“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)
Characteristics of Our Church
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Personal evangelism needs to be one of the highest priorities of the church. Each of us needs to understand that we are called to produce after our own kind. We need to take personal ownership of evangelism by being a witness of Christ and by witnessing of His grace in our lives. We also need to invite new people to the Services, Bible Studies and Group Meetings. We need to make them feel a part of the Christian Community we are engaged in developing. I believe personal evangelism is the primary reason God left us here on the planet once we get saved. Think of it, we can spend eternity worshipping God, studying His Word, praying and encouraging and edifying one another but our lives here on earth are our last chance to reach the lost for Christ.Let’s look at what needs to be some core values of our group
VALUE #1----- PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD If we really believe people matter to God, people must matter to us also and we ought to be able to say,” Here’s where I’ve spent time and energy trying to reach people outside the family of God, here’s where I’ve invested my resources to help make evangelism happen, here’s where I‘ve adjusted the priorities in my life to reach the lost.
VALUE #2----PEOPLE ARE SPIRITUALLY LOSTWe need to be crystal clear on this one. No matter how good or kind people may be without Christ, they are lost and headed for a Christless eternity. Like it or not, for some people, we have an unpopular message and we must not jeopardize or compromise it in any way. There is no other name under heaven whereby men shall be saved
VALUE #3----PEOPLE NEED TO PRAY AND BE PRAYED FOREverything we do must be saturated in prayer. We have a spiritual adversary and we must not forget that he will do everything he can do to distract us from reaching our objective of getting peopled saved, making them disciples of Christ and expanding the influence of the Kingdom of God. We must not be satisfied with the good at the expense of the best.
VALUE #4----PEOPLE NEED CHRISTWe need to understand that inside and outside the church attacks are being made against the Biblical conviction that people need to know Christ. Make no mistake about it Christ is the only Savior of the world. He alone is the only way to the Father. He remains as the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Bible says “Whom to know is life eternal”
VALUE #5 -----PEOPLE NEED ANSWERSWe need to be able to teach people how to live for Christ not just to be ready to meet Him when they die. We need to be able to demonstrate to people that Christ can be trusted today to answer their questions and help them solve their life problems. He is more than a ticket to heaven. He has come that we might live an abundant life. He is our salvation today. Only Christ is the answer and has the answers to meet this life’s challenges. The Bible says always be ready to give an account of the hope that dwells within you. That hope is Christ and all He entails
VALUE #6----PEOPLE NEED COMMUNITYPeople need a place where they have a sense of belonging, a place where they are loved and accepted regardless of their situation or circumstances. Today evangelism must be understood that it is not just declaring a message to someone but it’s an invitation into the world-changing kingdom of God. It is a place where people can come without condemnation and develop to become all that Christ has predestined for them to be. “One-Day Event Evangelism” was effective but today evangelism is mostly effective through relational evangelism. “Face to face evangelism”. We must be willing to enter the comfort zones of those that don’t know Christ and pluck them out of their sin and bondage. Each one of us should have at least three friends who don’t know Christ. Have you not noticed that events hosted by the church are mostly attended by Christians and very few people are coming to Christ in these events
VALUE #7---PEOPLE NEED CULTURAL RELEVANCEFor many in today’s society the church has lost its relevance. It is cloistered behind closed doors and walls. It no longer has anything to adequately relate to the world. Its music is from another century. Its ceremonies and rituals have long lost their significance in today’s society. Its language is not known to the unsaved. It is more involved in maintaining than it is in ministering. It has lost the Apostle Paul’s idea that he had become all things to all people that he might win some to Christ. On the day of Pentecost, God saw to it that every man had the opportunity to hear the gospel in his own language. We must do the same by relating to people in ways they can understand. We must be creative and innovative in our approach to win people to Christ. We need to be active in the marketplaces of our communities. We need to ask ourselves,” What cultural things in our society or geographical area can we use to be effective in bringing people to Christ?”
VALUE #8---- PEOPLE NEED TIMEWe must allow people to move forward at their own pace. One church said, “We endeavor to provide an atmosphere where new people are not expected to say anything, sign anything, sing anything, do anything or give anything. “. We need to love people where they are, teach them the Word of God, be examples of believers for them to follow and let the Holy Spirit convict them and bring them to a place of repentance”
VALUE #9---PEOPLE NEED OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THEIR GOD GIVEN GIFTS AND TALENTSIn order for all Christians to use and develop their ministry gifts, the focus of God’s Work in the earth has to be moved from a church mentality to a kingdom mentality. Presently, with a church mentality, too many gifted saints are siting, stagnating and unable to use their gifts because all the church positions are filled. These gifts and talents need to be taken into the highways and the byways demonstrating the love of God in good works, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the widows, the elderly, the incarcerated and healing the broken hearted. This can be done through music, drama, community participation, the media and one on one evangelism
VALUE #10—PEOPLE NEED TO BE DISCIPLED, TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE IN CHRISTTo make Christ known, you need to know who you are in Christ. You need to know you are a new creature, created in the image of God. You need to know you are the off-spring of God and a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven, now, with all its rights, privileges, power and authority. Daily you life should be an answer to Jesus prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
