Log in to your Account

A few years ago, I was mentoring a church in preparation for their first Global Impact Celebration (GIC). Click here to view a short video to learn more about GICs. An associate pastor on staff was not too keen on having the GIC, and regularly spoke out against it. Finally, the senior pastor told the associate that, while he did not have to be a cheerleader for the GIC, he would have to stop speaking negatively about it.

On the Sunday concluding the GIC, I was downstairs in the foyer area awaiting the end of the first traditional service. When the service ended, the double doors flew open and out strode the aforementioned associate pastor. Tears were streaming down his face. He saw me, came over and gave me a big bear hug, then turned and walked toward his office muttering, “I just can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.”

Later that afternoon, the associate asked me to explain what had happened over the weekend. He said that he had been associated with that church for quite some time, and what he saw in the services that morning was something he never thought possible. He recounted seeing “tight-fisted” people commit to give in new ways. He was especially moved by seeing people who had, as he characterized it, “hearts of granite,” at the altar, weeping in brokenness.

I responded by telling him that the preparation beginning at the Activate Conference and leading up to the GIC, especially the concentrated prayer effort, contributed to the response he saw. But more importantly, the Holy Spirit moved during the GIC, as He usually does, expanding peoples’ understanding of their role in the work of God’s kingdom.

This story highlights only one of the benefits of a local church having a GIC—changed lives. Following a GIC, people tend to love more, learn more, seek more, give more, and serve more. As one pastor on the West Coast discovered, no longer did the staff have to beg for Sunday school teachers. Following the GIC, there were people on a waiting list to teach. The spirit of desiring to serve Jesus permeated the entire church.

Perhaps you would like an infusion of that spirit in your church. Believe that it is possible and contact the church ministry team at TMS Global by clicking here to get started.

Stan Self is a training consultant for TMS Global.

Stock photo used for privacy.