Stop trying to grow YOUR church and start trying to grow THE church. As a result, YOUR church will grow. See, we have been made for the lost, they were not made for us. Let me break this down for everyone who reads the title of this blog thinking that their church numbers must grow before the body can. We have this mentality that IF we can get people to come to church THEN we can get them saved but this is not the plan that Christ gave us for furthering the growth of the body of Christ. Now if sinners come to church, great, let's help lead them to rebirth, but that is not at all what this post is about. This is about what OUR plan should be to reach the lost. And sitting and serving only within the confinement of our church buildings isn't going to do it. Christ said to go, not wait. So listen to this...
I love that our church's prayer is for God to give us TO our city rather than for God to give the city to us. This is what I mean when I say we were made for them and not the other way around. Since our church began to pray for God to give US to the our CITY we have seen one mission opportunity after another open up for us to pour ourselves into and we have seen our church grow as a result of assuming responsibility over those missions. This should be every churches prayer because Jesus told us to GO into the world and make disciples. He did not tell us to wait in the church for them to come to us. He didn't simply say, "Invite your friends to church". Inviting your friends is great, but that's not the sole plan for how to reach the lost. Jesus said to "Go" to them at their place of need and serve them in His name. By doing this, we open communication with the lost and discouraged to draw them to Christ and automatically, as a RESULT, the church then grows. Does everyone whom we serve publicly come to church? No, but many do. They may go to another church rather than our own because they know people who attend somewhere else but the point is that we do the work of redemption, not that we build a religious empire. God will bless us as we need, so long as we focus on His need. You know the verse, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" right? Only THEN does He begin the addition process, whether our need be material things or simply helping hands, God provides.
We often put things in reverse perspective and we see things in a backwards way. For example, many function under the belief that if they do good works they will be saved. But good works do not save us, they confirm what we have already been through and that is rebirth in Christ Jesus which seals us for the day of salvation and changes our heart FOR good works.
Going into the world and making disciples is not about selling all that you own and moving to some far away land, it could but it doesn't always. It is simply feeding, clothing, sharing resources and consistently showing compassion to the neighbor right in your own city who is down and out. We don't have the option of sitting and waiting for someone to come find us to get what they need. They simply don't know what they need most of the time. We know what they need; they need Jesus Christ and His way of life for them. That is where from which their constant help will come. It is our responsibility to take HIM and HIS GRACE out in the open to others so they can come to Him, not primarily to get them to our church services, but to primarily get them to Christ. That will usually result in drawing them to church with other believers where they can further be supported, strengthened and loved along with the rest of the body of Christ. That is His plan for how this great grace will be shown throughout the world. We needn't worry about how to grow our churches until we first learn to share the Gospel with this world and make disciples. The churches will only grow after we have decided and acted upon the commandment of "GO."