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Why?
Church planting is sometimes looked at in a negative light. People sometimes miss what is happening in these churches or what is happening because of these churches. What is happening is… people are coming to Christ in wonderful ways in planted churches and Churches who plant churches.
Let me remind you last year we averaged in worship across the district 7,313, of that number 2,180 were from churches planted in the last 10 years. 30% of our attendance last year came from church plants.
This kind of growth should give us all a strong new resolution to look with ‘new eyes’ at starting new ministries. Maybe it’s a Recovery ministry, a Nursing Home Ministry, a Bible Study in your home, all of these can give new life to churches. We must keep pushing through on this vital mission, the results are too valuable to ignore.
This past week, I was able to attend the 10 year celebration of Cold Creek Cowboy Church, 475 were there in attendance. One of the 475 was Greg. Greg was a fine looking teenage boy, super grades, great athlete and popular with everyone. He fell into the wrong crowd and his life spiraled out of control. Rehab stints, jail, loss of everything including his drivers license, he had no hope. But, he got invited to a ‘special service’ at a local church and there he began a walk with Christ and the road to Recovery. I had the privilege of seeing Greg, sober and carrying on a good conversation before the church service. Greg has lost it all but in so doing, he has found everything.
We all have ‘Gregs’ in our lives. People who made bad choices but want to make a change. Let’s keep looking for the ‘Gregs’. Let’s invite them to your Church, established or brand new. You see it makes a difference! Why tell this story? Greg was my neighbor and close friend for the first 13 years of my life, then I lost him. But thanks be to God, God found him and reclaimed him and has given him a place in the Kingdom. Lost people matter to God, I hope they matter to you.
Lets continue to Advance the Mission of Christ!
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