Four Billion
We need to revise what is deemed necessary for a healthy local church to exist and be involved in the Great Commission.
Churches that begin simple in their expressions become complex in their organization.
We become convinced that complexity is necessary for healthy church life.
Think about it:
Most churches can do little without countless hours of meetings and discussions.
Whenever we decide to do something of Kingdom advancement we have to put out t-shirts for everyone to wear before we can do it.
We believe we can do little without large sums of money.
We believe we need years of extensive training before we can do anything significant.
Leaders who could create Fortune 500 companies have to take months of training before they are entrusted with any significant kingdom responsibility.
In this present state of the church there are over four billion people on the planet who have no relationship with Jesus. Over two billion have never heard the name of Jesus.
Should not the church be willing to make radical adjustments to matters that stand in the way of getting the Gospel to these people and the planting of churches among them so that they may obey all that Jesus commanded?
In light of this simple command, how complex are we making the multiplication of disciples and the planting of churches?
We may be labouring very hard at such activity but are we labouring wisely?
We are just scratching what needs to be done. And we have been scratching for a long time. A. Long. Long. Time.
We have defined church mission as something too complex for too long.
What needs to be done is simple. Jesus talked about mustard seeds. Mustard seeds are pretty simple.
What are you modeling, what are you teaching people around you? Can they really hear about what they need to be doing when it comes to following Jesus and living on mission for him in light of all the complexity that we lay out before them?
In your church, how simple are the channels to get Christians from where they are to where they are called to be?
A simple church is designed around a straightforward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth.
The leadership and the church are clear about the process and are committed to executing it.
The process flows logically.
The process is implemented in each area of the church.
The church abandons everything that is not in the process.
Four billion are waiting to hear.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.