Join this growing movement as we bring back the real meaning of Easter—to go out into the world and be Christ’s witnesses through the message of the gospel and acts of compassion.
Easter Sunday! A final destination or a launching pad?
Churches throughout the world spend months thinking about and preparing for Easter. Some follow the traditional church calendar which includes Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, while others do not. Regardless, Easter is considered the most important event of the year, a final destination of worship where we proclaim, Christ has Risen; Christ has Risen indeed!
God sent his son, the living water, to satisfy our thirst for forgiveness and grace. We leave church to celebrate God’s love with our family and friends over food and fellowship, waiting anxiously for our next major celebration—Christmas!
But is that how the first disciples experienced Easter? Did Jesus ever command them, “Now that you’ve received me, go home, eat a great meal, and give thanks for my love?”
Actually, he commanded them to “go out and be my witnesses first locally and then globally.”
Easter was never intended to be a final destination where we pause to celebrate and then move on; rather, it’s the beginning of our journey with Christ as we are sent into the world to share the living water we’ve received.
Waiting for Water can help your church or small group become an agent of change in a world longing, like the woman at the well, for both safe and living water. You’ll do that in three simple steps.
Wait.
Receive.
Respond.
Wait.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012, you’ll spend time waiting for Easter through a time of preparation. Through small group Bible study and a six week sermon series, you’ll be invited to explore scripture that will cause you to reflect on your life as it currently is and how God might want to shape your life as a person of compassion.
During this time, you are also invited to give up something for forty days, taking the money you would have spent on that item or activity and donating it to an organization working to bring clean, safe water to areas of the world which are in need.
Receive.
On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, attend your local Christian worship service and receive the living water of Christ. If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for years, then receive his powerful love and grace again. If you’ve just begun to consider Jesus, let this be the day that you receive all that God has given you in his death and resurrection.
You’ll also receive a call to change the world through the love of Christ. This is a call to live out God’s greatest purpose in your life: to show His love to others in very practical ways, both at home and in faraway places.
Respond.
In response to the Easter message, you’ll take the following three weeks to consider how your church or small group can initiate a ministry of compassion in your local community. Once you’ve discerned how the Lord is leading you to minister to those in need, launch this new ministry and begin to experience the huge blessing of showing Christ’s love to the world.
You’ll be united with Christians all over the world by practicing compassion on behalf of those in need.
You’ll also be asked to respond by sharing the stories of God working through these new ministries on the Waiting for Water Website throughout the year through videos, blog posts, and pictures. Sharing your ideas and accomplishments can help inspire others and spark off new ministries in other parts of the country and throughout the world.
You’ll be united with Christians all over the world by practicing compassion on behalf of those in need.
You’ll also be asked to respond by sharing the stories of God working through these new ministries on the Waiting for Water Website throughout the year through videos, blog posts, and pictures. Sharing your ideas and accomplishments can help inspire others and spark off new ministries in other parts of the country and throughout the world.
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