Let’s stay away from guilt.
Let’s stay away from heart tugging photographs of starving AIDS ravaged children.
Let’s stay away from even Jesus’ teaching to go into all the world.
Let’s stay away from James’ exhortation to care for the orphans is pure religion.
Here’s something really interesting…….
As our church has begun to send dollars and people to Africa – our monthly giving has gone up!
As our church has taken big steps in being global and turning our focus to new continents and new countries – more and more people have begun to come to our church searching for faith!
As our church has devoted time and attention to people in need 10,000 miles away – our church has never been busier!
As our church has helped people connect with people beyond our borders – we’ve seen more doors open within our community to extend the Kingdom of God.
I love this about God.
You can’t out give Him; you can’t out work Him; you can’t out do Him.
The more you sow - it seems the more you reap.
The more you give – it seems the more you receive.
The more you go – the more He comes.
It changes how you lead a missional church.
Maybe becoming a missional church is not singularly focusing on reaching more lost people, but maybe it more about focusing on forming ‘better Christians’ than just ‘more Christian’.
If you’re only about making ‘more Christians’, you’ve shrunk the church down to a local organization concerned about the individual often for the sake of the church. But, if you aim to form ‘better Christians’, you’ve expanded the church to be a catalyst for the good of the world – concerned about both the individual and the world in which the individual exists.
‘Better Christians’ (to use a Brian McLaren phrase) are at the heart of church growth. Don’t take McLaren’s word for it; if you’re familiar at all with the Willowcreek REVEAL study – it says much the same thing. The heartbeat of a growing healthy church are not new converts or ‘more Christians’ – but ‘better Christians’. These are Christians that have a bigger view of the church, a bigger view of salvation, and a kingdom theology.
‘Better Christians’ take seriously the great commission.
‘Better Christians’ go beyond individualism to globalism.
So here’s a very practical invitation. Become a missional leader by becoming yourself a ‘better Christian’ – orphans, AIDS, poverty, Africa.
Some GHC churches are already involved in Nairobi, Kenya and can connect you and your church to incredible indigenous leaders doing incredible Kingdom work.
Join a GHC pastor next year in Africa to see the role you could lead your church to play in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth.
To explore this further email Pete Shaw at pete@CrossWalkNapa.org or myself at gilbert@reedleyfbc.com – both church web sites link you to videos and blogs about what’s happening. Worth checking out.
Grow a church through developing ‘better Christians.’
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1 comment:
I am a member of RFBC. What Gilbert's saying here is right...and fascinating!!!!
As an active member (financially and otherwise) I feel healthier, more complete, more adventurous, more whole because we as a church are involved in Kenya and Mexico. It feels like it's "to the next level" because we are DIRECTLY involved, too - not just paying a missionary to do the work. We send people from our own congregation to represent us, and there's a possibility that I can go myself to the global places that we are working as a church.
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