This past Sunday I talked about a segment of our vision for the future. By the end of 2010, it is our vision to open our third campus as a church. We are planning on doing this in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Operating under a “new model,” different from our Pinnacle Hills model, we are optimistic that God is going to bless this strategy. Be in prayer for God’s will relating to this future.

This Sunday, I am going to continue to unfold a part of a new vision. I am going to challenge the church in a very unique way on Sunday morning. I hope you will be here and look forward to the challenge. Additionally, I am going to provide a big challenge to our Connection Groups, so look forward to the vision and the challenge.

I remember years ago that many times we used the phrase, “The Miracle Continues.” The miracle does continue here in Northwest Arkansas. God has been so good to our fellowship and we are so blessed. Our church is not perfect as no church is, but we are very committed to reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the World for Jesus Christ. Strategically, we operate our ministry with this commitment. As we advance towards the future, we advance only as we advance the mission of our church.

See you Sunday.

We can lose many things in life and survive but when we lose HOPE, we lose the will to survive. On Tuesday January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered massive loss through the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. However, it seems the one thing that was not lost, but actually increased, was HOPE. Haiti didn’t have a lot in the form of physical possessions, but their will to survive is much stronger than most thriving nations.

Shortly after the earthquake, I entered Haiti with a small assessment team and began the process of recovery for our ministry center, JoyHouse in Gressier, Haiti (www.haitijoyhouse.org). I heard it said, “We will rebuild” to which I responded, “no we will not rebuild, we will Build Haiti and Build Hope.” Haiti needed to be BUILT on a different foundation, the foundation of HOPE in Christ! The Lord began to bring the resources and now, three months later, we are seeing the results of Building Hope…Building Haiti.

Through the ministry of JoyHouse, we have fed hundreds if not thousands with physical food. Medical teams have treated close to 2000 patients. There have been seven new homes built; many residents of the area have been assisted by volunteers to clean up debris etc. We have held revival services in the newly constructed, temporary church building and shared the gospel with multiple thousands, seeing over 500 come to faith in Jesus and baptizing new converts in the ocean. JoyHouse has been stabilized structurally and is a major command center for relief workers from all over the USA. This is HOPE!

If you want to be involved in Building HOPE…Building Haiti, contact me at the Global Missions office, 479.756.7151 or email me at dougs@fbcs.net. Teams are being formed continually. There is great information on the web at http://springdale.reachforlife.tv/missions/the-world/haiti/ There is still much to be done and you can play a role in what the Lord is doing in Haiti to BUILD the country. Volunteers are needed to help build homes and churches, assist in debris removal, share the love of Christ with children and adults, and simply bring HOPE to the Haitian people.

I read Acts 13 recently. The chapter is filled with challenges the apostles and disciples faced. However, the last verse says, “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:52 What a great lesson for us all today. No matter the circumstances, we must continually be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit; these are the two main ingredients to HOPE. I pray your day is filled with HOPE as you are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday was a great day — indeed a historic day. Meeting all day at the Airport Marriott in Nashville, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force finished our report and adopted it unanimously. We now look forward to the public release of our report on May 3, and we are confident that Southern Baptists will respond to the report with enthusiasm and a sense of excitement.

We asked Southern Baptists to talk to us, and we have listened. We have worked toward a report that will be eagerly embraced by every Great Commission-driven Southern Baptist. We heard from Southern Baptists from every region and calling. We have met with Southern Baptists serving in almost every capacity, ranging from state convention leaders to the heads of SBC entities to pastors and Great Commission strategists. They have helped us immensely in framing this report, and the unanimous approval of the report by the Task Force indicates a level of excitement that will take us on to Orlando.

From the start, our determination has been to bring a report that will bring Southern Baptists together in Orlando and propel us to the future filled with Great Commission passion. Now, I am fully confident that we can do what we pledged to do, and I am very thankful to this Task Force for its good work in bringing us to this moment.

I will look forward to talking with the media after the release of our report on May 3. Until then, thank you for your interest in this important work.

