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During the course of my Sunday School class yesterday, which is just completing a series on changing the world, I asked how many in the class had ever actually led another person to salvation. The answer was unexpected and shocking: Only 2 of us.
Granted, it is a small congregation and may, or may not, be indicative of the norm, but to have so few long-term, mostly elderly members admit they have never done it is quite a revelation. This is the adult class. Most are older than 60, they have all been Christian's for decades and active church members. They've given liberally to missions and supported every new "program" which came along, but have never actually moved out into the battlefield and participated in the harvest.
Anyhow, it set me to thinking about things.
Christianity in America seems to be a dying faith. While a majority of American's claim the title of Christian, actual church attendance is down, baptisms are down, professions of faith are down, membership in main-line denominations is down and trending lower. We're losing the fight. For whatever reason, Christianity in this country is becoming increasingly irrelative to our people and if something isn't done, and soon, the Church of Jesus Christ may virtually disappear altogether in this country.
What if.....each, individual Christian committed themselves to bringing just 5 people to salvation during their entire lifetime? What if...our next, big evangelistic effort involved nothing more than pushing members out of their pews and into the byways for the express purpose of meeting just that one, simple goal?
The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 241 million professing Christian's in the United States and if they each brought just 5 people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, the harvest would be about 1.25 billion souls. That's about 1/5 of the worlds population!
On a global scale, it's even more shocking. There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christian's around the world and if each of them did the same thing, the harvest would be MORE THAN THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW! Over 10 billion!
So, what do you think?
How many people have YOU led to Christ? Will YOU commit to keep at it until you've gathered in just 5 professions of faith?
During the course of my Sunday School class yesterday, which is just completing a series on changing the world, I asked how many in the class had ever actually led another person to salvation. The answer was unexpected and shocking: Only 2 of us.
Granted, it is a small congregation and may, or may not, be indicative of the norm, but to have so few long-term, mostly elderly members admit they have never done it is quite a revelation. This is the adult class. Most are older than 60, they have all been Christian's for decades and active church members. They've given liberally to missions and supported every new "program" which came along, but have never actually moved out into the battlefield and participated in the harvest.
Anyhow, it set me to thinking about things.
Christianity in America seems to be a dying faith. While a majority of American's claim the title of Christian, actual church attendance is down, baptisms are down, professions of faith are down, membership in main-line denominations is down and trending lower. We're losing the fight. For whatever reason, Christianity in this country is becoming increasingly irrelative to our people and if something isn't done, and soon, the Church of Jesus Christ may virtually disappear altogether in this country.
What if.....each, individual Christian committed themselves to bringing just 5 people to salvation during their entire lifetime? What if...our next, big evangelistic effort involved nothing more than pushing members out of their pews and into the byways for the express purpose of meeting just that one, simple goal?
The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 241 million professing Christian's in the United States and if they each brought just 5 people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, the harvest would be about 1.25 billion souls. That's about 1/5 of the worlds population!
On a global scale, it's even more shocking. There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christian's around the world and if each of them did the same thing, the harvest would be MORE THAN THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW! Over 10 billion!
So, what do you think?
How many people have YOU led to Christ? Will YOU commit to keep at it until you've gathered in just 5 professions of faith?
How would you even know?
Over the course of a lifetime, someone's actions, someone's words, someone being a sermon rather than spouting one by rote, can have an effect on the life of someone else and plant a seed that may not sprout until years or decades later. The Christian may never know whether something he said or did moved someone else to an eventual faith.
During the course of my Sunday School class yesterday, which is just completing a series on changing the world, I asked how many in the class had ever actually led another person to salvation. The answer was unexpected and shocking: Only 2 of us.
Granted, it is a small congregation and may, or may not, be indicative of the norm, but to have so few long-term, mostly elderly members admit they have never done it is quite a revelation. This is the adult class. Most are older than 60, they have all been Christian's for decades and active church members. They've given liberally to missions and supported every new "program" which came along, but have never actually moved out into the battlefield and participated in the harvest.
Anyhow, it set me to thinking about things.
Christianity in America seems to be a dying faith. While a majority of American's claim the title of Christian, actual church attendance is down, baptisms are down, professions of faith are down, membership in main-line denominations is down and trending lower. We're losing the fight. For whatever reason, Christianity in this country is becoming increasingly irrelative to our people and if something isn't done, and soon, the Church of Jesus Christ may virtually disappear altogether in this country.
What if.....each, individual Christian committed themselves to bringing just 5 people to salvation during their entire lifetime? What if...our next, big evangelistic effort involved nothing more than pushing members out of their pews and into the byways for the express purpose of meeting just that one, simple goal?
