Click the play button below to hear about the grid
Getting our arms around something that big is difficult. But if you take it in bite-size pieces, it becomes doable.
Picture your city in one-mile squares. These squares form a GRID with a finite number of GRID-spaces. God has salted us throughout the community, placing us right where He wants us for this exact moment.
Embracing our city means that each place and people group has someone proactively caring for it. As these caring people connect, one net is formed, covering the whole area. This will generate more opportunities for creative expressions of kindness.
As more environments are “adopted” and linked together, we’ll be able to compare notes, dialog about needs and focus on positive change, creating greater influence and reduced redundancy. Regular communication will facilitate practical action; projects can roll out more fluidly, new people can join in easily and the isolation factor will dissipate. Developing stories reported quarterly in the Track Record will bring encouragement, and people will experience and enjoy the increased presence of God permeating the city.
God's will is that His Kingdom come and His will be done in this geography (on earth) as it is in heaven. Jesus even asked us to pray this way! We all want to see the Church working in a fresh spirit of unity and cooperation and desire to 'see to it that no one in our region misses the grace of God,' but without a plan, these nice thoughts and ideals probably won't move beyond the 'conceptual.' Some action and coordination will be required. The GRID is one way to proactively embark on this mission together. Each of us can begin to see our role more clearly and play our part better so that we systematically cover the whole pie.
So, where on the map has God placed you? Choose your lens; work, play, the neighborhood you live in or possibly the school you attend. It's all gonna need the Light of Christ to shine continuously and prayer to be applied regularly. So just ask God where He'd have you start, then agree with Him by going to your GRIDspace to register your intentions.
Yes, it's OK to pray for people outside of your designated GRIDspace, God will work mightily through you anywhere you obediently step out in faith to follow Him. But do make your square mile a key focus. There will be other teammates there you can connect and share the load with. Begin to ask God for strategy on how to brighten up that area. He will show you an open door. Plan on getting to know the people and people groups in your GRIDspace. Link arms with your family or other Christ followers to do simple acts of grace and care. (The DVD Tracking with Transformationcan provide much insight about WHAT to do and HOW to start making a difference where you’re at.) Remember that you are NOT ALONE and that as you take small steps, others are doing the same across the city and causing a domino effect. Your neighbor will likely be experiencing the grace of God at work, in the neighborhood and at play through the pervasive coverage so your effort is part of a larger context than you can possibly know. The cumulative effect will be overwhelmingly grandioso!
Any city can create this GRID using the existing TOWNSHIP & RANGE system put together by the government. Before long, it will be hard to live in any zone that isn't targeted for grace and covered in prayer! Have fun. Let's do this thing!
