“18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:1-20 NKJV)
As many ministers of the Gospel are concerned with achieving growth in this extended post-pandemic era, I find that I am not alone in seeking ways to recapture the strayed and reproduce new believers. I have spent a plethora of time perusing various publications, published articles and printed books that present the reader with recipes or revolutionary strategies to achieve the recapturing and reproduction of souls in the church.
Last week I talked with one of my sons who has been attending a church in Atlanta. The church is named “2019 Church.” It is a flourishing, thriving church with various ministries. They have several services, but you just might find yourself standing in line to get a seat in the overflow area. As a side note, I have a granddaughter who joined a big church in Chicago. She often had to sit in the overflow area and view the service on the large screen that projected what was going on in the main sanctuary. I recently heard that she joined the choir. Jokingly I said to myself, “That’s one way to be sure that you will get a seat in the main sanctuary.” Then being more serious in my thoughts, I rearranged my thinking, positive that she has a gift for singing. You see, she wanted to not only acknowledge her gift, but she wanted to act in service with what the gift that was given to her by the Lord. I hope you recognized there is a side note lesson for all believers who have been gifted by the Lord. If He bless you, bless Him in serving Him using your gifts. If He graciously gave you a gift, then gratefully utilize that gift. If He showed you favor, don’t try to do Him a favor, because He does not need your favor. But let that favor move you to faithfully responding to Him. You didn’t miss the lesson did you? Continue reading.
Let’s go back south to Atlanta. The name of the church, mentioned above, caused my son to ponder, only briefly, about why the name of the house of God was “2019 Church.” Perhaps the training he received as a result of attending church all his life, or attending a Christian high school and a Christian college contributed to his rapid realization of what the numbers represented. The name is based on the bolded verse above, part of Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). This led me to think, “Why spend the money” on church growth publications, filled with hundreds of pages, each with an average of 600-650 words when Jesus gave us the methodology in a couple of places found in the Bible?”
Look! If you want to bring about church growth, support the authors to encourage them if you so choose to do so, but Jesus already told us the primary way to recapture the lost and to reproduce new believers. Following His heavenly strategy, actually a charge for all believers, will produce church growth in whatever geographic location your church is located. It does not matter of it is a small town or a large metropolitan area. It does not matter of your church is on a main thoroughfare of on a street tucked in a neighborhood where the car traffic is minimal. That does not matter, just recapture the evangelistic thrust that seems to have been thrown on a shelf and eagerly do as Jesus has commission us. Now, I’ve written what the Lord put on my heart this morning. Now, we must respond and get busy in doing personal and corporate evangelism. Be blessed!
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 KJV)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
The great commission is well known to many. Yet so few are able to do the work for several reasons. None of them are good enough.
We must do the best we can, at least try by word and example. Good to get your response while you are out of the country. God’s word has no geographical boundaries. That might just be a good starting sentence to generate some evangelistic conversation. Smile!