Coordinators and regular participants from 10 Days Boston gathered together on October 17th for a culmination dinner to share stories of how God impacted our lives. Here are a few testimonies:
Growth in Personal Relationship with God:
“My time alone with God was one of the most personal and intimate that I’ve had.” – Anne Freeman
“Many things were brought into my awareness and things hindering my relationship with God were broken off” – Anonymous
“I had a personal transformation in my understanding of people from the Orthodox and Catholic traditions, and I now understand how important it is to form alliances and friendships based around Jesus, not on our differences." – Sung Yun Lee
Growth in understanding God’s work in Boston:
"Despite what people think, God is alive and well here. I love how God loves on His people.” – Derek Arledge
“I always love to worship with people who are not like myself. There’s a richness and beautiful harmony present when different groups come together.” – Kaci Norman
“I was able to hear of God’s work across churches and different parts of the city. Coming together for prayer and worship was and is what Boston needs.” – Kevin Ortega
“I feel a greater sense of unity and better understanding of cultural attributes and realities of other ethnicities and denominations.” – Nicole Singleton
“My church doesn’t do all that much with other churches; it was new for me to see so many different churches cooperating, especially because Boston is so parochial. I think this is a move of God!” – Anne Freeman
“My biggest takeaway is the splendor and breadth of the church!” – Matt Crane
A Cool Scatterplot
We took the data from the survey that we passed out with the 10 Days participants (n=15) and then correlated the number of gatherings that each person attended with a “Spiritual Growth Indicator." To determine the "Spiritual Growth Factor,” each person answered “Strongly Disagree,” “Disagree,” “Neutral,” “Agree,” or “Strongly Agree" to these three prompts:
1. 10 Days Boston helped me to personally grow closer to God
2. 10 Days Boston impacted my view of what God is doing in the city of Boston
3. Because of 10 Days, I now have a greater sense of respect for Christians of other denominations and ethnic groups.
Each answer was coded with a specific number of points (Strongly Disagree = -2, Disagree = -1, Neutral = 0, Agree = 1, Strongly Agree = 2) Each person was given a "Spiritual Growth Indicator” based on their answer to these questions and plotted on a chart with the number of 10 Days events that he/she attended:
As you can see, the number of 10 Days events that people attended is correlated with spiritual growth! The people that went to more 10 Days events indicated more of an impact in their personal relationship with God and corporate understanding of how God is working throughout Boston.
The bottom line is: 10 Days is changing lives. Thanks for being a part of it!
For more details about each of the 10 Days evening gatherings, check out the
10 Days Boston Photo Gallery and Praise Report
I’d also encourage you to read Pastor Dana Baker’s word that the Lord impressed on her, “Are we willing to be interrupted?” I believe this word is the key phrase that God is speaking to us this year with 10 Days.
10 Days Testimonies Across the Nation
10 Days is part of a larger, nationwide movement of cities coming together to seek God. There were over twenty cities that participated this year! Here are some testimonies:
New Hampshire: Repentance and reconciliation between Catholics and Evangelicals; 95 leaders around Manchester coming together for a ministry leader’s breakfast!
Houlton, Maine: Many churches who previously haven’t been interested in partnership are now asking to be involved in praying and building the kingdom together!
Connecticut: This state-wide movement began with a night of worship with over 2,000 people and 100 worship leaders
Chico, California: “Going low” leads to God “lifting us up” – unity leads to Joy!
See the full 10 Days Nationwide report here:
http://www.10days.net/node/101
This is a season of fulfilled promises. God is truly up to great things, and the best is always yet to come.
I want to close with the concluding prayer recited across the nation during 10 Days:
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come, in the fullness of your kingdom!
Come, in the fullness of your victory!
Come, in the fullness of your glory!
Amen.
