Acts 6:7, NLT: So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

Four times in Acts the writer stops to give a progress report of the church. They always occur after highly significant events, and this is one of them. When the people owned the unity of the church instead of grumbling, owned the responsibility of the church instead of expecting the leaders to do everything; and owned their spiritual gifts, putting their talents into practice—the result was a significant move of God: The number of believers increased—even key influencers in the city came to faith. Widows were getting food. The word was being preached, and do you see the result: God’s message continued to spread.

A really practical way to own the message is a thing we call One Life. It’s not a program; it’s a philosophy. Ask God to lay one person on your heart. Pray for them. Build a friendship with them. Share your life with them. And when God brings a person into your life and the time is right, invite them to join you at church. Imagine what would happen if each of us prayed for and walked with one person! The impact would be incredible.

Together we can accomplish so much more than we can individually by each person doing their part, owning their faith and their church community. Imagine a year where thousands of people come to experience the love and grace of God in their life, where people trust Jesus for their salvation, where eternities are impacted. Imagine a year where peace is brought into families in stressful time in our community. Imagine a year where positive friendships are made and experienced together, where tens of thousands grow in their faith and mature spiritually, where our trust in God goes up. Imagine a year where moms and dads hearts are turned back to each other and to their kids, and where kids hearts are turned back to their parents. Imagine a year where hundreds of young people make decisions in their lives that save them years of heartache and pain. Imagine thousand of people receiving food that otherwise would go hungry—thousands receiving encouragement that otherwise wouldn’t receive it.

All of this is more than just possible; it is within our grasp if we own this community together God has called us to do.