Friends,

On February 16th, we have the honor of inviting the West Michigan Burn Team to lead us in a time of meaningful worship and prayer throughout our entire worship service. Brace yourselves, this is going to be awesome!

The story begins with me being stranded at an Amtrak station four years ago. My phone had 2% battery, Ubers were 50 dollars due to surge pricing and it was almost midnight. By the grace of God, a stranger offered to give me a ride home. Four years later, Bethany and I have become good friends and we both are doing ministry at our respective churches. We also serve on the Burn leadership team, a grassroots movement of passionate Christ followers, both young and wise, to worship God in the way He is best honored. The idea is to have 24 hour praise and worship sessions on a monthly basis. In February, the leadership team felt called to do a 124 hour burn (not a typo) across four churches. That’s 5 days of continuous worship leading up to the Sunday morning service at MCC. I know, it’s a little wild and intense but so filled with the presence of God and led by the Spirit, it’s an experience you won’t want to miss.

What gets me so excited about all of this is that we’re the first church ever to open up a Sunday morning service for the Burn team to lead. The desire to carry a Burn through a Sunday service has been on the Burn team’s heart for two years now. I’m so thankful MCC can be an answer to their prayers. There’s been a lot going on at MCC; I believe the Spirit is asking the church to step out in faith to where He is leading us. I’m just thankful we can lean into that calling and have an obedient heart.

What you can expect on February 16th is an engaging worship experience that is led by the Holy Spirit. There will be spontaneous songs and prayer throughout the entire experience. There will be a short message and communion as usual, followed by prayer and more praise. We will stay true to our normal service duration to respect the congregation’s time. Most importantly, the ultimate goal for the Burn team is to honor God and to honor the community which means everybody is welcome, everybody will be included.

When I stepped into a stranger’s car four years ago, I never could have imagined the journey would lead to this. It honestly blows my mind when I look back and see how God orchestrated this all to happen. And if He brought us to it, He will bring us through it.

-Daniel