About 30 of us packed up Friday morning to make the 3-hour tour up to Bulldog country. Made up of mostly campus interns, our crew was young, zealous and ready to give our hearts to this church and this city.
Danny couldn't wait to share his faith at Fresno State. I was still trying to figure out campus parking when he had met a 3rd year, advertising major named Miguel. Miguel had already started his car to leave campus for the day when we invited him to come back to campus and study the bible. He said yes, turned off his car and trekked back to the middle of campus, studied the bible for an hour and decided he wanted to hook up with disciples in Fresno to continue studying to become a true Christian.
Robbie and I did the same with 2 sophomores. They were on their way off campus but were willing to walk back to learn about Jesus. Alvin and Everett were locked in as we studied about the calling of the first disciples. When we asked if they were ready to jump out of the boat, Alvin said "yes, I'm ready!" Many other on-the-spot bible studies were happening all weekend and several of those seekers will continue on in the coming weeks.
After sharing Friday, we had a rockin' devotional with the Central Valley Church of Christ. Three LA interns preached and the Fresno disciples swept us off our feet with their hearts and soulful singing. All of us stayed in Christian homes. Needless to say, we were grateful for the families that housed our college boys. One of the Fresno dads that hosted 6 of our brothers said everything was fine, except for the smell.
Saturday morning we had a devotional together at the visually stunning Woodward Park. Tears fell as we sang songs and prayed together; realizing how special our church fellowship is. Saturday was themed "divide and conquer" as 5 different special ops' mission teams went out to different parts of the city to share our faith and invite Fresno natives to our big worship service the next day.
Cosmo jumped on the team going to a spanish-speaking neighborhood. A man and woman stood in the doorway of one particular home as Cosmo asked if there was anything they would like for him to pray for. Before the woman could say anything, the man answered "no" for the both of them. Cosmo felt uneasy because it looked as though she really wanted to speak, but couldn't. When Sunday service rolled around the next morning, Cosmo was in awe of God to see the woman who stood silent at the door come to church, by herself. She'll be studying the bible with the sisters there.
If that wasn't enough already we had a family-style BBQ and game night with the church a the Ostrum's apartment complex Saturday night. After volleyball, basketball, swimming and frisbee we gorged on grilled chicken and hot dogs and extended this 1st-century style fellowship well into the night. In those moments in between laughs and song verses, I paused to soak in what must have been the exact same feeling our 1st century brothers and sisters felt when they devoted themselves to God, His word and one-another.
The next morning we gathered at 1009 South Hazelwood for one of the most encouraging worship services we've been apart of in a long time. About 30 of us, 50 local disciples and dozens of friends shook the foundations of that church with song, prayer and powerful preaching by Steve Stevenson. Several bible studies were set up after service, including one with Clinton, a Fresno St. fraternity house manager. Also, the sisters hosted their annual women's day event after church with special guest speaker Shonda Stevenson.
This trip was nothing short of miraculous. We pray for the Fresno church. We thank them for their outstanding hospitality. We pray for God to grow the many seeds that were planted. We pray for more church connections like the one solidified between Fresno and Los Angeles. We ask God to continue catalyzing revival in His churches around the globe.
"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us."
1 John 1:3
fresnochurch.org
laicc.net
