{"id":32270,"date":"2022-09-10T16:02:57","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/reaching-the-community-requires-more-sacrifice-than-sermons\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:02:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:57","slug":"reaching-the-community-requires-more-sacrifice-than-sermons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/reaching-the-community-requires-more-sacrifice-than-sermons\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching the Community Requires More Sacrifice Than Sermons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toa Heftiba photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Ann-Margret Hovsepian<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret there\u2019s much brokenness in American neighborhoods, but Marvin Williams, lead pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, Michigan, believes the Church holds the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gospel truly is the hope of the world, and our outreach is not just good deeds or altruistic behavior,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s celebrating that God is alive in us! Any church that is not moving forward is doing a disservice to its community and disobeying God.\u201d<\/p>\n

There should be a vision for outreach and a strategy, even if money is limited, he adds. \u201cWe have time, we have a mandate, and we have the power of the Holy Spirit!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Future of the Church Study by Facts & Trends<\/em> and Lifeway Research surveyed Protestant pastors across the United States about their churches\u2019 ministry in their communities.<\/p>\n

The majority (64 percent) indicated that ministry in their communities had increased in the last five years and even more (85 percent) say they expect their community involvement to increase in the next five years.<\/p>\n

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Why does this matter, and how are churches increasing ministry in their communities?<\/p>\n

Trinity Church in Lansing is involved in North School Elementary School, where there are 53 different nationalities and most of the students are refugees. \u201cThey don\u2019t have coats and boots, or don\u2019t speak the language,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica is the land of opportunity, but it can feel cold. Who is going to give the hospitality this group needs?\u201d<\/p>\n

The church started with North School. Volunteers painted walls, held parties for teachers, tutored students, and organized coat and boot drives. When the principal moved to Gardner Middle School, he called on Trinity and asked them to help again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe school was a mess,\u201d recalls Williams. \u201cWe released 200 to 250 volunteers who painted, removed gum, and washed walls and tables and chairs. Several teachers and school administrators are now attending Trinity because we, the kingdom of God, showed up. We brought the love of Jesus and the power of the gospel. That becomes irresistible to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray Pritchard is a fairly new member at Lenexa Baptist Church, about 15 miles southeast of Kansas City, but he has nearly 30 years of experience pastoring churches in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago. He\u2019s also president of Keep Believing Ministries, which encourages pastors, Christian workers, and missionaries around the world.<\/p>\n

While memorizing 1 Peter, Pritchard noticed how often Peter talks about the difficult world we live in. \u201cWe\u2019re pilgrims, we\u2019re passing through. Peter talks about how the real battles are not going to be won by big proclamation but by the way we live our life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchard says the Church hasn\u2019t changed but that culture has turned against the Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur position is more tenuous,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference between light and darkness is going to get more pronounced. Our sermons alone are not going to save the world; the church is going to have to show the living difference that Jesus makes in families and in broken homes. The hope of Chicago is not Democrats or Republicans; it\u2019s churches out on the front lines where the bullets are flying, caring for people and binding up the wounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Churches are not only setting up food pantries and clothes closets, but also getting involved with crisis pregnancy centers and foster care.<\/p>\n

Pritchard knows of one church that has decided to adopt a whole city: \u201cThey want to provide trained foster parents so there are no kids without safe parents. I think that\u2019s fantastic! That kind of stuff was not happening 20 or 30 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worship vs. Outreach: Not Either-Or<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Christian author Randy Petersen says that while worship is central in church life, it should send people out into the community to minister, to make relationships, to invite people in. \u201cEverything\u2014the sermon, giving, worship\u2014changes us and propels us and creates an event that outsiders might be interested in joining in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says churches may focus on worship but must also allow that worship to energize people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not either-or,\u201d says Petersen. \u201cIf there\u2019s no community outreach, something\u2019s wrong. But if there\u2019s only community outreach and no worship, then it\u2019s more like a pyramid scheme, and I\u2019ve seen that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Churches don\u2019t have to choose between building their ministries and caring for their community. \u201cYou should do both,\u201d says Pritchard.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaring for your community is <\/em>building your church. You\u2019re doing the work of Jesus. I do think we have to keep the gospel central, but I don\u2019t think slipping into social justice is the major danger. The major danger is that we will become inward-focused. Pastors, dip your toe in; start small and make a difference. God will lead you, and the people in your church will be willing to follow your lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For Williams, it has to be a \u201cboth-and\u201d approach. \u201cGod has invited individuals to be kingdom citizens, to go into communities and restore what was broken, and that becomes a doorway by which we can proclaim the gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out that today\u2019s skeptics are drawn to people loving them and showing them that the Good News is more than believing what the Bible says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a post-literate society and close to a post-Christian society, and some people don\u2019t even know the Bible,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to go back to being who we were in the first century, when the church shared their possessions. The church should be viral in our neighborhoods. People should know there\u2019s something different about this neighborhood because we\u2019re in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some churches view evangelism as \u201ca very particular dispensing of the gospel message and getting people to respond in a particular way,\u201d Petersen says he prefers to step back and say evangelism could be \u201cthe sharing of God\u2019s love with people around us and inviting them to participate with us in various ways that might eventually lead them closer to a knowledge of God and salvation. Some might call it pre-evangelism. I like to see it all as a process that fits together. Sometimes it\u2019s just being Jesus for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting Small and Finishing Well<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Smaller churches may find ministry in their communities more of a challenge than larger ones do since their budgets and pool of volunteers are also smaller, yet there are still many opportunities for them to have an impact in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have nothing, you can love,\u201d says Williams. \u201cYou can do something even if you can\u2019t do all that you desire. Take a bag of groceries to someone who\u2019s struggling. Get to know people in the neighborhood, school, community, the gatekeepers, and the most influential people, the ones with the most emotional coins in the bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can open doors for you that you couldn\u2019t open yourself. Ask them what the greatest needs are and offer to pray for them. Listen to what the needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Pritchard, there are three simple principles to remember when ministering to one\u2019s community:<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t happen by accident. <\/em><\/strong>\u201cCentrifugal force is so strong in established churches that, even with the best of intentions, you\u2019ll spend all your time just keeping the church going, with no time left for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t happen by preaching. <\/em><\/strong>\u201cWe\u2019ve all laid down the eloquence, the guilt. It doesn\u2019t work. It will only happen if the leaders lead the way, if the pastors, elders, and deacons go outside the doors and meet neighbors, make friends, attend high school events. . . I learned 50 years ago that evangelism is better caught than taught.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to reach the whole world.<\/em><\/strong> \u201cStart in your own little corner. Make it a better place. You have to crawl, then walk, then run. Sometimes churches start too big and it doesn\u2019t work. You can do less in one year than you think you can, and you can do more in five years than you think you can. Miracles take time. Plant the seeds, water them, and give God time to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petersen emphasizes: \u201cFrom first to last, be genuinely loving. If you aim to love, then evangelism will happen. Maybe not that day, but the sharing of good news will come naturally. If you try it the other way\u2014aiming to save souls but not loving\u2014then you are enacting the first part of 1 Corinthians 13. You\u2019re just a clanging cymbal. As love is shown, people blossom. Allow the Holy Spirit to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ann-Margret Hovsepian<\/h2>\n

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Ann-Margret is a freelance writer, author, and illustrator in Montreal, Canada, where she serves at Temple Baptist Church. She is also active in mission work in Armenia, her ancestral homeland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n