My Uncle Richard likes to tell the story of asking me, while I was in high school, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" My answer he still remembers to this day: "I want to preach the gospel to lots and lots of people." My motivation for that dream then and now is simple. I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

After Peter witnessed the resurrection, he boldly proclaimed, "for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20 HCSB)

How could he possibly stop? How can we? If the event of Easter Sunday is true, it changes everything. If the event of Easter Sunday is true, we must desire to proclaim the gospel to lots and lots of people. My prayer is that this detailed account from Acts 4:4, "But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000," will become a reality in Tallahassee, at the Civic Center, on March 31st at 11:00am.

Tallahassee is ripe and ready for a local church that is tired of the same old, same old. A church where the focus isn't our kids' new Easter outfits, or family pictures. A church that is so driven by the truth of Easter Sunday, that it creates an urgency to provide a church gathering that people want to invite their friends to attend. I'm trying to reach my friends. They are from the South, or at the least were raised mainline Protestant or Catholic, so they are open to attending church. Especially on Easter Sunday. What an opportunity God has given us!

So, let's do it huge. Let's beg God to do amazing things. Let's do everything we possibly can to get our family and friends to come to the Civic Center. Every seat in that arena represents a real person, who needs to hear that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

I sat next to our lead vocalist and bands director, Todd Doss, during the Zac Brown Band concert last month. I looked around and saw people enjoying the experience with their friends, and singing at the top of their lungs. This is all in response to a great singer, whom will one day be an old man probably singing in Branson, Missouri, and then will die. In that very same arena, we have the privilege of gathering with our friends to proclaim the name that is above every name. The one who could not be conquered by death. Why in the heck can't we "outdraw" Zac Brown Band on Easter Sunday? Let's go all in and make that happen!

Numbers for the sake of numbers, is a marketing campaign. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in reaching people and seeing our city impacted by the gospel. It all kicks off with our Good Friday service at 6:00pm, March 29, at East Hill Baptist Church.

Easter at the Civic Center, here we come!