You’ve heard about Divine appointments; right? I just had lunch with a man named Joe –– it was clear from the start that God has been at work for years setting the stage for our meeting.
Though I’d never talked with Joe, I’d read a best-selling business book about his work helping everyday people live out the dreams God put in their hearts. I was intrigued by Joe’s ideas because for over a year EMI staff and volunteers have been telling me that EMI’s calling is to equip individuals and churches to start living the dreams God is putting in their hearts.
As I’ve worked with Church leaders around the USA, I’ve been asking “Why are you settling for anything less than God’s dream for you?” The answer is usually that neither they nor their people are equipped to do what God is calling them to do.
For over 30 years EMI has created ways to give people practical skills they need to embrace God’s dreams and follow His true calling for their lives–– and to help others do the same.
So I’ve come up with a new EMI slogan: You Dream: We Equip!
No matter what you’re dreaming of . . .
- A better relationship?
- A deeper connection with God?
- A healthier, faster growing church?
- A greater impact for your life and ministry?
- A stronger marriage?
- A life-changing outreach in your community?
Odds are “we have an app for that!”
As I talked to Joe this afternoon, it was clear that after decades of working with people, God has put a common dream in both of our hearts. We dream of thousands and even millions more Christians living the dreams that “God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). We dream of Churches revolutionizing their communities and bringing countless ordinary people to extraordinary faith in Jesus!
EMI has already started piloting “dream teams” of folks who have taken EMI courses, with the goal of helping one another discern, pursue, and hold each other accountable to the dreams God has placed in their hearts. It also looks like Joe and I may be pursuing a collaboration that could help this go down in EMI’s history as the year of the dream.
In the meantime, let me wish you a Happy New Year and encourage you to join us in dreaming big and praying even bigger in 2010!
Blessings in Christ,
Dave
