phone.

“I was basically preparing in

my mind to go to Central. I knew something was going on in my heart, and that is what really got me excited. I was constantly thinking about it and wondering – ‘Why am I feeling called there?’”

Since then, Shell has continued to take a leap of faith and be obedient to the calling she feels from God to be a part of something bigger. She is making plans to transfer to CWU in 2014, and to begin making connections to prepare for the time Resonate sends a team to launch a church plant and reach college students there.

Shell wants to impact other college students the way she has been impacted by Jesus in her time at Resonate. When Shell began attending Resonate, she was a sophomore living in the dorms at the University of Idaho.

“Some of my friends in the dorms had gone to Resonate and I was thinking of going back to church again. The first time I went with them, I felt like I was supposed to be there.”

After starting to attend a Village, Shell began pursuing God more than she ever had before.

“I had known about God growing up, but I didn’t really know Him. When I came to Resonate, the

people there pointed me to Jesus and over time I was completely transformed.” It was also through Village that Shell became interested in serving Resonate in some way, and she quickly got plugged into the Tech Team for the Resonate Sunday gatherings.

“I was talking with one of my Village leaders about what we were doing with our time. I always thought that even if you’ve got nothing else, you can give your time. I felt this weight on my heart – ‘I’ve got some skills and some time; I should be using them to serve Resonate.’ I helped from then on with set-up and teardown. One week they needed someone to run the slides, so I filled in. They kept asking me to do it every week, and soon they wanted me to take over.”

Since that time, Shell has become one of Resonate’s most faithful and committed volunteers, serving at multiple services per week, every week. This spirit of dedicated and selfless service is what we hope for our students. Serving is simply one way to connect to community, and we pray that as young men and women get involved, Jesus will continue to capture their hearts and create in them a desire to influence others the way they have

been influenced. The greatest opportunity we offer to our students is planting future church-es.

Shell never thought she would be a part of something like this.

“Even though I grew up in a Christian family, I never thought I would help plant a church. I never thought I would move to a city before anyone else in that church was there. I always thought being a missionary was for those crazy Christians who wanted to go overseas. I’ve grown so much since then to know that the nations are in our backyard. I guess I am called to a specific people now.”

Even through this process of preparing for her future, Shell has learned more and more about trusting God and looking to Him for direction. She is excited to be a part of what He is doing among college students in the Northwest.

“I just can’t not go.”

“It was a normal day up until that moment...

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Page 7: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

No one knows when God is going to save,but we should all plan as if we do.

by Josh Martin

SENTGOSPEL

living

with

intent

Our calendars should have the word “expecting” written all over them. Just like we mark down a friend’s birthday, or a lunch date, we should schedule in our expectation. We should say, “God, I’m going to share the Gospel, and I’m going to expect you to save, and I’m going to do it on Saturday at 9am. See you then.”

Putting expectation on the calendar would be a good practice for the church. And if it doesn’t work, just like any meeting, you scratch it out and reschedule. But you don’t give up.

We should plan towards and believe for God to save. Through strategic preaching on Sunday and ready living every other day, the yearly rhythm of the church should be filled with Gospel intent.

Gospel intentionality—in planning, preaching, and practice—leads to a culture where response is normal. And it’s glorious when response is normal. Nothing is more fun. It means the Spirit of God is working, lives are changing, souls are stirring, and normal becomes natural.

We want normal to be when the

Gospel is so spoken and sewn—from the Sunday gatherings to the dorm gatherings—that old believers expect people to believe, and new believers share the Gospel with people as if it’s expected. When there is a saturation of ‘normal Gospel-sharing’ it leads to natural ‘without even thinking Gospel-sharing.’

My friends Victor and Damian came to Christ recently. Both have radical stories of conversion. Victor took 21 years to believe and Damian took 21 days. But what they have in common is coming to Christ in a culture that shared Christ. They saw Gospel intent shown every Sunday and every day between. This intentionality, met with an expectation, made Christ evident to these two men. And when they came to Christ the most normal and natural thing for them to do was live with intent and expectation. Without even being told, they turned and shared the Gospel. It was natural.

