Most churches tell their members to reach out and invite people to church in hopes that they might hear the gospel, and give their lives to Christ. Even visitation is about getting people to come to our church. So what does Scripture tell us about outreach and what is the primary role of the church?
First and foremost, church is about God, not people. Believers coming together to worship Him. Church is also about fellowship- “forsake not the gathering of the saints together” (Heb 10:25). Another function of the church is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12). The church instructs us for the outreach that we are supposed to be doing outside of the church walls. Non-believers are welcome, but church is primarily for believers.
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. Each one of us has been commanded to go. Just inviting someone to church or saying “Jesus loves you” does not fulfill your obligation.
One local group I know of did a prayer walk and they thought that was “outreach”. It’s not. Reaching out is when you reason with someone about sin, judgment, righteousness, or Hell (Acts 24:25). Reaching out is when someone is given the gospel of Jesus Christ. Outreach is not the responsibility of your pastor, it sits on our shoulders to take the gospel into a dying world. Are you ready to go?
–Danny
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