From Vision to Reality: GCWS

Five months ago I sat in a hotel breakfast lounge on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.  We were getting ready to head out to a day of exploring the beautiful land of Israel near Tiberias.  My roommate and I were just enjoying our delicious breakfast when none other but our pastor, Pastor Dan Betzer, joined us at our table.  Wow!  What an honor!  To have someone you respect so much take the time to eat breakfast with you is something not soon forgotten.

We were glad to have him join us.  Not people to be shy, we included him in our conversation and enjoyed the humor he infused into it.  Then he hinted at a project he was working on, a vision, really.  Something that had been on his heart for a while but that God was just putting the finishing pieces together for it - and they were coming together quickly.  That was all.  He didn't share anything except that God was working out something big.

Now, if you know anything about Pastor Betzer, you know that God doesn't put small dreams in his heart. You also know that when God puts dreams in his heart, he doesn't see them as dreams, he sees them as goals.  The great lesson I've learned under Pastor Betzer's leadership throughout the years has been faith.  Faith, faith, faith.  Not that you can't have doubts, but that faith does not have to be swayed by doubts.

That being said, we didn't think much more of the conversation, and we enjoyed a magnificent day of touring on our dream trip.

Fast forward to now.  Much has happened, you understand, between then and now, to make now a reality.  But this was the work God was doing in Israel: The Great Commission World Summit.  It's like a huge fundraiser, yes: the goal is to raise $50 million in one night, November 2, 2012.

But that is just the tactical end of things.  $50 million represents millions of lives impacted by the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  It is not about the money.  It's about what will happen with the money.  It's about getting Jesus into the hands of people who have not yet heard of him.  A project like this has a ripple effect that will last for generations to come.

Consider Paul's challenge regarding sharing the good news about Jesus:

"But how can they call on him [Jesus] to save them unless they believe in him?  And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?  That is why the scriptures say, 'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:14-15)

 You can be a part of lots of things that help spread the good news about Jesus, and I don't discount one over this one.  This is just another opportunity, and I encourage you to be a part of it, whether by coming to the event on Friday night, or by streaming it live, or by sharing it with people you know.

For information on the project, you can visit their website here.

The Great Commission World Summit from First Assembly of God on Vimeo.

Let's show the world the incredible gift of Jesus!