Here are some Luke 10 stories: This first one comes from a friend in the UK who emailed me recently. People in the UK are much more resistant to the Gospel than people here in the States, but look at how ripe the harvest is!
"I started reading 'Army of Ordinary People' at the end of May and it was giving me answers to my frustrated questions.
The best way I can describe it is like, you have this beautiful baby that smells divine. Then a few months into being a Mum you're pulling your hair out because of dirty nappies, puke everywhere, being constantly in demand and to top it all you're having sleepless nights! And amidst all that, you absolutely adore your baby.
So when I started reading your book it was just wonderful, to read about all the 'different' stories and examples of simple church. The way people's life's were affected through people reaching out. Like Elizabeth's story and Josh's story. Reading about the church that started because of Berky working at the cocktail bar. Knowing that the fact that it didn't continue doesn't mean it was a failure. Also reading about the church at Rosa's.
The variety! I was like, 'Oh my God, it's okay if we started a group in an alcoholics house and it worked for a while then she decided Jesus wasn't what she wanted.
It's okay that we had a new set of youths come along to our simple church in our home and the existing folks kind of didn't mix. We didn't know what to do and now they've stopped coming and more new youth are coming.
It's okay to just 'hang out' with the young people even if it is for a year before we see signs of them wanting to know more about Jesus.
It's okay that a church we started with a couple her daughter and friend has gone to just her and her daughter. Why? because she kicked her partner out after putting up with years of him cheating on her. Her friend has been influenced by the spirit of lesbianism! and just doesn't come any more. This woman also suffered a miscarriage recently after the break up with her partner and was nearing a breakdown. I know God held her together through just 'being church'. I would just go and sit and listen to her, then cry all the way home to God for deliverance for her. Two weeks ago God did it again and a battle she was fighting to get her younger daughter back home had been won! Goliath was slain!
So the book is really helping me embrace these different experiences of simple church and let go of how I think things should be. It feel's like God is using Peter and myself to pioneer simple church in our generation in this nation and there's not many people we can go to and say, "What did you do about this?"
I thoroughly enjoy what God is doing. Just like a mother you love your children dearly, however that doesn't make being a mother easy.
God is doing some amazing things in these simple churches. Last night one of the young girls [14] that's been coming along for about a year spoke very openly and boldly about an answer to prayer. She used to have really bad nightmare's and battled with fear. After prayer she said, 'I don't have them any more.'
She was sharing this to convince her friend, who shared that her mother was terribly ill and hooked up to machines in the hospital, that prayer works! I was like, God thank you! to hear her speak like that.
There are now 4 simple churches in our area! and one them we started with a young single mother who has been through the wars! sexual, physical, alcohol and drug abuse. We met her last year when we did an outreach. She decided to become a follower of Jesus and hasn't look back since. She's a beauty!
She has a circle of friends who all meet up at the local community centre in the cafe. When she shared her faith with them, they rejected it and her and it was hard. But I encouraged her to pray for her friends and God has completely turned the situation around. God also told us that they were just afraid of the unknown. Now they ask her often to pray for things they are facing. The one that was the most opposing thought she may have cancer. She asked Sarah to pray and the results came back negative and now she wants to start a group in her house! Amazing I love it!
Also whilst in the cafe last week, Sarah and Genor, who also goes along to the church in Sarah's house, were talking about laying on of hands. One of the girls asked what it was all about and if they would lay hands and pray for her. They said yes gladly and then a few others asked too!
Another one that started only 4 weeks ago has been full of all the young people on that street. Now the woman [whose a part of our network] that has opened up her house has been a believer of some years and never reached out to her community, although she has had a heart to reach out. Now she's totally on a high every time they leave because, well, she just can't believe the harvest is really ripe!