Randall Caselman
Type: Bulletin
Church Growth And Me
We all want the church to grow, but we must know that church growth for number’s sake is ugly. There is more to Christianity than our own ego.
We are here to glorify God by seeking and saving the lost. How can we do it? Let’s examine some simple soul winning principles, things we can do to be evangelistically effective.
Point to Jesus. Become a John the Baptist. John said,
Behold the Lamb of God. This is an interesting characteristic of John. He was more interested in Jesus than in self. This is sometimes a major stumbling block in our soul winning efforts; too much emphasis on self, giving our opinions, interpretations and ideas. It is easy for us to be wrapped up in self-esteem, intimidation, self-aggrandizement and assertiveness. No. No. Point to Jesus. Be willing to lose self for the sake of souls. John lost disciples. They left him to follow Jesus.
Be transparent. Evangelism is our getting out of the way so others can see Him. Paul said we are to become transparent.
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Jesus said,
If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me. Are we willing to become transparent? Lift up Jesus. You see, evangelism is a person.
Jesus!
Create curiosity. We need to take this soul winning tip from the Master Himself. A man came to Jesus asking,
Rabbi, where do you live? Do you know what Jesus’ answer was?
Come see. Later this individual, Andrew, became a disciple, an Apostle, but it all began in curiosity.
People are searching, and rightly so, Paul taught in His Mars Hill discourse that God has placed within us a mental mechanism that causes us to search, to look, to reach out, to our creator, to God.
I’ve been in churches where I was afraid to invite others because of what they would see and hear. This must never be so. Invite neighbors to come and see. Come see our love, our sincerity, our search for truth, our friendliness. Come see Jesus demonstrated in His people.
Be A Friend. Friendship evangelism works. Look around, most of us are in the church because of friendship. Someone cared enough, loved enough to invite us, bring us, teach us, and show us Jesus.
Books, articles, seminars on relationships are in big demand. People are interested in relationships, becoming a part of something, somebody. Friends, family, fellowship, neighboring are important today. The truth is, we cannot, will not, survive without this concept. God created us for relationships. The Bible declares,
it is not good that man should be alone. Jesus called his first disciples from among friends and kin. Andrew brought his brother. The lady at Jacob’s well went to her friends and town folk saying,
Come see the Christ. Friendship evangelism is living Jesus daily in full view of others.
Well, church demands more Christianity than simply coming to church three times a week. We must offer our children, our spouse, our kinfolk, neighbor, fellow worker, yes, even our enemies, Jesus. Most of our friends and family would be honored to be asked to come see, meet Jesus.
—Randall Caselman
