Jolting (Colombia Part 1)

I shared about false peaks nearly twenty times during Summer 2012. I knew that it was for me, too, on some level.

I didn’t realize just how much that message was JUST FOR ME.

Going to Cali, Colombia jolted me a little bit.

Four am prayer meetings, six hours or more in prayer, and getting up around 5 everyday will do that to you.

Worship service at 6:30 AM, and PACKED

But it was more than that. The Holy Spirit’s fire, the passion for their city, the love for God and love for prayer, it was amazing.

I went through so many thoughts and emotions, that I’m not going to be able to describe it all to you. But I’m going to try to give an overview over the course of my next few blog posts.

First, an introduction:

Cali, Colombia is a city of three million people. Yes, it was home to the infamous drug cartels. Yes, we know it for its crime, violence, and social issues, but it is also home to the largest Church of the Nazarene in the world.

Lines form as people go in and out of the six worship services on Sunday

They have six worship services on Sunday, the first of which begins at 6:30 AM. Fourteen thousand are in attendance weekly. Every Tuesday morning, a thousand people gather together at 4 o’clock in the morning with one purpose: prayer. For two hours, they walk around and pray together.

The church is open for activities every day of the week, but prayer is always the vital foundation of all they do.

But all this started with just a few people. In a tiny church. And when the pastor and his wife began the first morning prayer and fasting service, they were joined by three others. For years, they struggled to see growth.

When they wanted to build an extension on to the church, they lost many members, including the entire church board. But they didn’t give up.

They developed what we know as “The Master’s Plan,” a discipleship and leadership training method used here, as well as in many other Christian (and Nazarene) churches.

Attending an "Encounter With God"

the secret to this outstanding growth is disciples who make disciples who make disciples… Leaders who train leaders who train leaders…

And it is incredible.

And it’s the same strategy we will be using in Extreme South America to plant churches in sixteen urban cities.

And, I personally, can’t wait to see what God will do!

I know through my trip to Colombia, God revealed so much to me. He showed me that I really am not at the peak yet, and I have further to go, but He loves it when I keep seeking the peak.