Revival Times 2017 June 2017 | Page 10

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Mature Multiply Mobilise – A vision of fruitfulness for all ! by Mark Greenwood

BIG YES

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Mark Greenwood Elim ’ s National Evangelist

I

’ d finished one of my Comedy and Christianity events and I was approached by an older gentleman who had been invited by his family !
The aim of one such event is to seek to change the perception of the Christian faith . Off the back of these events people are often invited to come along to hear me speak on a Sunday morning some six weeks later or attend an Alpha or my Reason to Believe course .
Back to the gentlemen . I could see him heading towards me as I stood at the door . He told me he would come and see the event advertised on the postcard on the table . He was intrigued as to how I would preach as opposed to doing a comedy routine . True to his word , he came along and actually on that morning came to faith in Christ . I met him a further six months on and he came to see me with the biggest smile ever , announcing “ I ’ m still going strong you know , been to church every Sunday and now done Alpha ”. This is one of many reasons why I value , celebrate and encourage what I call the “ healthy maybe ” in a person ’ s journey to faith .
This story is not uncommon . In fact I would say it ’ s the norm . If you ever listen to someone telling you their story of how they came to faith in Christ – most people ’ s journey involved them at some point travelling through the ‘ healthy maybe ’ on their way to a ‘ little yes ’ and a ‘ big yes ’. I ’ ve met so many people when they ’ ve been in the “ healthy maybe ” stage . It excites me because at this stage they are on the way . If we ’ re not careful we can put such a big focus on a person committing their life to Christ – we end up not celebrating all the little decisions along the way .
A ‘ healthy maybe ’ is asking a person to make a commitment to remain open-minded about Jesus I remember speaking to a lady who was disappointed and defeated because her husband didn ’ t commit to following Jesus at a particular event I was speaking at .
10 Revival Times June 2017