The Focus of the Church

​When we consider the work or focus of the church one of the primary considerations is “evangelism.”  This is certainly right thinking because seeking and saving the lost is a directive to us from Jesus.  However, when we take one step beyond this, our motives become cloudy at best.  For many groups, the goal of evangelism is to fill the building which, though good, can be a distraction from the true purpose of evangelism; allow me to explain.  When our focus of evangelism becomes just filling our building, we miss the big picture of the work of God in humanity.  Matt Smethurst had a great perspective on this very topic, he wrote “We tend to say “the church grew.  Acts tends to say, the word spread.”  “We talk about church growth.  Acts talks about WORD GROWTH.”  He concludes, “Preach the WORD and let God take care of the size of the church.”  I concur with Matt 100%.  When we have a church vision, our energy is limited to what happens within our four walls and how it impacts us.  When we have a KINGDOM VISION, we see everything as it relates to the kingdom of God.  Therefore, we then will have unlimited vision, and begin to see the work of converting the lost, through the eyes of God.   Our hearts will enlarge to care about the lost being saved everywhere, not just in our backyard.
 
We have been focusing on developing greater KINGDOM VISION this year.  We have placed the emphasis of our mini missions, on the work happening on foreign soil to bring the lost to Jesus.  This focus is ground preparation for us, as we prepare to do the same in our backyard, during our Mission Possible campaign; and our continued work during the summer.  When we adjust our vision to KINGDOM VISION, we will see God at work everywhere, including every conversation we have, in our thoughts, as well as our deeds.  As we do this, not only will the Kingdom expand, but the local congregation will grow as well.  So, let us all seek to recalibrate our vision to include KINGDOM VISION.
 
Blessings,
Lamar