“and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’”– Romans 15:20-21
The Apostle Paul spoke clearly about the mission on which God had set him, to “preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named.” Churches often make a grave mistake in ignoring Paul’s heart here. “Church growth” in this country consists largely of convincing someone to leave one local congregation and come to another one. Paul would not have approved. As the Body of Christ, our outreach needs to be focused on the un-churched, not the unhappily churched.
The way we do this is by going to the un-churched, understanding their lives, and helping them to hear the truth of the gospel in a way they can comprehend. The task will be different depending on the person you are trying to reach. For some, it will be as simple as inviting them to a church service. For others, dinner in your home with some of your Christian friends will be a good starting point. Some may be too uncomfortable with the intimacy of your home and you might need to meet them in a neutral location like a restaurant or coffee shop. Some will be ready to start immediately talking about Christ, and there are others who will need to talk about more superficial things (like sports or television) for a while before they are comfortable sharing on a deeper level. The important thing is that we care enough about these people to actually invest in their lives so they might be able to hear about the marvelous saving grace of Christ.
We often talk about “keeping the Christ in Christmas.” The best way to uphold this saying is by taking Christmas to the people and introducing them to our Christ. This doesn’t just have to happen at Christmas time either. Christmas is one day. Christ is our Lord every day. So, let us use the Christmas day as an excuse to do the same thing we will do when Christmas is over. Let us share the gospel with those who need to hear it. Let us introduce everyone around us to our Lord Jesus Christ, today, tomorrow, and every day.
Pastor Josh