Dr. Ronnie W. Floyd, Chairman
Great Commission Resurgence Task Force
of the Southern Baptist Convention

We are fifty days away from the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. It is hard to believe that our Great Commission Resurgence Task Force has been working for almost one solid year. We have listened, learned, and worked diligently to arrive at this moment.

I have one purpose in writing you today. Please pray for our Task Force like never before as we work on our Final Report. We are meeting all day today and into the night if needed. I plead with you – we need your prayers. Call unto the Lord like never before, asking Him to move among our group in a mighty way.

Thank you for supporting us in prayer.

We just concluded a phenomenal time with God and His people. Jeana and I had the incredible blessing of hosting the 2010 Mega-Metro Conference for Pastors and Wives. We had some special moments in worship, tremendous fellowship, and great learning moments from our sessions together. Yesterday morning, the Lord really moved among His people powerfully. We have a group of wonderful, godly servants who are absolutely surprised at how God has blessed and done what He has done with our lives. We are humbled by the mighty presence of God. Thanks to all of my people who have been praying for specific leaders who attended the conference.

Sunday is a very significant day as I talk to you about the future of our church. Please come as I reveal something God has been developing in our vision for right at two years. Please prioritize Sunday morning and be here. Pray for Sunday!

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force meets on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. This is our most critical meeting of all as we build and write our final report to be released on May 3 to the Southern Baptist Convention. Please pray all day Monday like never before for the GCR Task Force.

Sunday was a memorable day in the life of our church. The morning kicked off with a powerful message from David Platt. It concluded with an interesting and challenging look from Thom Rainer on where the culture is and encouraged each one of our members to live as ministers. Both of these men challenged us towards the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission entrusted to each one of us. So what do we do? How do we first of all process what we heard, and second, how do we wear it?

The first step is making sure we got the message. Many of us may need to go to the church website and watch the message again and let God’s Word sink deep into our hearts. Others may need to simply take a look at their notes from Sunday morning or the many important components of Dr. Rainer’s study on Sunday night. Take some time in your personal time with God this week to review what we were told as a church through these two men.

Next, we must examine our own lives. What is God telling us to do? The greatest thing about hearing a man of God preach from the Word of God is that the Spirit of God penetrates our hearts in ways we may have never expected. God may have pricked your heart towards an area of your life that neither Dr. Platt nor Dr. Rainer spoke about. Let these questions from David Platt cause us to examine our hearts.

• Are we choosing comfort or the cross?
• Are we settling for maintenance or sacrificing for mission?
• Will our lives be marked by indecisive minds or undivided hearts?

Last but certainly not least, we must obey. The danger with not obeying quickly is that we often get consumed with life and end up forgetting what God has told us to do. Were you one that God has called to live more on mission with Him? Were you one that needs to live sacrificially? Were you one that God dealt with on a completely different subject? My simple encouragement is to obey. What God told you yesterday, do today. As a church, we must take what we heard on Sunday and commit to God’s mission once again. Let me encourage you to be in church this Sunday as we talk about how we will be taking this next step in fulfilling God’s mission.

David Platt and Thom Rainer ministered to our fellowship of believers in a special way yesterday. While Dr. Rainer invested his life in our servant-leaders, Dr. Platt called the entire church to a high commitment of following Jesus Christ. It was an extraordinary message preached by an extraordinary man of God. Thank God for great men of God like Thom Rainer and David Platt.

This afternoon, Jeana and I begin hosting the 2010 Mega-Metro Conference for Pastors and Wives. We are hosting it here in Northwest Arkansas in the Hammond Convention Center, a wonderful first-class place for meetings. We are trusting God for a great week together. We have over 60 leaders and their spouses with us this week. Our theme is “Let’s Talk Church.”

How can you come alongside of us this week? Pray for our meeting. Pray for these men of God and their wives. This is a major week in all of our lives at a very pivotal time in the life of our denomination. We are men that are about the church of Jesus Christ. We are praying for and trusting God for a mighty movement of God.

Bless you this week.

One of the most anointed younger preachers I have heard in many years is Dr. David Platt from Birmingham, Alabama. He will be preaching in all of our services on Sunday morning. Jeana and I look so forward to hearing him, but also for you to hear him. Friends, do not miss this moment. It will be a great day for our church. Make it a major priority to be on time for our services. Invite someone to come and hear David Platt this Sunday.

