Coming & Going
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” Matthew 28:19, ESV
Our mission is clear; yet, we oftentimes fail to be evangelistic and/or disciple-makers. Thom Rainer (former CEO of LifeWay) writes concerning the lack of evangelistic fervor in the church. Read his article, here:
“There are several dangerous and debilitating attitudes in churches that are killing evangelism. Here are six of them:
- ‘That’s what we pay our pastor to do.’ The hired-hand attitude toward the Great Commission is debilitating. It emanates from an attitude of comfort and entitlement among church members.
- ‘Our church members are just not evangelistic.’ This quote comes from pastors and other church leaders. It is the other side of the coin of the blame game noted in number one above. Pastors who make those comments typically aren’t evangelistic themselves.
- ‘Our denomination does not help us.’ This attitude is a continuation of the blame and deflection issue. Evangelistic churches do not depend on denominations to lead them to share the gospel. They see the Great Commission as primarily an issue of local church responsibility.
- ‘We emphasize evangelism once a year in our church.’ If evangelism is just another emphasis in the church, it is dead on arrival. It must be an ongoing priority of the church.
- ‘I don’t know anyone well who is not a Christian.’ This attitude is part of the greater issue of the holy huddle in many churches. If the church members are not intentionally developing relationships with people who are not Christians, evangelism just won’t happen. Here is a test to consider. How many of the groups or classes in your church are regularly seeking to connect with unbelievers?
- ‘We don’t have the resources.’ The most effective evangelistic churches depend on two key resources: prayer and obedience.
The decline in evangelism in our churches comes down to just a few key issues. Too many believers see evangelism as the responsibility of someone else. Closely related to that issue is the matter of blame. It’s the pastor’s fault. It’s the church members’ fault. It’s the denomination’s fault.
I have seen churches make dramatic turnarounds when just one person decided to be radically obedient to the Great Commission.
The question should not be: ‘What about them?’
The question should be: ‘What about me?’”
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Recently, we went out inviting folks to our Resurrection Celebration Service – we want to leave no one uninvited (and I hope such an attitude becomes part of the DNA of this congregation)! I’m writing this prior to seeing the fruit from that, but
I trust that as we continue to engage this community with the love of Christ
– and the gospel of Christ –
we will see more come to know and be known by Jesus!
Thank you for giving of your time to reach out to others – and let’s keep it up!
I also want to commend you in your efforts to send financial support to our North American missionaries by giving to the Lord through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. As far as I can tell the amount given this year is a record for the life of Foxworth First! Thank you for your faithfulness to give!
May The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Cor. 13:14, ESV.
Pastor loves you, church!