Exponential Week 2: "Right Place, Right Time" with Bobby Gruenewald

Right Place, Right Time, Right Response

Scripture References

• Ecclesiastes 9:11
• John 5:17
• Ephesians 5:25

Overview

God is always at work, positioning His people in “right-place, right-time” moments. When we recognize where He is already moving and sow our time, talent, and treasure there, He multiplies the impact far beyond our abilities—He makes it exponential. Pastor Bobby Gruenewald traced that pattern through a personal baseball story, pivotal Life.Church decisions, and the birth of the YouVersion Bible App, then invited everyone listening to trade spectator status for a green-wristband life in the clubhouse of God’s mission.

Main Points

1. See the Green Wristband Moments

• Ecclesiastes 9:11 shows outcomes aren’t reserved for the fastest, strongest, or smartest—“chance,” those right-place, right-time openings, matters.
• Story: Bobby flew 30 hours from South Africa, used an owner’s green wristbands, and ended up in the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse holding the ALCS trophy with his dad—an undeserved, unforgettable moment.
• We often miss similar invitations because we aren’t looking for them.

2. Look Where the Father Is Already Working

• John 5:17—God is “always working.”
• Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5 context). Our job is to notice the movement and align with it.

3. Sow Resources and Watch God Multiply

• God’s pattern: right place + right time + right response = exponential.
• Illustration: Church Merger – A local congregation gave its entire property to Life.Church. One church became two locations, and attendance jumped 10× the first week.
• Illustration: Multi-site Expansion – Planting Tulsa instead of enlarging one auditorium has grown into six Tulsa campuses and 22,000 attenders. Today the church is at 27 locations, with Catoosa and Omaha launching next.
• Illustration: Giving Away Resources – In 2006 Life.Church chose to release sermons, graphics, and videos for free instead of selling them. Over 500,000 pastors now use those materials, and the church became completely debt-free.
• Illustration: YouVersion – The first website failed, but shifting efforts to a Bible app for Apple’s new App Store (July 2008) put Scripture on 83,000 devices in four days. Now the app is on 315 million devices, adding 4 million every month and reaching every country—even places where physical Bibles are illegal.
• Current Wave: Verse Images & Leadership Podcast – 350,000 verse images are shared daily; the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast tops a half-million downloads a month. A new feature will auto-pair users’ photos with fitting verses, “redeeming the selfie.”

4. Make the Right Response

• Having the invitation isn’t enough; you must walk past the elevator and into the clubhouse.
• Right responses include:
  • Serve—LifeKids, Host Team, Switch.
  • Give—start tithing or move beyond the tithe with offerings.
  • Use unique skills—developers and marketplace leaders can leverage their gifts for the mission.
  • Invite—hand out more “green wristbands” by bringing others along.

5. The Ultimate Response: Say Yes to Jesus

• Many feel a spiritual void; peace with God fills it.
• At the appointed time God sent Jesus, who lived sinless, died, and rose so that “anyone who calls on His name” is saved.
• Today is a right-place, right-time moment to surrender to Christ.

Key Truths

• God constantly creates right-place, right-time opportunities; our vision determines whether we notice them.
• Joining what God is already blessing produces results far greater than pursuing our own plans.
• When God’s people sow resources generously, He multiplies them for Kingdom impact.
• Every believer holds a “green wristband” invitation to step from spectator to participant.
• Right place + right time + right response unlocks God’s exponential work.

Response

• Ask God daily, “Where are You working, and how can I join?”
• Commit to serve in a specific ministry area this month.
• Begin or increase regular, percentage-based giving; add an offering toward expansions and digital missions.
• Leverage your professional skills (tech, business, creative) for Kingdom projects.
• Share the invitation—bring a friend to Easter or help someone download YouVersion.
• If you have not, surrender your life to Jesus today.

Closing

We are unmistakably in the middle of God’s movement. The only question is our response—drive to the car or walk into the clubhouse. When we plant our seed where God is already moving, He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” > “When you’re in the right place at the right time with the right response, that’s when God can do the exponential.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I give You my life.
Jesus, make me new.
Forgive my sins.
Fill me with Your Spirit so I can follow You for the rest of my life.
My life is not my own—I give it to You.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.