You know the tense moments, after the fancy invitations have
gone out. Money is spent on décor
and supplies. Door prizes are
purchased. You have exciting entertainment
on hand. There’s a live band on hand,
ready with the popular tunes of the day.
You’re hoping everyone will come.
In fact, you’re praying for a fantastic turnout. The day arrives and ?
No one comes.
Awkward, right? I wish I was referring to a childhood birthday party. I even wish I was referring to an adult
dinner party. Sadly, no. This similar situation happened at a church
event last week.
There was a bit of money spent in radio advertising, as well
as fancy posters and small flyers. The
stage was set with a backdrop matching the skydiving theme; parachute and
jumper’s back pack included. Awesome
door prizes were handpicked with the target audience in mind. A few musicians came together and formed a
band, just for this event. Hours of
daily rehearsal time went into the musical aspect. Music was nearly as vital as the spoken word. There were weeks of prayer and
anticipation. The opening night arrived
and ?
Hardly any of the
target audience showed up.
We had great support from church members; mostly those much older
than youth age. They reveled in the
entire week. Night after night, an
audience arrived eager to hear the Word of God.
They were blessed by the music. Many
guests hope that the band will stay together now that the event has passed. There was a buzz of disappointment in the air
on Saturday night, as the week ended.
The flip side of this: there are people, of all ages, that
are hungry for the Gospel message. God’s
Word is bigger, stronger, and much more powerful than a semi-empty room. Though the program format was geared towards
youth, the older folks who came loved it and refused to miss even one
evening.
Just when you think you’ve got it all covered, God reminds
us that He’s in control. We yearned for
the event to happen His way.
It did.
