Friday, July 19, 2013

BEING the Church; Not GOING to Church

Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18-20


There is plenty of room for Grace Church to grow and expand.  Let's pray that more and more people come, get connected, and become part of Grace Church's mission + vision.  But we have to remember what kind of church we are called to be.  

We're not looking to simply grow numerically, we want to see more disciples, more Christ-followers.  We want to see people connected to the mission of Grace Church, and then watch them begin to see their life as one who is called to live on mission as one of God's sent people.  And this kind of discipleship is not something that happens immediately.  Discipleship like this happens when people engage the truth of God's Word and enter into Christ-centered community with one another on a regular basis.  Discipleship like this happens when people begin to reach out, build relationships with others, and then personally invite them to be a part of what's happening at Grace Church.

Remember, our goal isn't to simply see the auditorium of DHS filled with people on Sunday (though that would be awesome and let's shoot for that!); more so than that, we want to see people following Christ.  We want the auditorium filled with people who do not simply GO to church rather, we desire that room to be filled with Christ-followers who ARE the church, 7 days a week, and in all spheres of life.