THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
The Mission of the church is to make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. A-men
Some churches read that passage of Scripture, and in their minds they think it says go and make converts. They forget to make converts into disciples. Many churches are more interested in the 'numbers' game than the spiritual-substance game. We must remember that it is not about getting more people to attend our church, but to make these saints into true disciples of Christ. We must not just entertain them on Sunday so that they will return next Sunday. We must take the time and do the work to make them disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures say that we are to teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded. We are not to make them disciples of our church philosophy, but disciples of Jesus Christ. The first and most important thing we must do is to preach and teach the Word of God. If we are not preaching, teaching, and living the Word of God, then our churches will fail. God will not honor a church that does not honor His Word. We all know about the reduction in membership of mainline denominations that have turned away from God’s Word. They have all declined by at least 30%.
Our churches must have firm biblical foundations. We must encourage the people and give them opportunity to study the Word. We can do this through Sunday-school classes, home Bible study, and men's and women’s groups. In today's society, you can have Bible study on-line with the people in your church. A good Bible study which many churches have used successfully is Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Videos and guidebooks are available.
It is important to get new coverts into and grounded in the Word as quickly as possible so that when difficulties come, they will have the promises of God to support them. I encourage every church to give each new convert a good modern-language study Bible.
When I first accepted Christ as my Savior, I went into a Sunday school and told the leader George Reed that I could not understand the King James version of the Bible. He said, “No problem, Bob, take my Bible.” I cherished and read that modern Bible from cover to cover in six months. George was concerned about making me a disciple of Christ, not in debating about what version of the Bible I should read.
Our churches must create opportunities for fellowship so that people get to know each other. In the past, churches were often the center of social life, with events such as suppers, picnics, couples' night out, men's and women’s groups, Golden-age groups, etc. These are all good events, but in today's society, time is frequently an issue. Families are busy, and they evaluate how much time they are able to give to the church. Moms and dads are both working, many of them six days a week. The children also have demands on their time. So most families feel the pressure of time.
May I suggest that you consider making outreach events fellowship events? When people work together for a common goal, it brings closeness and unity to the group. In today's society, young Christians want to make a difference for Jesus in their community. They want their time to be meaningful for the kingdom of God. You can use these young Christians to plan teen outreaches, visit nursing homes, feed the homeless, or craft an outreach event for their own special calling.
People who work together usually stay together and become true friends. In the church, it is important that your events build fellowship and relationships. Most successful large churches have small groups to minster to people's felt needs. Such groups lead to true fellowship.
As churches, we must continually have an evangelistic outreach. True evangelism is not recycling Christians from other churches: it is reaching the lost for Jesus Christ. True evangelism is not giving away Christmas baskets. Giving baskets at Christmas is a good thing, but most churches do not do it in an evangelistic way. We must have ongoing ministry to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, using every activity of the church to attract the lost to Jesus Christ.
When a church is first established, evangelism is usually a priority. If the church is to survive, it must evangelize. Evangelism loses its importance when the congregation reaches 35 to 50 people and becomes comfortable with its present membership. The church is then in danger of becoming a religious social club.
Ginny and I have done leadership training in many churches where the average age is 65 and they are now looking for young people to join their church. They have not reached out to the lost for many years and have been a dying church without recognizing their plight. In most cases, it is too late to save such a church.
As leaders of the church, we must continually encourage people to reach out to their unchurched neighbors, families, co-workers, etc. The most effective evangelism is 'friendship' evangelism. Seventy-five to ninety percent of church attendees were invited by a friend or relative. It is vital that we encourage our people to reach out to the unchurched around them.
One of the methods of encouraging 'friendship' evangelism is to have each person draw a hub with eight spokes coming out from the hub. At the end of each spoke, draw a large circle. Have the member write his name in the middle of the hub. Then have him write the name of one unchurched friend, family member, or co-worker, in each of the circles. Next, encourage him to pray for those persons daily - not once a week or once a month, but daily. While he is praying, he will continue to interact with these people sharing with them what God is doing in his life. In other words, they become friends. The problem with most Christians is that within three years, they have no non-Christian friends. So this must be intentional, to make friends with the unchurched and to lead them to Christ. It must become a lifestyle for your people. As they are faithful, God will open the door for them to lead people to Christ.
Pastor, if you do this as a church, and have your people give you a copy of their lists, you will find that the names of some people will show up on several lists. These would be your target persons to reach out to as a church. I suggest that you do this annually, so the people can add new names to their lists to replace those who have been saved. Some names may remain on people's lists for years. Encourage your people not to give up.
As churches, we must have continual, intentional evangelistic outreach ministry to the lost. If the only people you are ministering to are your own people, you already are a declining church. New coverts that you disciple are the lifeline for the future of the church.