Sunday afternoon from 5:00-7:00 p.m. we are calling all of our servant-leaders in our church to come and hear one of America’s great leaders, Dr. Thom Rainer. He is the President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources. Friends, this will be one special time so do not miss hearing him. If you serve anywhere in this ministry, doing anything, whether you perceive yourself as a servant-leader or not, we need you here. Please make a strong commitment to be present Sunday afternoon.

We are privileged to have these men of God in our church because Jeana and I am hosting the Mega-Metro Conference for Pastors and Wives. Over 100 people will be with us from Monday through Wednesday noon. Pray for this gathering. These men pastor some of America’s strongest churches.

See you Sunday, it is also Children’s Day!

Spiritual revival is the number one need in the Great Commission Resurgence movement. Nothing is more needed in our lives, our churches, and in our convention of churches than spiritual revival. We are in desperate need for the refreshing wind of God’s Spirit to blow upon us.

Revival is the manifested presence of God in our lives. I believe we have a passion to see Him bring a mighty awakening to our land. We cannot minimize this need among us. It is only through God alone that we will ever experience this kind of movement of the Holy Spirit in our generation.

As I have talked to countless pastors, denominational leaders, and laypeople over the course of this past year, each one is quick to say that we must have a mighty move of God among us. There is a growing desperation for this movement to occur.

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force is very convinced that spiritual revival is the ultimate answer to the challenges we face today. In our Progress Report, we gave a clear call for spiritual revival, yet it seems to have gotten lost or unintentionally ignored in the midst of all the discussion. In our Final Report that will be released on May 3rd, this call will move the challenge into some specific steps of action.

While we position ourselves spiritually and prayerfully pursue Jesus about it, we must at the same time take action to fulfill the Great Commission now. We will see a mighty move of God occur when we risk it all to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and make disciples of all the nations. Nothing will ignite this spiritual revival and serve as a catalyst to it occurring anymore than obedience to fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Now is the time for all of us to act on the Great Commission. We must be willing to risk it all for Jesus’ message to go throughout America and the world.

This next great movement of God we are praying for will look something like the following:

If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Since 2 Chronicles 7:14 is clear, we know the next great move of God will not occur where pride, prayerlessness, distractedness, and an unrepentant heart exists. If these serve as our choices for the way we do life and ministry, then nothing will change anywhere in life and ministry.

This is not what any of us desire. We want to see and be a part of a generation-shaping movement of God that looks like 2 Chronicles 7:14. Let’s heed the call of the Holy Spirit personally and call our churches to do the same collectively.

While we can position ourselves to experience spiritual revival, we need to remember that spiritual revival is a sovereign act of God towards His people. Therefore, may 2010 be when the mercy drops from our Sovereign Lord and falls upon us.

Would you stop at this moment and pray these words right now:

“Oh Lord, let revival begin in me today. Let it begin in my church today. Let it begin in our Southern Baptist Convention today. Let us experience a generation-shaping movement of God. Give us the desire, the power, and the resources to take the Gospel to places where the Gospel has never been before in America and across the entire world. Give us a genuine movement of the Spirit that leads to seeing a Great Commission Resurgence in our generation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Sunday we celebrated 25 years of service given by our brother in Christ, Charlie Foster. When I arrived here almost 24 years ago, Charlie had just moved here from a pastorate in West Virginia. Just a few years earlier, he and his wife had come to Christ through our church. God called him to preach and he went to do his seminary education. Just after seminary, God called him to West Virginia, and now he has been on our team for 25 years.

Charlie loves people and is a man that brings joy into the lives of others. As our Minister of Pastoral Care and Senior Adults, he is used in the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people on an annual basis. Charlie loves people and people love Charlie.

Without this man of God and his partnership in Christ, I could not do what I am able to do daily. His great love and work for Jesus has so influenced the lives of many people. I am very grateful and thankful for Charlie and Gloria, their children, and grandchildren.

I bless them and thank our God for the Fosters.