It Starts With A Passion For Souls
For a church to grow by reaching lost people, the congregation needs to have a passion for souls to be saved. This seems obvious, but my experiences have shown me that many Christians aren’t too concerned about the eternal destiny of anyone other than themselves and their family. We often pay lip service to the idea of reaching the lost but we don’t really put in much effort to do so. Preachers can preach about evangelism and remind their people to “invite someone to church” but it doesn’t seem to result in any change.
A key factor is our passion for souls. If we’re not too concerned about the souls of those around us, we’re not going to do what’s necessary to see them saved. We need to rekindle the passion for lost souls. Here are a few ways to do that:
Pray for God to break your heart for lost people.
Every day, pray for God to break your heart for lost people. Ask Him to break your heart. This is a prayer request that God will answer.
Pray for souls regularly in church meetings.
Whatever meeting you find yourself in (board meeting, prayer meeting, small group meeting) always pray for lost people. Always pray for souls. On Sunday morning, take time to pray for those not yet in the room. Pray for souls. One church has a box with over 1,000 names that congregants place in the box and they regularly pray for.
Such were some of you.
Remind church people where they came from. “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, or homosexuals—will have no share in his Kingdom. Neither will thieves nor greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers. There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God, and He has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.” (1Corinthians 6:9-11). It’s pretty clear. You’re not perfect. You need a Saviour. Remember from where you came.
Avoid “us” and “them”.
It’s easy to get this idea of “religious elitism” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We need as much grace as everyone else. it’s important that we don’t perpetuate this idea of “those people” and think any less of non-believers. It’s easy to think “us” and “them” but we need to work against this notion and, instead, promote the understanding that we are “all” God’s children and that we “all” have sinned and need a Saviour. If we look down on people, it will be very hard to lift them up.
Celebrate every spiritual conversation, every invitation, every salvation, and every baptism.
The kingdom of heaven is one big party. The church on earth sometimes forgets that. Celebrate every spiritual conversation and invitation by telling the stories. Celebrate every salvation with a balloon or a light bulb or something. Celebrate every baptism as a big milestone in someone's life – because it is. What gets celebrated gets repeated.
It sounds crazy to say, but our passion for souls will always grow dim unless we consistently re-kindle it. We need to continuously be reminded of why the church exists and make it our mission to be about the Great Commission. Never stop reaching. Human souls are in the balance.
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.