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I believe there is a sickness among churches in America and that “we” have lost sight of our Christ-commanded, Holy Spirit-directed purpose.

The problem is simple to define: it is the idea that churches are responsible for building ministries within their churches. A concerted effort is made to build different ministries and programs to attract people; churches call this outreach.

The problem is that this is not outreach.

Sure, it gets people in the doors, but it rarely gets people to keep coming through them. To attract a crowd to your church, some use many different gimmicks, some more outrageous than others, like dropping Easter eggs from a helicopter, holding “Harvest/Fall” Festivals because it is ungodly to say Halloween, or maybe having a big Christmas pageant.

Then there are “ministries” and programs we do like clockwork every year. These are not bad, but we can utilize them more effectively if we do so within their purpose.

But all these things do not fulfill our purpose.

We must go back to the Great Commission for our purpose, which Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB) tells us:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So, the command is to make disciples, and we do this as we go about life.

We must understand that church ministry has two objectives: In-reach and Outreach.

In-reach involves the church body (see Ephesians 4:12–16 for insight into what this looks like). This is the tool to help grow disciples of Jesus, those who have professed and committed their lives to Jesus. We help them grow in both knowledge of faith and doctrine, as well as experience of faith and doctrine, so that they can take the Holy Spirit with them out to the ministry field beyond the church.

However, we often train them only to serve within the church rather than serving the Lord in their neighborhood, jobs, community, etc., and we never teach them how to apply the Biblical worldview to their private and work ethics.

Helping and teaching them to take the Holy Spirit with them in their neighborhood, work, and community is what is Biblical outreach, and this is how we fulfill the Great Commission.

The first word of “Go” is literally translated as “as you go.” Where are we going from, and where are we going to? We are leaving our gathering place (church) and going out to our neighborhood, workplace, community, etc.!

What should be our purpose in going? To make disciples of Jesus.

How do we make disciples of Jesus? Through our testimonies and helping others experience Jesus by meeting them where they are!

Here is the crux of the problem in many American churches: We have failed the body of Christ in putting them in a position to experience Christ radically in their lives. The main reason is that we are not equipping them to do that properly. We are content with teaching concepts without properly defining them—concepts like prayer and worship, doctrine, and simple living.

More importantly, we, as a church body, will never fulfill the Great Commission unless we practice the Great Commandment of loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves. So how do we, as church leaders, put the flock of God in a position to do all of this? How can we accomplish effective in-reach and outreach?

We must first help the flock of God mature in their faith in both knowledge and experience with God. When they connect with the Holy Spirit in this way, then the Holy Spirit will lead them in outreach.

Again, the question is always, “How?”

We must return to the Biblical model of faith being like a seed (Matthew 13:31-32). When a seed is planted in the ground and sheds its outer shell, a few things happen.

The first thing that happens is the roots grow—a foundational root sprout, which then branches out into a whole network of roots. As the roots sprout and find nourishment, the plant grows and matures, whether it is a tree, a plant, a crop, etc. Jesus gives this basic picture in Matthew 13:31–32 for faith.

He says that faith is like a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds, and when planted, it grows and becomes a tree that brings shade and becomes a safe haven for the birds of the air. So, we must view the seed of faith as a planted seed when it finds “good soil.” When the seed of faith causes one to die to self and to commit oneself to Jesus in His salvation, roots begin to grow. As these roots nourish one’s faith in the Holy Spirit, He begins to develop a plan of His ministry in the fruit and giftings He gives each disciple.

The same is true for a church body. The church has focused on the wrong thing to grow. It is not the church’s responsibility to grow ministry; that is the job of the Holy Spirit. The church’s

responsibility is to ensure each individual is correctly connected to the Holy Spirit in the roots of discipleship.

Next week, I will share the roots of discipleship that connect us to the Holy Spirit and enable us to become mature disciples.



Lead pastor at First Baptist Church Karnes City, TX

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