Over the last few weeks and months, I have been talking about the upcoming Prophecy Odyssey Evangelistic Series, but what is Prophecy Odyssey: You Can Know the Future?
“Prophecy Odyssey is a 15-part, epic Bible adventure series presented by Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts International. Nightly attendees will explore the pages of God’s Word to get clear, trustworthy, logical answers to our most pressing questions about prophecy and the last days. You will not only receive a life-changing look at what the future will bring next, but you will also gain the practical tools you need to thrive in these challenging times!” (prophecyodyssey.com)
How will Willowdale and its membership participate in this series? The pastoral staff has developed a plan for this first-ever online/in-home evangelistic presentation. As a staff, we believe that evangelism and the sharing of our faith is not confined only to a church building. We also believe that in order to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ we must be willing to share our time, talents, and our treasures for the sake of the gospel. Our plan is to have the Prophecy Odyssey series shared in two locations: our homes and our church. In total we would like forty-one viewing locations. To meet this goal, we will need forty families to open the doors to their homes and invite non-members (your family, neighbours, work associates, etc.) to join you in the comfort of your home for viewing and sharing our prophetic end-time messages. To meet the goal of forty family homes, we have allocated $100 for host families who have two or more guest and $50 for host families who has one guest. In addition to host families, we will also have a viewing option for members and non-members who do not have access to online viewing options at home or who live close to the church and would like to gather with other believers in viewing the series.
What will hosting the series in your home potential look like? Step 1: An email invitation provided by the church office will be forwarded to all host homes and this email invitation can be shared with your interested friends and family. (This invitation is also available directly from prophecyodyssey.com.) Step 2: Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of your potential guest(s) to receive the invitation with a hunger to know more about God’s message for these end times. Step 3: Pray that God will use your home and family to connect someone to Jesus and His end time movement. The series is every night for two weeks beginning September 20th, with Monday nights off. Plan to begin on time and end on time. The online meetings run from 7pm to 8:30pm. People are busy and their time is extremely valuable, do not wear out your welcome as a host family. We are suggesting that on either Sabbath, September 28th, or Sabbath, October 5th host homes plan a refreshment/lunch/dinner night before the meeting(s). We believe that there is relational connection that is forged when people “break bread” together. To qualify for evangelism host(s) funds as mentioned above you must meet the following criteria: 1. Invited guest must be non-members of Willowdale and/or other Adventist congregations. 2. Receipts must be submitted for the dollar amount you qualify for according to your invited number of guests. 3. Invited guest(s) must attend at least ten of the fifteen scheduled meetings. This plan places the burden of sharing our faith back on the broad shoulders of men and women, boys, and girls who have been called to be missionaries for Jesus.
The youth room at Willowdale will be prepared to host a small group of members who live close to church who do not have the ability to view online or who feel that they may want to invite their friends to come directly to church and meet their pastors. The pastoral staff will host this gathering on a rotational basis.
Prophecy Odyssey is a complete online evangelistic series that can be shared with our friends from a TV, personal computer, tablet, and phone. The messages will be archived at Amazing Facts Ministry for future sharing. Nightly lesson guides following each presentation can be printed or simply downloaded and shared with your guest. Friday night September 20th (7 pm) is fast approaching and as a community of believers we have invitations to send, intercessory prayer to pray on behalf of our invitees, and work to do. Pray earnestly that Holy Spirit will inspire each of us to invite and serve our brothers and sisters who have never heard how prophecy can provide personal peace “in the midst of the storms of life” because prophecy always points to Jesus the anchor of our souls. Maranatha!
Pastor Glenn DeSilva