To Be Missionaries.
We should be exploring ways to share God with people.
It should be our job as THE church to touch as many people as possible with the word and love of God! This means meeting children, teenagers, young adults, adults, and elderly where they are! Not necessarily bringing them to God, but taking God to them!
I was not raised in church. I can remember being there for Vacation Bible School, having my Girl Scout meetings here, and WRE (Weekly Religious Education a program we had with school). That church has always felt like home. No matter how old I am, when I step in that church I know every nook and cranny, and it feels right! I want others to feel the same. I believe a big part of that starts with children.
From personal expreiance- if a child wants to come to church, help them. Don't try to convince the parent to come just offer to pick up the child. If you can show the child the impact of God's love you will in turn draw in the parent. What parent turns down a child eager to share something with them? Once the parent comes then you show them God by making church relatable. Have a date night for families. You give the parents alone time or even adult time, and at the same time you are watching the children and sharing with them. As well, you are showing the whole family that the church and it's people are there for comfort and support! Work out a deal with a bowling alley and host an event for teens and young adults there, then share God with them there!
Part of my personal struggle going to church a few years ago was because I thought that I did not belong. To me there was a stigma to being a "church person." I have tattoos, I cuss, I dress revealingly, I was in a sexual relationship, and I felt stupid for not knowing the Bible. In my eyes I had to change all of myself before I would be welcome there, but it was truly experiancing God's love that changed me.
We have to show people that God's love does not judge, it just is. Jesus went to the people. He also told his disciples, "be fishers of men," Matthew 4:19. Are we as a church being "fishers of men?" Or are we sitting on our bums waiting for them to come to us?
This comes to me from our sermons the past few months. As one said, "we are disciples, we come in love and spread the good news." Another phrase that has stayed in my heart- "keep your eyes on the prize." We should be taking each step forward with our eyes on God, not on our job or the hateful neighbor. We should walk the footsteps of Jesus and show God's love to the world in our actions and I believe that He will provide and protect us in the process as an individual and as His church.
I think churches need to broaden their activities to reach others. We should be using activities and the current culture to share God's word. Hasn't every situation you gone through been found in the Bible? It's the proof and faith that, "hey, you can get through this- it has been done before." We should be sharing this with people. We deserve to give children these roots, they are our next generation. All children and especially adults deserve to know that God loves them above all else! They need the faith that God is always there for them.
So, is the church being fishers of men??
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