Last Sunday night was the start of something significant.

I’ve been in church basically every Sunday for the last twenty or so years. I’ve seen a lot of great things and been a part of some special moments and for me, this first Energizer Night was truly a standout occasion. The tangible feeling of God’s presence, the sense of freedom from the Holy Spirit, the collective anticipation of a group of people truly expecting God to move: the atmosphere in the room was rare and electric.

Some of the most exciting moments of the night included a killer rap delivered by young Caleb Walker, while Eugene and some of the youth boys owned the stage in a dance performance. Ps. Layla Nahavandi is a talented young preacher, all the way from Adelaide and she challenged and inspired with a word that was perfect for our season. Church is always better with food and food we had in abundance, with a spit roast and BBQ going on before the service. The Energizer Youth kids fresh back from youth camp brought heaps of energy and the rest of the congregation really lifted to meet it. Of course, the most significant part of the night was the ministry time, especially for one young man who gave his heart to Jesus and changed his life forever. In a myriad of ways, this service represented us doing things differently.

This new service has taken a lot of planning, resources, leadership and prayer to get off the ground. More than just being the culmination of a lot of work, this service represents a huge step forward into God’s audacious, unlimited plan for our church. It means room to grow, increased capacity to reach the lost, new opportunities for our people to step up and grow and a whole new forum for us to collectively seek (and find) the heart of God. It’s the beginning of a new era.

Standing in worship last Sunday night, I was refreshed by a sense of God’s closeness and inspired by a glimpse of what’s to come for our church and our city. God is on the move, and his plans to find his people, always precede our desire to find him.

Let’s not sit on the sidelines while others chase the heart of God. Let’s not wait and see if God wants to move in the lives of our friends, our families, our colleagues, our neighbours. Let’s jump in heart and soul; let’s pray with passion and tenacity; let’s dream again; let’s believe again; let’s own the new era of The Church!

– Simon Grubb