Culture is created where Gospel intentionality and expectation meet. If we intentionally share Jesus with people and expect Jesus to save, and do that so normally it becomes natural, then when people believe they will turn and make more believers. They have

to. It’s all they know. This is what we are laboring to accomplish in Resonate. Sermon series, village discussion, conversations with co-workers—every-thing is planned with Gospel intent and expectation. God will save, we know it. We plan for it.

As a church, we are only as potent as the disciples we make. And the disciples we make aren’t made in a vacuum, they are made in a culture. Large groups can’t make disciples, but they can inform culture and work in a rhythm to help facilitate intent and expectation.

The church’s culture should be one of intentional living, expectant living, where leading people to Christ is normal, and new Christ-followers share the Gospel naturally. As a follower of Jesus, whether you program Sunday gatherings or program computers, this lifestyle—the lifestyle of living sent—should be so normal we naturally calendar it into the fabric of our lives.

Share Jesus with expectation, live with Gospel intent, and watch God shape you and shape a whole church around the mission of making disciples who make disciples.

—in planning, preaching, and practice—leads toa culture where response is normal. And it’s glorious when response is normal.

Gospel intentionality

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Page 8: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

ELEVATE 2013

As we walk with Jesus, we are inviting others to walk along side us in the process. We want the students of Resonate to have eyes to see the community of people around them and not just be focused on their own life, their own grades, their own future job, their own future family. We want them to see the hurting world that surrounds them, that lives across the city, across the campus, across the classroom, and across the coffee table. We want each of our students to live an intentional life on mission as a representative of Christ to our world. The problem is that life is busy and once we finally find a rhythm, college students take off 3 months for the summer and disperse across the country. Often, most of this time is spent isolated from community, making it harder for them to walk closely with Christ.

We would love for all of our students to choose to go on a summer mission trip with Resonate, but for many students, getting a job to help pay for college is a must. So we offered them a way to do all of those things – 1) live in intentional community, 2) deepen their relationship with Christ, 3) learn to see the world around them and begin to live on mission, and 4) get paid doing it. We borrowed ideas from many campus ministries

across the country and decided to create Resonate's first ever summer project: "Elevate.”

Our first mission was picking a location. We had so many different options thrown our way, but luckily Chad McMillan (Resonate’s executive pastor) and I saw eye to eye. Our location needed to have mass appeal, offer countless temporary jobs, be sunny and warm, and be a place

that every student would want to spend their summer. We decided on the most beautiful city in the United States – San Diego, CA.

When we announced Elevate to our students, we had a lot of interest, and ended up with six staff members and thirty-three college students (from both the University of Idaho and Washing-ton State University) sign up and begin raising support to spend an intentional, missional summer in California.

We spent the summer teaching our "Elevators" the Gospel, the importance of community, how to serve in the local church, how to live missional-ly, how to be a disciple of Christ, how to be a servant, and how to run the race well. Our students secured jobs in the community for two reasons: we wanted them to have the chance to make money, but we also wanted them to be surrounded by people who don't

know Jesus so they could love them well and share the story of Jesus with them.

We heard consistent comments from everyone in proximity to the Elevate project how different our students were. People who worked with our students, employees of the hotel we lived in, the churches we served, and every person in the community were blown away that there were people in America that lived like our students did. The fact that they loved people and

were intentional to reach out, that they were so respectful and were the hardest working employees, and that they all seemed to really love this guy named Jesus was astonishing to the rest of our San Diego community. As Resonate students shared and lived out the Gospel through-out San Diego, we saw many people respond to the truth. What we didn't expect was to have two of our students get captured by the Gospel and surrender their lives to Jesus during our project. The truth of the Gospel combined with the power of community opened their eyes to a new way of life. We had the tremendous privilege of celebrating with one of these students through baptism in the Pacific Ocean.

All of our Elevators have had their lives transformed through this extensive discipleship training and have learned one of the most powerful and loving skills that a follower of Jesus can possess – intentionality.

Simply put, after ten weeks at Elevate, our college students just live differently. They see the world around them with new eyes. They are living out the Gospel. They are being missionaries on our campuses, they are living more deeply in community, and they are serving faithfully in the church. It's hard not to detect the students that were in San Diego this past summer because they stand out.We can't wait for Elevate 2014.

live in intentional communitydeepen your relationship with Christ

learn to see the world around youand begin to live on missionget paid doing it

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Followers of Christ are called to make disciples that make disciples.

by Drew Worsham

7

Page 9: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

To prepare our students for mission projects, we ask them to read about the first missionaries in the book of Acts. Not even two chapters into this book, the Holy Spirit shows up and something crazy happens. Peter then begins to travel and tell people about the only name under heaven by which men can be saved – the name of Jesus.

