I have one goal with you this morning and that’s to inspire you. I want to encourage you. I want to help build your faith and stir us up to go just a little bit higher in all the things that God is asking of us. Amen.
So, the title of my message today is The Power of Momentum. Power of momentum. For all you notetakers, nudge your favorite neighbor and tell them there’s power in momentum. There’s power in momentum.
In my family, we played a lot of games. Anybody, any game families out there? Okay. Yeah, game families. And dominoes was one that I was always fascinated to watch the adults in my family play. And if I’m quite honest, I really never understood how to play dominoes. I knew they flipped them up on one side and tossed them down in the center. I just wanted them to be done playing their dominoes so that my cousins and I could grab the dominoes and start setting them up in patterns. You know what I’m talking about—set them up in patterns to knock them down. And I think in our minds we were as good as what you’re about to see on the video screen right now. We thought we were setting up dominoes like that. Isn’t that fascinating?
And you know, there was always somebody in our family who bumped it before we were all done setting everything up, right? And you watch and you see. And I can remember all the work it took to set them up. Okay, you’re going to have to turn this off because they’re not going to listen to a single thing I say for the rest of the time together.
During a press conference in 1954, President Eisenhower made popular the term the domino effect. It’s not really a term that you hear too much anymore in our culture today. And here’s what it means: the domino effect happens when alignment, connection, and action come together around a shared purpose and someone is willing to make the first move.
The domino effect can be seen all throughout history. We saw the impact of the domino effect back in World War II. The Japanese bombed U.S. warships in Pearl Harbor, and that led to a domino effect. Their move caused the U.S. to join the Allied countries and help defeat Hitler in World War II. Thank God they did, because it would have been a really bad world to live in if Hitler had succeeded.
The domino effect isn’t just happening at a global level—it happens personally too. There are some of you who made the first move to be a follower of Jesus, and you are creating new pathways for generations after you. Your move is setting up the domino effect for your family. We should celebrate that.
The domino effect generates momentum. Someone say momentum.
There are a couple things I want to share with you today about the power of momentum. The first is this: momentum begins with movement. Just like we saw with the dominoes, momentum requires a first move.
In 1993, my family was looking for a new church home. While I was away at college, my parents attended my aunt’s baptism right here at Champion Center. This church was led by Pastor Kevin and Sheila. Even though it was 30 miles away from my parents’ home, they decided to plant themselves here.
What they didn’t know was that years earlier, Pastor Kevin and Sheila had left their home in St. Louis and came here believing God had called them to the Northwest to help people move their lives forward toward God’s best. Aren’t you thankful they did? We wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for their decision.
Four years later, my husband and I felt God nudge us to join them and serve however we could. We were young college grads figuring out our future, but we said yes. I wouldn’t be standing here today, and you wouldn’t be sitting where you are, if Pastors Kevin and Sheila hadn’t made that first move.
Their willingness to trust God created an opportunity for my parents to move, and that momentum carried into our family and our contribution to the kingdom. I believe that momentum will continue through generation after generation. I’m so grateful for their first move.
There has been a domino effect going on for the last 40 years, and it started when our pastors answered God’s call. Without their first move, there is no Champion Center.
I love the picture in Hebrews 12: “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
I’m thankful for the cloud of witnesses at Champion Center—people who didn’t let circumstances stop them from moving forward. The seats you’re sitting in, the screens you’re looking at, the microphone I’m using—all of this exists because people made moves to accelerate momentum. Turn to someone and say, “Make a move.”
The Geralds wouldn’t be in our Tacoma building without the Shacket family. Owen and Betty Shacket made the first move in 1978 to build a dome-shaped church. We honor them. Their children still attend today. Their vision even inspired the city to build what we now know as the Tacoma Dome. Your move can inspire others to make a move.
As I look around this room, I see families who stepped into momentum. Families like the Phillips family, here for over 30 years, raising children in God’s house who now serve. Families like the Richardson family, who have been here over three decades and whose legacy continues through their children and grandchildren.
If you’ve been part of Champion Center for 20 years or more, we honor you. You’ve probably had reasons to leave. Opinions about music, parking, sound—but you stayed. And here we are.
Ecclesiastes says farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If you wait for the perfect opportunity, you could miss what God is doing. Don’t miss it.
There are simple moves that position you for momentum. Decide Champion Center is your home church. Make church a non-negotiable. Serve on a team. Build relationships. Become a contributor to the financial needs of the church.
Each generation has rallied to keep this church moving forward—from Project 2000 to new roofs, parking lots, and seating. Every generation made a move.
Momentum begins with movement.
Second, momentum multiplies with unity. Each person’s effort adds to another’s, creating something far greater than one person could do alone.
That’s how legacy offerings work. One person didn’t give millions—many people gave together.
We see this in Joshua 6 at Jericho. God instructed the people to move together in obedience. When they shouted together, the walls fell. Unity multiplied their effort into victory.
Unity multiplies.
Like a wave in a stadium—one person alone looks silly, but when everyone participates, it’s powerful. Jesus started the greatest wave in history—one man invited twelve, the twelve invited seventy-two, and the momentum of the gospel continues today.
Every one of you has a domino of opportunity in your hand. Each domino represents a life, a story, a sacrifice. Momentum only works when we align together.
Don’t confuse proximity with participation. Just because you’re close doesn’t mean you’re contributing.
Don’t despise small beginnings. The hardest part of momentum is starting.
To those in your 20s and 30s: you matter. The strength of our church today was built by people your age who made small moves decades ago. And the strength of our church tomorrow depends on you deciding to carry momentum forward.
Isaiah said, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” That’s the invitation God gives all of us.
God may not ask you to be a pastor, but He is asking you to take ownership of building His kingdom.
This legacy season is not a sit-on-the-sidelines season. It’s a season to put your domino in line and make a move.
Momentum begins with movement. Momentum multiplies with unity.
Let’s not just be a gathered church—let’s be a church in motion.
Father, I thank You for every person here. Help us take our place in the momentum You are building. Give us courage to make our move and faith to believe You will use it for generations to come.
And for those choosing Jesus today—this first move changes everything.
Amen.
