Who Are You Reaching?

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” — Mark 16:15

When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with someone who doesn't know Jesus?

Not someone who already attends church.

Not someone who is already walking with God.

Not someone who already knows the Scriptures and has their life together.

But someone who is searching.

Someone who is hurting.

Someone who feels forgotten.

Someone who may not look like us, think like us, or live the way we do.

Again...Who are you reaching?

It is easy to become comfortable talking with people who share our faith. We worship together, fellowship together, serve together, and encourage one another. And there is tremendous value in Christian community.

But if all of our relationships are with people who are already saved, who are we reaching?

Jesus didn't call the Church to simply gather together. He called us to go.

Ministry Doesn't Stop at the Church Doors

The church building is a place where we gather, worship, learn, grow, and receive. But ministry cannot stop when we walk out the doors.

The world is our mission field.

There are people in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, families, communities, and everyday circles who may never walk into a church unless someone first reaches out to them.

Some people aren't looking for a sermon.

They're looking for someone who will listen.

Some aren't ready to sit in a sanctuary.

They're looking for someone who will love them where they are.

Some may have been hurt by the church.

Some may have been rejected by society.

Some may carry shame, addiction, brokenness, disappointment, or wounds that nobody else can see.

And some simply don't know that there is a God who loves them.

That is where we come in.

The Church Is a Hospital

Jesus said:

“They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” — Matthew 9:12

A hospital is not a place where sick people are turned away because they are sick.

It is the place where they go because they need help.

The same should be true of the Church.

The Church should be a place where broken people can encounter healing, where the lost can find direction, where the hurting can find hope, and where people who have made mistakes can discover the transforming grace of Jesus Christ.

We cannot expect sick people to get well before they come to the hospital.

And we cannot expect people to fix their lives before coming to Jesus.

People don't need to become perfect before they come to Christ. They need to come to Christ so He can begin the work of transformation.

This means the Church must be willing to embrace the people others reject.

Jesus did.

Jesus Went Where Others Wouldn't Go

Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus intentionally reaching people others overlooked.

He spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well.

He ate with tax collectors and sinners.

He touched lepers.

He welcomed children.

He showed compassion to the broken.

He reached out to those who were considered outsiders.

Jesus never compromised truth, but He never allowed someone's brokenness to prevent Him from showing them love.

He saw beyond the label.

He saw the person.

And He saw what they could become through the power of God.

The Church must learn to do the same.

We Must Be Willing to Reach Beyond Our Comfort Zone

Soul winning requires us to leave our comfort zones.

It may mean talking to someone we normally wouldn't approach.

It may mean building a friendship with someone who doesn't share our beliefs.

It may mean sitting beside someone who feels uncomfortable in church.

It may mean listening to someone's story before telling them ours.

It may mean loving someone who doesn't know how to love us back.

It may mean inviting someone to church who has never stepped inside one.

And sometimes, it simply means being willing to say:

“How are you really doing?”

That conversation could become the doorway to something greater.

People Are Not Projects

Soul winning is not about collecting numbers.

It is about loving people.

Every soul has value because every soul was created by God.

We are not called to treat people like projects that need to be completed. We are called to introduce people to a Savior who can transform their lives.

Our responsibility is to share.

God is responsible for the transformation.

Paul reminds us of this in 1 Corinthians 3:6:

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

We plant.

We water.

We pray.

We love.

We share.

And God does what only God can do.

What If We Looked Differently at the Broken?

Imagine if the next person who walked through our church doors wasn't seen as a disruption, a problem, or someone who didn't belong.

What if we saw them as an opportunity?

An opportunity to demonstrate grace.

An opportunity to show compassion.

An opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus.

What if the person struggling with addiction walked through our doors?

What if the single mother who feels overwhelmed came in?

What if the person who has been incarcerated came in?

What if the teenager who is struggling with their identity came in?

What if the person who has been rejected by family came in?

What if the person who hasn't been inside a church in twenty years came in?

Would they feel welcome?

Would they encounter judgment—or grace?

Would they feel like an outsider—or family?

Would they experience condemnation—or the love of Christ?

The Church should be one of the safest places for a broken person to begin healing.

There Is Room at the Table

Jesus didn't come for those who believed they had everything together.

He came for the lost.

He came for the broken.

He came for the sinner.

He came for the searching.

He came for us.

And if He was willing to reach us, we must be willing to reach others.

We cannot become so comfortable with those who are already inside that we forget those who are still outside.

There is room at the table.

There is room in the family.

There is room in the Church.

And there is room at the feet of Jesus.

Who Is in Your Circle?

Take a moment and think about the people God has placed around you.

Who do you work with?

Who lives near you?

Who do you see every week?

Who do you regularly talk to?

Who might be quietly struggling?

Who doesn't know Jesus?

Who has given up on church?

Who has been rejected by others?

Who needs someone to remind them that they are loved?

Perhaps God has placed you in their life for a reason.

You may be the person who invites them.

You may be the person who listens.

You may be the person who prays.

You may be the person who introduces them to Jesus.

Don't underestimate the power of one conversation.

Let's Go

The Great Commission wasn't given only to pastors, evangelists, or missionaries.

It was given to the Church.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” — Matthew 28:19

There is a world outside our church walls waiting to experience the love of Christ.

Let's go to them.

Let's love them.

Let's listen to them.

Let's pray for them.

Let's serve them.

Let's invite them.

Let's tell them about Jesus.

And when the broken, the hurting, the rejected, and the searching walk through our doors, let's make sure they encounter a Church that looks like Jesus.

Because the Church is a hospital.

And hospitals need sick people.

We don't exist only for those who are well.

We exist to help people encounter the Great Physician.

So the question isn't simply, “Who is coming to church?”

The question is:

“Who am I reaching?”

May God give us eyes to see the people around us, hearts to love those others have rejected, courage to step outside our comfort zones, and boldness to share the Gospel.

May Abundant Life Church International be a church that doesn't just gather the saved, but actively seeks the lost.

A church where the broken can find healing.

Where the rejected can find belonging.

Where the hurting can find hope.

Where sinners can encounter grace.

And where every person can discover the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

There is a harvest waiting.

Let's go reach it.