Church Growth
By Sharon White It is a responsibility of a Church member o take the Word of God to the rest of the worlds to people that dont have faith. We must become creative in our evangelism if we wish to reach this culture. It is essential to be up to date technologically and even socially.A pastor who falls behind in the social atmosphere around him will lose touch with his or her people. If we are to reach these people as individuals, the pastor cannot be expected to do all the work. A clerical ministry will not penetrate this age, but the priesthood of all believers can. That is, we must teach the laity of the church toreach out spiritually and socially to their neighbors, friends, andespecially each other. According to Bonhoeffer, the meaning of thestatement Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and inJesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this webelong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ is threefold:first, that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ second,that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ third, thatin Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time,and united for eternity. The transformation of members intoministers will spark great growth within the church. In the midst ofthis, it is essential to remain biblical. The Scripture must alwaysbe taken seriously, never downplayed, in an effort to reach someone. We must recognize that we are a body of believers and that, accordingto Wesley, there is no such thing as solitary religion. WhetherChrist is the first thing out of our mouth or not, we must bepassionate about Christ before we will be able to reach thesegenerations. We can become passionate by focusing on Christ andfocusing on those who are not yet followers of Christ. A passion forthe lost is essential in evangelism. My first experience of suchpassion came as a sophomore in high school at a local 4-H camp beingused for church camp. Two of my closest friends had not been saved,and my heart felt great pain and anguish knowing that if everythingended right then, I would be without them for eternity, and moreimportantly, they without God. We must also focus on sin, notavoiding it so as to attract people. A seeker sensitive church willdie if sin in not recognized. Evangelistic decisions are the mostpowerful catalyst for change and growth in a church and pastor. Assuch, we should know our purpose as a church and embrace it. If we are to create such a church, we must begin with a strongfoundation! Turning attendees in members into ministers is the encompassingpurpose in a churchs discipleship program. If members can be madewho possess a serious passion for the lost, then a church is well-onits way to long-term success. In our recent trip to the Seattle area,we experienced several churches which had great outreach success. Mars Hill church was by far the most successful. It was obviousbecause of the size of the church, as well as thespecific focus and outreach. With hundreds of small groups and atarget audience of 16-35, Mars Hill represents a successfuloutreaching church. Other churches showed their weaknesses withinpastoral staff and mixed traditions as compared to the vision andpurpose of the church. The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com. Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term papers. Get some useful tips for thesis and buy term papers . Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_White http://EzineArticles.com/?Church-Growth&id=310273 how to abuse ativan ambien in cp patients purchase tartrate zolpidem ambien long term side effects
