Yesterday, I received a message from Matt, a pastor in Oklahoma City. Matt’s mom (we’ll call her “Mom”) lives in Greenville, South Carolina. As you know, NewSpring opened up a campus in Greenville last Sunday.

Matt explained that Mom is older than him. (Don’t think about that too long.) He even mentioned Mom’s specific age in the email message. (I’m not going to share it with you. There are some things you just learn through the years that women don’t want shared on blogs.)

Matt explained that he’s been following my blog and was aware of the upcoming Greenville campus launch. “I begged her to go,” explained Matt. He was aware, however, that this would be a stretch for Mom. As you might imagine, our music style really isn’t targeted to people Mom’s age. She reluctantly agreed to attend the service “mainly to get me off her back,” said Matt.

After attending the service Mom shared these comments with Matt:

  • “The worship wasn’t my style, but it was done very well.”
  • “It is awesome to see a church with that many young people in attendance. I’m all for whatever can reach 20’s and 30’s for Jesus.”
  • “Perry was incredible. In front of us was a row of 13 to 18-year-old students. They were completely engaged even though he was on a screen.”

Here’s the best part of that story. Mom witnessed one of those young girls make a life-changing decision. Mom shared how the students were connected with the message and “one even gave her life to Christ.”

We recognize NewSpring isn’t for everyone. That’s why we are glad to be in communities like Anderson, Greenville and Florence where there are so many other great churches who can reach people for Jesus Christ that we can’t reach.

Now you know why we’re willing to make “moms” a little uncomfortable. We do that to connect with people like this young girl. It’s the type of risk we’re willing to take because we realize every life counts.

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