There is nothing more amazing than the local church when it is firing on all cylinders.  

This Sunday we began a series based around the themes from the book “{w}hole” by Lisa Whittle.  The book is amazing and I highly recommend you get your own copy.  If you are a Pastor or leader in your church I highly recommend you consider teaching a month on these concepts.

After the service as I spoke with various people I noticed a woman patiently waiting to speak with me.  I ended the conversation I was in and said hello.  What happened next rocked my world.  

She began to share that she has never gone to church because she’s been extremely skeptical of Christians and religion.  She detailed to me a lifetime of abuse she has endured.  One of the people in her life that hurt her trusted Christ two years ago and experienced a “radical transformation”.  She said that this so-called transformation only hardened her own heart toward God as she believed this person was faking this life change.  A little while later she had a child.  The experience of becoming a parent got her thinking about “What if there really is a God who really is a father in heaven?”  Still she resisted for another year and a half.  Her husband had even visited Captivate a year ago and she refused to attend.

Fast forward to this past Sunday…she had rejected many invitations to church but for some reason she felt that this Sunday was the day.

In tears she detailed for me how she was treated with honor by our VIP team from the parking lot to her seat.  She said that she felt at peace with leaving her child in the care of our kids teams.  She loved that we were so focused on Christ and down to earth with one another.  She didn’t notice any pretense or judgement from our people.  She felt genuinely loved by our people and she said that she kept up with the entire message and realized that she was caught up in her own ‘role’ issues.  She trusted Christ as Savior this Sunday!

The story got better.

By this time my new friend is in tears and apologizing for blabbering.  I assured her that I was gaining more than she knew from her story.  She went on to say that she went up to our connection table to inquire about an upcoming event with Lisa Whittle.  She informed our VIP team member in charge that she couldn’t afford the ticket and wanted to see if her name could be put on a list.  During the service I made the announcement: “If you can’t afford it, please let us know.  We will find a way to get you in.”  I also announced “If you want to help others to go, buy tickets for those who can’t afford one.”  Well, she couldn’t afford one and while she was explaining this to our connections person, a woman behind her in line spoke up and said “I’ll buy your ticket for you.”  

Again this woman broke down as she recounted this story!  She told me “I have never felt loved like this.”  

Later when I found out who bought her the ticket I went to thank them for being Jesus to her.  The lady who bought the ticket said “I just felt compelled to help.”  I shared a small part of the woman’s story and this Good Samaritan said “I had no idea… I thought she was a regular attendee who I didn’t know.”  We were both blessed in that moment that God had worked so mightily for this woman.

The reality is that this woman’s life was rocked by Jesus this Sunday.  She met Christ, she was loved by Christ’s people and she was blessed by a great act of love from a complete stranger. 

I’m so excited that Captivate Church exists for people like this woman.  I’m so excited to know that she now has a very different picture of what the local church can be.  I’m excited that she will get to meet and hear Lisa Whittle at the beginning of next month and be surrounded by a room full of Christian women who are all pursuing Jesus and filling their holes together.

This type of story completely humbles me and makes me eternally thankful for Christ and HIS local church called Captivate!

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We have a few tickets left for our Sunday event, March 4, 2012,  with Barna Books author and Proverbs 31 ministry coordinator, Lisa Whittle.  If you’d like to check out this exclusive event and consider joining us, check it out here: http://captivatechurch.com/#/events/lisa-whittle