A Culture of Outreach

What excites you?  What pumps you up?  What makes you want to do backward handsprings? Well, I'll tell you what does that for me...it's seeing people COME TO JESUS!

The GREAT COMMISSION, for many, has become the GREAT OMISSION.  I'm not trying to bash anyone or any church, however, we've become so obsessed with the INTERNAL MACHINERY of POLITICS, TITLES, TALENT, POSITIONS and SELF-FOCUS that we've seemingly forgotten about the people who are DYING and GOING TO HELL!

That bothers me.

I'm thankful for the culture of BFWC and the environment where people can meet JESUS, instead of meeting the pastor.  It's more important that people know about SCRIPTURE than they know about Robert's Rules of Order. I care more about someone's HEART than I do their wardrobe. I care more about UNITY of the team than I do about superstars.

Remember in Matthew 4:19 when Jesus said, "Come follow me and I will make you..."  He said, "I'm going to make you FISHERS of MEN."  Notice what He didn't say..."Come follow me and we will boycott Disney, blast other Christians, plan a fish fry or talk about people's position."  NOPE...His focus was on reaching PEOPLE. Because that is the example He set, the church should do the same!

What if the church is nothing more than a COUNTRY CLUB with a cross and a steeple? (You'll only be offended by that statement if it describes your church.)

WE ARE CALLED TO REACH PEOPLE!

God wants us to get outside of our world and into the worlds of people who do not know Christ.  That means we are to LIKE the people who are nothing LIKE us.

What kind of church do you want to have?  For me, I want BFWC to be place where you don't have to be PERFECT to walk through the doors.  Honestly, our church isn't perfect and I'm not a perfect pastor.  If someone who is perfect walks in, they're going to feel out of place real quick.

We want people to meet JESUS and be CHANGED.  That's why we VALUE a CULTURE of OUTREACH.  We've seen nearly 100 people receive Christ this year, and we're hoping to exceed that before 2014!

Creating a culture of outreach starts with teaching our people that evangelism IS inviting people to church!  While you're reading this, I hope you become extremely aware that you need to invite people to church!  DO IT!  People will come and hear about JESUS and their lives CAN BE transformed!  It takes all of us working together to make evangelism work.

When Beverly and I greet first time guests, we ask them "How did you hear about BFWC?" Nearly 99% of the time they say they were personally invited by a family member or friend...in other words, they were "EVANGELIZED!"

Isn't that God's goal?  YES!  He desires for people to reach people.  Today, I want you to know that you don't have to be embarrassed to invite a friend or family member...we are going to talk about JESUS...and through this process JESUS will change lives!

FOUND people...FIND people! 

Is Our Church Too Big?

When is a local church too big?  In my travels I had a conversation with a man who told me that he likes attending a small church because those "bigger" churches made him feel like a number and he couldn't get to know people.

My question is this:  Should a church grow or should it seek to maintain a "manageable number?"

The longer this man talked, the more it became clear to me that he really didn't want the church where he attended to grow, and by his own speech, whether he knew it or not, he told me more in the five minutes we spoke than the number of years I've been in ministry.

Some people don't want their church to grow, because if it does they will seemingly "lose" control of their small pond and quite possibly they will no longer know everyone's business. 

Jesus wants every local church to grow!  Every local church is networked to "the church" of Jesus Christ and it is His will that growth, both numerical and spiritual, takes place.

I remember a preacher telling me one time that "God wanted his church to be small."  He felt that his church was one of the few remaining churches that was holding forth the standard of true holiness and therefore they represented a "remnant" that would not compromise.  I stood there thinking, "are you serious?"  

You really can't carry on a fruitful conversation with a person who is trapped in antiquity.  It's easy to hide behind the mask of small mindedness when you have no plan of action to facilitate strategy or systems for success. 

Ever run into those people that say, "The only reason that church across town is growing is because they've compromised!  They've got all that loud music, words on the screen and they even drink coffee!"  Honestly, it's all I can do to not just laugh out loud when I hear things like that.  As if technology and coffee beans are Satan's tools to "undo" the church and it's power.

I believe Jesus was the most amazing teacher and leader that ever lived.  His ways were innovative and His methods were beyond rational thought!

