Good Friday Together, because it shouldn't be any other way

the First Niagara Center was about two-thirds full!

Last night was amazing!  My church participated in Good Friday Together.  Over one hundred church congregations gathered in a stadium to celebrate Jesus' sacrifice.  It was awesome to be with so many brothers and sisters in Christ.  This celebration broke down the barriers of denominations, ethnicities, and even languages.  Around 14,000 Christians worshiped together, despite the color of their skin, their style of church service, or the words they knew.

worshiping together as one Body

I couldn't help but notice the Spanish subtitles and think of my friend who is on a missions trip in the Dominican Republic.  I wondered what it must be like there, to worship God in a different tongue.  

I heard the pastors talk about the seven last saying of Jesus before His death on the cross.  Pastor Angel Gautier spoke in Spanish and a man translated it for us to understand.  Again, how could I not think of the services that my Mabel, Junior, and Mainor were experiencing?  I smiled at the words I recognized- Dios (God), eterna (eternal), amor (love), victoria (victory).

I saw many new family members walk up to the front to learn more about following Jesus.  I experienced the
joy of seeing lives changed.

Pastor Jerry Gillis invited others to give their lives to Jesus

As we worshiped and celebrated together, I was overwhelmed by the massive amount of people there.  Thousands upon thousands upon thousands sat in those blue seats.  This Good Friday will go down in history, because slowly we are going to change the history of Western New York.  Perhaps even someday, everyone who visits here will be able to feel the presence of God on this city.

Now, I will leave you with this song that we sang before we left our family in Christ (perhaps we shall meet again next year).  I sang this song and thought of Buffalo.  And I will share it later with my Compassion family, thinking about Cochabamba, Vijayawada, Waingapu, Nicolas Bravo II, Veracruz, Cap-Haitien, Port-de-Paix, Ambo, Esmeraldas, and Chalchuapa.  Because truly, can't God change every city?