17 Lessons from 17 Years
Anniversaries, birthdays, New Years… Every time we reach a milestone it’s an opportunity to reflect and remember. The story of Scripture is full of reminders to remember what God has done – to look back and recognize his faithfulness.
August 19th marked the 17th anniversary of Resonate’s first gathering at WSU. We are so thankful for all that God has done over the last 17 years.
Here’s a quick list of 17 things we’ve learned from 17 years of Resonate.
ONE | Jesus loves the lost more than we can imagine.
Jesus is the shepherd who leaves the 99 for the one lost sheep. He’s the doctor who comes to heal the sick. He’s the widow who sweeps the whole house to find her one lost coin. He’s the father who embraces the prodigal who was dead and is now alive. He loves the lost.
TWO | If God is a missional God, we are His missional people.
God is always working to redeem the world and call people back to Himself. Do we have eyes to see where He’s working and are we willing to go where He calls?
THREE | Exploring God is better in community.
If you’ve ever stayed an hour or two past the end of Village I don’t have to explain this one. God loves to transform people and most often does it through the love we show one another. In John 17 Jesus prays that we would love one another as the Father loved Him and He loved us.
FOUR | The church is better when we believe we’re a spiritual family.
It’s not just that we were made to do life in community. Jesus came to establish a spiritual family. The primary metaphorical language used to describe the church in the New Testament is that of family. In Christ, we are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. If you don’t know the church as family, dare to go deeper.
FIVE | We know Christ better when we share in His sufferings and join in His mission.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” - Romans 8:16-17
SIX | God’s got it all rigged.
Trusting in God’s sovereignty has guided us and comforted us when the journey didn’t make sense. When we can’t see what He’s doing we trust that He’s in control and the promise of Romans 8:28 is true.
SEVEN | “Only God” stories are all around us if we have eyes to see them.
EIGHT | Students are the most reachable, trainable, sendable people in North America.
NINE | The college campus is the best launching pad for global missions the world has ever seen.
If you had to fill the whole earth with light from a candle, don’t look for the highest point or the brightest candle; build a candle factory to multiply your light. The campus is that multiplication point.
TEN | You never know who is going to step up and lead until you send your best and make space for new leaders.
This is the paradox of the Kingdom. The pain of loss and sending inevitably leads to opportunity and God calls His people to meet new needs.
ELEVEN | Discipleship to Jesus is even more countercultural and counterintuitive than we think.
It boils down to one question. Is Jesus really your lord? Of everything? Or just the convenient parts of your life? Total surrender and nothing less – that’s what He calls us to.
TWELVE | Win the freshman, win the world? More like win the freshman and send the senior, then win the world.
We believe that our future will be marked by a greater emphasis on helping people become life-long fruitful disciples. It’s not enough to win them in college, we want to do our best to see them thrive and grow after college. Even if our influence in their lives changes. This is a big motivation behind the Resonate Collective and our desire to partner with non-collegiate churches.
THIRTEEN | Church planting methods are temporary but God’s mission is evergreen.
FOURTEEN | Young people can do way more than most people give them credit for.
Our story is full of thousands of young people stepping into leadership and leading in ways that most churches might say they’re too young for. We believe that young people will certainly make mistakes and putting them in leadership can be messy. But they are also full of surprises and God can use them in amazing ways.
FIFTEEN | Sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of others is always worth it.
We’ve seen people sacrifice a lot to plant churches and tell lost students about Jesus. Sometimes, those sacrifices have come with pain. But they’ve always been worth it. “Greater love has no one than this, that he should lay his life down for his friends.” - John 15:13
SIXTEEN | The mission is not safe, but it’s good.
Being on mission with Jesus has never been safe. He never promised that we’d always enjoy the sacrifices of obedience to being a disciple. But it is good. It does produce an imperishable fruit and an eternal reward.
SEVENTEEN | Multiplication is downstream from addition. They are not opposite or antithetical. To multiply, you must first add.
There are countless other lessons from the last 17 years and this doesn’t scratch the surface of all the stories that God has written among our churches.
We’re so thankful for all He’s done and we can’t wait to see what He does in the future.
Here’s to another year of Resonate. If you have a favorite Resonate memory or story from the last 17 years shoot me an email at craig@resonate.net.