The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 241 million professing Christian's in the United States and if they each brought just 5 people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, the harvest would be about 1.25 billion souls. That's about 1/5 of the worlds population!
On a global scale, it's even more shocking. There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christian's around the world and if each of them did the same thing, the harvest would be MORE THAN THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW! Over 10 billion!
So, what do you think?
How many people have YOU led to Christ? Will YOU commit to keep at it until you've gathered in just 5 professions of faith?
The way I'm reading this is that you are expecting that each member bring others to their way of thinking and believing. You can't do that. Jesus didn't do that.
We bring people to salvation by giving and showing them LOVE. It's not about the church. It's not about the bible. It's not even about Jesus. It's about how you love and how you are loved in return. That's it. Love God and each other.
Seems to me that most fundamentalists need to learn that before they even begin to bring the people to their way of thinking.
We are to be in the world without being of it. That means to let go of the rules and regualtions that you or someone else might think that God wants. You know when you've done wrong by feeling guilt. It doesn't take religion to know that. People come when they are ready and not before. Take a guiding hand instead of a controlling hand. Let Love be that guide and leave the rest out. Religion is just a way to control because of fear.
Over the course of a lifetime, someone's actions, someone's words, someone being a sermon rather than spouting one by rote, can have an effect on the life of someone else and plant a seed that may not sprout until years or decades later. The Christian may never know whether something he said or did moved someone else to an eventual faith.
It's not a membership drive with a quota.
Of course it's true that we don't know about seeds planted, but the point is that if we're not leading people to Christ, we're not fulfilling the Great Commission.
I guarantee you that if you go out into your day to day world with sharing the Gospel as your primary focus, you WILL get to see someone come to Christ. If you haven't done that yet, you haven't been witnessing enough or you're letting something else take a higher priority.
The way I'm reading this is that you are expecting that each member bring others to their way of thinking and believing. You can't do that. Jesus didn't do that.
We bring people to salvation by giving and showing them LOVE. It's not about the church. It's not about the bible. It's not even about Jesus. It's about how you love and how you are loved in return. That's it. Love God and each other.
Seems to me that most fundamentalists need to learn that before they even begin to bring the people to their way of thinking.
We are to be in the world without being of it. That means to let go of the rules and regualtions that you or someone else might think that God wants. You know when you've done wrong by feeling guilt. It doesn't take religion to know that. People come when they are ready and not before. Take a guiding hand instead of a controlling hand. Let Love be that guide and leave the rest out. Religion is just a way to control because of fear.
Loving others is a pre-requiste for effectively sharing the Gospel, but it is not the end game. Jesus himself told us to take the Gospel to the lost and dying, and He showed us how. If we fail to do that, personally as a deliberate act of obedience, we're failing to follow His commandment to do so.
Not sharing God's free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ is hardly an act of love. Would you leave someone you know in danger of destruction without telling them of a way out? Of course not, yet we all too often do that very thing by failing to share the Gospel with those who are still lost in their sins.
During the course of my Sunday School class yesterday, which is just completing a series on changing the world, I asked how many in the class had ever actually led another person to salvation. The answer was unexpected and shocking: Only 2 of us.
Granted, it is a small congregation and may, or may not, be indicative of the norm, but to have so few long-term, mostly elderly members admit they have never done it is quite a revelation. This is the adult class. Most are older than 60, they have all been Christian's for decades and active church members. They've given liberally to missions and supported every new "program" which came along, but have never actually moved out into the battlefield and participated in the harvest.
Anyhow, it set me to thinking about things.
Christianity in America seems to be a dying faith. While a majority of American's claim the title of Christian, actual church attendance is down, baptisms are down, professions of faith are down, membership in main-line denominations is down and trending lower. We're losing the fight. For whatever reason, Christianity in this country is becoming increasingly irrelative to our people and if something isn't done, and soon, the Church of Jesus Christ may virtually disappear altogether in this country.
What if.....each, individual Christian committed themselves to bringing just 5 people to salvation during their entire lifetime? What if...our next, big evangelistic effort involved nothing more than pushing members out of their pews and into the byways for the express purpose of meeting just that one, simple goal?
The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 241 million professing Christian's in the United States and if they each brought just 5 people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, the harvest would be about 1.25 billion souls. That's about 1/5 of the worlds population!
On a global scale, it's even more shocking. There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christian's around the world and if each of them did the same thing, the harvest would be MORE THAN THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW! Over 10 billion!
So, what do you think?
How many people have YOU led to Christ? Will YOU commit to keep at it until you've gathered in just 5 professions of faith?
