Phase 1 — Months 0–6: “Name the Calling”
Worship-leader devotionals shaped to the Phase 1 posture shift in wiki/mnfc-case-for-evangelistic-growth.md. Each devotional is a 1–2 min spoken opening + song list + 1–3 min closing prayer that lands the congregation on the morning’s main point and prepares them to receive the sermon.
These are not tied 1:1 to any specific Phase 1 sermon. Pick whichever fits the Sunday.
Devotionals
- phase1-01-the-third-responsibility — The work is ours now. (DP p. 186)
- phase1-02-faithfulness-not-strategy — Growth follows faithfulness, not the reverse. (Luke 16:10)
- phase1-03-the-empty-seat — The stranger next to you is an assignment. (Hebrews 13:2)
- phase1-04-the-life-that-witnesses — Live the gospel before you speak it. (Matthew 5:14–16)
- phase1-05-the-well-before-the-pour — You cannot give from a well you stopped drawing from. (Psalm 42:1)
- phase1-06-who-is-my-neighbor — Love gets specific or it isn’t love. (Luke 10:29)
- phase1-07-releasing-control — The empty space is what makes the vessel useful. (Tao Te Ching, ch. 11)
- phase1-08-blessing-is-good-news — The Blessing is gift before it is procedure. (Genesis 12:2–3)
- phase1-09-crossing-the-room — Small obedience, not extroversion. (Philippians 2:3–4)
- phase1-10-pacing-for-forty-years — Rest is faithfulness. (Mark 6:31)
- phase1-11-family-that-extends — A family worth inheriting is one that adopts. (1 John 4:7–8)
- phase1-12-repentance-as-turning — Repentance is the door love walks back through. (Joel 2:12–13)
- phase1-13-prayer-before-going — Prayer is the work, not the warm-up. (True Father, paraphrased; Mark 1:35)
- phase1-14-the-one-in-front-of-you — God sends a person, not a crowd. (Acts 8:29–35)
- phase1-15-gratitude-is-the-soil — Mission grows from gratitude or it doesn’t grow. (1 Thess 5:16–18)
- phase1-16-beloved-before-sent — Calling rests on belovedness, never the reverse. (Henri Nouwen; Matt 3:17)
- phase1-17-strength-meets-us-in-weakness — The unqualified are the point. (2 Cor 12:9)
- phase1-18-joy-is-the-engine — Joy is upstream of mission, not its reward. (Nehemiah 8:10)
How to use
- Pick the devotional whose theme lands closest to the morning’s sermon (or whose Theme sentence resonates with what the congregation needs to hear that week).
- Trim or expand the bullets to fit your voice — these are notes, not a script.
- The song list is suggestion, not prescription. Swap freely. The “runner-up” is for when a primary song was sung recently or doesn’t fit the band’s roster that week.
- Close with the prayer bullets, but pray your own prayer.
Notes on quote sources
Quote sources are mixed deliberately — Bible, Divine Principle, True Father themes, Tao Te Ching — to model that wisdom comes from many wells and converges on the same path. Use that variety; don’t apologize for it.