Here is a letter I sent to our leadership earlier this week:

Open Letter To FWCM Leadership

Hey Gang -

I’ve been working on this email the past couple of days – trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. It’s slowly been hitting me that THIS WEEK we (Abigail, Adele and Ebenezer) begin our fifth year of being at First Woodway. C-R-A-Z-Y.

I won’t tell you that it “seems like yesterday” because it doesn’t… it seems like forever ago that we loaded up all that we had and moved into (what is now) the Best Value American Inn across from the campus. And now, we’re here.

In thinking through all of this, I thought of three things:

1. Get Excited. The semester is upon us. It’s here. We cannot move back time, and only once in the Bible did God suspend the sun (Joshua 10:13). So, get excited. I sense it in me, but I also feel a level of excitement in you as well. Even in talking to many of you, some of you had like the “most-awesomest-coolest-God-wowing-movements-of-your-life” summers.

I don’t doubt that. I say this because I stalk you on Facebook or you’ve called to tell me these things over the phone. I honestly can’t want to hear all that God did IN and THROUGH you this summer.

If you don’t mind though, can I lob this out there for you to ponder and pray about?

What if this semester was even better?! THERE – I said it! What if this semester was even better than your summer?! What if this next year signaled in your heart and in your life a spiritual marker; a high-point you never forget; a moment in time that God captures your heart and affections for the rest of your life!?

Now THAT is something to get exited about.

Can I lob something else out there?

It can happen. In SO MANY WAYS I believe that it WILL happen. As a gentle reminder, COLLEGE HOUR 10:!5am THIS SUNDAY… get excited. Let’s embrace this movement of God together!

2. Get Prepared. I’m always of the opinion and thought that you and I should work really really hard at what we do and leave all the results up to God. Trust me… we’re working hard on our end. We’re doing our best to have all of our “ducks” in a row and working to make this the most prepared we’ve ever been… but having a website, videos, brochures, t-shirts (which are AWESOME), etc. our new series (skippingchurch.com) planned and ready really isn’t all that important to me.

There is something bigger at stake this year than just having things prepared physically… we need to be prepared spiritually.

Before the semester ended, I read to you a quote:

“Great men and women of God are great because they enjoy exceptional intimacy with their God.” – Dave Kraft

I read you this quote because honestly, this will be the most important thing for us this upcoming year. The state of our intimacy with the Lord will be primary for us. Since failure many times is unavoidable throughout the year, the one thing we don’t want to fail on is in our intimacy individually and corporately with the Lord.

So I’m pleading with you (and for myself) that we press in this year. If we fail in our intimacy with the Lord, we will fail in all the other areas of ministry. Our intimacy with Him must be at the forefront in our hearts and minds. I don’t want us to miss one moment this year that might bring honor and glory to Jesus. I don’t want us to miss one moment with each other – but more importantly, I don’t want to miss one moment with Jesus.

So – get prepared – we’ll talk more about this at Leadership Retreat (Aug. 27-28) – but take some time to begin to pray through these thing this week… and ask God to do mighty things.

3. Get Here. Here’s the facts… we need you here. We’ve already had (I believe) quite a bit of people visiting on Sunday mornings and I can’t help but be thankful for God bringing these students by… but we need you here. We need you to be praying over our room at 8AM on Sunday mornings. We need you to be praying over our students during our corporate singing. We need your prayers. We need your passion. We need your servant hearts. We need you as worshipers of Jesus.

We also need you to do everything you can to bring everyone and anyone you know to be part of what we really believe God is doing in our midst.

I mean, what would happen if because of a H-U-G-E movement from the Holy Spirit, 2, 3, 10, 50(!!) people who did not know Jesus, come to know Him the first Sunday!? What if that many wanted to become baptized! What if that didn’t happen on the first Sunday, but took place of the course of the semester? How incredible would that be to walk through that together? What would happen if because our hearts were so AWARE of the presence of the Lord, we had to stop doing what we were doing because His presence was so thick? (2 Chronicles 5).

What would happen if you and I stopped pretending we have it all together and be honest with our God and ourselves that TODAY we need the gospel… that it isn’t for those who don’t know Jesus only, but for those who DO know Him as well.

What would happen if we didn’t stay within our little circle of friends but were eager to bring others into an encounter with our Lord and God.

What would happen if we each invited just 5 people we did not know – and they came… we’d be setting off fire code violations. It could happen. Let’s get a fine this year for having too many people hunkered in to hear the Gospel and then respond to it!

I’m praying for these things. I’m hoping for these things. I believe these things. But not for our own glory or sake… but for His.

There will be many challenges this year – but I’m thankful for your service to our ministry. I’m thankful that you’re dedicating yourselves to our ministry and more importantly to Jesus.

Please join me in expecting great things from God this year.

Come quickly… come running!!

I love you… and can’t wait to worship with you.

Love&Live the Gospel,

criner