50 Days after Jesus’ resurrection was the festival of Pentecost. Pentecost just means fifty. It was a harvest celebration. For the church, it was launch day for the mission of Jesus that he defined before his ascension – Go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) and be witnesses… to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). What were some of the elements that made launch day for this church successful?

The Church was United in Prayer

They waited on God’s promise in a posture of prayer. Prayer is a posture of humility and apparent weakness to the world. But when God’s people unite in prayer they are postured for power from God.

The Church was Empowered by God the Holy Spirit

God poured out his Holy Spirit on these leaders, enabling them to do far beyond what they were able on their own. They raised their sails by believing and praying. The Holy Spirit filled the sails with His wind, putting the church on the move.

The Church proclaimed the Gospel

The Holy Spirit’s power wasn’t for them, but for the mission of proclaiming the gospel. And they did. Peter preached a bold, offensive, redemptive message and 3,000 were saved. Proclamation continued everyday in the temple and from house to house.

The Church mobilized and expanded

In the days following, the church would experience persecution and scatter to other cities and towns repeating this pattern – prayer, power, proclamation. God did the rest.

Why not keep it going? Every believer and every gathering of believers has the opportunity to continue the harvest celebration. We can humble pray for God to reveal himself to us and the world. We can experience the wind of the Holy Spirit in our lives for transformation and enablement for ministry. We can proclaim the gospel through our networks and spheres of influence. The expansion of the church should continue until the restoration of all things. Let’s keep it going!