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Printer Friendly VersionA few years ago, Win Arn, a church consultant and researcher,
conducted a survey of almost 1,000 churches. He asked tens of thousands of
church members the question, “Why does the church exist?” Of those
who responded, 89% said, “The church’s purpose is to meet my and
my family’s needs.” The other 11% said, “The purpose of
the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ!”1
Great churches—five-star churches—understand the
foundational purpose of the church is to win the world to Jesus. Great churches
are determined to be evangelistic, outward-focused, and community-impacting.
It is not sufficient for great churches to rest on their past or relax in
previous accomplishments and refrain from active engagement with the world.
Many of you know I’m a sports junkie. I love sports of
all kinds. I love to play. I love to compete. I love to watch games on television.
Most of you have seen something happen as you have watched various games whether
it was in person or from your living room. In sports, one strategy is deadly.
A team may think they can win by doing it, but more often than not, it costs
them the win. It’s called “sitting on the lead” or implementing
the “prevent defense” or “playing it safe.” It just
doesn’t work!
Growing and great churches can’t afford to “sit
on the lead” and become complacent about evangelism and seeing men and
women, young people, and children coming to Christ and embracing Him as Savior
for their lives. The foundational purpose of the church is to proclaim the
good news that Jesus can forgive and save and transform. The church’s
goal is to see people from all walks of life and from all kinds of backgrounds
receive Jesus into their heart and be made new in Christ. That’s our
foundational purpose. It’s not secondary, optional, peripheral, or non-essential.
This is the point, the goal, the reason above all other reasons for our existence
as a people.
Recently I was in New York City for the second time and while
we were there, we visited the Brooklyn Tabernacle which is pastored by Jim
Cymbala. In one of his more recent books he tells the story about how one
of his previous books, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, was named Book of the Year
by the Evangelical Christian Publisher’s Association. Then he says,
When Christ returns, would I be foolish enough to wave this
honor before him as something significant in light of eternity? . . . No,
our great crown and joy in that day can only be people whom we have led into
the kingdom. . . . All of our church buildings, gorgeous sanctuaries, and
plush carpeting will be burned up in an instant. Nothing but the flesh-and-blood
trophies of God’s grace will shine through eternity.2
People coming to Christ is what matters for eternity. Great
churches understand that as their foundational purpose. Is there a reason
for that? Is there a reason great, five-star, evangelistic, growing churches
understand that as their foundational purpose? I think so, and part of the
answer is found in John 3:16, because here we see the fundamental passion
of God: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Why would God give his one and only Son to a sinful, violent,
and hate-filled world? Why would God do that? There’s no answer other
than love. “God so loved the world.” God loves you! He’s
crazy about you! He is willing to do amazing things to show you how much He
loves you. He’s proven that in the Cross.
“Well, Pastor, you don’t know where I’ve been.
Pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done. My past is so full of garbage
and sin. God could never love me!”
[Illustration with $20 bill] Who would like this $20 bill? I’m
going to give it to somebody but first I’m going to crumple it up. Does
anybody still want it? Now, I’m going to throw it on the ground and
step on it. Does anybody still want it? Of course, you still want it.
No matter what I did to the money, somebody still wanted it because it did
not decrease in value. It was still worth $20 whether it was dirty or clean,
crumpled or crisp. Listen, you are of so much greater value to God. God does
not cease to love you because you’re crumpled or worn or you’ve
been treated roughly by life! You must know that not just in your head but
in your heart—in the deepest part of your being!
Great churches understand the foundational purpose of the church
is to evangelize and reach the world for Christ and they emphasize that the
reason—the fundamental passion for it—is the love of God. “God
so loved the world that He gave. . .”
And then, right there in John 3:16 there is this far-reaching
promise that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.” This is God’s promise of salvation to anybody and everybody
who will yield their lives to Him.
If the church is going to survive in the 21st century (particularly
in the United States and Canada), there will need to be a great revival of
people coming to Christ. John Ewart is a researcher and church consultant
and when he talks about the state of the American church this is one of the
things he says: “There is not a single county in the United States that
has more church members today than it did ten years ago.” Not a single
county in all of the United States! How could that be? How could that be when
there are churches that have grown from a few hundred to a few thousand in
the last ten years? How could it be when there are now churches in American
with more than 25,000 people attending in a single weekend? How is that possible?
Two factors. The population is increasing dramatically and as
mega churches are born, apparently many of the surrounding churches decline.
Do you get the picture? Apart from a great movement of God’s Spirit
where people—unsaved, unchurched, lost people—come to Christ,
the church in America will continue to decline and lose its “voice”
and be rendered less and less influential!
We must do something about that! We must get on our knees and
seek the face of Almighty God for the lost members of our families and the
lost people of our neighborhood and the lost coworkers in our businesses and
the lost students in our schools. And beyond bringing them to God in prayer,
we as a people must determine that we’re going to strategize to reach
them.
Great churches don’t continue with business as usual when
business as usual is not leading to life-changing and eternal results. The
result we want to see and the result God wants to see is people coming to
Christ and embracing Him as Savior, Forgiver, and Friend. Without that, the
church is not being the church.
Garrison Keillor, the great storyteller of Lake Wobegon, says
in his unique way, “You can become a Christian by going to church just
about as easily as you can become an automobile by sleeping in the garage.”
The issue for revival and renewal and impact is not people coming to church.
It’s people coming to Christ. That’s what needs to happen. That’s
what we’re praying for. That’s what we’re longing for!
The good news is that you can come to Christ at anytime and
anywhere. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. The problem is so
many people think “someday” is the same as “today”!
Many have said, “Someday, I’m going to give my life to Christ.
Someday, I’m going to make things right with the Lord.” Someday—but
someday never comes! You can come to Him today. It’s as simple as A,
B, C.
First, “A” —you must Admit you’re lost,
that you’ve sinned against God. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” When you’re living
apart from a saving relationship with Jesus, in your heart of hearts you know
you’re a sinner. The first step is to admit that to yourself and to
God. Remember, He loves you! “Lord, I’m a sinner. I know it. I’m
not living the way you want me to live.”
The second step, “B,” is to Believe. Essentially,
you must believe Jesus about who said He is—He is God’s Son and
He’s the Forgiver of sins—and you must ask Him to forgive you.
It’s more than something in your head. It’s also in your heart.
Pray to Him, “Lord Jesus, I believe you are who you’ve said you
are! I’m a sinner in need of your forgiveness. Please, forgive me of
my sins and make me new.” Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with
your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Step three, “C,” is to Commit your life to Jesus and to His ways. Matthew 16:24 says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Pray this prayer of commitment: “Jesus, I’ve admitted I’m a sinner. I’m believing in you and receiving your forgiveness. And in this moment, I’m committing my life to you. I’m trusting you with my life. Lead me. Guide me. Help me. Show me what it means to be a disciple of yours and I will follow you.”
1 Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here
For? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 82.
2 Jim Cymbala, The Church God Blesses (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 118-9.