In the midst of all the bad news in this world, almost nothing builds our faith more than good news – stories of God at work in other churches and nations all over the world.
A significant worship gathering has been taking place around the country, led by influential musicians such as David Crowder, Kari Jobe, Lauren Daigle and others. Over the past several years, it has gathered close to 400,000 young Christians across the country to worship, pray and seek God in unity.
The story of these gatherings, and how they exist to encourage and edify the local church is written up in a beautiful book by one of the co-founders, Ryan Romeo. As an avid reader, nearly no other book I’ve read has this book’s emphasis on the beauty and power of the local church around the world.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Outcry:
The Church is the greatest movement the world has ever seen. -Ryan Romeo
The next big thing is here. But it’s been here for two thousand years. It’s the local church. -Ryan Romeo
Remember the bigness of what God’s doing through churches around the world that are diligent in the small things. -Ryan Romeo
There’s growth and connection that comes when believers commit to one another through all their imperfections. -Ryan Romeo
No amount of blogs or podcasts can produce the same impact on your life as committing to your local church. -Ryan Romeo
Committing to a local church has changed my life. -Ryan Romeo
God hasn’t haphazardly placed you into the church you serve. He’s carefully & deliberately placed you there. -Ryan Romeo
Not every church makes the same impact, but every church carries the same God-purposed significance. -Ryan Romeo
No matter what your church looks like, it is hugely significant. -Ryan Romeo
We carry more authority & significance in the Kingdom than what we can see in this world. -Ryan Romeo
The perspective that the church is losing ground does not line up with God’s eternal reality. -Ryan Romeo
How can the Church be dying if Jesus told us it would never die? -Ryan Romeo
Pray that God will open your eyes to see your church, not as you see it, but as He sees it. -Ryan Romeo
We need to shift the discussion from the church’s imperfections and seek to see the church as Jesus sees her: Forgiven. Adopted. Powerful. Imperfect carriers of a perfect love. -Ryan Romeo
The real, live, touchable activity of God. That is the local church for me. -David Crowder
If God is glorified by unity, then of course the enemy’s strategy would be division. -Cody Carnes
Although the church of Jesus is found in many different places, she is one church. Each local congregation belongs to the one true Church. -Cyprian (3rd century)
You can pick up the book here.
Matt Brown (@evangelistmatt) is an evangelist, author of Awakening and founder of Think Eternity.