• He tells Peter - "cast your net on the other side!"
• Pete obeys and the catch is HUGE!
• So large, he had to help to get it all in!

Notice this...Peter didn't just catch "a fish."  Nor did he only catch ten fish.  He caught a NUMBER OF FISH!
 

Does God want me to catch
large numbers of people? Yes!

Jesus told Peter to "follow Him and He would make him a fisher of men!"  WHY? 

• Not so He could make him more disciplined.
• Not so He could make him more holy.
• Not so that He could make him a powerful scholar.

The reason is that Jesus wanted to make Peter
into a man that would lead others to Him. 

Do you realize that the purpose of the church is NOT so we can:

• Have our four and no more.
• Prophecy gum drops and sugar plums on each other in the comfort of our "churchified clichés."
• Make comments like, "I want more worship...I want to go deeper...I want...I want...I want..."

Friend...following Jesus is NOT about what we want - but what God wants to do in and through each of us! 

Friend...if you've been saved - then church is no longer about YOU - getting your spiritual fix and weekly goose bump cannot continue to be our focus.

One of the reasons that some churches aren't growing is because we are more inward focused than outward focused.  I've preached in that church.  There is more focus on what we do "in the house" that "out of the house."  Thus, we have too much time on our hands, twiddling our thumbs and conjuring up more rules, regulations and resolutions than actually focusing on people!

It's easier for people to get into Heaven than it is for people to get membership in some churches. 

We make up and cling to rules, regulations and laws that require acrobat skills and jungle gym contortion to navigate through in order to gain membership.  (I realize we must have guidelines...but what if those guidelines are so stringent and stale that they drain life instead of give life?)

Church is not about what we want but what He wants.  Jesus wants us to love God and love others - not just the "others" like us...but those far way from Him! 

In Luke 5 - the catch of fish was so big - I don't think this is coincidental! Jesus is into us reaching LARGE numbers of people!  He wants His church to reach the world! 

Is our local church too big?

Your Problem Is Your Harvest

When did you get saved?

Do you remember how it happened?

Were you in a service and heard someone preach Hell so hot that you felt like your seat was on fire?

Or did they preach about the love of God with such passion that you were enveloped in the arms of God?

Did you read about God’s redemption in your hotel room where a Gideon Bible was in reach?

Did you have a neighbor who exemplified the love of God in front of you that made you want to run after the Lord with your whole heart?

Here’s another question…is your example one that would cause other people to want to live for Christ?

We have what the world needs

• And yet, we can easily become self absorbed with hectic schedules, family commitments, church volunteerism, school events, etc…and FORGET why we’re here on earth for.

Serving as a Pastor of a growing church is very demanding.

• If I don’t set my schedule it will be set for me with a plethora of activity.
• Meetings, training, planning, vision casting, administration, counseling, arbitrating, study, devotion, reading, prayer, returning emails, serving my leaders, serving my fellowship, being an available husband and father, etc.
• I know what I’m called to do…Primary FEEDER, LEADER & VISIONARY
• Honestly, even though I know what I’m supposed to do, if I do not stay focused I can lose focus very easily.

There is no difference in the church. The church is called to do certain things.

• We can easily get sidetracked into doing MANY things.
• If we were to narrow down a list of essentials for the church, this is what it might look like.

1. Reach Up

• The church is called to reach up to Christ. This is fulfilled when our focus on worship is personally lived.
• When we live a lifestyle of worship in private it will show up in our public gatherings.
• There is nothing like being engulfed in private prayer and praise.
• Reaching up prepares us to reach out.

2. Reach In

• The church is called to reach in through relational fellowship. In other words, we are to connect with one another through intimate fellowship.
• Fellowship equips us by building us, renewing us and firing us up for outreach.

3. Reach Out

• The church is called to reach out and share God’s love.
• Those three things don’t sound too hard.

Look at Matthew 28:18 18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

• Jesus speaks these words to a group of leaders He had been training for 3 ½ years.
• His Disciples.
• Those He was INVESTING in.

His words “All power is given unto me two places” (Heaven & Earth) set the stage/entrance for what we affectionately refer to today as “The Great Commission.”

• Heaven & Earth – representing the encompassing power of kingdoms, dominions and worlds that were under His authority.

The THEME of the Great Commission was GO MAKE DISCIPLES of ALL NATIONS!

