The Barnabas Project

2 Thessalonians 1:11 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

Imagine waking up each day with a beautiful word of hope that ignites your heart, makes you smile and ushers a positive attitude into your life. We have begun a new endeavor at our church called The Barnabas Project. Its named after Barnabas in Acts 4 whose name means Son of Encouragement. I've asked each of our partners to pray, sit down and write out notes and cards that would encourage the one who reads them. Each week during the month of March, they will bring these notes and cards of encouragement which we will collect in a bin in our lobby when they arrive. As they leave the service they reach into the bin and pull out a card for themselves. It should make for a special Easter celebration on March 31st!

Now imagine that the very words on that card or note apply to your specific situation and encourage your soul! I believe that as we pray, sit down and write these notes and cards each week, God will cause us to pen the perfect words for the person that will get the note each weekend. There will be no denying as we are lifted up that God knows where we are and what we are going through.

I am praying that this idea swells into a movement for our people and maybe you too. We could all use a little more encouragement. With the help of social networks it is easy to post a quick word that lifts someone's heart or send a tweet of encouragement out to the world. If you use Twitter, add #TheBarnabasProject to all of these inspiring messages and notes and they will be gathered together. On Facebook you can go to www.facebook.com/thelandingonline and post an edifying thought or scripture. Or simply comment on this blog post.

Who knows, we may even be able to gather all of this hope and make it into a book that will continue to encourage people for years to come. Feel free to use #TheBarnabasProject on your site too and spread some hope in your circle of influence.

Can you picture people all over world waking up and reading your note of encouragement and beginning to live the life that Christ designed for them! Join The Barnabas Project today! Encouragement is oxygen for your soul!

Don't forget to use #TheBarnabasProject on Twitter!