Two thousand years later, this is still true. The Holy Spirit is moving and there is power in the name of Jesus. Seth Sommers and Grant Gillman, two of our students who recently traveled to India, had read stories of Peter and the other disciples preaching and teaching about His great name, but as

they spent time overseas, the stories they read seemed to take on new meaning.

Seth and Grant are fraternity brothers at WSU and spend their free time hanging out with international students. This summer they crossed the Pacific Ocean with a mission to make much of the name of Jesus to those who have never heard. Upon arriving in India, they began working with a local pastor and traveled with him to several villages hoping to share the gospel with those living there. Some days they would knock on doors and some days they would gather a crowd in the streets and begin sharing about the hope they have in Jesus Christ.

The pastor they worked with was particularly excited to have the boys join him to visit a family in a nearby village. This family of five had contact-ed the pastor after an experience that demanded an explanation. Their teenage daughter was very sick and had been her whole life. Every day this girl would faint twice. Her parents sought medical help for years, but no doctors could explain why this was happening. The family even sought guidance from Hindu temples, and had been given lists of gods to pray to.

One day the father of this family remembered hearing about another god. At some point in his life, someone

told him that he could pray in the name of Jesus Christ. With no knowledge of who Jesus was, he was willing to try anything in desperation. He prayed in the name of Jesus that his daughter would be healed. And finally, something worked. The day he prayed in Jesus' name was the first day in more than a decade that his daughter did not faint.

This led his family to a desperate need to know more about Jesus. He sought out anyone that knew something about this God, and he was eventually connected to the local pastor. Grant and Seth just happened to be with the pastor when he got word about this family. The three of

them traveled to their village, eager to share about how there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved.

When they arrived, the boys waited for the pastor to begin sharing, but instead he said, "ok boys, your turn." Seth and Grant got to share the Gospel with this family of five as the pastor helped translate. At the end of their story, the boys asked if the family wanted to follow Jesus. Without hesitation, the entire family prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.

This story would have happened with or without Grant and Seth. The truth is that when a hopeless Indian

father prayed to Jesus, his prayer was answered. This family experienced God moving before our team even arrived in India. God welcomed Grant and Seth to join in on the work that He was doing long before they arrived and that He will continue long after they returned home to the states.

The impact of this event reaches far beyond the borders of India. One momentary experience has forever changed the way Grant and Seth pray to their heavenly Father. It has forever changed the way they beg for the Holy Spirit to move in their fraternity, their university, their city, and their nation.

This led the family to a desperate need to know more about Jesus. He sought out anyone that knew something about this God...

by Erin czirr

8

Page 10: Story Magazine - Fall 2013

the is plentifulHARVESTBY CHAD MCMILLAN

The region was known for its grain production, but this was verging on unheard of. Not only was he going to fill his current storehouses, he would need to build even more to hold the abundance. Yes, he was eagerly anticipating the harvest that was about to come in…far more than he could have ever imagined.

But as he began to calculate the vastness of the yield, the farmer quickly realized that he did not have enough help or equipment to bring the harvest in before it spoiled in the field. He would need many more hands than he currently had at his disposal. His mind raced. Where would he find this help and could he get it to the fields in time?

These questions quickly snapped him back to reality. This was no time to rest. There would be no party that day; it would have to wait. His excitement was now tempered with fervent prayer and his pleasure was surpassed by intense planning so that workers could be found to reap this unprecedented crop. There was so much work to be done and what precious time was left could not be wasted.

In the back of his mind,

The wheat farmer surveyed his acreage,pleased with how full the crop had come in this year.

though, the farmer knew the upcoming party was going to be mind-blowing.

Similar sentiments were captured by Jesus when He said in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Over the next ten years, Resonate Church will see over 100,000 university students come through the Palouse. There is no question that qualifies as a plentiful harvest. And so our prayers have continued to be for more workers in the fields to gather the crop that Jesus is bringing to fruition. We are seeing these prayers being answered as more and more people are catching the vision of reaching this generation for Christ and joining our work on the Washington State University and University of Idaho campuses. Plans are even well underway for harvest on new university campuses across the Northwest.