It's not a numbers game. Simply witness to people as God provides the opportunity. In witnessing God doesn't expect anything more of believers than to simply share the gospel. Whether anyone believes the gospel or not is not your responsibility. If someone accepts Christ as Savior because of your witness, great. If not, their rejection is their responsibility.
A great many of those 241 million Christians, if that number is right may very well not be Christian at all. Only professing. What I'm saying is don't put a burden on yourself that you have to convert anyone. Simply share the gospel and leave it in God's hands.
Christianity in America seems to be a dying faith. While a majority of American's claim the title of Christian, actual church attendance is down, baptisms are down, professions of faith are down, membership in main-line denominations is down and trending lower. We're losing the fight. For whatever reason, Christianity in this country is becoming increasingly irrelative to our people and if something isn't done, and soon, the Church of Jesus Christ may virtually disappear altogether in this country.
It's the course of things my friend. In today's world where kids have far more access to alternative opinions, actual FACTS (as opposed to just "faith") and better things to do than just feel warm and fuzzy about grandmas religion, these things are inevitable. For you this might be shocking or sad, but for some of us, this is just the trend of history.
Christianity's long reign in the sun is all about over. The Europeans used for their ends (slavery, world conquest, colonialism, subjugation, instill fear and oppression) and now many in the U.S are finding it, as you say, irrelevant, archaic, superstitious, baseless and nothing more than a Jewish version of older myths of the same flavor.
Loving others is a pre-requiste for effectively sharing the Gospel, but it is not the end game. Jesus himself told us to take the Gospel to the lost and dying, and He showed us how. If we fail to do that, personally as a deliberate act of obedience, we're failing to follow His commandment to do so.
Not sharing God's free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ is hardly an act of love. Would you leave someone you know in danger of destruction without telling them of a way out? Of course not, yet we all too often do that very thing by failing to share the Gospel with those who are still lost in their sins.
Actually, God is Love so therefore, Love is the end game. Love commands the universe. It is through control that Love is absent.
We don't save people, people save themselves through Love. We are all born with it. We all can feel it at some point or another. It's in acquiring the Love of God that we are able to turn from doing things that are not in harmony to doing things that are in harmony. We don't need religion for that. We follow the Law of Love that Jesus set forth at the last supper. It overrides all other laws and are to be first and foremost in everything we do.
When you shove religion in peoples faces, they tend to run the other way. I have brought several people to salvation in the way of Love. No religion. No bible and no Jesus. Just the Law of Love. I even had one prisoner call me an angel because he saw what the Truth was. Jesus showed us the way now we are to show that same way to others. He led with Love and talked about our Father. He talked about forgiveness. He talked about peace. He didn't say do this or do that. He guided and left people to their own accord. He never forced or condemned. He loved in all ways always. Love is Truth, Beauty and Goodness. NOT control, fear, hatred, condemneation or anything that is negative. Even forcing people to your way of thinking and believing is not love. Shoving the bible and Jesus in peoples faces is not love. Threatening them with an eternity in hell is not love. See where I'm going?
How many people have YOU led to Christ? Will YOU commit to keep at it until you've gathered in just 5 professions of faith?
What do I think? I think it's absolutely incredible news!! Another fulfilled biblical prophecy!!
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
It's only validates the 1,000 different revelations that we are in the last days and ever closer to Jesus' return!! I love it!! Do you know why? Because the great falling away weeds out the real Christians from the fake ones. The ones who were only "Christian" for family, other people, the lifestyle, whatever. It's the last days and Jesus told us to be ready and watch for his return. He told us many would depart in these times as we progressed into the future. The only people who "fall away" are the ones who were never watching and listening in the first place. Never had complete faith in the Lord. Never let go to let God. And I think it's absolutely great news that we are a decreasing faith because it is one of the MAIN indications that the return of Jesus is closer than we EVER thought before. I mean, yes on another level, I find it terribly depressing and sad but I have already stopped trying to believe that people will change and try to find God. In these times, it's going to be almost impossible what with scientist attempting to come up with new theories to feed the public with and technology blinding and distracting everyone from things in this world and morals going down the drain every year. I have given up on America. America is doomed and so is the rest of the world. God will judge everyone accordingly. In other news, lucky for us, we will not be here to experience any of his wrath because his son will save us YET AGAIN from tribulations and a sinful world! Be on guard and be on watch!!
U can't get caught up in conversion numbers. Living the Word is the principle thing. The life u live is a testimony if u live right, and that lifestyle may inspire many to believe. How can u quantify that? In the end u will not give an account for who u converted more than if u r fully converted.
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