One of the lessons I’ve learned in ministry is that you cannot control outcomes. We plant and water, but God gives the increase! That drives us crazy as control freaks, but it also takes all of the pressure off of us. We can’t do it. Only He can!

The most gratifying thing is ministry is when God does something you cannot take credit for. That’s what I live for! And the truth of the matter is this: most of the good things that happen don’t happen because of us. They happen inspite of us. We just need to stay out of the way!

This is hard to put into words, but I feel like NCC is entering a new season. I feel like we have very faithfully labored in the Nation’s Capital. And God has added to our numbers. But I feel like we’re about to enter a season of multiplication. I just wanted to blog about it before it happens. It won’t be the result of our planning or preaching. It’ll be a sovereign move of God. It won’t have human fingerprints on it. It’ll have the fingerprint of God. And it can’t just be an NCC thing. It’s got to be a kingdom thing!

I’m actually going to do a personal fast because I want to draw a line of demarcation. And fasting often marks the end of one season and the beginning of another.

We experience, on average, 40% turnover per year. So we have a new congregation every two and a half years. The wonderful thing about that is that we have extended family all over the place. We’re almost like this revolving door church that is always sending people out. And that is a byproduct of our demography (70% single twenty-somethings) and geography (Washington, DC). In some ways, when you lose 40% per year, it’s tough to grow. We have to grow 40% to break even. But I really feel like we’re coming into a season of multiplication. I don’t know exactly what that means. And it doesn’t “add up.” But that is what is in my spirit. And that is one of the reasons we’ll launch multiple locations this year. When God puts something in your spirit you need to step out in faith so God can deliver what He has promised.