"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 6

Learn What God Wants for Your Congregation

CrossPoint, a Lutheran church in Katy, Texas, just “launched” their first multisite church in the Seven Lakes community with 330 people in attendance the first Sunday of worship. For six months, a team of 75+ people had been working and coordinating efforts to bring about this effort. Breakfast items were served to people who arrived early; free tee shirts were distributed to all who came; the new-campus pastor and the senior pastor were both present to welcome people; the sermon was telecast from the main campus; a free barbeque lunch was enjoyed by all after the service. Lots of excitement, lots of joy and rejoicing.

Wow! That’s what one church is doing in outreach. Their goal is right from Scripture: to reach the lost and let people know about Jesus the Savior. And this is a church that itself began as a mission congregation only nine years ago–and is now worshiping an average of over 900 people on Sunday mornings.

What’s the goal of your congregation? What is its mission statement? How are people in your church reaching out to those in the community, who, without hearing about Jesus, may spend eternity in hell? Who are the members of your evangelism team and what are their goals for the congregation? How many new Christians have joined your congregation within the last year? What are you doing to help get the Good News out there?

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

That’s the work of the church, the work of the congregation, to make disciples by baptizing and by teaching. Is your congregation part of that work, part of that mission?

Congregations in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod also join together to form districts, where work can be done with a joint effort in many things instead of one congregation struggling on its own. The Texas District is committed to the Ablaze! effort. They are committed to mission, to reaching out with the Gospel message to all people. The Texas District is working and will be working with a number of congregations who, like CrossPoint, want to make a difference in the lives of people by establishing their own multisite churches.

Click http://www.txdistlcms.org/tpim/ or copy and paste into your web drive to discover what your district is doing in the area of missions. Click on “Stories” to find out what is happening today in your neighborhood or city.

As more and more people arrive daily from every part of the world to live in Texas, God is opening doors and flooding our state, our district, our congregations, with opportunities to reach out to people from every tribe and nation, from every tongue and nationality.

Go to http://www.linchouston.org/  or  http://www.lincdfw.org/about.htm to read about the outreach efforts of many people to many people of many nationalities in Houston and in Dallas/Fort Worth. LINC is a network of local churches that have joined together in a common mission to impact these cities with the love of Christ, to train and equip people to work with those especially in urban and multiethnic ministries . LINC Houston currently includes 29 discipleship ministries in 12 different languages across the Houston metro area.

If your congregation is not involved in an outreach program, ask what you can do to help bring it about. If there is no active joining with other congregations in your area to seek and minister to the lost, call your district office to find out how this can be done. As Jesus said in Matthew 9:38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Oh, that we could visualize what St. John wrote in Revelation 7:9-12:

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
   "Salvation belongs to our God,
   who sits on the throne,
   and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
   "Amen!
   Praise and glory
   and wisdom and thanks and honor
   and power and strength
   be to our God for ever and ever.
   Amen!"


Pray: Heavenly Father, You have set our district, our congregation in this place at this time for Your purpose. Help us remember that it is Your work we are doing, that You want all people to come to know You and Jesus Christ, whom You sent. Show us, give us a clear vision of how we can bring about the task Jesus gave when He said, “Make disciples of all nations.” Thank You for the opportunities You give us. Let us this week, today, this hour, reach out to touch someone with the message of Your great love. In the name of Jesus. Amen.