• Basically…REACH OUT.
• But isn’t that just for EVANGELISTS?
• Isn’t that just for the people who operate in the Grace Gift of Ephesians 4:11-12 with the title “Evangelist?”

Evangelism can be RAW!

• It can cause you to get nervous…the shear thought of going door-to-door and asking people about their relationship with God or where they are going to spend eternity can cause your palms to sweat and your blood pressure to rise.
• And yet…Jesus called the church to REACH OUT!

If we’re called to REACH OUT like an Evangelist, than why is the word Evangelist only mentioned twice in Scripture? (Acts 21:8; 2 Timothy 4:5)

• Studies show that only 2-3% of the Body of Christ are evangelists.

Allow me to make this observation: There is a difference between a GIFT and a ROLE.

• The gift of an evangelist is a gift from God where you’re anointed to BE and DO something.
• The role of an evangelist requires us to perform an expected function.

With that being said, how do we “do” evangelism? What if my personality isn’t “cut out” for it? Truthfully, we can all perform this role by simply INVESTING and INVITING.

• Investing our time in others. Spending time with them.
• Inviting them to do something. Come to church…attend a fellowship event…enjoy a concert together…join a Life Group…etc.

Isn’t that basically what Jesus did?

• He invested His time into a woman at the well of Samaria.
• We are doing that every time we offer a sports opportunity, whether it be basketball, football or aerobics.
• Those types of events have the ability to DRAW people…and people with problems and needs will come.

Our problem
can become our harvest.

Look at the life of Apostle Paul.

• Before he was ever known as PAUL he was Saul of Tarsus.
• Persecutor of the church.
• He was wreaking havoc against the cause of Christ.
• He was becoming a REAL PROBLEM.
• Yet he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus and that ONE ENCOUNTER turned the PROBLEM INTO A HARVEST.
• Now Paul is doing all he can do mend fences and promote the cause of Christ!

I believe Jesus spent His whole life INVESTING in others.

• We know for sure that He did in the 3 ½ years of public ministry that has been recorded.
• Investing in people who aren’t saved yet is what the church is called to do.
• We each have someone in our life that we can INVEST in.
• It will take INTENTIONALITY and EFFORT.
• It will involve our TIME.

Sure…we can do an outreach event once a month or even once a quarter and it may work. But what works the majority of the time is when people find GENUINE love and concern.


APPLICATION

• What would happen if we began to INVEST in the relationships we ALREADY have?
• You know…the ones that are already pretty good….
• What would happen if we started paying attention to the people where we LIVE, SHOP, PLAY and EAT?

THIS WILL MAKE YOU SWEAT

• When was the last time you invited someone to church?
• When was the last time you sat down with someone that doesn’t go to church, had a coffee and mentioned God?
• Do you even know anyone who doesn’t go to church?
• Sweating yet?

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

• People have to know that they matter.

We have to show people

that we’re NORMAL people…

not crazy Christians who

just stepped off the mother ship.

• We’re not only normal…we’re building families, having babies, overcoming struggles and just REAL.
• They have to see it…if they’re going to take us serious.
• Unfortunately, the world has had to deal with weirdo’s and quacks that have given Christians a bad name.
• That weirdo at school, or at their job, or in their family, etc.
• You know those people…they act crazy and in turn their actions are so bizarre that God is not honored and people are not loved in the process.
• Friends…the world needs to see JESUS!

What made the woman at the well LISTEN to what Jesus had to say?

What made her run back into the city and TELL everyone about this man who had told her everything she ever did?

Her witness of Jesus caused those people to RUN to see Jesus.

John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

• Jesus tells His disciples in this passage to STOP WAITING.
• And immediately… John 4:39-40 the Samaritans start running towards them!
• And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

HERE CAME THEIR HARVEST!

• A FLOOD of men running towards them that were enemies of JEWS.
• THEY WERE THE HARVEST!
• Perhaps the DISCIPLES saw them as problems…

In order to SEE OUR HARVEST we have to do what JESUS said to do….”LIFT UP OUR EYES”


Today I want to challenge you to find that person in your life that is

• OVERLOOKED
• UNDER APPRECIATED
• HURTING and
• REJECTED

Today, lets INVEST & INVITE as we view our potential problems as our HARVEST!