A Taste of Heaven

Dear Worshipers,

Last week, I had a chance to travel to heaven by way of Orlando, Florida, and trust me it had nothing to do with the Magic Kingdom. Certainly, the times of corporate worship were wonderful as I expected them to be. Yes, we reconnected with some old friends and were encouraged greatly along the way. We met the Lord in His Living Word and heard Him speak words of vision and passion to our hearts. All these I was expecting. But there was one element I was really not prepared for, and it was this glimpse into heaven on and through the faces of the diverse group of people we are as The Alliance.

The face of Council was diverse, from the speakers to the worship team participants. It was the probably the most culturally diverse Council ever, with regard to representation from the delegates. The comment was made that almost 1/3 of our Alliance church in America are ethnic, making us probably the most multiracial denomination in the States. You could see it.
On Tuesday morning, one group after another were brought to the stage...

A Vietnamese delegation representing the 1 million+ Alliance believers in Vietnam, the largest national Alliance Church in the world, even though our missionaries where flown out on helicopters in the 1970's leaving behind a church of around 125,000.

Ten Portuguese-speaking churches have just joined our Alliance family in America with maybe a hundred more to follow.

Two couples were honored who had served 50 years in ministry! WOW! What an example! I cried as I prayed, "Lord, help me to run the race marked out for me".

Through the week we heard from a number of missionaries, some who after having studied and lived in the U.S. returned to their countries of origin or followed God’s call to yet another place of service. Each one told the story of God’s love crossing cultures and numerous other barriers. One stated the Call this way, “It’s not about crossing the seas, but about seeing the cross.”

Seeing the cross. Communicating it’s love and power to those around me. I was challenged and encouraged. Thank you for praying. Continue to pray as I and our other delegates discern what the Lord would have us do with all that He put on our hearts last week.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott