Do people know we are here
 

A thought hit me today and it might have hit others in the past, I think it should at some point hit us, does the town and city where my/your church is located do they know we exsist? Do people on the street where you live know you are a believer, a prayer warrior? Maybe it is because the church stands inside preaching about how to take care of looking right, acting right and such that we forget those outside the walls of the church and our homes.

Are we as a movement focused on talking about "winning the lost" and not motivated about doing it? Depending on the size of the communities in which we live and go to church they all should know we are there. Do they? Just curious if anyone feels the same way.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

I think we might all feel that way at one time or other JT. Unless we have a love for the lost, and wanting to see them saved.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

I agree. But are we just paying lip service to the almighty organizations that we are a part of by saying we want to win the lost? Having a desire to win the lost does not always equal the lost acutally being saved, does it? Are we more focused on winning the lost to our church more than winning them to God? I am speaking to myself as well.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

Great thread!

The fellowship that my brother-in-law and I started back in March, 2007 was conceived with that very goal. Our intention is to make AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE to get the attention of everyone we can. We have made it our mission to serve people, to give sacrificially to people, to love people (when often their lifestyles are very offensive), and to take the love of Jesus TO THEM.

We realized early on that we would fall flat on our faces and fail miserably if we waited around, expecting them to come to us. The command of Jesus was "go ye..." It certainly was not "wait for them to come to you."

If you looked at our congregation, some might be a little appalled. You don't see a lot of cookie-cutter pentecostals. What you'll see, outside of the core group who started out with us, is a mixed bag of souls in varying stages of their walk with God. Works in progress, if you will. We stress personally studying Scripture and following the leading of the Spirit of God over the "Apostolic Task List." Several have been baptized in Jesus' Name and received the Holy Ghost baptism. But ALL are welcome and loved.

tv1a made a great point in another thread the other day that I plan to use and reuse. Just like Hezekiah, we need to take a good hard look at the things that we hold dear to us - things that may have started out as important "landmarks" for us in our journey with Christ, but may have turned more into idols - distractions from what they were supposed to remind us of in the first place. So often there's so much pridefulness and self-exaltation in our preaching about how "we've not compromised the old ways..." referring to what many view as requirements for holiness, that we've become irrelevant, powerless and dead. If you believe in the "holiness standards," then so be it. You are certainly entitled, and kept in the correct context and perspective, I believe God will bless you for the stand that you've taken based on your conviction. But you need to believe more in the need for the church to be active and effective in the world.

Do people know we are here? I hope so, and I'm going to do everything I can to make as much noise and clamor that they do!

Re: Do people know we are here
 

This is why I started the thread to read things like this. Good job

Re: Do people know we are here
 

My experience from years of walking with the Lord is that the general public is usually much better acquainted with where "mainline churches" (Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, etc) are located than with where they can find Apostolic churches.

One really good reason for that is that the mainline churches spend alot of time and energy and money ministering to the needs of others. Physical needs, financial needs, etc. They're reaching people on the level where they live.

That draws in 2 kinds of people: First it draws in those who have the needs. And Second it draws in those who want to help. I see this all the time. People really do want to help their fellow human beings. If you can get them into a church by asking them to get involved with helping out a needy family for Christmas, then chances are fair to middlin that they will stay after the project is over. It's not a guarantee. But I know I've seen a large number of people who've been "hooked" that way.

The other way to get people involved (I've seen this in one of the area mega-churches) is to offer support groups for every little thing - grief counseling, leaving the gay life-style, divorce groups, parents of teenagers, on and on. Again, some will come because they need the group. Others will come because they'll want to become part of the leadership of a group.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

Unfortunately, I think we are known for how we dress and look, as opposed to what we teach.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

...or for how much we love and serve. :groan

Re: Do people know we are here
 

I think we're loosing the battle as we focus on mass evangelism. Sure, mass evangelism has it's place. However, we must realize that we're sent one by one into our own everyday routine with the commission to share the gospel. I've had more success with one on one individual evangelism than mass efforts to reach large groups of people. 85% of those who come to church come with a friend or relative. Out of that number the majority who stay establish friendships and deep relationships within the body. We need to get out and befriend people, form relationships, bonds, similar interests, etc. Also we have to be sensitive to the Spirit. God's Spirit hasn't chosen the entire community. Out of the majority that are called only a few are chosen. We have to be sensitive enough to tell when we are dealing with a soul that the Lord is drawing so that we can nurture them to salvation. Winning the lost isn't like spraying machine gun fire into large crowds...it's more like being a sniper. It takes identifying your target, time, preparation, patience, and focus. At least, that's my experience.

Lastly, the fastest growing church movement today is the House Church movement. Interestingly, they have NO programs. They are just a group of Christians who fellowship, study the Bible, and form friendships. I think the people of our communities tire of hearing about new church programs and gimmicks. Most people don't need a program....they need a real good friend who can pray, encourage, not judge, and stand by them even when they're at their worst. Programs are everywhere. Also, I get the sense that people tire of efforts to grow all these mega churches. People want something close to home, intimate, informal, open, welcoming, warm, inviting, safe, and deep. They've seen the glitz and show of large churches on TV. That's why the House Church movement is growing at an unprecedented rate.

We could learn from them...if we humble ourselves.

Re: Do people know we are here
 

Mass evangelism is just a way to get hundreds of individuals in front of or one on one with hundreds of other individuals. What I am really trying to convey is not why don't we do mass evagelism. That is not it. Why is it that our movement is known more for it's dress like Justin said and less for our love and serve like Jaamez stated? If there are mainstream churches that are well known like Margies said that are doing so much for the hurting and the needy with great success where are we? We have some childrens home which is fantastic, but in our communites are we so self absorbed that we don't care for the needy?