I've spent the better part of a week or more keeping you informed of the behind the scenes details of the Rodeo outreach - it's been fun to be a part of it and to bring you along for the ride. Now, some time for reflection.
What a day! I can't believe how well everything came together and the number of complete strangers that showed up. I'm astounded by the many levels in an event like the Rodeo and at each level I saw the potential of how God could use it for His glory.
The prayer life of Grace Church - I don't have a measure of what the routine prayer life of the body of Grace Church consists of, but for at least the last few weeks, in some cases maybe even the last nine months since we announced the idea, people have been praying. They've been praying for a specific purpose and possibly praying more than they normally do. Pastor Scott, myself and others have challenged people to pray and shared specific areas for prayer, but whether or not people followed was between them and God. If indeed their prayer lives increased, that can only be attributed to the Spirit's prompting. An increase prayer life in a church is just one of the benefits of doing something like the Rodeo. And, if God did nothing else, but to increase the prayer life of Grace Church, I think it was worth all of the effort.
Investing in Grace Church - I'm not talking about cash, I'm referring to lives. We've experienced tremendous growth at Grace over the past four years (yes, the growth trend started even before Pastor Young completed his ministry). As we saw with the Beach Blast, an event like the Rodeo opens opportunities for more people to get involved in the ministry of Grace. Sure, we've got slots that need to be filled across our ministries, but a lot of them are in circles with established networks that can be difficult to penetrate for someone new. That's what makes events like the Beach Blast or Rodeo unique. Because they're completely new, there are few, if any established networks in place, so everyone is on an even playing ground and can get involved. We had 320 people show up at the volunteer meeting for the Rodeo. A bunch of them had not participated in a Grace event previously. They've now had that chance and are likely to invest more of their life at Grace Church. Let's just say that the whole prayer life aspect of this was a mirage, if the only God does through the Rodeo is use it to motivate people to invest their lives in serving Him, it would all be worth it.
Intrapersonal relationships - After the meeting Saturday night, it was neat to see how many people stuck around just chatting together. A number of those conversations were groups of people who had just met. New relationships formed as a result of working side by side during the Rodeo. New relationships that God can use in a ton of different ways tomorrow and into the future. Even if they never volunteer for another activity, if all God did through the Rodeo is build new relationships among the church body, it would have been worth it all.
Leadership Development - Events like a Rodeo are an undertaking that requires leadership. They're in essence a concentrated leadership development program full of delegation, prioritization, working with people, leading people, trusting people, managing a budget, troubleshooting, and on and on. We've seen the leadership abilities of the people on the task force developed to new levels. And if that alone were the single outcome of the Rodeo, it would have been worth it.
Church/Staff Unity - When faced with the impossible, groups have the choice of rallying together or splitting a part. By God's grace, we rallied together, both as a church and as a staff. It was obvious by the conversations. What are you doing in the Rodeo? Are you excited for Sunday? I can't wait for the Rodeo? Who did you invite? The staff rallied together in a way that exceeded everything I've witnessed in my years at Grace. We hit snags, we always do, but as a staff, we solved them together in a positive atmosphere. We flexed unlike I've ever seen, rolled with the punches and methodically found creative solutions for unexpected problems. Those experiences will reap benefits for years to come which is well worth all the toil if God accomplished nothing else through the Rodeo. There are many more I can think of, but that horse is dead.
These are just some of the fringe benefits. In my next post, What Pepsi, basketball and a Rodeo have in common, I'll get to why we did the Rodeo in the first place, which I didn't even get to in this post.
