There are so many wonderful, good hearted people at our church. And this church has been known for having great children's and youth ministry--which is wonderful. I have two young daughters (age 5 and 9), and they benefit from our children's ministry. I am so glad that this has been done very well.
But High Pointe is living proof that having great ministries does not alone reach lost people. In fact, this emphasis resulted in only 5 baptisms from the community over one of the recent 10 year time periods. Five, when
McKinney grew by nearly 100,000 people!
Without intense intentionality in reaching the lost--from a lifestyle of reaching out, to the focusing of our ministries on this mission, to church planting--it simply never happens. The natural inward impulse makes mission a mere lip service. With this intentional focus, we have had 30 local baptisms this year already from these efforts, almost all from the community. If we had not actively sought out Latinos, or those who are struggling with financial bondage, or those who are struggling in their marriages, etc., we would not be reaching these people.
Any missionary who went to a foreign country and did what most churches do and emphasize would reach no one. There would be no one to preach to, no one to fill up classes. We must realize that the United States is the 5th largest mission field in the world. We must realize that we are a church that exists to fulfill God's mission--not a church that has mission elements. Even with all of the great strides made in our mission, there are 140,000 people in McKinney, and most of them do not know the Lord.
Any time people are challenged to look beyond themselves, this is difficult. At our core, we are selfish people. But our attitude is to be like Christ, who did not come to be served, but to serve others (Mk. 10:45). Jesus placed following him and self-sacrifice above all else, even one's family: 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Mt.10:37). The fact is that many turned away from this message. But those who got the message, with God's help, began to sacrifice, serve others, and reached the entire world for Christ.
This is the attitude that we must cultivate in ourselves in order to really be outward focused.
Paul said,
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature a God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature b of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:5-8)
Found within this passage are the following concepts-
- Seeking - Jesus left heaven to come to earth. He came to us, actively seeking us out.
- Serving - Jesus sacrificed his own comfort, not holding on to his equal footing with the Father in heaven. Instead, he willingly gave up this position to become human and serve others
- Good News (which we Share) - Jesus died for us on the cross, making possible our salvation.
It is a difficult message. But once we take up that cross, sacrifice, and follow Jesus--who came to seek and save lost people--God will greatly bless our lives and our families.
How can we be more intentional about reaching lost people?
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