Rise from the Tomb: A Sunrise Sunday Testimony from Evergreen Farm

Our recent Resurrection Sunday sunrise service at Evergreen Farm was one of those moments in worship that stay with you after the service ends.

The weather forecast had warned us the night before: heavy rain, hard rain, all Sunday morning. Naturally, we began asking practical questions. How do we continue with a sunrise service without everyone getting soaked and freezing?

But even in the uncertainty, one thing felt clear in our hearts:

We were still going to gather. Rain or shine, we would worship the risen Christ.

So a message was sent out to everyone in the community:

We’re still having the sunrise service. Come ready to worship, no matter the weather.

Before dawn, we prepared the hilltop at Evergreen Farm with canopies and a simple setup. By 5:30 AM, neighbors and friends began arriving in the early darkness.

What made the morning even more special was how beautifully the whole community carried it together.

Our friend Jason Lee Jones led worship, while another neighbor shared a moving message centered on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Yet because the weather remained uncertain, we made a spontaneous decision that became deeply symbolic:

we moved everyone into the studio where instruments are built.

We cleared the workshop, pushed instrument materials aside, made room, and packed ourselves into that sacred little space. The room that normally echoes with the crafting of instruments became a sanctuary.

And somehow, it felt right.

Inside, we rested in God’s presence.

One of David’s harps was played.

A drummer joined softly.

Another neighbor read Scriptures aloud—Isaiah 53, John 20, and passages that beautifully proclaimed the fulfillment of Christ’s finished work.

“He was pierced for our transgressions…

by His wounds we are healed.”

— Isaiah 53:5“

He is not here; He has risen!”

— John 20:6–9

The atmosphere felt holy.

Then something unforgettable happened.

As the sun slowly rose over Prayer Mountain, its light peeked through the studio window. In that moment, it felt as if the Lord was giving us a living picture of the Gospel.

The studio had become like a tomb.

As we sat there in stillness, we reflected on the truth that in Christ, we too have died—to our old selves, our old ways, our old burdens.

“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death… so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…

we too may live a new life.”

— Romans 6:4

I challenged our community with one question:

What still needs to die in us?

Old wounds?

Fear?

Self-reliance?

Bitterness?

The weight of yesterday?

Then together, we rose up.

We walked out of the studio as if stepping out of the tomb itself—symbolically leaving behind what had died and stepping into the resurrection life of Christ.

And then came the rain.

Yes, it rained exactly as forecasted. But it was not a harsh, burdensome rain. It felt like spring rain—gentle, fragrant, full of promise.

After such a long drought season, it felt profoundly significant.

Just days earlier, on Good Friday, an extreme fire ban had been released because of severe dryness and the risk of forest fires. The land had been longing for rain.

And on Resurrection Sunday, the rain came.

Not as an interruption.

But as a blessing.

Many of us didn’t even open our umbrellas. We simply stood there on the hill with our arms open wide, receiving what felt like the rain of the Lord.

It carried the fragrance of spring.

The smell of new life.

The promise that something fresh was breaking forth.

It felt prophetic.

The land was being watered.

Our hearts were being watered.

And the resurrection life of Jesus felt more tangible than ever.

It was not just a service.

It was a testimony.

A reminder that what feels like a storm may actually be the beginning of new life.

A Resurrection Invitation

What in your life needs to stay in the tomb?

And what is Jesus inviting you to rise into?

This Resurrection season, let the old self die.

Step out of the tomb.

Receive the spring rain of His Spirit.

And walk in the finished work of Christ.

Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead

is still raising hearts today.