Don’t Skip The Prep!
God has invited you to engage in mission! But God doesn’t just throw you into the deep end of the pool—he PREPARES you to accomplish great things. He uses seasons of preparation to shape your heart for the mission ahead. What is He building IN you as he begins to work THROUGH you? Don’t skip the prep work God wants to do in your life. Start right here with this week’s message.
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Don’t Skip the Prep: A Message from Acts 1
There are things you do before you go.
You don’t just roll out of bed and show up to school—or at least, I hope not. You brush your teeth (please), put on clothes, tie your shoes, maybe even comb your hair. For me? I have to put in my contacts or I’ll walk into a wall.
That’s true in everyday life—and it’s just as true in your spiritual life. Before Jesus tells His disciples to go and make disciples, He prepares them. There’s prep work. Foundation work. Kingdom work.
In Acts 1, we see Jesus in His final 40 days on earth, doing three vital things:
Proving He’s alive, because doubt still lingered.
Teaching about the Kingdom of God, because they still didn’t fully understand.
Commanding them to wait, because what’s coming next—the Holy Spirit—they don’t yet have.
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…” (Acts 1:4)
“You will receive power… and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8)
Proof. Purpose. Power. These are the essentials Jesus gives before the mission begins.
I once worked in a restaurant. Before the guests ever arrived, there was slicing, folding, cleaning, prepping. No prep? No service. No prep? Chaos. The success of the night always hinged on preparation.
The same is true in the Kingdom.
Jesus didn’t rush His disciples. He spent time building them up, teaching them, restoring them—so they would be readywhen the Spirit came.
When Pentecost hit, everything changed. The fearful became fearless. The hidden became heralds. The mission began.
So what about you?
What is God preparing in you right now?
Is He forming your character?
Challenging your comfort?
Calling out fear?
Deepening your convictions?
We are on the other side of Pentecost.
We have the Spirit. We know the mission. And we are still called to be witnesses—in Bullard, in our schools, in our families, and to the ends of the earth.
Let God do a fresh work in you…
So He can do a fresh work through you.