Some churches read that passage of Scripture, and in their minds they think it says go and make converts. They forget to make converts into disciples. Many churches are more interested in the 'numbers' game than the spiritual-substance game. We must remember that it is not about getting more people to attend our church, but to make these saints into true disciples of Christ. We must not just entertain them on Sunday so that they will return next Sunday. We must take the time and do the work to make them disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures say that we are to teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded. We are not to make them disciples of our church philosophy, but disciples of Jesus Christ. The first and most important thing we must do is to preach and teach the Word of God. If we are not preaching, teaching, and living the Word of God, then our churches will fail. God will not honor a church that does not honor His Word. We all know about the reduction in membership of mainline denominations that have turned away from God’s Word. They have all declined by at least 30%.
Our churches must have firm biblical foundations. We must encourage the people and give them opportunity to study the Word. We can do this through Sunday-school classes, home Bible study, and men's and women’s groups. In today's society, you can have Bible study on-line with the people in your church. A good Bible study which many churches have used successfully is Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Videos and guidebooks are available.
It is important to get new coverts into and grounded in the Word as quickly as possible so that when difficulties come, they will have the promises of God to support them. I encourage every church to give each new convert a good modern-language study Bible.
When I first accepted Christ as my Savior, I went into a Sunday school and told the leader George Reed that I could not understand the King James version of the Bible. He said, “No problem, Bob, take my Bible.” I cherished and read that modern Bible from cover to cover in six months. George was concerned about making me a disciple of Christ, not in debating about what version of the Bible I should read.
Our churches must create opportunities for fellowship so that people get to know each other. In the past, churches were often the center of social life, with events such as suppers, picnics, couples' night out, men's and women’s groups, Golden-age groups, etc. These are all good events, but in today's society, time is frequently an issue. Families are busy, and they evaluate how much time they are able to give to the church. Moms and dads are both working, many of them six days a week. The children also have demands on their time. So most families feel the pressure of time.
May I suggest that you consider making outreach events fellowship events? When people work together for a common goal, it brings closeness and unity to the group. In today's society, young Christians want to make a difference for Jesus in their community. They want their time to be meaningful for the kingdom of God. You can use these young Christians to plan teen outreaches, visit nursing homes, feed the homeless, or craft an outreach event for their own special calling.
People who work together usually stay together and become true friends. In the church, it is important that your events build fellowship and relationships. Most successful large churches have small groups to minster to people's felt needs. Such groups lead to true fellowship.
As churches, we must continually have an evangelistic outreach. True evangelism is not recycling Christians from other churches: it is reaching the lost for Jesus Christ. True evangelism is not giving away Christmas baskets. Giving baskets at Christmas is a good thing, but most churches do not do it in an evangelistic way. We must have ongoing ministry to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, using every activity of the church to attract the lost to Jesus Christ.
When a church is first established, evangelism is usually a priority. If the church is to survive, it must evangelize. Evangelism loses its importance when the congregation reaches 35 to 50 people and becomes comfortable with its present membership. The church is then in danger of becoming a religious social club.
Ginny and I have done leadership training in many churches where the average age is 65 and they are now looking for young people to join their church. They have not reached out to the lost for many years and have been a dying church without recognizing their plight. In most cases, it is too late to save such a church.
As leaders of the church, we must continually encourage people to reach out to their unchurched neighbors, families, co-workers, etc. The most effective evangelism is 'friendship' evangelism. Seventy-five to ninety percent of church attendees were invited by a friend or relative. It is vital that we encourage our people to reach out to the unchurched around them.
One of the methods of encouraging 'friendship' evangelism is to have each person draw a hub with eight spokes coming out from the hub. At the end of each spoke, draw a large circle. Have the member write his name in the middle of the hub. Then have him write the name of one unchurched friend, family member, or co-worker, in each of the circles. Next, encourage him to pray for those persons daily - not once a week or once a month, but daily. While he is praying, he will continue to interact with these people sharing with them what God is doing in his life. In other words, they become friends. The problem with most Christians is that within three years, they have no non-Christian friends. So this must be intentional, to make friends with the unchurched and to lead them to Christ. It must become a lifestyle for your people. As they are faithful, God will open the door for them to lead people to Christ.
Pastor, if you do this as a church, and have your people give you a copy of their lists, you will find that the names of some people will show up on several lists. These would be your target persons to reach out to as a church. I suggest that you do this annually, so the people can add new names to their lists to replace those who have been saved. Some names may remain on people's lists for years. Encourage your people not to give up.
As churches, we must have continual, intentional evangelistic outreach ministry to the lost. If the only people you are ministering to are your own people, you already are a declining church. New coverts that you disciple are the lifeline for the future of the church.
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