John 3:17, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Acts 10:38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Matt 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
I believe the two reasons for the decline in Christianity in the US is;
1) We are no longer following the Master’s way of ministry in the local church or even missionary outreaches.
2) We are not relevant to the people or culture around us.
This revelation came to me when God called me to Guatemala. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was called to do there. I had no idea how it was going to look, but soon the Lord revealed all I needed to know.
First thing he said to me was I was to carry out this ministry “just like He did his”, I was to GO OUT and minister and see the people and to find out what there need was. The reference to Jesus in Act 10:38 says “who went about”.
Jesus did not set up shop in Capernaum and tell all the people of Israel, “the Messiah is here now, come up to my church in Capernaum and hear me preach and watch me do miracles.” But isn’t this how we learned to do church in America? Start a bible study, if we get bigger and grow, we´ll get a store front and then, if our preacher is really charismatic and loved by the people, we can build a real church on the corner and tell all to come and hear him preach.
Yes, they may have some outreaches but for most of the common people we simply have nothing to offer. We are not relevant to them or their needs. This is not what Jesus showed us. It is even written in church history, in the book of Acts, that when the disciples got cozy in Jerusalem, God allowed persecution, in the form of the Roman army in 70AD to come in and chase them out. Then they began to do what Jesus said in the great commission, GO into the world.
Jesus traveled everywhere, He went and met the people where they were at. He found their needs, ministered to it and then shared the life changing message. Every story about Jesus says that he went out and searched for the lost.
He crossed the lake to meet the demon possessed man. He traveled to Samara to meet the woman at the well. Do you think that was just coincidence? It was not. If you read the account carefully, she was waiting for the Messiah. She even said one day the Christ will come and straighten it all out.
Jesus let her know it was HIM. I believe that woman was waiting and praying and Jesus travel all that way just to meet her. It did not matter what the need was, Jesus was there and waiting to assist them.
The disciple Matthew was a hated tax collector. Jesus, in spite of all the negative press, still went to his party and found a disciple. Example after example, Jesus went and met people where they were and loved on them.
You see the contrast between modern day church and the way Jesus led people into the kingdom. The exact opposite, and we are getting the opposite results when we do not follow Jesus’ example and GO….. into your families, friends and the world and find a need, be relevant to them, love them and then share the good news of Jesus’ salvation.
As we say in DSI Ministries, “THEY DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW THAT YOU CARE”