This year Resonate has the largest staff it has ever seen in its 6-year history. As leaders of our church, we know that moments are fleeting with the students on

our campuses and we want to make sure to maximize our time. We also want to utilize the giftings of God’s people to reach students wherever they might be. It is our desire that no crops are left in the field to spoil. These “fieldhands” have come Resonate Church from all over to help in the harvest, and they have come with all sorts of gifts and skills. Some are training in order to launch collegiate churches in the future. Some are telling the story of what God is doing to welcome people back into relationship with Himself. Many are meeting with students that need to hear the good news of life in Jesus. All are being used by God to bring redemption to our universities.

Please continue to pray for more workers. It is Resonate’s vision to start five new collegiate churches in the next five years. That kind of harvest cannot be reaped without more workers. But the Lord of the harvest is faithful to make sure the crops He makes to grow are brought into His storehouses. And when that is complete, we will party like never before.

To learn more about who God has called to Resonate Church, please visit our website at

www.experienceresonate.com/staff.

to learn how you can be a part of our missionby providing for these workers or contributingto the equipment needed in the harvest, pleasecontact us at

[email protected] go to www.experienceresonate.com/give.

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the is plentifulHARVESTBY CHAD MCMILLAN

The region was known for its grain production, but this was verging on unheard of. Not only was he going to fill his current storehouses, he would need to build even more to hold the abundance. Yes, he was eagerly anticipating the harvest that was about to come in…far more than he could have ever imagined.

But as he began to calculate the vastness of the yield, the farmer quickly realized that he did not have enough help or equipment to bring the harvest in before it spoiled in the field. He would need many more hands than he currently had at his disposal. His mind raced. Where would he find this help and could he get it to the fields in time?

These questions quickly snapped him back to reality. This was no time to rest. There would be no party that day; it would have to wait. His excitement was now tempered with fervent prayer and his pleasure was surpassed by intense planning so that workers could be found to reap this unprecedented crop. There was so much work to be done and what precious time was left could not be wasted.

In the back of his mind,

The wheat farmer surveyed his acreage,pleased with how full the crop had come in this year.

though, the farmer knew the upcoming party was going to be mind-blowing.

Similar sentiments were captured by Jesus when He said in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Over the next ten years, Resonate Church will see over 100,000 university students come through the Palouse. There is no question that qualifies as a plentiful harvest. And so our prayers have continued to be for more workers in the fields to gather the crop that Jesus is bringing to fruition. We are seeing these prayers being answered as more and more people are catching the vision of reaching this generation for Christ and joining our work on the Washington State University and University of Idaho campuses. Plans are even well underway for harvest on new university campuses across the Northwest.

This year Resonate has the largest staff it has ever seen in its 6-year history. As leaders of our church, we know that moments are fleeting with the students on

our campuses and we want to make sure to maximize our time. We also want to utilize the giftings of God’s people to reach students wherever they might be. It is our desire that no crops are left in the field to spoil. These “fieldhands” have come Resonate Church from all over to help in the harvest, and they have come with all sorts of gifts and skills. Some are training in order to launch collegiate churches in the future. Some are telling the story of what God is doing to welcome people back into relationship with Himself. Many are meeting with students that need to hear the good news of life in Jesus. All are being used by God to bring redemption to our universities.

Please continue to pray for more workers. It is Resonate’s vision to start five new collegiate churches in the next five years. That kind of harvest cannot be reaped without more workers. But the Lord of the harvest is faithful to make sure the crops He makes to grow are brought into His storehouses. And when that is complete, we will party like never before.

To learn more about who God has called to Resonate Church, please visit our website at

www.experienceresonate.com/staff.

to learn how you can be a part of our missionby providing for these workers or contributingto the equipment needed in the harvest, pleasecontact us at

[email protected] go to www.experienceresonate.com/give.

109

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RESONATE CHURCHP.O. BOX 1605PULLMAN WA 99163

CONNECTING THE GOSPEL TO PEOPLE/PEOPLE TO COMMUNITY/COMMUNITY TO MISSION

WWW.EXPERIENCERESONATE.COM